City Council 12/23/2025

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Worcester City Council meeting. If you can, please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star-Spangled Banner.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed At the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars Through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched We're so gallantly streaming And the rocket's red glare The bombs bursting in air They proved through the night that our flag was still there.

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave

and the home of the brave.

Bregman, Colorio, Haxhiaj, King, Mero-Carlson, Nguyen, Ojeda, Pacillo, Pacillo, here, Councilor Russell, here, Councilor Toomey, here, and Mayor Petty.

Here. I just have a couple presentations to make. So I know people are here for different reasons tonight. And so there's two acknowledgements. Then we're going to have public participation. Then we can honor the city councilors that are leaving tonight with the and the chairs and the plaques we have in front of the roster, ma'am. So first, I just want to honor Katelyn McCarthy. Katelyn's a public school teacher for 21 years. I was at Technical High School teaching English. and she's actually a screenwriter whose work is making waves internationally by night. Her featured film, Little Audrey, about Whistler's Audrey Santo in the Vatican Audit Investigation, around the miracles, except for release in 2026.

She's also co-writing Wonderdrug and with the director Wari Singer and the television series Gales and Lindsay Murdoch on BBC Scottish Voices. and also beyond her creative work, Caitlin also is a dedicated DES activist, working closely with former senators John Kerry and Scott Brown. and I just want to congratulate you on all your endeavors and the recognition of your outstanding contributions to the arts with the public schools and DES Advocacy, Worcester Orange, and Sir, your creativity, courage, and lasting impression. And you can speak in a second. Why don't you come down and take a picture with the counselors and present you the key to the studio, Worcester.

Okay, thank you.

Well, Christmas came early tonight. Thank you, Mayor Petty, members of the council, and everyone here this evening. I am truly honored to receive the key to the city. I am especially grateful to be supported here tonight by my father, Albert McCarthy, and my nephew, Ronan Shields. Having family here makes the moment even more meaningful, and I know my late mother, Anne McCarthy, would have loved this. Worcester has always been a city of opportunity for my family. My French Canadian ancestors came here in the mid-1800s. and my Irish ancestors followed in the 1930s. My parents raised my sister, Erin, and me in Worcester because they believed it was a place where hard work and heart mattered. And they were right. I continue to live, work, and create here for the same reason. Through my work as an English teacher at Worcester Technical High School, my DES activism, and my screenwriting, I have tried to reflect the city that shaped me.

This key represents belonging, community, and resilience. I accept it with deep gratitude and with a commitment to continue representing Worcester with care, pride, and respect. Thank you for this extraordinary honor.

Thank you. Your mother was also a teacher at the Worcester Technical High School, too, right? Yes. Oh, that's right, yeah. Okay, we have one more presentation. John G. Aneth? John G.? Where's John G.? There he is. John G., why don't you come up and... He's a Boardified Certified Patient Advocate and founder of the Golden Hour Service Foundation. And John G. has provided extraordinary compassion service to patients within the Worcester hospitals. who, leveraging his medical knowledge and deep commitment to advocacy, profoundly improved the lives of individuals during the most vulnerable moments. John Gee, and the Golden Hour Service Foundation operates with a dedication that goes far beyond standard medical care. He serves as a crucial liaison between patients, their families, and complex healthcare systems. ensuring that patient autonomy and dignity are always paramount.

A powerful example of most impact involves end-stage cancer patient at a local hospital who is the hospital who has struggled with the reality of their imminent demise. So John G., I'd like to present you, the key for the hard work you've been doing and the creativity around it and your business that you've put together in recognition of your passionate leadership in healthcare advocacy, empowering patients through their healthcare journeys. John G. Lawrence here, and also your uncle is here from India too, right? And your aunt?

Yep.

Next, we have the approval of the... Oh, I'm sorry, John Jay, you want to say a few words? I'm sorry.

Is this working? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and distinguished members of the City Council. It's a true honor to be here with you. This moment is a recognition not necessarily of me, but of the journey of the patient. We had a patient not too long ago who was from Boston and had an end stage disease. And I suggested to her that she actually come to Worcester. which seems to be something that most people wouldn't think that people would come from the Boston hospitals to Worcester. But I told them that Worcester actually has the best medical care in the world. and why? Well, the journey of this patient actually showed us why. She got the best type of care at the highest standards, but at the same time she got that hometown feel that you won't get in the big cities.

I think Worcester is a great demonstration of what CARE ought to stand for. The symbol of the heart says it all, that this is a city where if you're sick or you're downtrodden or you're getting started in your life, this is the place to be. I really hope that the symbol of this particular message goes far beyond this day, but some of the people here in this room and maybe beyond, to let them know and remind them that No matter what your experience is at the end of your life, What matters more is how you live your life. And I hope that we get beyond the point of living at the end of our days wondering how much longer we're going to live and remind ourselves that it's how we live today that matters.

So with that, I'd like to leave you with those thoughts and wish you a very humble, great success as a city. I look forward to many more great experiences of patients and the great work that all of you are doing is just very inspiring to all of us. So thank you again.

Thank you, John G. Okay, next we have approve of the minutes on December 9th, 2025. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. Public participation, a person may speak for no more than two minutes on any item appearing on the agenda. and if you want to speak to any of the Councilors on their final meeting, that's fine too. And Mr. Clerk.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So Rule 39, items of public interest at every meeting of the City Council under public participation, portion of the agenda. the Chair shall recognize any person seeking such recognition for the purpose of addressing the Council and any eligible item on the agenda for the meeting both in person and remotely. Any person who wishes to speak on more than one agenda item should combine their testimony on all items at one appearance at the microphone. Time for speaking should exceed two minutes for one speaker and 30 minutes for all speakers. Rule 40 petitions. On the first occasion, the petition appears before the City Council. The primary petition may address the City Council for no more than three minutes on the subject of their petition.

Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Namacy of residence and item number?

