City Council

[Music] president Kane six members Thank you Um could you please all rise uh for a moment of silence please pray for anyone you know out there that has an illness I know that we've just gotten over a tough winter and hopefully everybody is on the road to recovery after a a long cold winter Thank you We turn and do the pledge of allegiance I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Uh could you read the open meeting law yeah Pursuant to the open meeting law any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible Thank you Um Madame Clerk could you please the first item read the first item on the agenda yes sir Honoring the North Quinsey High School B excuse me school boys varsity basketball team Uh I'm going to go right to uh our expert on this Counselor Campbell I don't know about the expert on the North Quinczy part but Quinsey part maybe um great honor to have we we have a few things to get to tonight and I'll make them um meaningful but hopefully on time uh because it's a great honor for a lot of people who are uh here in this room right now They work really hard to get to to where they are I want to start off by welcoming um Kobe Newan Kobe come on up here Kobe actually um what was the final number what was the final number 1,00 41 141 points uh for his career which is 140 points more than Chris Walker scored in his entire high school career It's the second time we use that one Yay 141 points It's really a big deal It's something uh he's been a four-year starter He's someone who who if you're looking for uh someone to be a role model to the younger kids coming up and just uh show them about work ethic and hard work and just being a team player He was always working Anytime you drove by um uh or you were in the gym you saw him working out the dribbling passing shooting every possible uh workout he could do he did and he was a leader all throughout um in this past year He was he led the team um to a 14-2 record He had a 19-4 overall record Uh he had 34 points against Madison Park where he set or tied a school record uh with eight three-point uh field goals made He had 27 points against Dery Uh and all around uh was a tremendous kid Patri Allstar Uh really anything that this kid um wants to accomplish I know he will What's the plan for next we're not sure on plans next year So uh but I wanted to um u congratulate Kobe on scoring a thousand's point and I know there's more great things to come [Applause] Okay next up is the other thousand point scorer uh Alyssa [Applause] Hops Alyssa I have had the great privilege of watching all four years She started as a freshman and uh the moment that she walked onto the gym she was special Uh and I think that um her overall record I'm going to do this off I want to say was 70 wins over the course of your career Um which is really unheard of uh in this day and age I might be a little off there but um she has uh shown talk about being a role model for for younger kids My older daughter played with her when she was a senior Alyssa was a sophomore and I think she had three game winners that year at the buzzer Pemroke Hangingham Silverlake I know there's more There's a there's a few this year I think there was a couple last year too Clutch I think she Didn't you beat North Quinzy on North no never mind I'm pretty sure that happened though Uh at the buzzer but um Alyssa is an extraordinary athlete She's an extraordinary student Um she was an all Scholastic in uh volleyball player of the year for her freshman sophomore and junior year at Quincsey High School She um I I mean really any type of uh award that she could receive she did and I couldn't be prouder of her I feel like to my older daughter she was that teammate that she loved to play with and to my younger daughter she is the role model that I hope that she aspires to be because she's that kind of a player She is tied for the alltime record 1348 points Is that right 48 1346 1448 all time If I want to have her up I'm going to give her this right now We're going to have her sit for a second with her mom and then we're going to do pictures at the end But congratulations to Alyssa And now to the team Uh North Quinsey boys basketball Um the Patrilegic uh Patriot League division champs Um they had a record of 14-2 They ended the year with a 19-4 overall record Um that right Kev yep Yep Uh they had an incredible run Uh and it was exciting Every time you went into that gym and watched them it was like a clinic It looked like the Globe products at times with the ball in the air and dunking on uh on on uh really another level So um really excited for them because last year I know that there was a rebuilding year this year and you did a great job keeping them all together keeping them focused in the right right right direction and I think that uh there's bright things ahead for for everybody I want I don't want to go backwards but I want to say that Alyssa will be attending and playing basketball at Babson College next year That's a big deal [Applause] So uh I'm going to bring up I'm going to um call up the players if we could We'll have them come up We can kind of filter in over here and then we'll go back here We'll take a picture and then we'll um we'll have uh individuals if we want with the council Okay All right So why don't we start off with the coaches i already introduced them Kevin Barrett I want to come down Uh Chuck O'Brien Chuck here Chuck my boy down Stop a job All right Excellent All right So let's go with uh Devin Tran He's a captain and a Patriot League fishing division Uh [Applause] why don't we go right over here another captain and the um sportsmanship Patriot League team sportsmanship award winner Maris Rodriguez Smith [Applause] He's clapping Uh Danny [Applause] Wilton Aiden Chin [Applause] Liam Ford Jeppe Telerico [Applause] I was late I was late Eric De Lima Brian Thong [Applause] Oshin Far John Ganaku he's and we are going to get into Ace Ferris Where is Ace ace was the Patriot League All-Star Uh yeah Patri this year Congratulations to Ace Um Patri another Patriot League All-Star Lucas Short Uh Patriot League um team Scholar Athlete Award to Billy Kennedy [Applause] Uh let's see You got a lot here Aiden I'm going to read it off of here How's that patriot League Fisher Division MVP Um Patriot Ledger Boston Herald All Scholastic Fisher Division uh MVP And uh I think that's about it We got a few more I'm sure on the way Aiden McGrath and we already met him but uh captain Fisher division um outstanding season for Patriot League All-Star Kobe Newan All right I think that's it Uh so if if we could just take a break and we'll take a quick picture Uh before I'm I'd like to get a some some pearls of wisdom from Coach Barrett I I think you give the council some guidance on how to have a winning season Uh I don't know about that I just want to express my gratitude and thanks for you having us here tonight Really appreciate the um the honor Uh truly is uh true honor to be here and we appreciate it Thank you so much on behalf of the entire team Thanks Thank you coach And I know a few of my colleagues might want to comment I'm going to recognize councelor Debana Uh thank you Mr President Um just want to say coach Barrett um been following you for many many years um coaching this program Um this particular season was very exciting to watch this team You have you have your height obviously you have speed People could throw