City Hall - 455 Main Street Worcester, Massachusetts

Chairperson Councilor Toomey read the item and moved for a roll call vote to adopt the item. Order adopted on a roll call vote of 3 Yeas and 0 Nays

Chairperson Councilor Toomey read the item and recognized the Interim Police Chief, who provided an overview of the item, including information concerning the number of times drones have been deployed, examples related to reasons for deploying drones, the process relative to filing flight plans prior to each drone deployment, and training opportunities with other departments who utilize similar technology or that could benefit from utilizing drones.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey recognized Councilor Bergman, who spoke concerning the cost associated with drone deployment and occasions where city policy prohibits the use of drones with the Interim Police Chief.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey moved for a roll call vote to recommend the item be filed.

Recommend File on a roll call vote of 3 Yeas and 0 Nays

Chairperson Councilor Toomey read the item and recognized the Director of Emergency Communications and Management, who provided an overview of the item, including information relative to emergency responses, recovery phases, and partnerships.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey spoke concerning a checklist related to frequently requested documents by Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), updates relative to emergency funds with United Way, the process relative to how emergency funds are distributed, and status updates related to a request for all city departments to have documentation and information redundancy with the Director of Emergency Communications and Management.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey recognized Councilor Ojeda, who spoke concerning the emergency funds contract with United Way, the process relevant to emergency funds distribution when Red Cross becomes involved, and the process relevant to providing residents aid directly after an emergency situation occurs with the Director of Emergency Communications and Management.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey brought forth the following Chairman’s Order: Request City Manager request Director of Emergency Communications and Management provide City Council with a report concerning the status of emergency funds, inclusive of funds used during past emergency situations.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey recognized Councilor Bergman, who spoke concerning primary methods of emergency communication with residents regarding foreseen emergency situations and the process relevant to how Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) communicates via cellular messaging with the Director of Emergency Communications and Management.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey moved for a roll call vote to recommend the item be filed.

Recommend File on a roll call of 3 Yeas and 0 Nays

Request City Manager request Director of Emergency Communications and Management provide City Council with a report concerning the status of emergency funds, inclusive of funds used during past emergency situations.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey read the item and recognized Interim Commissioner of Inspectional Services, who provided an overview of the status of 2 Gage St., including the recent sale of the property and the process relevant to ensure the previous owner of the property is responsible to clean the site, the process relevant to reissuing a new order to the new property owner, and best practices related to the property if no improvements are made after one (1) month.

Councilor Toomey spoke concerning the process relevant for the new owners of the property to start the rebuilding process over and a list of what is needed related to the property with contact information provided to the new property owner with the Interim Commissioner of Inspectional Services.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey brought forth the following Chairman’s Order: Request City Manager request Commissioner of Inspectional Services provide City Council with an update concerning 2 Gage St.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey recognized Councilor Bergman, who spoke concerning the expiration of building permits related to the property with the Interim Commissioner of Inspectional Services.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey recognized Councilor Ojeda, who spoke concerning best practices for the current and potential property owners of 2 Gage St. to understand the process relevant to rebuild the property with the Interim Commissioner of Inspectional Services.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey moved to recommend the item be held.

Recommend Hold

Request City Manager request Commissioner of Inspectional Services provide City Council with an update concerning 2 Gage St.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey read the item and recognized the Director of Housing and Health Inspections, who provided an overview of a yearly report related to the item and spoke concerning the process relative to fulfilling and following up with all complaints reported to Inspectional Services.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey spoke concerning best practices related to redundancy from different departments and the process relative to ensure workorders are not prematurely closed with the Director of Housing and Inspectional Services.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey brought forth the following Chairman’s Order: Request City Manager request Commissioner of Inspectional Services provide City Council with a report concerning the various statuses that can be assigned to workorders created in the city’s Customer Services Request System (CSRS), including information concerning exceptions, the types of complaints tracked, and the departments that can be involved in an assigned task.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey recognized councilor Bergman, who spoke concerning the process relevant to separate out the violations by the degree of response time required with the Director of Housing and Inspectional Services and Interim Commissioner of Inspectional Services.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey brought forth the following Chairman’s Order: Request City Manager request Commissioner of Inspectional Services provide City Council with a report detailing the timelines associated with follow-up on the different types of violations tracked by the department.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey recognized Councilor Ojeda, who spoke concerning the process relative to weekend workorders and issuing 24-hour violation notices and the process relative to communicating with the tenants in addition to the property owners with the Director of Housing and Inspectional Services.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey brought forth the following Chairman’s Order: Request City Manager request Director of Inspectional Services consider separating the Landlord and Tenant Responsibilities guide, to aid in ensuring both parties understand their rights and responsibilities as they relate to inspections.

Chairperson Councilor Toomey moved for a roll call vote to recommend the item be filed.

Recommend File on a roll call of 3 Yeas and 0 Nays

Request City Manager request Commissioner of Inspectional Services provide City Council with a report concerning the various statuses that can be assigned to workorders created in the city’s Customer Services Request System (CSRS), including information concerning exceptions, the types of complaints tracked, and the departments that can be involved in an assigned task.

Request City Manager request Commissioner of Inspectional Services provide City Council with a report detailing the timelines associated with follow-up on the different types of violations tracked by the department.

Request City Manager request Director of Inspectional Services consider separating the Landlord and Tenant Responsibilities guide, to aid in ensuring both parties understand their rights and responsibilities as they relate to inspections.