Watertown City Council (Tuesday April 28, 2026)

I'd like to call this meeting to order. This is a meeting of the City Council on April 28th. This meeting is being broadcast and recorded by Watertown Cable Access. It is a hybrid meeting. The Zoom information is available on the website as well as an email and a phone number for those that would like to participate remotely. Can I please get the clerk to call the roll?

Bass, present, Councilor Feltner, present, Councilor Gannon, present, Councilor Gardner, present, Izzo, present, Councilor Offei, present, Councilor Palomba, present, Councilor Piccirilli, present, President Sideris.

present, thank you, can I get a motion to go into executive session to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with non-union personnel. And in this case, it's the city manager. So moved. Is there a second? Second. Roll call, please.

Yes. Councilor Piccirilli. Yes. Councilor Bayes.

Yes.

Councilor Feltner. Yes. Councilor Gannon. Yes. Councilor Gardner. Yes. Councilor Izzo. Yes. Councilor Offei. Yes. Councilor Palomba. Yes.

Yes, thank you. We'll be returning to open session at approximately 7 p.m. Okay, I'd like to call the meeting back to order. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. The next item on the agenda is public forum. If there's any member of the public here or at home wishes to speak, please raise your hand. Seeing none, I close the public forum and move on to the next item, which is the examination of minutes.

Can I get a motion on the minutes of April 14?

Mr. President, I make a motion we adopt the minutes of April 14th as written. Is there a second?

Second.

Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Next item is President's report. I have two things. The first, before I get to the item that's on the agenda on the current practices of protecting all our members, I just want to say that Vice President Piccirilli and I attended an open house of a company called Tudor on Pleasant Street the other night and it's a robotics company and it was very interesting and I want to shout out this company because they had a headquarters on Coolidge Hill Ave and they looked for a bigger place in Cambridge and the Seaport and other areas and Waltham and chose to expand, keep their office on Coolidge Hill and open another, they're manufacturing R&D on Pleasant Street.

and there are so many employees, there are so many young people, such a vibrant talent group of people coming to this community. I thought it was important that they take the opportunity. I did welcome them there, but I'm welcoming them again here. I want to thank them for their commitment to Watertown. I think it's critical and looking forward to hoping that the next chapter in Watertown is this type of business that wants to come here and stay here. because I think they bring a lot of things. And the next item I have then is the city's current practices on protecting all members of our community. I'm going to be brief, as brief as I can. At our last meeting, as I stated, I felt it was important, and by the way, these are my words, as the president of the city council. This is not the city council speaking.

I don't want anybody to think that I, under my president's report, I felt it was important that I speak, and we can go from there. I felt it was important that I also speak with the city manager and the police chief about what we are doing to keep our community safe and again share those discussions with the community tonight. I've heard from members of the community in these meetings, over email, face to face, and around town that have expressed concerns about federal immigration enforcement activities here and they're expecting action from our city to ensure our neighbors feel safe and are safe being in Watertown. And they're not just our neighbors, they're our residents and our citizens. I echo those concerns myself. Guiding principles in the city's charter include safety and tranquility and equity and diversity.

That's not lost on me and I don't believe it's lost on this city council. the importance of upholding and using these principles to guide our decisions and actions are important. It is the actions of the council that are most important to me to protect our community members. We've been asked to make a resolution on the matter. We've been asked to get an executive order. I want to be honest in sharing that I worry about making a resolution, not because I don't think the council firmly stands behind protecting the safety of our residents, but because of my fear in what unintended consequences may be felt in heightening the attention on our community by doing that. Furthermore, I'm confident in the tangible actions of our city to protect our neighbors against unlawful actions that put them in harm's way. Our police department does not enforce federal immigration law. They do not detain people at the request of ICE.

They do not share information with government registries based on immigration status. And they do not participate in civil immigration raids. our schools do not ask for families immigration status. They do not coordinate with ICE. They do not share student records with ICE without consent from a parent or court order from a federal judge. While I do acknowledge there are things we as a city council and city cannot stop, as ICE has authority to enforce federal immigration laws within our city and others, I do want to share a message to ICE. Unless you have a judicial warrant, you may not enter our schools, you may not enter our classrooms, and you may not enter our private offices within city buildings. You may also not use city property for enforcement operations, staging, or processing individuals. If you do so, you will be directed to leave.

I want our community to have trust in this elected body, and I want them to entrust in our schools, our police department, and our staff members and our library. I want our residents to feel comfortable and proud that Watertown is their home where they can raise a family, work in our businesses and enjoy the services we provide. That is why I encourage my colleagues on the council, our city administration, and neighbors to put action first to ensure that those around us feel welcome and safe. We are not done talking about this with you. the community, and I hope that our residents still feel empowered to share their expectations with us at this table. and I hope that our actions to this point encourage you that we are working as hard as we can to deliver on the promises our community expects from us. And I also want to point out that this is

a brochure that is a message from Police Chief Hanrahan in six languages, and it was done in conjunction with the Human Rights Commission on, and it talks about some of these things in the six different languages. It was available in the police station but I asked the manager to make sure this is available in the library, in the city clerk's office, and anywhere that someone would want to get it. So that's my statement for tonight. and we'll move on. Thank you, Mr. President. I have a presentation of petitions, proclamations and I have an ALS Awareness Month proclamation. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month, whereas Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive, fatal,