the three-pointer up Great defense Um you had everything So it was very exciting to watch you guys play Kobe It's going to really going to miss you for the last four years just watching you play and be a leader out there Um for all your different teammates over the years as well as Alyssa over at Quincsey High School We're really going to miss watching you um with with Coach Campbell's uh uh daughter at one point Um uh usually it's coach Campbell I mean uh councelor Campbell counselor uh McCathy and myself at these games watching you guys So we really really enjoyed watching you and I I continue success coach Barrett within next year I know you'll you'll find some some fine-tuning and some players and they'll come up and they'll make a difference So thank you And I I know that the North Quinsey team is here in uh quantity but Alyssa's here in quality representing Quinsey High So very good We'll take a brief recess and we'll take a picture in the well Thank you [Music] Hey hey hey [Music] Heat Heat [Music] [Music] Mhm Heat Heat [Music] Huh [Music] heat Heat [Music] Heat Heat [Music] [Music] Heat Hey Hey Hey [Music] like to bring the council meeting back in session Uh madame clerk the next item number one presentation of the MBTA update Mayor Ko Good evening Mayor Ko Good evening Mr Acting President Yes Yes Acting Um before the mayor gets started I I I I just know that he um has been so involved in a lot of items in the city and um you know he's been the representative of Quinsey's rep on the MBTA advisory board um the ad advocacy group that represents the interests of 172 cities and towns in Massachusetts with some form of tea service He was voted by his colleagues as chairman of the advisory board in 2012 and has served in that position for the last 13 years Uh in 2000 in 2021 the legislation authored by then Governor Charlie Baker created a new board of directors to oversee the tea and the legislation required that the board include a member from the advisory board Mayor Ko was elected almost unanimously almost by his peers to serve on the board Boston uh had abstained uh the le the same legislation called for the a member of the T board to sit on the department of transportation board of directors So Mayor Ko was appointed by Governor Baker to the DOT board and reappointed by Governor Mara Healey last year So on top of all the duties as a mayor he likes to add in extracurricular duties just to keep himself busy So with that I will turn it over to Mayor Ko Thank you council Good evening members of the city council Thought it would be a good idea to uh give a little update to the council and for that matter the public in Quinsey The tea has been uh in the news quite a bit over the last couple of years and um fortunately it's going in the right direction A lot more positive stories now than there were a few years ago Little history uh the MBTA um came to Quinsey and was opened in 1971 North Quinsey Wallace and Quinsey Center Prior to that the city's manufacturing base had been leaving heading to the south for cheaper labor So we've seen over the years the demise of the shipyard pneumatic scale Matthew Corporation all the foundaries uh and so forth And um the MBTA in my opinion is what really saved the city and created that transition uh into the financial sector and the service industry When the North Quincy T station opened up uh State Street South opened up shortly after that State Street South is a huge employer big taxpayer So the MBTA was huge in this city's transition Obviously our proximity to Boston our waterfront but the transportation is key And I want to mention a couple of our uh folks that served in this body who were crucial to that Uh Jim McIntyre was a state rep became state senator and mayor and when he was mayor and state senator he was also chairman of transportation Walter Hannon was a state rep and he was a Republican The governor was a Republican So McIntyre gets a lot of credit but Walter was there uh swinging away from the Republican side at the time Uh so at early 60s mid60s there was a question on the ballot from the voters of Quinsey It went 7030 against the MBTA coming to Quinsey Obviously was non-binding but I think everybody would agree looking back that it was the right move and really what saved the city economically which continues to help us grow today Um I know that as I as I mentioned there's been a lot of stories of things I think one of the big changes really was when Governor Baker took the helm and he created the fiscal control board and then new capital investments and you know we were looking at 50 years of neglect Red line came to Quinsey uh but we were still using some of the original cars that were here So I used to get into battles with some of my colleagues uh at the state level about expansion and I said we should be fixing things before we expand Uh but fortunately uh since that time uh Governor Healey has really stepped it up with the state legislature and there's huge investment going on as as we speak and I got to give credit um I think for two reasons that the governor and the state legislature uh is doing this One is they recognize the economic engine the MBTA is to this region It is enormous the impact it has on getting people to and from work and school Uh it's the oldest subway system by the way in the country Uh Park Street station is the oldest station But the investment that was needed is now being made Uh that's number one Two is the governor appointed a very capable and able general manager I think that Philip Bang's appointment uh bringing his background and credibility integrity to this position uh really changed the game quite a bit I mean it was refreshing to see a general manager stand before reporters and say "This is what happened This is what we need to do to fix it and this is how long it's going to take." No spin no uh BS just a doer getting it done And his background in New York really gave him the the chops if you will He's the first railroad guy we've we've had in a long time to run the railroad Imagine that Um so I think the credibility that he brings has been huge uh to the legislature stepping up as well as uh Governor Healey uh doing the same So the the budget season is as you know is ongoing in Beacon Hills So the numbers aren't finalized but July 1st the T was facing a $700 million shortfall in operating budget The governor legislature have all indicated they're going to step up and and take care of that gap So that the debt service as well as the continued investment uh in the tea is huge Um so long day coming long time coming but we're we're making good progress What does that mean at Quinsey um as as we know there's the uh the red line cars have been talked about for some time uh to be replaced and uh it's a little tricky right now because of the whole tariff atmosphere It may have an effect a little bit because the cars are coming from China and then being assembled in Springfield So the parts are coming the shells are coming from China and then uh there's a manufacturer and a facility in Springfield That was a law created by Congress They had to be put together here Um we've had 40 cars delivered to date Uh there's several dozen more on the way We're getting roughly two cars uh two pairs a month So it would take probably till 2027 till the entire fleet is is completely replaced Um so the red line is as you know is is huge Um I should give another shout