March 24, 2025: Quicker than usual city council meeting. Recording is on WCAC.org

1. The special permit modification for 180 Third Ave was approved after a final public hearing.

2. Public hearings for special permits for 1432 Main St (office) and 460 Totten Pond Rd (office) had nothing new and were recessed until the April 28, 2025 city council meeting. These will continue to be vetted by the law department and the ordinances and rules committee.

3. Referred to licenses and franchises: Naming of a large conference room in the new WHS to Waltham Room, bench naming at 200 Trapelo Rd for George Darcy, three tables and chairs permits for outdoor dining on Moody.

4. Referred to finance: Donations to the City Hall Museum Room, $16k appropriation for disability services commission.

5. Referred to ordinances and rules: Affordable housing proposal for $4.2m in lieu of affordable housing units for a future development at 183-241 Crescent St, amendments to ordinances to increase fees for building permit fees, gas and plumbing permit fees and annual inspection fees.

6. The council approved a request to allow the school department to apply for an MSBA grant for a new roof at Northeast Elementary School. If awarded after application, 56% of the cost could be reimbursed by the state.

7. A traffic and safety technology resolution proposed by Councillor Katz (I signed on) was referred to economic and community development committee.

8. The council approved $134k in reimbursement for WCAC after committee approval.

9. The trash ordinance amendments related to dumpsters and rats passed for a second reading, as was the amended special permit ordinance. The ADU ordinance was passed for a first reading, then referred back to the ordinances and rules committee.

10. Final approval was given for the purchase of two vehicles for the building department, a passenger van for recreation and the council accepted a $152k Green Communities grant. The Year 51 community development block grant was approved.

There is no meeting on March 31, 2025, so the next meeting is April 7, 2025, with committees.

March 17, 2025: St. Patrick's Day committee night. Please see WCAC for recordings.

1. Economic and community development met and discussed the Year-51 community development block grant and the resolution requesting the implementation of a 311 app. Please see the recording for details.

2. Licenses and franchises approved a new livery service and approved two secondhand dealer licenses. 

3. The committee of the whole approved various meeting minutes and executive session minutes. After some discussion, we approved the transfer of the old UMass field station at 240 Beaver St to the recreation department. The plan is to continue to remediate environmental issues, install windows, then discuss use of the building by licensees and the recreation department. The mayor asked that we bring in representatives from the MWRA to discuss the tunnel project and water main project on Lexington St. Councillor Durkee took the preserving residential zoning resolution off the table and requested someone from the law and building departments attend the next committee meeting and give us an update. We also went into executive session to discuss two real estate matters with the mayor.

4. Finance committee met, please see the recording on WCAC for details.

5. Ordinances and rules had a busy night and went until nearly midnight.

   • Amendments to the noise pollution ordinances were sent to the law department for review.

   • Representatives from several special permits appeared to give updates. The permit modification for BXP's 180 Third Ave was approved. Updates were given on 460 Totten Pond Rd (office/lab) about their proposed driveway connecting Totten Pond Rd and Prospect Hill Ln. 1432 Main St (office) and 1265 Main St (boutique hotel at Market Basket) also gave updates. We will conduct a site view of 1265 Main in April.

   • There was significant discussion about our ADU ordinance. I proposed that we restrict rent prices of ADUs to 70% of HUDs fair market rents for FY2025. This was not possible due to the way the state law is written. We will continue to find ways to make ADUs actual affordable housing and be more like starter homes, rather than simply rental opportunities for those with the means to quickly build ADUs. Additional discussion resulted in changes in the minimum ADU size to be 450 square feet. I'd like to see ADUs be actual affordable housing options for families and not turn into a boondoggle for student housing. Separate rules for detached (separate building) and attached (basements and attics in existing homes) are not possible legally. Other changes discussed on March 3, 2025, were approved. The ADU ordinance was approved for a first reading and sent to the full council.

   • The ordinance for special permit modifications was approved for a first reading and send to the full council.

   • We sent the regulation of on-street parking on private ways to the law dept to review.

   • Discussion was held on the complete streets resolution and the law dept will be drafting changes and bringing this back to the committee for final review.

March 10, 2025: Quick city council meeting with lots of committee referrals. A highlight was the passing of the trash ordinance to help enforce dumpster trash violations. This will reduce food sources available to rats. See the recording on WCAC for full details.