Certainly, Fred Nathan Worcester. 9.7B. not having seen the communication for the water main breaks, I can only say I expect There will be in the very near future a loan audit coming in from the city manager asking for millions upon millions upon millions of dollars to fix the infrastructure of the water system. 9.11b The issue with Grafton Street, I was just down there this afternoon at McDonald's for a little while, and I watched all the cars lining up to go over to the school there. I think the city has been very very lucky there hasn't been any serious accidents because

of the ineptitude of getting this problem taken care of before this time. I mean, if there were major accident, I think the city would be held liable. And that's not too much of a stretch. Now, as for city councilors who are leaving tonight, whether you have been here one term or like about 15 terms, you all served and I will say I wish you all luck and good health.

Our next speaker. Does your name say your residence?

Sure. Brad Wyatt, Boylston. It's sort of nice to be here as a former factory owner in Worcester and not be complaining about the tax rate. I'm the National Committee man for the Republicans, and I got a letter from the White House thanking Donna Colorio for her service. She's not here tonight, obviously, but I'd just like to read it in quite quickly. Dear Donna, Melania and I join your family, friends, and colleagues in commemorating your many years of public service in Massachusetts. Your time representing the people of Worcester stands as a reminder of how meaningful service can be when it is approached with care, integrity and commitment to the well-being of others. We hope you look back on all your accomplishments with pride, confident in the knowledge that they reflect the great American traditions of civic duty, patriotism, and devotion to the public good. We send our best wishes to you as you open the next chapter in your life.

May the years ahead be filled with happiness, good health and well-deserved relaxation. Sincerely, Donald J. Trump. Thank you very much for your time.

Is your name C. Reznoros?

My name is Sue Mailman, Worcester resident. I want to wish Candy Carlson and Donna Colorio good health. I want to thank George Russell for taking my calls many times and for many candid conversations over the years. I've admired the work ethic of Jenny Pacillo. I can never imagine serving our city with children so young. And I respect the time and energy you have invested in your service. And I wish you and your family and George and his family good health. I'd especially tonight like to acknowledge Councilor Nguyen and Councilor Hagiay, both of whom were first elected in 2021, along with myself, Jermaine Johnson, and Gemma Camara. An election that many in our city and across the state has acknowledged as an important historic marker. Funny how things change in four years. Two is the first non-binary. candidate elected in Massachusetts, two as my friend, and I admire their courage to speak truth to power on many issues.

Two was never here to serve for 20 years. They were clear about that. I will be forever sorry that Two did not get the apology that they asked for from the colleague and the full council. Atel, you and Gemma, both elected as first-generation migrants to our city. You also a mother of school-aged children. Your work ethic and policy work for those most in need will be greatly missed. Your work on street safety and many other issues earned you respect in the community. You build strong relationships with those that work at City Hall because you were respectful and thoughtful. You always came prepared. I was on Eureka Street on May 8th to bear witness to, at the time, this new ICE phenomena of taking people. I watched you attempt to stop the taking, and I was so proud to watch you stand tall, as tall as you can be, to protect and serve this family.

When charges were filed against you, my immediate thought was disbelief and also the charges would never have been filed if you were a male counselor. Thank you for your service and your friendship. You rock.

Hi, my name is Gary Hunter. I was preparing stuff and I wanted to write something down and I didn't do it. I'd rather speak from my heart. There's many changes happening in the City Council. because of the election. We have a couple city councilors that chose to leave. They've given good service for many years. We have three people that was not reelected. But the one I want to concentrate on is Etel. She is the heart and soul of this committee. I hope she still stays active and makes sure her heart and her strength. She's the strongest person I've ever met. Also, looking back on the last year, since this is the last meeting, what have we really accomplished? There's so many items we're still talking about a year later. We've had the DOJ report.

No, being a public person, we have not heard any accountability. There's nothing out there. Now, if we keep hearing that the DOJ is not getting back to us, I think it's about time we went after the DOJ and get answers. The second thing is this, last week at the meeting, we had a vote on migrant. I was ashamed because yeah, you're gonna vote 10 to nothing. You say the city's a welcoming city. but yet we couldn't just vote on a migrant bill without two people in this council negative views. That was ridiculous. and also to the chair, Mr. Bergman also says she does not want to hear about. I'm talking to you, sir. Didn't want to hear about Eureka Street anymore. Well, it's an important issue. People are scared in our city.

And we can talk about it every week to make sure it doesn't happen again. We have a councilor that was arrested because she stood up and the police union didn't like it. And it's the police union that forced the... We have somebody that we...

Well, thank you. You can wrap up, please.

One more thing. The last thing is, to the Chair, one of your counselors, One of your councillors stopped public discussion, and I don't think that should be allowed. You can't cut people off, assuming. Thank you.

I appreciate it. Thank you.

I don't think I'm done.

You're done. You're done. Thank you. I appreciate your comments.

Well, Mayor, you say you were there at the migrant...

Grace Ross, Oxford Street. I need to speak to this issue about the appointments of constables that are actively, knowingly, and we've even publicized violate the orders of the city manager. But I do want to say that I send my love to each of you who have served this community. It's not an easy position and the criticism level has reached untold levels as far as I can tell even though I was attacked when I was running for City Council as anti-Semitic, which is mind-boggling. So I just thank everybody for their service. I don't think this is easy. and of course the greatest ever probably will be Attell for standing up and putting her future on the line for a member of

and a member of our community and that's what is the greatest service, obviously, that an elected leader can give. I want to speak to 9.1. The city manager and the chief of police came together with us in a meeting of the minds early this year about the fact that the city was going to enforce The Police Reform Act and the requirement that those who have not been trained in use of force should not be even threatening use of force in our city. and followed the guidance of the Peace Officer Standard and Training Commission in telling those who are licensed in the city that they are not to act like police. They're not to carry a gun. They're not to threaten people's physical being with putting their hands on anybody. We were so excited, unfortunately.