out to Walter Hannon because the Quinsey Adam station was added n was opened in 1983 Walter was a big advocate for that and some argue that's why he lost the election uh when he did the people of South Quinzy were not happy about it but he saw what it would do to Crown Colony Crown Colony is some may remember it was an old construction site uh sand and gravel pits and uh he could see uh that that site would uh really be developed into something that we' all be proud of and it has and I don't know that that wouldn't have been as successful had it not been for the Quinsey Adam station So I think that's important to mention So the red line is is improved We're doing now 50 miles an hour Used to be 40 miles an hour All the slow zones are gone across the entire system We've had system obviously upgrades the track upgrades Uh the the all all aspects of it um have been upgraded which allows now smooth service and we're seeing the uptick back People coming back to the tea They know it's dependable now It's efficient Uh and the wait times are much shorter Um it's moving uh it's moving very very well You may have read that um about the ferry uh Philip Bang purchased two ferry boats from New York and those have been um rebuilt a little bit and fashioned to serve the people of the Boston area One of those fairies is dedicated to Quinsey Mass Uh I know that we've had the pilot program You've all seen that uh working with Winthre over the years back and forth but this will be a dedicated ferry to Quinsey Uh there'll be more times It'll be more dependable It has more seats than the old one And from Memorial Day right through Columbus Day uh there'll be weekend trips as well which is a really a first So we're really excited about the the future of that Uh as you all know we announced a few months back the rebuilding of the pier out at Marina Bay to accommodate the fairies uh and to make that transition from the parking lot to the ferry boat uh that much easier particularly those folks that may have some physical challenges So there's a new director just in charge of the ferry So I think the the ferry has a good future Water transportation bus and harbor is a key and we're making some uh great progress Um I did want to mention the the bus service as well There's uh roughly in the morning just about 7,000 people put their foot onto an MBTA bus here in the city and a little over 7,000 disembark at the end of the day as well We've got 13 routes Um and it serves a lot of our folks that uh again try to get to work each and every day U so the bus route is important The T is looking at restruction how those routes are done Uh and uh well there'll be more to report uh on that going coming down the road Um I did want to mention the facility in Bergen Parkway You've seen it I mean it's massive That is the new bond that will be servicing roughly 90 buses that service directly Quinsey It'll be built to hold 120 buses in total They'll all be electric buses It's a massive project uh a lot of work being done to get more power to the site uh because of the need of that Uh we expect that to be opened up in early 2027 Uh that's been a long time coming That's a $300 million uh project for the tea but it's been part of the commitment on on the whole environment Uh we've all been behind a diesel bus in the summertime on a hot day and you air condition and sucking those fumes in So um this will be a nice change for the environment here in our city Uh so looking forward to that Um we saw the Wallson station just a few years ago get rebuilt for about $60 million It was the last one on the red line that did not meet ADA It now meets the ADA requirements were all happy with the Wson station and it was the first time the team made a decision and we all agreed with it and I know our state legislators were on board with it uh in that we shut the station down to get it done more quickly and substitute the buses It would have taken years to get that done uh had we not done that So Wall looks great Quincy Adams is just about finished with their upgrades Another $60 million project just finishing up on the elevators at this point a lot of crucial improvements uh to the garage Uh they do degrade over time and they're addressing that as well Um the last piece is really the Quincy Center Station Um as many of you know we had a garage on top of that station that was condemned for years Uh and the T finally uh through persuasion removed the garage and now we're in a position to um redevelop this area uh the T did an RP a few years back and a developer was designated but it came to light that they thought maybe a few improvements by the developer could fix the station Uh but that's not the case So Speaker Mariano was uh led the effort supported by his colleagues and Senator Keen on the Senate side uh to put $100 million aside for the actual rebuilding of that station It's in the design phase now We'll be back at some point to share uh the plans but I can tell you conceptually going to be a drastic change The buses and kiss and ride will all go to the Bergen Parkway side There'll be a new facility pulled in off the road for the buses and the kiss and ride It'll ease up the congestion on this side and then allow us to move forward with developing on this site on this side of uh the station being the Hancock Street entrance So that's exciting and we're looking forward to that It will be part of a nice new to transportationoriented development So um the other piece is the old bus barn on Hancock Street which uh was there um servicing the a different company way back when Uh the T took it over and uh it's in tough shape It doesn't meet any of the codes and it wouldn't be big enough for the new buses the electric buses That's why they made a decision to take the old low site uh and purchase that site to create this new facility Uh the arrangement we have with the TE is that the TE will remove the old bus barn Uh that land will be turned over to the city of Quinsey and we will work with the state on the cleanup of that site It's my intention that we do something that would augment the stadium be uh recreational related perhaps some educational relation uh of services as well And uh we'll get into that bit a little bit later but that is the the plan as I stand here now I know there was uh some folks out there thought it could be housing could be this could be that It's uh stadium is part of the 80acre Marmont Park and uh we think that um we'll be able to do something pretty special there to augment for our kids and our our students and our student athletes So I think that's uh that's going to be an exciting project down the road We're already trying to raise private funding for that Uh again more to report at a later date Um that's generally the the the the summary if you will um of what's going on with the T I do chair the uh subcommittee on workforce development on the tea and um we had uh tough time the last couple of years filling positions We were down hundreds and hundreds of bus drivers We were down 70 police officers but we're back up to uh a place where uh we can manage the day-to-day operation and have all the roots filled So we're grateful for that A lot of changes had to be made Um and of course the salaries had to be increased because of the marketplace we're in uh to attract good people So I serve on that subcommittee and on the mass dot side I serve on the capital committee and we look