neurodegenerative disease in which a person's brain loses connection with their muscles, slowly reducing a person's ability to walk, talk, eat, and eventually breathe. and whereas thousands of new amyotropic lateral sclerosis ALS cases are reported every year and estimates show that every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with ALS and someone passes away from ALS. and whereas on average patients diagnosed with ALS survive only two to five years from the time of diagnosis and whereas the exact causes of ALS are unknown and there is no known cure for ALS, and whereas people who have served in the military are more likely to develop ALS and die from the disease than those with no history of military service. and whereas securing access to new therapies, durable medical equipment and communication technologies is of vital importance to people living with ALS,

and whereas clinical trials play a pivotal role in evaluating new treatments, enhancing quality of life and fostering assistive technologies for those living with ALS, and whereas the ALS Association is the largest philanthropic funder of ALS research globally and has committed more than $154 million to support more than 550 projects across the United States and 18 other countries. And whereas the ALS Association is committed to making ALS livable and cure it for everyone everywhere, and whereas Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month provides an opportunity to increase public awareness of the dire circumstances of people living with ALS. acknowledge the terrible impact this disease has on those individuals and their families and support research to eradicate this disease.

now therefore be it proclaimed that the City Council of the City of Watertown hereby proclaims the month of May, 2026 is ALS Awareness Month and calls upon all Americans to join in supporting ALS research, advocating for increased funding and standing in solidarity with those affected by this relentless disease. and witness whereof, I have here to set my hand and cause the great seal of the city of Watertown on its 28th day of April, 2026. Can I get a motion on the proclamation?

motion to accept the proclamation.

Is there a second? Second. Any discussion?

All those in favor?

Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Next is an informational presentation on the Sullivan Playground renovations. I'll let the manager introduce the team.

Thank you. So as you know, we've been working through a series of park and playground projects in Watertown. the next one up on the list on the capital plan which has completed its design and is moving into the phase where I guess we're doing the sort of last moment comments on design and moving from there into construction is Sullivan Playground, and Michelle Moon and the team from Community Development and Planning are here this evening to share some perspectives on Sullivan Playground, answer questions, get council feedback as we move into the next step on this project that's been through a couple of community meetings as well, and we look forward to getting done. So I don't know who on the team Michelle, you've got this, and the rest of our team is here to support you, but thank you very much.

Thank you. I'm Michelle. I'm the open space planner. And there should be a slide showing the concept design. So we had a series of community meetings starting in 2023 to 2024. There were three in total where community input was collected through in-person meetings and online surveys. and in October of 2024, we had a combined open house for Howe, Bemis and Sullivan and we were able to collect a lot of community input on that and our landscape architects, here we have Kayla, here with us today who can answer any technical questions about the project. But the final design for, it's just the playground, not the rest of the park, includes play areas for two to five year olds and five to 12 along with swings, seating, Benches, and Tables. And these were common themes that were heard throughout the design process where folks were given options on what type of features they would like to see there.

And we're working through the final sets of the construction drawings. And in your packet, you got the concept design there. from 2024. So we're wrapping up the finishing details and hoping to put it out to bid in the next couple of, or next few weeks.

We're going to try to get it up on the screen, if possible, so we can maybe... Technology. While we're trying to get it, does anybody want to have questions or comments before we? Gardner.

Thank you, Mr. President. Hi, Michelle. I could not make out the visual in the packet, so I'm going to ask a very naive question. Ah, there we go. Could that be expanded ever so slightly, I wonder? That's great. One of the questions I think we may have discussed before, forgive me if I've forgotten, could you just comment on how many, if any, trees are being added and or removed in the development of this park?

Yeah, there are three that are planned to be removed. But I have Kayla here. And if it's OK, she can answer technical questions about.

Great. Hi to the council. Yes, there are three trees being removed as part of the plans. They are all, so we did get an arborist report and study on the entire site here. So all of these trees were reviewed by an arborist for their condition and given recommendations on how to improve their health. There were three trees, sorry for the microphone. there were three trees that were not in great health and were recommended to be removed and they are I guess they're not shown on this plan but Yes, that's it. There are no new trees planned to be planted. This site is quite quite crowded with trees at the moment.

And we did respond to, the design really responds to the community and city's request to keep as many of the trees as possible because this is a really lovely shaded park that a lot of people use in the summertime. and so there's not really, because of all the roots that are in the existing surrounding areas, it would be difficult to plant new trees without removing additional trees, essentially.

That makes sense and what I hear from people with little takes and when I've taken nieces and nephews over it's, or children of nieces and nephews I should say, it's definitely the shade that draws people, I mean that in celebrity of course, but it's definitely the shade that draws people there. I'm guessing you're not putting up any shade structures because we have that wonderful legacy of trees that were planted some years ago. are you comfortable where the littlest ones will be playing that it's adequately shaded for them?

So the the Structure that's shown in the bottom right corner of this plan is the structure that's for younger children.

