CITY OF WORCESTER

JOURNAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Esther Howland Chamber

Convened: 7:02 P.M.

Adjourned: 7:58 P.M.

Mayor
Joseph M. Petty

www.worcesterma.gov

City Manager
Edward M. Augustus, Jr.

City Auditor
Robert V. Stearns

Councilors

Order - That the City Council of the City of Worcester hereby approves the minutes of the City Council meeting of May 20, 2014.

Hearing: CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS for a conduit location in: FOREST ST. Granting permission to CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS for a conduit location in: FOREST ST.

Mayor Petty recognized the following speaker: 1. John Provost, Worcester resident

George Caramanica of the American Cancer Society request the tree on the Cedar Street side of 7 Oak Street be trimmed.

Maureen Stephens request sidewalk repair in front of 46 Midland Street.

Audunn Valdimarsson of 17 Main Street Realty, LLC request sidewalk repair in front of 4 Lund Street.

Paul Ritchotte request abatement of street betterment assessment #25159 in the amount of $11,094.00 for Chicopee Street.

Scott Ricker request immediate repair be completed on the sidewalk in front of Worcester Art & Frame Gallery, 16 Norwich Street and all sidewalks that have a change in level of more than 1/2 inch.

Karen Short request abatement of street betterment assessment #25285 in the amount of $12,091.32 for Heroult Road.

Asael Baez request sidewalk repair in front of 43 Heywood Street.

George Caramanica of the American Cancer Society request sidewalk repair on the Cedar Street side of 7 Oak Street.

Wade Tenney request St. John's Road be resurfaced.

Councilor Gary Rosen request Blaine Avenue be resurfaced.

Councilor Gary Rosen on behalf of Martin Griff request Rydal Street be resurfaced.

Councilor Gary Rosen on behalf of James Lennon request the trench in front of 61 Havelock Road be filled.

Councilor Gary Rosen on behalf of Maria Bocka request sidewalk repair in front of 15 Arletta Avenue.

Councilor Philip P. Palmieri request Distributor Road be resurfaced.

Randall Ormo request precautionary signage be installed warning of traffic light to oncoming traffic travelling north in the vicinity of the Lincoln Park Towers on Lake Avenue.

Ann Albano request handicap parking space be installed in front of 622 Pleasant Street.

Audunn Valdimarsson of 17 Main Street Realty, LLC request removal of handicap parking space in front of 4 Lund Street.

William Pollack, DMD, request installation of a crosswalk across Pleasant Street in the vicinity of 1010 Pleasant Street.

Asael Baez request installation of "Go Slow" children advisory signs in vicinity of 43 Heywood Street.

Councilor Philip P. Palmieri request the one hour parking signs be re-installed on the northerly side of East Central Street from Shamrock Street to Itam Court.

Councilor George J. Russell on behalf of Dotty West request installation of large truck prohibition in Wiser Avenue in the interest of public safety.

Councilor Sarai Rivera request the pedestrian crossing signals at 1050/1060 Main Street be repaired to operable condition.

Councilor Sarai Rivera request crosswalks in Murray Avenue and Wellington Street be repainted in the interest of pedestrian safety.

Councilor Sarai Rivera request a blinking yellow light be installed at the crosswalk at Main and Kilby Streets to safeguard students from Claremont Academy crossing to walk to the Girls and Boys Club on Tainter Street.

Councilor Sarai Rivera request installation of crosswalk in the intersection of Chandler and Irving Streets.

Madeline Martin request the installation of Stop Signs in Peabody Street at the intersection with Northboro and Plantation Streets and also at the intersection with Franklin Street and Harrington Way.

Gina Tangney request speed limit signs and/or stop signs at the school crossing portion of Harrington Way, as well as toward the bottom of the hill, as a way to slow down traffic.

Scott Ricker request the umbrellas on two (2) tables in City Hall Plaza and the deck behind City Hall be opened by 8:00 A.M. and have a universal symbol visible when opened.