at projects all across the Commonwealth related to uh roads and transportation needs So uh it's a pleasure to do that Um I've never been a believer in being a bomb tosser I think we should be part of the solution and and I'm grateful that uh both governors have seen confidence in me that we can contribute We do have every mode of transportation here You know we have the the red line we have the buses we have the commuter rail and now we have the continued uh steady ferry service So I think it's important that uh we recognize that if we didn't uh to sum up if we did not have the red line we wouldn't see the development we have today Never mind the history of the development but much of the residential development that we're doing along the spine along the tracks is due to the proximity of public transportation So with that I'd be happy to answer any questions um if anybody has any Thank you Mr Mayor Uh chair recognizes councelor Debona Thank you acting president Um mayor it's very good to see you in here tonight Thank you for coming in with the update Um you're talking about different um I guess uh benchmarks or milestones throughout the um the MBTA Um just coming on here since 2016 being through some of these constructions um these revitalizations I remember back in 2019 we did the revitalization of the wall and tea station where the ADA compliant came in and it was a nice ribbon cutting that we did in September 9th of 2019 was po precoid um I thought it was a great move and um we had to obviously shut it down We had a lot of discussions in different places and then we went over obviously to North Quinzy um T-station with the Abbey and I remember you battled to get six six votes um with the air rights um for the abbey Uh it was a 63 vote up here when the city council originally then uh and I know you needed supermajority but um look at what it's become today um we've put in like targets and all these different things up in the northern side and now in the in the wall and and obviously you talk a little bit about Quinsey Center coming in and and the progress that we've done um basically and not to ever forget the gateway into Quinsey which is right here at the Hanok Adams Common and your vision you came to the council and said I have something that's going to be beautiful it's going to be a great gateway coming into Quinsey Center and um now you're talking about doing the redevelopment obviously at Quinsey Center which will be great coming into Hancock Adams common which has been a grand slam to be honest with you with all the different things that we've done outside here Um basically my question to you mayor is and maybe it's a it's a it's a it's both obviously postco um how is the the transition from the Baker administration to the Healey administration if any and how is that um tailor into what we do today i think the transition for the MBTA has been a smooth one Uh I think everybody recognized uh I mean if if if you will I think the Baker administration did some of the leg work and built the foundation The Healey uh administration has taken the baton and take it to a whole new level Uh the recognition of the need for upgrades improvements uh because people depend on that transportation every day and we saw postco wasn't only people not going to work because of co but people couldn't depend on it was breaking down constantly the slow zone So we saw an increase in the on the vehicular traffic Uh that is changing We've seen the numbers going up every day So the transition was was really fairly smooth The governor uh gets the pick on the general manager and I think this governor um did a nice job with with Philip I I appreciate you coming in tonight Um lastly um the the former Lowe's site which is going to be the electric buses when do you think that's going to be available to open and obviously um the other busy yard being conversion with with what we can do with the the green space/open space that we got When do you think that will open down and close it's they're looking at uh first quarter of 2027 to get into the new facility Uh I didn't mentioned uh that the T has purchased a building at 200 Newport EV extension the old Josiah Quinzy building Um and they bought that for operations control center and that comes with with a garage So um when I mentioned the bond coming back to Quinzy uh I articulated the argument they owed us that based on taking that building off the tax roles So um but you we're looking at the first quarter of 2027 barring any other crazy issues I appreciate you coming in tonight mayor Um thank you Thank you Mr President Thank you councelor Chair recognizes Council Leang Thank you councel Good evening mayor Um I echo my colleague sentiment and just thank you for taking the time to come in tonight to walk us through this update Um I Okay no problem No problem Um I grew up right taking the 211 over to North Quinzy and heading into town to go out with friends And now I'm one of the 7,000 residents who continue to be on the bus to take the train and to work And it's um a 10mi commute And even though it takes me an hour to drive and an hour and a half with public transit public transit's more reliable right like I know exactly when the bus and the train are going to get in I know that when the red lines down the commuter rail is coming in in a reliable like time frame as well And so you know I just am grateful because I know it's not a mistake that Quinsey um gets improvements the way that we do with your presence on this committee right and that doesn't come easily I know it comes with a lot of hard work uh with what you do to elevate the profile of the city and the relationships that you build and so I just I'm very selfish when it comes to Quinsey and I take a lot of pride knowing that we have you in a leadership position with um you know a station and obviously a system that we rely so heavily on Um you had mentioned it briefly but I had a question about the public safety aspect of uh folks commuting right i know now almost five years ago when we started having a spike um unfortunately in violent situations that the Quinsey police stepped up immediately right consistently and and that um brought me a lot of relief in in commuting But I also know that we had to do that because there was a shortage with uh transit police officers not to their fault or anything like that It was just simply just a shortage right of folks who were there So Quincy Police I know is there has stepped up and continues to step up but I'm just wondering um with the changes if there's also going to be any relief with additional transit police officers is to relieve our police officers We've actually seen the addition of 70 officers over the last year and a half What uh back to some of those incidents they were down a number They didn't want to advertise that because it's an invitation for of course for criminals But uh the reality is the tea had fallen behind all the cities and towns on their on their pay packages and benefits and so forth So a lot of them were fleeing and going to cities and towns to become police officers and uh we've changed that through the contract and we made some upgrades and um they have been filling the slots They're pretty much up to uh full at this point So I think that automatically it was uh about a third uh we were down So when you add that back into the mix it does make a visible difference for riders So we have