With the yellow?

Yes, with the yellow, the two yellow slides there. And so the I believe that the So usually, if you don't mind scrolling down just a little bit so I can see the North Arrow. Okay, so we have North Arrow pointing here. We'll have... you will get quite a bit of morning shade in that area and likely afternoon shade. The trees that are on the left side are quite a bit taller than some of the other ones that are near the front of the site, for example. and so there should be shade. It will shift throughout the day but there should be shade throughout a lot of the day. Great. Over both structures.

That's wonderful. I assume it will have all the standard sun lotion, water, DeFrib, all the standard equipment that our parks have will be at this equipment. Yeah, perfect. I just want to comment, I'm really happy to see the listening benches. That was an idea that emerged at a very early community meeting. and so I'm really pleased to see that. I think that's gonna be wonderful. I would comment that when I've seen that done elsewhere and I've read about it, I haven't seen it myself, when I've read about it being done elsewhere, they're differently painted and marked. so that a person who understands that our community uses listening benches knows that that's one. And when they're sitting there, they're open to a conversation. I don't know if we've thought about that or if that's something the Arts and Culture Council might be able to think about with us, but I'll offer that idea to you to take under consideration.

Thank you. I don't think that we have specifically included listening benches at this time, but I think that would be an easy change to incorporate into the plans.

Gannon. Having played on the field many years ago, could you tell us where the basketball courts are in relation to the new improvements in the playing field?

So the playing field would be on the top part of this plan. It's immediately on the other side of the fence that's along the top there. And then the basketball courts are on the left.

And where are the courts?

on the left side of the plan.

Okay, is that a change or is that, I guess I'm having orientation issues because I thought the courts were on the Mount Auburn Street

They are on Mount Auburn Street, so if we scroll down a little bit, the bottom of the plan is where Mount Auburn Street is.

I just want to make sure those, the park was being enhanced and nothing was being replaced in that manner.

Yes, yeah, there are no planned improvements for the basketball courts.

Perfect, it's going to look good, thank you.

Any other questions? Councilor Feltner.

So do you have any current photos of current conditions or comparison of what is now and how new or different this is or are we just replacing What's there? I mean, I've been there. I've looked online. There's only two photos on our website of existing conditions. Special things you want to point out? It's really hard to tell on this basic concept what we're really getting compared to what's there now.

I'll turn that over to Michelle.

We do have current photos. We didn't include them in the packet, but if it's useful, we can work to send those along. The pavement is really bumpy because of the tree roots. playground equipment is pretty worn and faded. So this is a pretty big improvement with the new features and the new smooth port in place. So it'll be a lot easier to get around as well.

and just to clarify, all the trees outside the fence along Mount Auburn are staying because that's not in the playground, correct?

as part of the Sullivan Playground renovation. It's just with inside the park itself and the stuff on the street is not part of this project. So I can't speak to the trees outside of on Mount Auburn.

Okay, and can you speak to the signage that's going to be here, whether it's about smoking or dogs or hours or conduct?

Yeah.

it will be the standard set of signs that are placed at Watertown parks. And there is a sign that says Sullivan playground that was removed during the Mount Auburn construction that will be replaced. put back there when it's clear.

So there's a sign acknowledging that the playground is named after Sullivan. Yeah. Love to get more detail when we have these capital improvement projects come before us for a vote or consideration on the parks.

Thank you One follow-up question.

Just one second. If someone else has a question Okay, now you can go.

To follow up Councilor Feltner's point, will it be a rededication of the sign for Mr. Paul Sullivan when the park does open? Is that part of the planning?

Oh, I don't know. We haven't got to them. I think it would be a good idea. Let's put it that way. I'm thinking about a ribbon cutting, but, you know, we'll keep it on the wall.

I think it would be a good idea is what my suggestion.

So, Mr. President, for you, if you don't mind, we do do ribbon cuttings when we finish the parks. We are bringing back a sign that has been in storage for a while. if we want to describe this and discuss this as a ribbon cutting and rededication and reinvigorate and remind people why this park is named Sullivan Park. I'm happy to work with the communications and the parks team on how to do that. So that's fine.

I will say that I've been in communication with Mr. Sullivan. I sent them these plans as soon as I got them and we'll make sure that the Sullivan family is represented at the ribbon cutting.

More just, not just the ribbon cutting, but the formal rededication of the sign and honoring Paul Sullivan, who passed in Vietnam service. So it'd be a nice touch beyond the ribbon cutting of a new park. So thank you.

Feltner.

Thank you. I'm just curious. Are there minutes or any cheat sheets, notes from the community meetings that you held for the feedback on the public? They weren't obvious to me online, and I don't see them on the agenda.

yeah there were notes on the there should be notes on the project page about Sullivan playground and if they're not I can post them there but all the other parks have been tried to put like every community presentation or materials that were shared at an open house along with the notes or the survey results too as like a running log. So I can double check on that and add them if they're not. Thank you.