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager consider in the future providing additional funding to our public safety divisions to continue needed community services. (Rivera)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager report plans for the use of the space currently occupied by the Emergency Communications/Management departments when they relocate to Coppage Dr. (Lukes)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager report what constitutes other personnel services in the budget of Emergency Communications. (Russell)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager report how many vehicles are used by the city, report the year, model and mileage of those vehicles, and their purposes and further, report the feasibility of vehicle sharing between departments. (Russell, Lukes)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager provide City Council with a complete list of fees charged by Inspectional Services Department. Further, for comparison purposes, request City Manager provide the fees levied by utility companies such as National Grid for services provided to customers. (Lukes, Petty)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager request Inspectional Services consider consolidating the payment of fees; this would benefit and be more convenient to the public as well as streamlining city operations. (Palmieri)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager consider having Technical Services and/or other tech partners create a phone app for permitting. (Toomey)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Council schedule an executive session for the purpose of discussing all court judgments that includes especially the recently decided case involving a police officer. (Lukes)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request the City Clerk request the Superintendent of Public Schools provide City Council with a listing of colleges to which high school graduates have been accepted and will attend in the fall of 2014. (Toomey)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request the City Clerk request the Superintendent of Public Schools provide City Council with a plan that projects and extracurricular events resulting from Stem/Steam and athletic achievements and may require fund raising. (Toomey)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request Commissioner of Public Works & Parks post to their web page the report regarding the Proposed FY15 Water and Sewer Rate Increases and Impact if Rates Are Not Approved. (Toomey)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager consider promoting to residents the option to pay water and sewer bills on account. (Bergman)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager provide a report that compares the costs of private golf courses with the city’s. (Gaffney)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager report the percentage of tax levy that is relied upon for trash collection in other “pay as you throw” communities (Palmieri)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request the Commissioner of Public Works & Parks report why there are so many downtown thirty-minute or less parking meters and why they cannot be made to have two hour limits. (Bergman)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager provide the status of all Public Health initiatives at the end of the year for review. (Petty)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager provide a zoning opinion or recommendation as to how to prevent the tearing down of historic buildings, especially on Main St., for construction of a parking garage or lot. (Lukes)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager provide a detailed report concerning the city’s future marketing plan. (Lukes)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager amend the FY 2015 Line Item Budget to include Cable Services budget. (Gaffney)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager provide as previously requested a breakdown of the Cable Services Ordinary Maintenance budget. (Gaffney)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE - Request City Manager forward to City Council the policy that Cable Services uses regarding filming events. (Gaffney)

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - Request City Manager request City Assessor report to City Council how many properties in areas surrounding Holy Cross, Clark University, Becker College and WPI are listed as having true four-bedroom units.

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - Request City Manager request City Solicitor provide City Council with an update concerning the timeframe in which he expects litigation to be completed regarding an appeal in the Clark University area for code violations regarding lodging house enforcement.

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - Request City Manager request Commissioner of Inspectional Services report to City Council the number of complaints received within college neighborhoods concerning compliance of lodging laws. Further, request City Manager request Commissioner of Inspectional Services also report as to which areas these problems are most prevalent, including but not limited to areas surrounding Holy Cross.

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - Request City Manager report to City Council as to the laws regarding at what point it becomes obligatory to maintain a property manager at a given living space.

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY - Request City Manager request Police Chief provide an opinion to City Council concerning whether or not he expects there to be an increase in disorderly conduct should there be four or more non-related persons allowed to reside in a living unit.

Request City Manager commission a walkability study of Gardner and Hollis Streets near the Boys and Girls Club. (Toomey)

Request City Manager conduct both a Pond Management Plan and a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study of Coes Pond/Reservoir. (Rosen)

Request City Manager propose an ordinance that will prevent property owners from clear-cutting wooded areas prior to their project plans being approved by the City. (Rosen)

Request City Manager to report on what city services and their costs are provided to properties owned and administered by the Worcester Housing Authority. (Lukes)

Request City Manager arrange to have the flag pole at the World War Memorial at Lincoln Square repainted. (Rosen)

Request City Manager report to the City Council the rationale of the DCU Center renovating space to operate a new restaurant, staffed by its own employees, and open to the public during the day, with access from the street, even when there are no functions occurring at the DCU Center. (Rosen)