a consistent presence here with transit police at the Quinsey Center Station and there's a very good relationship with our Quinsey Police Department uh and the TE They talk regularly this this training together Um and and on the public safety uh matter as well I I should say the fire department has a crucial role uh in all of these things and accidents they train as well with the tea uh particularly with the third rail and all the uh challenges that you have around some of the incidents that happened So uh I feel good I feel much better about it today than when you talked about what happened a few years back That's great That's great news Thank you again um for the update and frankly again thank you again for representing Quinsey Right I think um there's so much that we get above and beyond other cities and towns and I'm not shy about claiming that I'm not shy about being proud about that And um again I think it does go back to having strong proactive leadership to make sure that we are in front of everyone right and making sure that we do have an opportunity to be first in mind for resources and opportunities Um again that doesn't happen by mistake And so yeah just really proud of the work that you've done I'm really grateful for the work that you've done And yeah thank you again for being here Thank you council Thank you councelor Uh chair recognizes councelor Divine Uh Mayor Ko thank you very much for the update I appreciate it Don't really have a question I just wanted to um everything you said is pretty much um coming to fruition My daughter um has been using the tea and when she started about a year and a half ago uh it was very difficult It was slow Uh she was complaining all the time And uh just recently in this last semester it's uh almost to I don't want to say this I don't want to jinx anything but it's to perfection She I drive her every morning drop her off at Quinsey Adams and um you know it's the app that they have works It's almost to the second U so it it's working really well And I appreciate the fact that my daughter is in a better mood when I'm dropping her off at 6:00 in the morning So uh thank you for all that uh hard work for the tea and everybody else that's done everything So thank you very much Thank you I'll pass it on to the uh to the good workers of the MBGA All set council Council Campbell Thank you Mr President Mr Mayor thank you for your time tonight Uh I think it's a a really uh uh great thing to have you as a representative on that board uh you know mainly because of we do have so many avenues that or or um trains the buses and and and now the ferry it's it's really important that we do have a representation there and I appreciate all the work that does go into it uh and and um I can tell you I haven't t I hadn't taken the tea in 25 years or so and I dreaded it when I knew that I was going to be working in town a little bit and now I don't know if I would ever drive in again um from here to downtown crossing in 20 minutes and no headaches no you know once you adjust to the smell sometimes it's it's uh it's not that bad But um it and and I remember hearing um I want to say it was representative one of the representatives from Boston said that they had confidence in um filling and you know I really didn't believe it I guess you know we've been said yeah it's going to get better It's going to get better It just never seemed to get better Um but I knew that that we had passed a milestone when when at the state of the state um he got a standing ovation in the chamber during the governor's state of the state address It was it was really something to see It was really really incredible Um but as we kind of move couple of things you mentioned there I love the idea of augmenting the stadium That that is awesome Um and I think that um it's really a great extension and I think that will be very very much welcome Um I'm curious about the the I'm sure this it's in the infant stages of just the planning part but on the Hancock Street shutting down the you saying that the buses will not go through here anymore They'll be going up up on Bergen Yes So essentially the uh the buses in and out come off of Hancock today Yep They'll go to the fourlane Bergen Parkway Um and there'll be a whole new platform built just for the buses and the Gizen ride So it'll be far more efficient It'll be safer people be out of the weather but it gets the congestion out of that uh corner across from Russell Park And that's that's a bit of a problem Yeah So we we think that'll resolve that Yeah No that's great And I I hope that um we do something positive in that you know with the space out here and and um make it complement all all that's going on uh in here So but thank you for all your work Thank you councelor Councelor Rash Thank you Councelor McCarthy Mayor thank you for the update Um it's welcomed It's good I know Uh I can probably speak for all my colleagues when these topics come up uh with our constituents and with the public It's really good to have the the the high level the deadlines when things are expected to open uh the progress Um so thank you for that I know we've discussed at least in the past and you can correct me if I'm wrong but um most mayors or all mayors or um town administrators have the opportunity to serve on the board but uh very few actually act on the capacity that you do and and exercise that option And I think that we're lucky um in this city to have you on the board um and really in all of the details of these projects and advocating for the city and and our four uh red line stops My question is with respect to um the the ferryboat service in Marina Bay um and the demand there um it seems like it has great reception from the public Uh we'll hope to see we'll hope that that's true when uh Memorial Day comes around and and those routes are expanded and the times are expanded Uh my question is going to be uh Ward specific and Quinsey Point specific and I was wondering if you could um uh when the last time that the Fore River shipyard was revisited to bring that ferry service back Um I don't recall the year that it closed but um I remember certainly um there was some demand and a lot of usage out of the shipyard uh by where the Salem is now not too long ago Um so I didn't know if that was really there was any discussions about that or if that had been looked at recently and if you can tell me what that would look like Sure The the shipyard there was a ferry that operated out of the tea paid for was a private uh company that did it Um and what had occurred down there was they had some major issues with the warf the safety of the warf It was collapsing underneath the MBTA at the time Uh swimming in debt Uh made the decision not to do any improvements In fact at the time they sold it So that or um was sold to Cashman and Company That's part of Cashman's part of the yard As you know Cork is the other portion of the yard Um so the T no longer owns a platform if you will in the shipyard facility I know that the they're very happy with the ridership in the Hingham Um and the beauty of the Marina Bay is it's um the parking lot that's next to it uh is is provides 800 cars there that was built for the Dear Island treatment plant at the time All the all the workers are fed over So um there is no plan as I know it right now to bring any ferry back to the Quincy shipyard Okay understood Thank you Thank you Mayor Um just a couple