Any other questions, comments? Thank you very much. Looking forward to the groundbreaking. Okay, the next item on the agenda is a public hearing and vote on a proposed ordinance repealing sections of the Code of Ordinances. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. As I noted at the first reading, this particular item is intended to repeal and in one small section amend sections of the Code of Ordinances to remove the duplications from the things that we placed in the in the administrative code. So as you see, the sections that talk about creating separate departments or creating boards and commissions, as well as the corrections on the public works titles in sections 50 and 51. This also removes sections 30, 15 to 30, 32, the personnel regulations that I had laid out were either covered in the admin code or were

at the request of a Councilor, I have placed later in the agenda a first reading on a simple ordinance that looks to ensure that we continue some of the concepts and traditions that were called for in the original personnel regulations, which could be scheduled for a public hearing as soon as our next meeting. But for now, with the goal of ensuring that we don't have duplicative, and in some cases, contradictory provisions in the admin code and the code of ordinances I would ask for the Council's support to implement this ordinance, vote for this ordinance, which is here for a public hearing tonight to remove the sections that are indicated. And as always, I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. This is a public hearing. If there's any member of the public either here or at home wishes to be heard on this, please raise your hand. Seeing none, I close the public hearing and ask for a motion from the Council.

Mr. President, I make a motion that we approve the proposed ordinance repealing sections of the Code of Ordinances.

Is there a second? Second. Discussion? Gannon.

I would suggest it looks to be a typo on the first page. Toward the bottom, be section 31 in its entirety. We've got section 31 and subparagraph looks like we have a typo. It says LEGAS services department. I presume that's legal services.

One moment. Yeah, so it's incorrect in my memo. If you go to where it's attached in the... and the notes beyond underneath the whereas clauses. I corrected that typo there when I put the ordinance version draft together, but when we cut and pasted the memo draft, we missed that one. The memo also says under 51 in the very, very last section it says supervisor of wiring and street lighting and I actually corrected it in the ordinance as supervisor of street lighting and wiring. and wanted to make sure to get that right. But that is actually the ones in the whereas clauses are actually the correct version of what we are trying to accomplish. Thank you.

Any other questions? Can I get a roll call, please?

Bates, Feltner, Gannon, Gardner, Sideris, Watertown.

The next item is a public hearing and vote on a proposed ordinance, Skip the Stuff waste reduction ordinance. This is a Skip the Stuff ordinance that we reported out a couple of times. We sent it back to committee. It was reported out again at our last council meeting, and I'm just gonna ask Councilor Gardner, the chair, to just briefly touch on the ordinance itself.

Thank you, Mr. President. The Watertown Skip the Stuff ordinance is designed to reduce unnecessary plastic waste in our community. Under this simple common sense policy, restaurants and food businesses will no longer automatically include items like plastic utensils, straws, and condiment packets with takeout or delivery orders. Customers can still request them if they want to. Businesses can also ask customers what they would like included in their order. The ordinance also requires online ordering platforms to let customers choose which items they want included. Finally, the ordinance ensures that dine-in restaurants use reusable plates, cups, and utensils. There will be a six-month period before enforcement and that will follow a city's training and educational materials out to customers and to food businesses to help prepare them for the change. And that's it in a nutshell.

Thank you. This is a public hearing. If there's any member of the public wishes to be heard, please raise your hand and identify yourself for the record. and so on.

My name is Jocelyn Tager. I'm a resident of Watertown and I'm a member of Watertown Faces Climate Change and I'm here tonight to read a letter from Watertown Faces Climate Change in support of Skip the Stuff. Dear members of the Watertown City Council, it is a pleasure for Watertown Faces Climate Change to express in writing our strong support for the Skip the Stuff Ordinance. As a grassroots organization that works to mitigate the climate crisis, we welcome the city's efforts to reduce waste. acting to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in Watertown, along with the free curbside compost program and the recycling center and swap shop,

is what we would call low-hanging fruit or perhaps a no-brainer at a time when the city is finding it difficult to meet many of the goals of the climate and energy plan. If we want Watertown to be as resilient as possible, we must do what is doable and prohibit the use and distribution of single-use food and beverage foodware accessories as defined in Section 118.3. The exceptions and exemptions enumerated in the new ordinance have clearly been developed with stakeholders. the penalties are reasonable. Thank you for taking the small but important step. Sincerely, members of Watertown Faces Climate Change. Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anyone else who wishes to be heard? Seeing none, I close the public hearing and ask for a motion from the council.

Mr. President, I make a motion that we adopt the proposed ordinance on Skip the Stuff. Is there a second? Second. Discussion?

Palomba.

Thank you. I'd always like to... I did check with some other folks from Watertown Faces Climate Change, too. like to be able to ask sort of how would implementation, I think back of what would I do if I went into a place. So I'm looking at 118.3 which is the guts of it. So I just want to make sure I understand. if I was to go into let's say Dunkin Donuts and ordered a four or five cups of coffee and Unless I ask for a tray, which I believe is considered part, under G is part of the definition, a cup tray. they're not allowed to give it to me. Is that correct? Would that be correct?

Yeah, if you won a tray, you would say, can I get four or five cups of coffee and can I have a tray to carry them out, please?

Yeah, but they can't automatically just do it.