Request Mayor consider appointing an ad-hoc committee comprised of individuals interested in promoting Worcester’s rich history for the express purpose of identifying locations of historic/prominent individuals and events from throughout our history and for the placement of proper markers identifying same. (Bergman)

Request City Manager request City Solicitor draft an amendment to the Rules of the City Council to set forth a procedure whereby a vote of a Councilor “made in error” and not reconsidered can be recorded as such. (Bergman)

Request City Manager request City Assessor report to the City Council the tax impacts on city taxpayers if the City Council were to adopt M.G.L. Chapter 59, sections 5C and 5i relative to residential and commercial tax exemptions at both a 5% and 10% value of the parcel exemption. (Bergman)

Request City Manager consider an initiative that would convert all municipally-owned buildings to “cool roofs” similar to those created in a New York City program, and further, request the Superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools for parallel implementation at buildings under their purview. Additionally, request City Manager request the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce encourage downtown property owners participate in a “cool roof” program. (Rushton)

Request City Manager interface with the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce to pursue an internship and apprenticeship program within the private sector for both high school and college students. (Palmieri)

Request City Manager work with the Worcester Redevelopment Authority so that they give strong consideration to include the Wyman-Gordon property along Madison Street in the downtown theater district urban renewal study area. (Palmieri)

Request City Manager, with the Mayor and the Police Chief, meet with area bank presidents to engage them in a serious discussion concerning public safety issues that have arisen recently and need improvements. (Palmieri)

Request City Manager investigate the feasibility of designating the first floor of the Hadley Building (formerly David Burwick Furniture) for a Puerto Rico 65th U.S. Army Infantry Regiment Museum and consider involving the Worcester Public Schools Junior ROTC students in staffing such an entity. (Palmieri)

Request City Manager update the City Council concerning the traffic analysis for the intersection of Main, Cambridge, Webster and Mill Streets. (Rivera)

Request City Manager request Police Chief conduct crosswalk surveillance at 1050/1060 Main Street and in front of the Marble Apartments at the corner of Main and Marble Streets. (Rivera)

Request City Manager report to City Council as to the effectiveness of the current panhandler outreach efforts. (Rivera)

Request City Manager update City Council concerning the policy and practice strategies employed to date by the Worcester Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation in which the Worcester Police Department and the Worcester Division of Public Health work in tandem to support the task force recommendations. (Rivera)

Timothy J. McGourthy, Executive Director of Worcester Regional Research Bureau, transmitting communication relative to "Toward a Common Understanding of the Common Core".

RESOLUTION of Mayor Joseph C. O'Brien - That the City Council of the City of Worcester hereby goes on record in support of the Administration’s efforts to negotiate the maximum hiring of local residents in Tax Increment Financing agreements and other tools used to attract business and to expand our tax base. (Tabled - O'Brien September 13, 2011)

COMMUNICATION of the City Clerk transmitting communication expanding upon the newspaper article regarding the human error factor which occurred in the city's recount. (Tabled - Lukes February 7, 2012)

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Upon the Order of Councilor Konstantina B. Lukes - Request City Council support more diverse new housing development with an emphasis on market-rate housing with a maximum of 10% affordable units if there are going to any units available for development in the downtown Worcester area: recommend Order be placed on file. (Tabled - Lukes May 1, 2012)

COMMUNICATION of the City Manager transmitting informational communication relative to Out of State Residents Working on Local Projects and Not Meeting the State's Health Care Mandates. (Tabled Under Privilege - O'Brien August 14, 2012) (Tabled - Lukes September 4, 2012)

COMMUNICATION of the City Manager transmitting communication relative to parking meters at Rockwood Field. (Tabled Under Privilege - Eddy December 10, 2013 and Tabled December 17, 2013)

Motion Economou – Suspension of Rules – Request Mayor allow constituent to speak.

PETITION – Councilor Tony Economou on behalf of Our Lady of the Rosary Church request directional signage to the church be placed at Burncoat Street and Randall Street.

PETITION – Councilor Tony Economou request catch basin in front of 37 Rollinson Road be reset.

PETITION – Councilor Tony Economou on behalf of the residents of Briarwood Retirement Community request trees and brush along Briarwood Lane from East Mountain Street to the City line be cut back in the interest of public safety.