Daniel Gately is on the list here and I want to say that we warned him about that recently and he took an eviction off recognizing that he was violating and his commitment to this city and the licensing letter that, thank you, Mr. Manager, you guys put out. But Trapasso, whose family comes from constables,

Can you wrap up your comments, please?

I'm sorry. I'm confused. I'm getting something beeping at me. I'm sorry. Joking about a mover in another city putting their hands on a woman's breasts. And we were told that if we had that video he would not get licensed again. He has used this city's license in many other communities illegally, threatening people's safety since that time. And I will provide the manager with plenty of examples. Thank you. We also I saw Angel Santana was back.

Thank you.

He was at give me one minute, not even two seconds. the Post-Commission Public Hearing saying that he was still bringing his gun to evictions. He's not supposed to be doing evictions and he was specifically told not to bring his gun. So we need to figure out some communication system before these folks are getting relicensed and let us give you the information because they're violating your order, Mr. Manager.

Thank your name and see your residence.

Anastasia St. Cloud, Rutland. So I'm here to address my concern about lack of red light cameras, but not just that. The traffic signal timing, crosswalk safety, Road markings and traffic enforcement practices to improve public safety both for drivers and pedestrians. Across the city, it's become increasingly common, well, I think it's just been common, that drivers see red lights as an option. instead of the law to actually stop. So the issue is noticeable at major intersections. I would say it's just evident across the city, but some intersections I've noticed were on Park Avenue, Grafton, Lincoln Street, to name a few. I personally experienced the consequence of this problem when another driver ran a red light well after it turned red and destroyed my own vehicle.

Many intersections and crosswalks also lack adequate lighting and Visibility further increasing risk of what could be preventative crashes and pedestrian injuries. I'm requesting the Council consider the following. Evaluating delayed or adjusting the timing of lights to reduce the incentive for drivers to speed through intersections deliberately when a light has already turned red. Add clear advanced signage and additional turn lanes. Enhance pedestrian cross safety by adding signal lighting and visual improvements at crosswalks across the city. Increase police presence at different points as these behaviors occur majorly because I just don't think the residents respect the police here or the law. I see this as lawlessness and it just encourages it to continue as this is not taken care of.

Consider the use of red light cameras. I hear that, I'm not from Worcester, I'm not from Massachusetts, but what I'm hearing from other residents is that This was brought forward and because the people spoke that this was a violation of rights, that it wasn't then used. So I'm encouraging to revisit that. While these measures are not always popular, they are proven to be significant to reduce the lawlessness of the driving behavior in Worcester. and improve compliance at dangerous intersections. These improvements individually and collectively would significantly reduce preventative accidents and promote safer and more predictable traffic behavior in Worcester. Under Massachusetts General Law and the City Home Rule Authority, Worcester has responsibility to adapt and enforce measures that protect the public's safety.

I respectfully urge the Council to prioritize evidence-based safety improvements, even when it may not be aligned with short-term popular opinions. because long-term safety of our community must come first. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, everybody. Good evening. I'm Nellie Medina. I'm from District 5. And I want to start with a quote from Harvey Milk. The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. and you have to give them hope, hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to. And if the pressures at home are too great, hope that all will be right. Without hope, not only gays, but blacks, immigrants, seniors, and handicaps, the us's, the us's will give up. That said, I want to thank Hotel Haxhiaj, Councilor Khrystian King, and Councilor Nguyen for being the Councilors that we voted, for doing the thing that we voted you in to do, and for keeping your integrity and your honesty and your service to the community your number one priority. Thank you.

But I'm here also to speak on 8H8INHJ, The Eversource, Gas Main Locations, So Eversource's GSEP filing for Worcester proposes a total of $250,000. and 63 projects 44 for 226 totaling over 90 million dollars and 219 for the 200 for 2027 to 2030 period. For 2026, Eversource proposes to replace approximately 89,199 feet of gas main with an additional 54 miles of pipe replacement. Hicks, planned for 2027 and 2030.

Taken together, these projects represent a substantial long-lived investment in fossil fuel infrastructure, not only whose adopted plans and policies commit Worcester to decarbonization.

Thank you.

So my point is that we're supposed to be moving towards renewable energy and net zero by 2050. More pipelines are not going to do that. So I want to wake up the environmental justice community in Worcester. We have a problem here. We have a $90 million problem, 44 projects for new pipelines. We're not talking about repairs. We're talking about being committed to fossil fuels. Wake up, Worcester. Thank you.

Did your name see your residence?

Hi, my name is Luis Juarez. Good evening to everyone. I live in 60 Altos Street. My request is for section 9.11 Department of Transportation and Mobility. Tonight I'm requesting that you table this matter until the Roosevelt School families are notified and timely matter. For the past two years, I've been asked numerous times to city administration to study this matter. I just find out that this unfair action was going to be presented to the City Council tonight for approval. The Crossover School family have not been duly notified, nor have We've been asked our opinion on this matter.

Therefore, I'm requesting that you do not take any action until Roosevelt School families are notified and have input in this issue. Thank you.

Thank you. One person's online.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yes, there's one person online. Joseph, I'm going to try and meet the resident now. Please state your name and city of residence.

Yeah, hi, I'm Joseph Mangiamelli. I resided in Grafton Hill in Worcester. I'm commenting, I think it's 11D, I believe, about vacant lots. I was here last week online as well and noted the tremendous discord that happened as this discussion about vacant lots took place last week. and I'm again referring to it today again because I'm of the strong opinion that Worcester has already done some key research into how to best use Bacon Lots, I found in the minutes from several years ago that a recommendation was made to use them for urban farming. and I just don't really understand why nothing seems to move forward in regard to these types of issues. We talk

We debate, we argue, we call each other names, we do all kinds of things, but we don't solve problems. we have vacant properties that are really an eyesore and a blight to the city. They could be well used for a number of issues, but since Worcester is a right to farm city, why not use them for urban farming? And then my last thing I would like to add to that would be why not also consider how the raising of chickens could possibly dovetail with urban farming. I've been now two years into a petition about Chickens that still is waiting for the City Manager to bring a report back to you and this is tremendously frustrating and tremendously discouraging.