Correct. They're not supposed to automatically do it. You opt in for the things you want.

so they can't just pop it into the tray and hand it to me.

They don't make assumptions on what you want in the same way that if you were to go to a We don't have a McDonald's in town that I'm aware of, but if you were to go to a burger shop, they wouldn't automatically throw five packages of ketchup.

I think you answered the question. I don't mean to be... I know going to the Dunkin Donuts many, many times that they do automatically put it in a tray. So I'm just making sure that I could tell them, hey, you're not supposed to do that any longer because that is illegal. Well, it's a pro... not allowed by our new ordinance. And the second thing was B, I just want to make sure I understand that if I asked, it says single food, single use food, food where accessories cannot be wrapped. So if I was to ask at the same Dunkin Donuts that I would want a fork or a knife and a spoon. They could give it to me, but they can't put it together in one bundle, and they can't hand it to me in plastic. Is that correct?

Correct, the commonly received cellophane packet that has napkin, knife, fork, spoon, when you only want a spoon, those are no longer allowed.

Okay, and so if I do say to my friend at DD, hey, give me... a fork for that item I just gave me. They can only give me the fork and it cannot be wrapped in plastic, correct? Yes. Okay, thank you for the clarification.

Any other questions or comments? Roll call, please.

Councilor, Offei. Yes. Palomba? Yes. Councilor Piccirilli? Yes. Councilor Bayes? Yes. Councilor Feltner? Yes. Councilor Gannon? Yes. Councilor Gardner?

Yes.

Councilor Izzo? Yes. President Sideris? Yes.

Thank you. motions, orders, and resolutions and 11a is an acceptance of mass general law chapter 138 subsection 12d an authorization for wine and malt liquor license holders to convert to all alcohol licenses. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. This is a creation of Section 51 of Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2025 and the Fiscal Year 26 State Budget Bill, which inserted Section 138, a new section into 138, which is 138.12d. What 12D allows is for a local licensing authority to prove the conversion of an on-premise license to sell wine and malt beverages only into an on-premise license to sell all alcoholic beverages. So what that essentially means is that if you currently hold a license to sell wine and beer essentially that you can add additional alcoholic beverages to that license. Now the challenge is for particularly small independent restaurants that hold the wine and malt license if they want to shift They're usually either searching for one of our non-transferable licenses, which we may or may not have available, or buying a license and then selling their current license, which has a lot of cost and challenge associated with it.

At this point, we have eight restaurants in Watertown that have a wine and malt license. We have eight in the quota. I believe, if I'm understanding this correctly, they are all assigned to existing restaurants. This provision in state law allows a local city council to adopt the provision and if they do it would permit each of these eight restaurants if they choose to do so to approach the licensing commission, the local licensing board, and ask for permission to make this change. If they make the change, the licensing board approves. It also needs approval of the state's alcoholic beverages control commission. if both of them approve they can then sell the additional alcoholic beverages but the upgrade is non-transferable which means that should this restaurant close they cannot sell a

Full alcohol license, they can only sell the wine and malt beverage license that they have and then a new entity that gets it is welcome to come back to the local licensing board and ask once again for that upgrade. This provides some flexibility for our small businesses. I understand I've spoken to at least one other community that has done this. They've said, you know, not every business will jump to do it. are content with the wine and malt beverage license that they have, but it allows for the capacity to do that upgrade without the step of either us trying to seek additional additional all forms licenses, flexible licenses from the state or them having to buy an all forms license at a very expensive cost from an existing provider. I think it's a relatively good idea to give our licensing board the capacity to be able to make these decisions without the

without the limitations that the state quotas put on us and essentially to be able to do that without the limitations of the state quotas, all we need is for the city council to authorize the local licensing board to be able to have access to 138 section 12D which is why I'm recommending approval of this particular provision of state law. Happy to answer any additional questions, Mr. President. I know also our friends at KP Law have provided advice to communities on this and I'm sure the city attorney can also answer questions on this one as well. Thank you.

Thank you. First, can I get a motion on the acceptance of Master General Lodge, Chapter 138, Sections 12D? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Discussion? Councilor Offei?

I also have a question on the transferability. I think I may have missed it a little bit. Why wouldn't it be transferable?

If I may, Mr. President, step back and sort of talk about the philosophical strategies behind licenses in the Commonwealth, has always been a little odd to those of us who work in local government, which is that scarcity has essentially created value for the entities that own them. by the fact that if you have an all forms license and you go out of business you can sell that all forms license if you own it and another restaurant has to buy it. In a lot of communities what that means is small mom and pop businesses who've had these licenses a long time sell them often to chain stores and places that can afford very expensive licenses. I think the philosophical goal here is not to have someone who owns a wine and malt beverage license to automatically have saleable value added to that particular asset that they own.

So when we grant you the ability to do the upgrade, if you make it transferable, we've not only granted you the ability to do the upgrade, but we've also granted a to for free essentially granted a valuable saleable asset in an all forms license that you didn't have before. it essentially allows the public sector to keep that valuable piece of the upgrade give it to them essentially for them to have for the period of time they have that restaurant and then it kind of falls back to our licensing board to decide what to do with in the future. And so that's essentially I believe the strategy.