of quick comments on you know all the positive MBTA items and locations Um the renovation North Quinsey Wallist as you mentioned the bond taking the bond back which is way overdue up on Hancock and and doing something with that down the road Um as Council Campbell talked about the buses up on Bergen Parkway Being a Whitney Road resident uh it gets ugly over there with the buses trying to come in and out and to take that away and have them up on top of a new platform will be will just help Hancock Street tremendously down at those lights at Dimmick and and and Adams Whitney Um to follow just in on on councelor Ash's comments about the fairies I know there's been a lot of work done at Squanum Point Park and I know we're we you know we're way overdue to have a state-of-the-art ferry service that hopefully will start to blossom So uh is this in in in I guess in in your opinion um probably the beginning of of us expanding from from two to are they are they saying you know you know we look at six boats down the line or four boats down the line or or or other locations as council mentioned the shipyard I know that they don't have a good location down there for parking but it really eliminated a lot of the Hangingham Wayoth and Quinsey on that end dropping people off and getting out on the ferry But there any talk over there to or am I too getting ahead of myself with um with the ferry service down in in Squan well I think this is the first major step by the tea uh to commit to the ferry Um there were commissions over the last several years that studied water transportation in Boston Harbor Sale's been very successful Hangingham's very successful and um everybody at the table believes that uh this will be successful but you've got to give people ample times You got to be there on a regular basis so people can depend on it and start using on a regular basis The schedule we've had with the old Winthrop ferry just wasn't enough to really get any traction Uh we believe we will get some traction to your comment about the improvements of Squantum Point Park Um the improvements are to the pier The park itself needs a lot of work but as uh as we all know it's DCR property not City of Quinsey property but we we from time to time send our sweepers out there And um we combine with the tea on the application to the federal government on the $4 million grant that we received And I certainly want to thank Congressman Lynch and Senators Marky and Warren for their support uh that will allow this this program to move forward because the the dock itself needed a lot of work So we're in a good place and I do think it I do see it growing When the T created a director just on water transportation that was a great sign to all of us who believe in the water transportation of Boston Harbor They're taking it seriously and they're planning for it going forward Thank you The other quick question was over here I know we've hit all the the T locations I know this is really the last big one to get our arms around that I know is going to get a complete facial Is there any talk of the MBTA police having a substation here a transit you know for the for the police to have a more of a presence here when it's when it's done did that ever come up they're essentially here all the time Uh I don't know what the philosophy is of the general manager as far as substations but they're visible here If you anytime you come through here any day or night you'll see a transit cruiser here and they are in around the station So u their presence is here Whether there'll be a a special substation or not that will be up to the uh the manager at the time Yeah And I know if this changes like I said a facial it'll be changed for the positive it'll clean it up Can only go up Yeah it can only go up Right We're good Thank you everybody Mr Mayor Have a great evening Okay Next item on the agenda number two 2025 049 ordinance adoption of Mass General Law Chapter 40 section 58 municipal charges leans inspectional services department and health department Claris thank you for having me Um hi Molly How are you so the order I have before you today I am looking to add another tool in the collection toolbox to be able to lean various charges and fines that are acred by um some of the problem parcels that we see throughout the city of Quinsey So this will work in the same fashion as water leans So essentially an unpaid water bill at the end of the year is little L lean to the real estate bill that gives us the ability to collect that um as a potential tax lean should they not pay So what we're looking at here is any uncollected fine So I'm talking blighted properties Um so I'm not going to name the address here but this is kind of my flagship property that I'm looking at It's an illegal boarding house They have over $13,000 in unpaid fines put on by inspectional services the fines We're talking about illegally created spaces um illegally maintained safeguards um no fire detection no stairways no emergency egress Um so these are $13,000 in fines What we found was interesting So Councelor Kane and I have been chatting about this particular parcel They're current on their real estate taxes and so I think they essentially know what they're looking at the city can put a lean on if they don't pay their real estate but there's really not a ton of recourse that we have as a municipality if they don't pay their fines So inspectional services can absolutely take them to housing court which is something that they do quite frequently but I think we're collecting every day let us do what we're good at and let inspectional services continue to do what they're good at Um so my request before you today is to give the city of Quinsey and the tax collector office the ability to lean these charges and fines that are acred by some of these blighted properties onto the real estate tax bill Very good questions Councelor Divine Uh I was on vacation I just got back I'm just reading this now and thank you very much Um I I think I am in um inspectional services at least once a week Yeah And um Ken Burke does a great job but you know he said some people they pay and uh they pay their fines but he's always chasing people and it's a waste of time and the the fines sometimes aren't that big And then we're running around spending more of our taxpayers money chasing down these people that are uh knowingly taking advantage of this So great job I'm 100% in support of this This is uh this hopefully will make some of these people that are manipulating the system uh conform So thank you for your Yeah thank you And I hope so too because I think you're spot on I think if you're and this is a really broad sweeping statement but chances are if you have a blighted property such that you're acrewing all these fines you're probably not pulling permits to improve your your property So inspectional services can certainly deny a permit if um if you have outstanding fines but you're probably not putting money into your property So they don't have a ton of recourse in in ways to collect the fines And you're right Ken does a phenomenal job and we should let Ken continue to do what he's good at and let uh let the tax office continue to to do what we're good at which is collect some of these these fees I actually now that you said that too I actually in my ward uh I know everybody has blighted properties but Ward 4 is very transitional but we also have some absentee