Yeah, and also, Mayor, this time limit, it really needs to be corrected. There's just not enough time for people to speak. Thank you.

Thank you. Anybody else before we move on? Seeing nobody else, then we'll go back to the meeting. So we do have some presentations to make, and if the council wants to make them together, we can have, I don't know how to do this. Who's that? I just want to thank everybody for coming out tonight. And I want to thank our counselors who will be weaving us. We have three with us tonight. And I want to thank Nico, and Joey for working with me to make these presentations.

And now if we disagree or agree, everybody's heart's always in the right place, I think, trying to make Worcester a better place. And first up here is Mattel High GI. We have a... District 5 City Council Service Years 2022 to 2025 in honor of your dedicated service as Chair of the Public Education Standing Committee and for your commitment to the residents of District 5. We have that plaque. We also have, which I think is pretty cool, Your ballot and your name in the ballot and also a chair. And we've not always probably agreed a lot, but you always thought it was in the right place in the sense that you care for most vulnerable people and gave voices to people. that otherwise wouldn't think they have voices. And so I just want to thank you for that, and that's to your service. Jenny Pacillo.

Also Jenny, we have District 1 City Councilor, years of service 2024-2025, and your dedicated service as Chair of the Veterans Memorial Parks and Recreation Standing Committee and for your commitment to the residents of District 1. and Jenny, I just want to say thank you for your service too. You care greatly about your district. Jenny's the one who would have, someone would call and complain. Jenny would be having kwaifa with them the next day. at the breakfast table. And it's very hard when you have three kids under the age of seven, I think. and seven and under. And it could be a lot of stress. So your children are here tonight. So I just want to recognize them and Nate too. Recognize Nate, because they also sacrifice, like everybody else in this room, sacrifices for their spouses to significant others. and Jenny, congratulations to you too and good luck and to me it's a timeout and she knows how I feel when she's decided not to run but I think you'll be back someday in the future in some capacity.

I think everybody in this room will be back in some capacity. Then, Russell, for years of service. Also, we have a plaque, Councilor George Russell, District 3 City Councilor, and all your dedicated service, and Chair of the Public Works Committee. And I want to thank you for that. and also we have a certificate. George is here tonight. Certificate of perfect attendance in Seoul, Korea. and recognizing 14 years of perfect attendance at City Council meetings, this certificate honors your extraordinary commitment to public service as a member of the Worcester City Council. Congratulations. And also, he's been on the ballot a number of times, So, we also have, well, I haven't said you, we also have a ballot here, too, with your name on it.

This one is from 1981, when George Russell ran for school committee. and also for your Kansas City Council and this was 1985. and some well-known names. Ray Mariano was on that, Jordan Levy, a number of different people. You got crushed. But, George, the you could write a book on how to be a district city council. If you ever think about that, the district in the 40, since 1987, there's only been two district councils and there's only, and you should be very proud for serving, it's a tough district to represent. and you've done a pretty well job representing your 14 years. We should be proud of you and your family and tell your wife thank you and your daughter for lending you to us and to the City of Worcester. So you each have a chair. Plak, and they copy you the ballot. So congratulations to everyone. Thank you.

Okay, well thank you everyone, I appreciate it. And we have We have hearings and orders. 7A, National Grid for Condo Location, Austin Street. That will be all those in favor. Opposed, so ordered. Petitions 8A to 8F, refer to the Traffic and Parking Committee. and those in favor, opposed, so ordered. 8G to 8J, study hearing for January 13th, 2026 at 6.30 p.m. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. Let's go back to 7A, I'm sorry. So 7A, we should open the hearing, motions to open the hearing. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. This is the current location, Austin Street. Anybody opposed to that outside, to that kind of location?

Seeing nobody opposed, motions to close the hearing and to adopt. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. The petitions, we did 8G to 8J, so they're here for January 13th. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. We have non-city council confirmation for constables. The motion is to file. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. What's that? That was 9.1A and 9.1B for constables.

Sir Chairman, those are just notifications, right?

Correct.

Motions to file. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. We have 9.4a, recommended adoption of an authorizing lease deed for a former Clinton Street right-of-way. Any questions on that? We can do a doctor on a roll call. Roll call.

Burgman, Colorio, Haxhiaj, King, Mero-Carlson, Ojeda, Pacillo, Russell, Toomey, Petty.

We are on 9.7A, Transmitting Information and Communication. We have the report concerning the department's performance during the first snowstorm of the 25-26 winter season. We can send it out to Public Works. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. Choosing information communication of the update on the recent water breaks. Christian.

Mayor Petty.

Mayor Petty. Mayor Petty. Mayor Petty. Mayor Petty. Mayor Petty. Mayor Petty. Mayor Petty. Mayor Petty. and the water pressure here in the city of Worcester, the water breaks that we've had. I didn't realize there were so many until I read the report. I knew we were up around 9 or 10, now we're up to 18, 19, but Maybe just a quick explanation of what you think the cause of what the water breaks were. It seems like it had to do with pressurization, depressurization. and now maybe you can explain why you think that happened and what are we doing to prevent it from happening further when it gets cold again like it is today.

to the city administration. Mr. Westling, if you could please state your full name and title just for the record and for the public.

Through the Chair, my name is John Westerling. I am the Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Worcester. If I may start by wishing everyone happy holidays. and those Councilors who this is your last meeting. I truly appreciate your support for my 10 months here and your support of the Department of Public Works. To the specific question, on December 6th, we were met with a water main break on Norton Drive. That is a 24-inch water main that was installed in 1975. I brought a couple of show-and-tell pieces of water main pipe. A typical ductile iron water main pipe has a pretty good thickness to it, maybe about three eighths of an inch.