So, I mean, why are we not addressing the sellability issue specifically and allowing transferability? Because I think that kind of added convenience.

I'm going to ask Attorney Rich to help with the answer to this question. Attorney Rich?

Thank you, Mr. President, through you. This statute that we're discussing right now, Chapter 138, Section 12D, is what we refer to as a local acceptance statute. So the statute is in place. It specifies what's allowable under the statute and what the city council would consider is whether to accept the statute as provided by the legislature. The legislature specifically crafted the statute to provide that these are non-transferable. So that's not an option for the city under the existing statute. You accept the statute as it is and the statute as outlined by the city manager specifically says that this is non-transferable. So the city manager went over a strategy, but that's not a strategy being implemented by the city. That was the consideration at the state level, and you can only accept what is allowable at the state level. The state has determined that these will be non-transferrable. Gannon. Thank you.

Councilor Palomba.

No, thank you.

Okay. Councilor Gannon. Yes, thank you Mr. President. So Mr. Mandrick, could you tell me the fee of a beer and wine license and what would the fee be for the bumped up beer and wine license to an all alcohol license?

I would need a moment to look that information up.

Why are you looking that up?

And I have a secondary follow up question to that. Yep. So the existing all forms alcohol license fee with the beer and wine converted to an all forms be the same fee as the transferable all forms alcohol?

So I can answer this part. We have not set a fee for this, and the licensing board, essentially through the acts the council has adopted, sets the fees for their particular items. My expectation is that if the council chooses to adopt this provision, the licensing board will at that point determine the fee for for this particular upgrade. I don't off the top of my head, I'm sorry, know what the fee is for licensing at this point.

If I may, Mr. President. Yes, just to back up what the city manager stated, the statute specifically states the local licensing authority of a city or town that accepts a section may charge a reasonable fee that shall not be excessive for a license for wine and malt beverage to be traded in for an alcoholic beverages license under this section. So it provides for a specific fee under the statute for that transfer.

So I guess my question is parity. So if someone purchased an all forms alcohol license and someone can bump up a beer and wine license, would the bump up to an all forms be the same fee as the all forms existing?

We would make sure that there's parity in that. Yeah, I was just...

Again, Mr. President, I believe that's the intent of the section that I just read, to create that parity, not excessive of. So I think that that's anticipated in this statute.

So the fee for a wine and malt is $1,800 if you're running a seven day a week operation. It's $2,700 if you're running an all alcohol operation. I believe there is a higher fee if you have acquired one of our one of our complete non-transferable full all-alcohol licenses, but I don't see that number here. I recall it was more than that that we charged. But if the difference from going up from a wine and malt to a seven-day is all alcohol is $900. I couldn't imagine we would turn around and charge something that is out of line with that sort of range. of difference between what we charge at this point.

If I may, to the attorney, could we as a city council, I guess it would be a separate agenda item, require that it meet the same fee?

So through you, Mr. President, the statute specifically talks with the licensing authority of the city or town that accepts this section may charge a reasonable, but that would not stop the in my opinion the City Council from dictating to the licensing

Well, I think that would only be fair because if you get a free upgrade and you're paying only 1,800 versus 27, I'm not sure that I would with all due respect to the licensing board, I'm not sure that, can't guarantee that that would happen if it's on the city council agenda and it requires it,

then that's what it would be. The statute says charge, it doesn't say set.

Well, may I? Sorry, Mr. President. Being that the council adopted Chapter 40, Section 22F, that allows boards to set their fees, I'm sure they would take whatever advice and direction that the council provided in this particular item. I don't know what the legal ramifications are of 22F versus this particular question though.

I think what 22F allows the local body, the local body, the particular body to establish its own fees, but that does not, prohibit additional consideration on those fees. So I think that's something that we would have to review as that goes forward. And again, it would have to be reasonably established and the point of 22F was to give those boards that are not overseen by an elected body to set their own fees so that they had that flexibility, but we can discuss what

I will be discussing with you and putting it on the next agenda if necessary because I want to make sure We allowed the licenses that we own that were not transferable, but we set a fee to make sure that it was fair to the people that in some cases paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for a license. to make it fair to them. So I think if we're going to allow an upgrade, then we should also make sure that we're treating them the same way that we would treat the people that have an all-alcohol license.

And that's the anticipation of the statute?

But I want to be specifically clear. So you and I will have a discussion and place it on the next agenda.

Absolutely. Thank you, Mr. President.

Are there any other comments? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Next item is a resolution authorizing a transfer of funds in the amount of $29,200 from the fiscal year 2026 City Council Reserve to the fiscal year 2026 elected official salaries account. I don't know if Mr. Manager, myself, or Madam Auditor are going to take this one.

The auditor wrote the memo, so I'm happy to have her go first, and if you have questions beyond that, you may feel free to do so. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. As you are all aware, a Blue Ribbon Committee was established previously to review the salaries of the Honorable City Council that went into effect this past January when the new council was elected. The timing of this, happened, we set the budget for 26 and then this was put into place after the fact. So at the time there was discussion that we would just do a transfer later on in the fiscal year moved the money out of Council Reserve to be able to cover the salaries for the remainder of the year. And we're just at that point in time now that Salary line is getting a little low, so respectfully asking for you guys to approve this transfer so we can continue to pay you your salaries.