landlords and they they live outside the city Uh I have zero patience for these people that uh don't care about the appearance of our area Even though they are paying real estate tax and they've invested uh they're not investing properly Uh I have a a constituent that uh he just bought a three family and he spent uh the last three almost four years uh renovating it working on it and uh and he's having issues with people that are doing exactly what you're saying in his neighborhood So um when somebody's an owner occupier you know I I understand I have more patience with that But when they're uh they live in another community and they're just using uh our area and they don't care how it looks They don't come by and follow up I I do not like that at all So this is uh this is going to be a great way to make sure that they they follow what they should be I hope so Yeah Thank you Thanks I'd just like to make a motion Thank you I'd just like to make a motion to approve and thank you again for um being so proactive in finding new ways to make sure that we're collecting all the fines that are out there making sure that our books are balanced I mean you've again shown time and again um I think how creative you are in this position above and beyond and I'm just really appreciative of that So thank you and I appreciate you saying that Yeah of course I'm happy to make a motion to approve So motion council second by councelor Campbell on the motion Councelor Ash McCarthy Um Treasurer Smith thank you very much for bringing this in Um I um I'm actually surprised that this wasn't already um on the books Um so that was interesting to me when I read it that I was under the impression these fines and fees that are assessed um are included on say tax bills or we are able to lean them Um I was surprised that they weren't just so folks at home um know the process We all as especially I'm sure um dare I say maybe more than the at large counselors the ward counselors we receive um a number of communications about properties whether it's overgrowth of bushes I can't see pulling out onto the main road whether there's trash in the front yard um boarded up windows there's a number of properties we've discussed a few of them actually re quite recently Um and I can name all the addresses I won't of course but I can see them in my head because this is what I think of you know at at uh going through the emails and communications So we reach out to inspectional services Inspectional services is Ken Burke He uh goes by the property Um he will see uh what's wrong what can be assessed if there are fines if anything He writes them a ticket Sometimes the tickets get paid sometimes they don't Those add up he does his best to go back every every once in a while see if the if the issue's been remedied Um and oftentimes it's not And the property owners um whether they be absentee landlords or or people that live out of out of the city out of the state um he then has to his term is court intervention I believe that means he he has to file to collect these fines Um largely not the best use of his time Um and since you are in the business and the tax office is in the business of collecting this money and these fines um I think it's great to have this on the books Um I think as I said I'm surprised it wasn't already So it's great to see it coming on Uh my only question would be is whether it is retroactive So whether you're able to lean amounts that are outstanding right now So my goal there's certainly properties that bubble up to the surface Councelor Mitten you and I have chatted about I think actually everybody on this body we've chatted about a couple pain parcels Um so yes my we absolutely if there are outstanding fines we can lean them after assuming that this is passed Um we can lean those we'll develop a process We'll work with inspectional services I keep inspectional services is the big one but health department as well they have a a list of fines um for properties that same thing unsanitary conditions um that they're putting fines on and and people are just ignoring them So we'll certainly work on a process There's a very specific water lean process There's a dollar amount There's a time of year that we do it There's there's a very clear guideline that we have for how we lean the water bills My goal is to create something very similar work with these departments and and put a threshold Maybe it's um if they've gone unpaid for a year maybe it's less than that maybe it's a dollar amount So I'll let inspectional services kind of guide what they would view as as the pain parcels but I'm with you I'm chatting with inspectional services quite frequently Chances are if if it's bubbling up to be a problem with them many times they're they're also tax delinquent But what we're finding is not always And so it's it's quite ironic to me that that people are paying their taxes on time and and they're current They're gold star citizen But when you really dig into the inspectional services which isn't another platform which also adds to the challenge that that they have all these unpaid fines There was a parcel um councelor Mitten and I were chatting about it that they had unpaid fines in Open Gov which is the inspectional services platform but had overpaid their real estate we were about to issue them a refund So so it's that's the kind of the communication that we're really lacking I think this ordinance will be huge in linking those two together Um so yes the long-winded answer is my plan is for all unpaid fines to lean them onto the real estate bill Um so it will be retroactive in the sense that if they're still outstanding they are going to get leaned if the fines are outstanding So whether they were they were assessed previously of course Correct I because I can imagine if say it's a $50 fine and everything else is in good standing it wouldn't be worth it for your office to be chasing people for $50 $100 um just because you'd be utilizing your staff and city resources Um so it's good to hear that there'll be either a threshold a monetary thresholds time period um and that you're able to use kind of the tax process and the water process already Yeah And we'll let inspectional services really guide it Maybe it's one one um ticket and we'll let that slide and maybe it's multiple So we'll we'll work with them on on guiding the the rubric on how we would do it Um but we really need this before we we could do that Awesome Thank you Lash Council Debana Thank you Mr President Um Molly it's really good to see you in here tonight Um I it's happy to hear that you're working together with inspectional services and health department Collaboration amongst departments is huge in the city Um for many years Jay Dooka came in front of us um about the bright properties and we were constantly going through it Councelor McCarthy's ward we had a ton of them and we we shaped them up Um and now Ron Hland has has the helm Um me and Dave used to talk about it all the time offline Trust me Um getting back to um the collaborations amongst the departments Do you have like a a spreadsheet that you overview on a yearly basis and are if if you are doing that are you seeing it increase or decrease over time are you seeing these these bills being paid or do you see it going the other way where it's not and that's why you're in front of us today so I think in my world for tax title um we've seen that decrease