What we found was that the 24-inch water main installed in the 1970s was corroded to the point where it is essentially paper thin. I would pass this around but it is extremely sharp like the edge of a knife so there's something in the soil there that we need to evaluate to determine why that pipe corroded to the point that it did Just as a point of reference, that same pipe broke back in 2018, that 24-inch ductile iron pipe. On December 8th, shortly after we repaired that pipe on Norton Drive, we had a water main break on the 24-inch pipe on Frontage Road. and that is a main feeder pipe for the two water tanks on Indian Hill. As we were completing that break,

and just on December 11th, we had a third break in the area in the second break on Norton Drive. So that same pipe Broke again. So I just want to say thank you to all of the folks at DPW that included water, sewer, streets to attack those breaks. and Restore the Water. I also want to say thank you to Ricciardi Brothers, who was the private contractor who came in to help us with those repairs. and also to our partners at Police and Fire and MassDOT who were all involved in those breaks. You do have in front of you, you have a schematic which shows the water mains in the General Norton Drive and Frontage Road area with the identification of those breaks. It's important to note that that section of pipe on Norton Drive that you see on the map in gray, because of the extreme

and the condition of that pipe, we have isolated and turned off that water main. So that water main will be looking to replace come springtime. That is a major pipe to the network, so that's important that we restore that. The second map that you have in front of you shows the other 16 water main breaks that happened as a result of that first water main break. You will note that those are throughout the city. They range from a two inch pipe to a 16 inch pipe. They range from cast iron to ductile iron, and they also range from pipes that were installed from 1915 through 1970. So what the team determined was that because this is an area that the Indian Hill tanks feed off of that frontage road water main.

Because there was a sewer main break at the same time, we had to isolate that pipe. We had to disinfect it. We had to test it. and the testing showed that it was free of any contaminants. So we were able to turn that back on. But in the interim, there were there were calls from those tanks from the the system that we have that activated the second pumps out on Olean Street and those pumps are very large, they create a lot of pressure in the system. The city manager himself also pointed to the fact that we've got pressure issues in the system. and in fact that's that's what the team identified so in that short period while we were waiting for that pipe on frontage road to be reactivated we were operating that second pump on Olean Street by hand. So as those water tanks called for water, we turned on that second pump and we monitored the pressures in the system to make sure that they didn't exceed

and so we were able to to stop any future breaks the last break we had was on December 15th so the team did a fabulous job at identifying the problem and stopping future breaks from resulting. So now that the system, that's a long-winded way of saying that now that the system has been restored, that frontage road pipe has been reactivated, We believe that the system has reached the point where it will operate and that we won't see any more pressure-related breaks There may be breaks that occur because we're in the freeze-thaw cycle. We are in the depth of winter. But we believe that those pipes, that the network will be in good operational order.

Mayor Petty.

So that pipe was, let's say 50 years old, repaired once already in the same spot or a different spot?

through the Chair, it was about 100 maybe 100 yards down the road. So that same section of pipe.

So the whole pipe could be like that. Correct. And is 50 years a young pipe for the City of Worcester? Or is it an old pipe for the City of Worcester?

through the chair, that is a relatively young piece of pipe. We have pipes that were installed 20 years after the end of the Civil War. So that is a fairly young piece of pipe that is highly unusual for a pipe that's only 50 years old to be worn down to paper thin.

So you want to try to figure out why it became paper thin?

through the Chair, we are going to evaluate the soils out there to determine if there's something in the soils that cause for acidic conditions or corrosive conditions, but The city has a new policy where any new pipes that are installed, they are wrapped in polyethylene to try to prevent direct contact from the soil to the pipes. So when we replace that 24-inch pipe, it will be wrapped. It will be protected from the soils. But we need to understand better what happened there.

It could be a combination of soil traffic, even, or it's a busy street. I'm just curious.

and many more. Through the chair, it may very well be the fact that these are on ramps and off ramps from interstate 190. Quite a bit of treatment during the winter to ensure that cars that are traveling at high speeds with heavy traffic flow, that they are safe. So could be a combination of many factors, but that's something that the Department of Public Works needs to determine.

Since I've been on the council, I think we invest $10 to $20 million a year into the infrastructure, both soil and water, I think. Does Alan cool the water pipes, too?

Through the Chair, it's a combination. We're probably investing $10 to $20 million for each every year. We do have an integrated plan which lays out the required infrastructure improvements for water, sewer, and drainage over the next 50 years, and we follow that as best we can. This will be an addition to that. This was not anticipated for us to have to replace.

Maybe inform a motion, if you get a report, give us a sense of what pipes have been replaced, how old the pipes are. Just because it's old doesn't mean it has to be replaced, correct?

through the Chair, that's absolutely correct. Again, we've got pipes that are 140 years old.

We'd like to see the history anyways, what we replaced over the last few decades, what we have left to replace and how far out do you go for both soil and water.

through the Chair, absolutely.

One question. The only issue I received some issues on on this, besides the water being shut off, was there's a medical building on Shore Drive, a lot of doctors. and I understand right away we can't put detour signs up or send traffic different directions and I get some complaints that nobody had any idea how to get there. because the roads weren't really told. A lot of times we do construction, we put detour signs right to where you're going. So in the future, I know our first priority is to take care of the water. and in the week. But after a day or so, I think if we put some detour signs up, that'd be nice to get people around the leakage. but I just want to thank also the DPW workers and working so hard throughout the Charlie Brothers and because they were out there with us the whole really two weeks, I guess, right? When you say two weeks, are we still working on these pipes?

through the chair there's only one pipe that's left and that's in the area of 55 Millbrook Street and we do need to develop a traffic control plan no one was is without water at this point there's enough O'Neill.

I know they have 24 hours. If I remember, I drove by through a number of times.

Through the chair. We were out there for 24 hours, multiple evenings.

I know.

Multiple evenings.

So I want to thank the construction firm, Ricciardi, and also our DPW workers.

Thank you.

When push comes to shove, I don't care what day of the year it is, they're always out there trying to fix those leaks that we have and seen a number of times in the past. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Morris-Bergman, Councilor at-large, followed by Kathleen Toomey.