And if we say no, we don't get our money?

That's okay. Essentially.

Just kidding. Can I get a motion on the resolution, please? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Any questions, comments? Roll call, please.

Piccirilli. Yes. Councilor Bays. Yes. Councilor Feltner.

Yes.

Councilor Gannon. Yes. Councilor Gardner.

Yes. Yes.

Rizzo, yes, Councilor Offei, yes, Councilor Palomba, yes, President Sideris.

Yes, thank you. The next item is a resolution authorizing the acceptance and expenditure of a gift of funds in the amount of $2,500 from the Ed Walsh Foundation to the Perquasset Summer Program. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. The Ed Walsh Foundation helps Boston area children and families and they have provided a generous $2,500 donation towards scholarships for Camp Paquassett. Through Chapter 44, Section 53A, the Council needs to approve these particular requests. and with thanks to the foundation for support of our recreation program and our kids, I'm requesting the council's approval. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. Can I get a motion on the acceptance and expenditure of this gift? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Next is the first reading on a proposed ordinance amending the code of ordinance regarding non-union personnel compensation and leave. And I'll recognize the manager to give a brief overview as this is just a first reading. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. So as you noted, this is a first reading for an ordinance. We had some conversation. I attached to the back of this the original memo I did on March 24th discussing Why with the Administrative Code we removed the provisions of the Personnel Ordinance. There was some discussion amongst the Council about the provisions of protection for non-union employees in particular as it relates to that. In particular, as I see it, there were five items as it relates to non-union compensation and benefits that are worthy of note. One is their class and comp system. is vacation leave accruing policy. The third is the sick leave accruing policy. The fourth is the personnel leave accruing policy. And the fifth is the schedule of holidays. All of those for union employees are in their collective bargaining agreements. for non-union employees, they're in policies in the personnel office.

Consider the possibility of trying to wire these all back into the code of ordinances, and the conclusion it quickly comes to is that it's probably going to keep on sliding us behind again because every time we change the structure or something changes in the holiday schedule for the non-unions I'm for the union staff, I'm going to be back here requesting constant amendment to this ordinance. The reason why this ordinance was over 40 years out of date was because everything from the Juneteenth holiday to the structure of which board dealt with compensation was out of date. My proposal before you is a simple ordinance to replace this, indicating that it is a requirement to the Human Resources Department to maintain these employee policies, to have them organized for everyone not in the collective bargaining unit and basically provide and have them in order at all times. I look forward to discussing more with the council, but I believe that this is,

this is the best path forward to address this particular ordinance and at the next meeting, if the council sees fit, you could schedule a public hearing and have a conversation on that and determine if that's something we need and if it is something we need, the way that we've laid it out has it in a way that can get the council support. Appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. President.

President, question regarding that?

This is first reading. You can have all the questions you want at the next meeting. I don't see the entire ordinance. Unfortunately, we don't allow discussion on the first reading. Save your questions or send them in advance. Send them in advance if you like. The next item is a first reading on a proposed loan order that the sum of $2,300,000 is appropriated to pay costs of reconstructing Forest Street and Springfield Street as more fully described in line 289 of the city's fiscal year 2026 through 2031 capital improvement plan. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. This item is a first reading consistent with line 289 of the Capital Plan and Conceptual Recommendation Number 42, submitted alongside the next separate proposal. Again, working to move forward the Collector Road and Long Streets projects in this particular case for Forest and Springfield Streets. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. Next item is the first reading on a proposed loan order that the sum of $2,100,000 is appropriated to pay costs of constructing and overseeing the Connected Roads and Long Streets project at Forest Street and Springfield Street as more fully described in line 318 of the city's fiscal year 2024 through 28 capital improvement program. Plan, Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. Consistent with conceptual recommendation number 15 and consistent with the previous item, this is an additional request at Springfield and Forest as part of the Connected Roads and Long Streets program. We look forward to discussing both of these at the next meeting. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you. item 12 is committee reports and 12a is a committee on rules and ordinance report regarding its meeting on March 12th. Councilor Gardner.

Thank you, Mr. President. The Rules and Ordinances Committee met on Thursday, March 12th, and I called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. Present were myself, Lisa Feltner, Vice Chair, and John Gannon, Secretary. Also President were City Manager George Proakis and Municipal Policy Analyst Doug Newton. Present in the audience were Councilors Vinnie Piccirilli and Caroline Bays. resident Rita Colafella was also present in the room, as were Linda Scott and Elodia Thomas by Zoom. Manager Proekes began the meeting by discussing the proposed noise ordinance, which is attached as attachment A. Mr. Newton then presented slides discussing the current and proposed ordinances, attachment B. The committee also received public comment from Rita Colafella in advance of the meeting, attachment C. The committee then began discussion. Councilor Feltner expressed disappointment that the proposed noise ordinance does not address the following.