significantly I think property owners are getting used to the fact that the city will take action if you aren't paying your taxes um or the city is looking to work with you So I always tell people I'm not I'm not coming into your home Um so so please give us a call if you're struggling with paying your taxes So if you're watching at home if you're struggling with paying your taxes please give us a call It's me that's answering It is not the scary um tax collecting like big bad wolf It's it's me And so I think having notes on a property we log notes into Munis um our accounting software and we'll we'll make a note So and so is struggling with paying their taxes recommended that they reach out to QCAP or other um community partners recommended that they speak with assessors to see if they're eligible for any of our programs So we certainly um so that's my my tagline for yes we we would love to chat with people who are behind on their taxes That being said for the egregiously behind taxpaying properties we've seen a big decrease in that I think people are getting comfortable with the idea that the city is going to to look at you and say "Where where's your tax payment i need to pay teachers and firefighters." So I'm the tax collector but I'm also the treasurer So we really need to I need to make payroll every week Um and I can't pay a firefighter if if people aren't paying their taxes Um so it's certainly something that we've been seeing a decrease in um in the tax delinquency which has been really great Um as in terms of the fines from inspectional services I can't quite speak to that I don't know enough about the historic trends Um but my hope is maybe with something like this I think the real egregious properties that the blighted properties the properties that are continuously a problem for the condition of the of the land that they'll they'll start to also realize that we are going to collect these fines and we're we're going to to enforce it Last question The the non-owner occupied properties for instance you know they're landlords and they don't know no don't live in the city of Quinsey Are you running into them not paying their their these in paying these fines are you maybe they live in New Hampshire or some other city or town across the Commonwealth are you running into those folks that's I would say maybe a majority maybe 60% of the of the problems that we see are non-owner occupied or nonoccupied at all It's a vacant property There's no water Um so that I always find interesting There's no running water Nobody lives there Nobody's paying the taxes Um and and it continues to acrue fines because no one's mowing the lawn Um no one's taking out the trash No one's no one protecting the property So we see a lot of non-owner occupied um in this realm Thank you for for coming in tonight Molly I appreciate this and I'm very happy to support this Thank you Thank you councelor Any other questions okay we got a motion by Council Yang second by Council Campbell Madam Cler can you call the role councelor Ash yes Councelor Campbell yes Council Divine yes Councelor Dana yes Council Harris Council Leang yes Council McCarthy yes Councelor Mitten yes President Kane seven members Good All set Thanks Molly The next item on the agenda is approval of previous meeting minutes Motion to approve Motion to approve by council Mana Second by councelor Ash All those in favor the eyes have it Communications reports from the mayor and other city office and city boards City clerk Yes I do have um a utility request to refer to public works committee for scheduling and advertising Grant the location National Grid Gas Penn Street at Bergen Parkway and BTA bus maintenance and also two traffic requests to refer to ordinance committee for advertising ward 5 Council Minton add handicap parking at 53 Spear Street Ward 6 Council Harris add handicap parking at 232 Billings Road Thank you Thank you Uh next item unfinished business and proceeding meetings We have none Reports of committees We have none Presentation of petitions memorials and remmonstruses Council Debana Thank you Mr President Um um want to bring my condolences and sadness to uh Ruth Ruth Norton that just passed away 82 years old Um Ruth began her professional journey right here after high school in the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston Most notably she served as a paraprofessional at Snug Harbor Community School in Quinsey for over 20 years until her retirement However most cherish role was that of the devoted mother of three children Um you know volunteerism dedicated her time to various organizations including Snug Harbor School and St Bonafice Church and the Germantown neighborhood setting until her health began to decline She was also an active member of the Marset American Legion Auxiliary Post 294 where she held the position of chaplain She was the beloved wife of the late uh Larry Lawrence Norton with whom she shar shared 52 wonderful years of marriage before his passing on October 20th of 2020 Ruth is survived by her loving children Pamela Norton and her partner Glenn Hermanson Michael Norton um which is at the DPW department and his wife Julie all of Quinsey and Kevin Norton and his wife Tara of Brainree She was a cherished nana to her grandchild Mikey Corbett Jay and Larry She's also survived by her sister Jaclyn Stewart of Colorado as well as the late Reverend Raymond Steen OMI and Russell Larry and his wife Anne of Quinsey Additionally she preceded by her brothers Joseph Steen and his wife and his wife Nancy and Patricia Steen She leaves behind a lot of nieces and nephews who are fondly be missed um the services um for the Norton family uh for Ruth It will be Tuesday April 22nd from 4 to 7:00 p.m over at the Cohane uh funeral home and then a celebration of life will take place at the funeral home on 9:15 uh a.m on Wednesday April 3rd followed by a funeral mass at the Holy Trinity Parish of Our Lady Good Council Church in Quinsey at 10:00 a.m Please keep your um thoughts and prayers to the Norton family Um very good family in the city of Quinsey Thank you Thank you I have a uh one that I've just remembered that I can't u I can't forget is a Maryanne Mahoney um W six resident very active in the Democratic party very active in W six um she was involved um in all things down in the um Squanum section and uh she'll be missed uh just keep the family in your prayers and thoughts Maryanne Mahoney Um next item motion orders and resolutions Seeing none scheduling of committee meetings and public hearings The May and June lineup Monday May 5th 6:30 city council meeting Monday May 19th 6:30 city council June 2nd 6:30 city council And June 16th city council meeting Now also as the finance chair we're getting to that time of the year so I I don't have any dates yet Um I'll throw out a few scenarios uh this year I know we're going to be basically level funded Uh but um that's going to fall right into this mix somewhere So I'll I'll try to get the dates out way ahead of time and so everybody can can um can be here and also try to look at a schedule where if we are level funded to try to do it possibly a little earlier and in one day uh if I can uh stagger the departments correctly uh on the smaller departments larger departments etc which I usually do to try to make it flow a little easier Uh with that motion to adjurnn Motion by councelor Yang second by councelor Bonner Thank you [Music]