Thank you, Mr. Vice-Chair. Through the Chair to Commissioner Westerling, just a couple questions, because I get a lot of constituent and I have some of my own, and I satisfy with the number of the answers you've given, but I still have some curiosity on a couple things. So through the chair to the Commissioner Westerling, of the 16, I think I've counted 16 on this map that I'm holding up, 16. Water pipe leaks. Of the 16, how many do you attribute to Mower Street, to the issue of pressure on Mower Street?

Through the Chair, I attribute the majority of these to the pressure increases based on The description of how the system works. If we didn't have that break on frontage road and if that 24 inch pipe wasn't out of commission for a number of days, then I imagine that a lot of these would not have occurred.

Through the Chair, just so I understand, this is something, as a Councilor, the number of years I've been on the Council, There's never been, and others have been on the council longer than I, and I can stand to be corrected, but I've never seen, the number of years I've been on the council, this many all at once. So it obviously raises a lot of curiosity as to what happened. And it seems like there might have been more than one thing that happened. So through the chair to Commissioner Westerling, is it a question of maintaining proper pressure at multiple stations? that contributed to the number of leaks? Is that some of what happened?

Mayor Weill. Mayor Weill. Mayor Weill. Mayor Weill. Mayor Weill. Mayor Weill. Mayor Weill. Mayor Weill. Mayor Weill. Mayor Weill. and the other plan that was left for you. When those tanks called for water, typically the Olin stream Excuse me, the Olean Street pumps, they pump water and it runs up Frontage Road and fills those tanks. Because we had to close those, those Indian Hill tanks were being filled by those pumps, but through smaller diameter Water Mains. So that caused higher pressures in the system.

And through the Chair, I'm assuming because there's manual operation now and the problems seem to have gotten better. that there's something about the systems that existed before the manual operation that wasn't as good. That's why pressure situations, pressure problems happen. throughout the system. In other words, now that it's being done manually, it seems like the problem is under control. And I'm trying to figure out, usually technology makes it better, not worse. It sounds like it's reverse here. Going back to manpower made it better as opposed to the technology. Am I wrong about that?

Through the Chair, I should have been more clear. When we were operating that second pump at Olean Street manually, that was only until the frontage road pipe was put back into service. I don't have the actual date, but it was sometime last week when that frontage road pipe was put back in service. Now, the system works just fine by its electronics, and the way that the system operates when those Indian Hill tanks drain and they call for additional water to fill them. The signal is sent to Olean Street and the water rushes up happily up Frontage Road as it should and the pressures are stabilized in the system.

Okay, so just one last question. I appreciate the answers. What's the best lesson or the most important lesson learned from all these water breaks, water main breaks? There's got to be at least one lesson learned that we can all move forward on in the new year to make sure this doesn't happen. Again, I ask that, give you a chance to think about the answer, because we haven't, I'm not going to ask for an order, because at this point I don't think it really is relevant because we know that the costs are between the sidewalks and the road and the overtime and private contractors, significant costs involved there. and so on, above and beyond the water that was lost. So I'm just trying to get a sense, what do we learn? I'm not blaming anyone, but what do we learn going forward so that the chances of this number of water main breaks are less likely to occur in the future?

Through the Chair, I would say that the lesson learned is to continue to invest in the integrated plan, to continue to invest in replacement of those older pipes, and to continue investing in your department of public works that we've got hundreds of miles of water main under the road and we have really no idea how many of them are in soils that turn them into this condition where they are paper thin. So it's important to invest in the Department of Public Works so that when we do when we are faced with those breaks like that, that we are well prepared, well staffed, and well equipped to make those repairs.

I appreciate the response. I'll just end with a comment. I certainly and my colleagues have been very supportive of DPW and I'm sure will continue to do so. I'm not convinced it's only a money problem because when I hear that, and I'm not saying you're saying that, but it sounds like the investment in DPW has to be also in some technology in addition to, and sometimes technology costs money, I agree. But sometimes it's a question of the right people in the right places to avoid problems. Thank you for the answers.

Thank you. Councilor Toomey.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, commendations to all, working in that terrible cold outside in the elements then with and all that other stuff that people really went above and beyond. And everyone deserves gratitude. Everyone involved, all the departments. It was amazing. And they continue to do it. I don't know how they did it. There's got to be some way we can thank them because it's really remarkable. Wonderful department. At the same time, I noticed that, and I'm not sure whether it was a leak or what it was, but off of Lake Gav, during all of this time, there was a massive I don't know whether it was Davis Way or one of those little side streets down near Sunderland.

Massive, massive equipment. I've never seen a crane so big. on one of the side streets. And it was some waterworks company that was a contracted company that was doing all the work. If you're not familiar with it, maybe come back with a report. I was wondering if maybe it had something to do with the freeze thaw and all of that. And then also there has been at the pump on Lake Gav, at the other end near Route 9. There's been a lot of work being done on that too. Is that just continued efforts or we had problems?

Through the Chair, thank you for your kind words of support. I appreciate that. When you mentioned the Lake Ave, are you talking about the sewer pump station on Lake Ave? Yes. So that is an ongoing construction project that was a pump station that was in need of major Rehabilitation of its systems and reworking of the pumps and increasing the pump sizes. So that's just an ongoing effort. I think that we've probably got another year or so of construction.

Wow. Wow. It's unbelievable. Unbelievable. So, yes, I don't know what this other thing was. I didn't know if it had anything to do with pumps or whether it was water lines or whatever.

Through the Chair, what was the location again?

It was, it was, it was either Davis Way or Suntog or somewhere in that area. I don't know, through you, Mr. Chair, if Councilor Russell remembers the street I don't know, did you see that? No? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, so I look forward to, I'll try to get an actual street name when I go home and I'll text it to you tomorrow. and then the last thing is what other preventative actions can take place moving forward.