Caps on total noise level, noise duration, definition of various sources of noise, vibration. She also said that the statement of purpose describing some fleeting noise as inherent to life in Watertown suggests that noise is being accepted. Gannon said that construction and demolition has led to vibrations being felt particularly in dense areas. The committee asked staff to conduct research into the issue of vibrations report back at a future meeting. Gardner raised the issue of tonal noise. Some other communities restrict this to no more than five DBA above ambient level and she asked for additional research. to be conducted with neighboring towns regarding total noise limits since the draft does not include it in our current ordinance and the ordinance in some neighboring towns do include it. The committee then discussed the matter of commercial and residential lawn maintenance with discussion centering around if the current ordinance exempts commercial lawn maintenance from enforcement.

Proakis, and Mr. Newton shared their understanding that that is the current ordinance, has a gap, which does not cover commercial maintenance, and this is also the understanding of the health department. Councilor Gardner said she felt it was important the new ordinance covered this gap. On the issue of lawn maintenance, Mr. Prowakis said that the Watertown Environment and Energy Efficiency Committee has expressed interest in an ordinance specifically on gas-powered lawn equipment. The manager views this as a separate issue from the noise ordinance, meriting its own referral. The committee then began discussing the definitions in the ordinance. They discussed the necessity of defining both emergency and emergency work and asked staff to provide revised language at a future meeting. As to the definition of construction and demolition, the committee asked staff to make language more concise and avoid listing out specific examples. The committee asked the staff to provide a better definition of plainly audible.

While it is defined in the draft as any sound that can be detected by a person of normal hearing ability using his or her unaided hearing facilities, The committee agreed that the word normal is not appropriate and asked the staff to edit the definition for the next meeting. Finally, the committee began discussing section 9503, prohibition of noise pollution. Gannon raised the issue of enforcement as Health Department staff are not exempt from the state trespassing statute. Manager Proekes noted that he views it as a core responsibility of his to ensure that his staff are properly trained on all applicable laws and regulations and will ensure that this remains the case. Feltner made a motion seconded by Councilor Gannon to continue the meeting, and the motion passed three to zero. The meeting concluded at 6.29 p.m. And thank you to Doug Newton for preparing these minutes.

Thank you. Can I get a motion to accept the minutes? So moved. Is there a second?

Second.

Any discussion? Councilor Feltner.

Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate the chair acknowledging that Mr. Newton prepared the minutes because it's not listed here and it's not required, but, you know... By general practice, we usually make a note of the author of the report, but I would just like the report to which actually is required by open meeting law to also include the location of the meeting. And then we have two other Attachments to be included, and I'll forward them. One is our existing regulations, which we use for discussion, and then we also use the model EPA ordinance for discussion, so I will... for convenience, send those to the clerk and Mr. Newton.

Thank you. Can we amend the motion to say

I will amend the motion to vote to accept the minutes contingent upon updating the report to show the location of the meeting and reflect that there are two attachments and have them attached.

Is there a second?

Second.

Well, Councilor Gannon, this question. So I never saw one of the attachments Councilor Feltner responded to or referred to. We'll table this until the next meeting.

Thank you. We'll table this until we get all the correct documents and everything together. Next item on the agenda is Committee on Climate and Energy Report regarding its meeting on March 23rd. Councilor Palomba, Chair.

Thank you, Councilor President Sideris. I did want, I'm going to read, summarize this as best I can. I do want to ask for a little leniency at the end of my presentation to ask for a few corrections that I would like to to make that might be done by the clerk and to recognize those as amendments or changes to the minutes. Anyway, the Committee on Climate and Energy met on March 23rd.

Councilor Palomba, I'm going to ask that we table this as well and provide your corrections to the clerk, and we'll put it on the next agenda for discussion. Okay? Sure. Thank you. If there are several amendments, it's easier if we clean them up and then represent it. So we'll put this on the next agenda as well. Communications from the City Manager. The first one is a request for confirmation of reappointments to the Traffic Commission. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. Asking to re-appoint Robert Erasian and Daniel Greinesen for membership on the Traffic Commission for terms to expire May 15, 2029. both have been reviewed by the Residence Advisory Committee, both have been serving well on the committee, in Bob Eration's case for many years, in Daniel's case for a short period of time, but nonetheless, both seeking to continue, and I'm happy to have their reappointments forwarded for your consideration. Thank you, Mr. President.

This gets referred to the Committee on Public Safety. The next is a request for confirmation of reappointments to the Solid Waste and Recycling Committee. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mr. President. Asking to reappoint Russ Arrico and Eileen Ryan to the Solid Waste and Recycling Committee for terms to expire May 15, 2029. Again, both have served ably on this committee and the Residence Advisory Committee has recommended to me and I am recommending to you for them to continue their service on that committee. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, this gets referred to the Committee on Public Works. Other communications, Mr. Manager?

Mr. President, I have nothing else this evening, so with thanks to you and the Council, that is all.

You okay?

Joanna's on vacation, so, you know, she helps me make the list.

Request for information, any requests for information. Announcements, any announcements? Public forum, the second public forum. Is there any member here or at home that wishes to speak? Please raise your hand. Seeing none, I close the public forum and ask for a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it.

Thank you.