Through the Chair, as far as preventative actions, we are monitoring the system 24-7. We also have something out there called I hydrants. And those are two hydrants that are in the city that monitor the pressures in the system in that area. So we are being more watchful of those to ensure that we don't have these pressure surges like we had here. So those are very informative for us. We are just monitoring. We're being more vigilant in our monitoring. But again, we believe that because that frontage road pipe, that 24-inch main feed to Indian Hill tanks, because that's been reactivated that the system has reached an equilibrium and is operating the way it should be.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Okay, thank you, Council. Okay, seeing nobody else. So... We'll send that to Public Works and send my motion to the Manager. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. We have to go back to item 9.4a and ask for reconsideration. 9.4A, that is on the release deed for the form of Clinton Street right away, roll call.

So you, Mr. Chairman, so you want us to, the recommendation would be for the chair.

The recommendation would be to reconsider this, yes.

To not reconsider it.

To reconsider it. To reconsider it, because we took a wrong vote, so we have to reconsider it.

Bergman, Yes, Councilor, Colorio, Councilor, Ojeda, Yes, Councilor, King, Yes. Councilor Mero-Carlson, Councilor Nguyen, Councilor Ojeda, Councilor Pacillo. Yes. Councilor Russell. Yes. Councilor Toomey. Yes.

And Mayor Petty. Yes. So the motion We needed eight votes to pass that tonight, so we'll hold that under personal privilege. On to the next meeting. Unless, do we need this right away? Mr. Manager, is there something we need right away? Okay, so I'll hold down the privilege.

Okay.

We are next on 9.10A, Transmitting Information and Communication. We're off to Elm Park Media Notification. Bergman.

Just briefly, I just want to acknowledge that the City Manager and the Commissioner Parks, Rob who's here tonight, and myself and some others have been trying to put this together. There's a date set, as you can see in the packet. I think it's the 26th. of January, which is a Wednesday night, the Parkview Tower, Cornerstone Bank, across from Elm Park. And I hope a lot of people will show up. As we all know, Elm Park is arguably the oldest, if not one of the oldest, historic Public Parks in America, not just in Massachusetts. And it has some things happening which are positive, but it's also

has some things happening in which I've often commented it's seen better days and we can really get it to where we need it to be as a showcase of not only public parks but our history and I think having the input of all the people that have some sort of the vested interest or connection to Elm Park on that night would be very helpful. So I hope as many people as possible would come out that night and we could have a great conversation about how we can make Elm Park as good as it can be.

Thank you. Thank you. So place that on file. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. Next item is 9.11a, Transmitting Information and Communication Related to the Construction Progress Report. for the month ending November 30th, 2025. We can send that to Councilor Russell.

Mr. Chairman, I have a question for this, for Mr. Raleigh, through you, Mr. Chairman. on this item because there was a list in there. I don't have the page open in front of me and I apologize for that. But there was a list of the major arteries that are either in in the process of being worked on or that are out to bid. And it was probably about eight or 10 streets. On that list was Lake Avenue. but there was a space that was open next to it. On that chart, you've got it open, I think, in front of you, Mr. Raleigh. It says Bigelow Way, which as we all know is Hamilton Street, but it really is Bigelow Way. and but it says District 2 and District 3 are we going to do all of Lake Ave with that proposal or is that all what's because it's not clear

. Through the Chair, so this is an upcoming project. We've received funding from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to look at intersection improvements. at Bigelow Davis Parkway. The actual full design work will extend several hundred feet either direction from that. and as part of that we want to kick off a discussion about longer term improvements to the entire corridor but the design project itself will be specific to the intersection.

Okay, so that only is dealing with the area right around the park is what it comes down to. Okay, and then what are the plans long-term and short-term for Lake Abbey? Because I know we've talked about that off and on for quite a while.

and through the chair. So that's something that we'll want to start having the discussion on as part of this project, because certainly this intersection will be a key feature of that corridor moving forward. So this will really lay the groundwork to have that conversation about how we address the rest of the corridor.

Okay, and my last question dealing with this, Mr. Chairman, is Mr. Raleigh, do you have, through you, Mr. Chairman, of course, do you have an idea of what you're thinking about? Are you thinking like a rotary? Are you thinking about a stoplight? just not know yet.

Through the Chair, I wouldn't want to presuppose what those improvements might be so we're negotiating the final contract with the consultant now and that work will get underway later this winter.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. So we send it to Public Works. All those in favor, oppose, so ordered. Next item is regarding proposed order to establish a no-parking, anytime zone on the portion of Grafton Street on a 90-day trial basis. You know, I supremely established a no parking anytime portion of both sides of Grafton Street. Councilor Russell.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Mr. Raleigh and the city administration, the manager, of course, This comes out of basically a meeting that I asked for and I've been asking for for a while and the manager was nice enough to bring his team together with the superintendent of Schools team, and to talk about basically the aftermath math of the parking lot work that was done at Roosevelt and the disappointment that we all kind of had about the cars still being piled up. On November 20th, I think it was the day of the meeting that we had and I again thank I want to thank the administration and the superintendent and his team for being there. I also thank the councilor-elect from District 3 who joined us that afternoon and the school committee member

Diana Beccaria that also joined us there. So we kind of had a round table and discussed around and around about it. But on that November 20th at 11 o'clock in the morning, I went up to Roosevelt and I looked around and I found 33 empty parking spaces. 33 empty parking spaces. So, needless to say, Mr. Chairman, it's very disappointing that after the work that the administration and the school department did and the money that was spent on building up that parking lot to find that there was 33 parking spaces. Now some of those spaces are as a requirement of the The architectural barriers, I think, because they had so many handicapped space requires, and many of those spaces weren't even utilized. None of them were utilized. In fact, I think maybe one or two

but there were a bunch of them that were handicapped based I think maybe 10 or a dozen or so that were handicapped but they were still at least 20 regular spaces unused at that time. And yet we still see cars at pickup time piled up from the beginning of Roosevelt's driveway all the way down to past Stop and Shop. and it's a public safety issue, an issue that we've talked about for a long time. But I'm encouraged to see the administration coming in with this recommendation basically to give it a try to have no standing and, correct, may I ask a question through you, Mr. Chairman, to Mr. Raleigh? Because the way the ordinance reads is, of course, no parking, and I want to be clear, it's not only no parking, it's no standing, correct, Mr. Raleigh?

Mr. Chairman, that's what happens when we talk through the chair, we gotta wait for the chair.

Commissioner. Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's correct. So our local ordinance defines no parking as including no standing or no stopping. So it would encompass all of those.

and if the parking spaces are adopted by the council on a temporary basis, this is just like a trial run just to see how it's gonna work, correct? Mr. Raleigh, through you, Mr. Chairman.

Through the Chair. That's correct. So there's actually two components here. There's a 90-day trial, which would establish it on a temporary basis and allow us to fine tune it if we needed to. and we're also requesting that an ordinance be referred to the Traffic and Parking Committee so we can start to have conversations about potentially making that permanent.

Okay. Mr. Chairman, my concern obviously is we don't have eight votes here tonight, so we can't pass it as a temporary item because we don't have the eight votes. So I think what I'm gonna ask I know we're going to send it to committee, but my concern is if we send it to committee, the actual temporary part will get lost. So what I'm going to do is hold the item under personal privilege and have it go to the next council and let them all voted, if they see fit, to do that temporary ordinance because it's important to give a try. Mr. Chairman, through you, to the Manager, who's going to enforce this? is it the, because that's been the big problem up there because you can't ask the educators or their staff to go out into the street and deal with traffic.

And then there's issues of whether people that are the parking control officers are supposed to be doing that if there's somebody sitting in a car. So who's going to actually enforce this?

Mr. Manager?

Yeah, through the Chief to the Councilor. It would be the Police Department. I've spoken to the Chief already, the Police Department. Okay. So I've spoken to the Chief already about this temporary order and especially and some of the information that has to happen in this corridor when you have no standing in an actual main arterial.

And my last question I think is back to Mr. Raleigh is that Is there any place else for these families to wait, especially if we can't, if the school department doesn't have a way of coming up to utilize those 20 or plus more empty spaces? that we have up in the parking lot. I know that the principal and the superintendent at that meeting, my recollection of it is that they said they would do everything they could to get as many cars off the street and into the driveway. That's a good thing also. But what are you suggesting? Are you suggesting that they park in another section of Grafton Street? Do we have any other alternatives, or are we just telling them to stay away until that's close?

Through the Chair. So it's certainly clear that the issue that's being experienced at Roosevelt School as well as at many other schools across the city can't be addressed FULLY JUST BY ONE ACTION. I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE SCHOOL TO GET THE BEST UTILIZATION WE CAN OF THE EXPANDED ON-SITE FACILITIES. because what we're really doing here is simply focusing on trying to address the issue with parking in an area of the roadway that is not well suited to safely accommodate it. There are other sections along Grafton Street where we are not proposing to prohibit parking now where we don't have the frequency of driveways. Those are generally south and east. and so on.

So that would be OK, safety-wise, from your standpoint. But how would the traffic be in the other direction? Pick up the kids. Would you be looking for the school to bring the students down? Or would you be looking for the parents to get out of the car and walk up the driveway and get the children?

and through the Chair. So it doesn't, that area, as you pointed out, doesn't doesn't serve as a way to feed the driveway in particular. So if you were parked in those areas, I anticipate you would find it most convenient to actually park and wait there.

Okay. Mr. Chairman, like I said, I'm going to hold this item for the next council to deal with because we don't have the eight votes present. And I'll also ask for a chairman's... I'll also ask... The administration to come back with a future report to see if there's any way of utilizing or leasing some additional spaces in that neighborhood because there are so many different businesses in that to try and explore that avenue too. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the effort of the administration on this.

Thank you. Councilor Toomey.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate Councilor Russell's advocacy on this. It's really been a neighborhood nightmare for so many people. So thank you so much for all of your diligence and your work toward this. I had also suggested that we take some time to talk to some of the property owners in the area that have parking like the mall right down the street. See if there's some way we can utilize extra parking there as well. So if that could be included, I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

Okay, so we'll hold on the privilege and the motions sent to the City Manager. All those in favor, opposed, so ordered. We're on 9.15A, Recommended Adoption of the Alliance, Incorporating the Commission of the African American and Black Affairs, and Commission of the LGBTQIA Plus Affairs. So I'll send that to MLO. Councilor Kinn.

Through the chair to the administration, how would you characterize these changes? Are these minor changes? Are they significant changes? Mr.

Manager?

Through the Chair to the Council, there are minor changes. We're just making some minor changes that are important changes. One is the name of the LGBTQIA plus committee. and two is related to the way it was filed and articulated in regards to an article. And so we want to make those changes and amendments to the actual loan so they can be filed appropriately.

Thank you. Just a procedural question. Does this have to go to committee? Mr. Chairman, we've really worked towards establishing this for a couple years. There's some minor changes that are being made. I wonder if I could just make a motion that we approve it now on the council floor.

I think, but do we need any votes for that?

Mr. Chairman, I think you need, based on the charter, any change to the commission might need a public hearing and committee, so.

Okay. Okay, thank you. Okay, so I'll send that to committee. Those in favor, opposed, so afforded. Bergen, we can ask Councilor Toomey to come back into the room. Okay, we're on finance items 9.35A through E, 9.36A through C, and 9.37A through F. The motion is adopted on the roll call. Roll call.

Brueggemann, Colorio, Haxhiaj, King, Mero-Carlson, Young, Ojeda, Pacillo, Russell, Toomey, Petty.

Yes, 9.388 is a loan order, so I'm gonna hold that under privilege for the next meeting. This is the $7 million MSBA solar repair project. and Rice Square in Beaumont Street School. So I'll hold down the privilege, which brings us to the end of the meeting. So motion is to adjourn. I wish everybody a happy holiday and a happy new year. And those in favor, oppose, so ordered.