1. Public Hearings: The special permit for BXP's 180 Third Ave (generator re-location on the site) was continued to March 24, 2025. McDonalds' special permit (789 Main St) was approved. McDonald's will tear down the current building and rebuild new with a two-lane drive through. Their hours of operation also increased for the drive-thru, but they will not be open 24 hours.

2. The community development block grant for $872k was referred to the economic and community development committee. The mayor asked that we transfer the field station at 240 Beaver St to the recreation department. This was referred to the committee of the whole. Referred to finance were the purchase of two vehicles for the building department ($70k) and the acceptance of a $152k Green Communities Competitive Grant. Also referred was a $61k request from recreation to buy a passenger van. $134k in expenses for WCAC was referred to the cable access committee.

3. Referred to licenses and franchises were two second-hand dealer licenses, Clean Out Your House Inc and Play it Again Sports. A massport license for ALVE LLC was also referred. 

4. The full council approved the following matters:

4. • Confirmed appointment of John E. White to the biosafety committee within the Board of Health.

4. • Approved setting a public hearing with the board of survey and planning for]. modifications to the marijuana retail ordinance to allow extended hours and transfer of ownership.

4. • For a first reading, approved modifications to the Garbage, Trash and Refuse ordinance (chapter 7) to include dumpster inspections and cleaning. Also approved were changes to the general provisions for fines related to dumpsters. These both will help make a dent in our city's rat problem. Both were tabled and will come back March 24, 2025, for final votes of approval after advertising.

4. • All matters discussed last week in the finance committee were approved, including design services for 200 Trapelo Rd/Fernald phase 2 and $1.5m for winter DPW overtime and snow operations.

4. • Bike rack placement on Moody St was approved and will be sent to the DPW director and mayor for funding.

4. • The outside dining ordinance was approved for a final reading.

5. City Clerk Vizard announced that applications for sidewalk use for outside dining should be sent in to the clerk's office asap. This allows for time to get them approved before Memorial Day. Applications and checks can be brought to city hall M-F.

6. Two resolutions were referred. A resolution to encourage the city to install a 311-style app was referred to economic and community development. Changes to the noise ordinance to include building inspectors as enforcement agents was referred to the ordinances and rules committee.

March 3, 2025: Late committee night. The meeting recordings will be posted on WCAC for more detail.

1. Economic and Community Development met and discussed bike racks on Moody and the Elm Street train crossing resolution.

2. Licenses and Franchises approved minutes and tabled a renewal application for a lodging house at 77 Prospect Street. There are issues about the exact address of the building. The owner will be invited to the next committee meeting to answer questions.

3. In committee of the whole, we approved a mayoral appointment of John White to the biosafety committee and approved several sets of minutes, including executive session minutes. The committee went into executive session twice to discuss real estate matters. 

4. The finance committee met and discussed several donations, including $1500 from the Lions Club to the Council on Aging. Also discussed was an appropriation of $1.46m to cover snow operations and overtime and $258k to cover design services for phase 2 of 200 Trapelo Road/Fernald improvements.

5. Ordinances and rules discussed several matters and made a significant amount of progress. 

• Discussion was held on the new ADU ordinance, and several amendments were accepted. I made a request to the law department to investigate if we can restrict rent prices of ADUs to 70% of Fair Market Rent numbers set by HUD. Councillors Logan and Dunn also proposed amendments. This will be discussed at the next O&R meeting on March 17.

• The dumpster ordinance and fines associated with it to control rats was discussed at length and was approved for a first reading. This matter will go to the full council for approval next Monday, March 10.

• The special permit for McDonald's at 789 Main St was approved. The building will be razed and rebuilt within 120 days, which I find amazing. McDonald's will not pursue a 24-hour operating license as was previously thought. Two drive-thru lanes will be built on the property.

• The special permit modification for Boston Properties' 180 Third Ave was sent to the law department for review and will be discussed further and is near approval.

• Councillor Logan requested an update on the comprehensive zoning review. The city planner was requested to attend the next O&R meeting for discussion.

• City Solicitor Laughman presented options for changing the marijuana dispensary retail hours. The committee selected option 1, which sets increased hours of operation. This was requested by Uma Flowers as a licensee and the committee agreed that all dispensaries in Waltham would have the same hours, rather than do this by special permit. 8am-10pm Monday through Saturday and 8am-8pm on Sundays. Closed Christmas and Thanksgiving. Also approved was a modification to allow the transfer of the ownership, to be in line with all other special permits. This will require a joint public hearing with the city council and board of survey and planning.

• Special permit modifications were discussed, and the committee voted to include certain language. This will be reviewed by the law department. If a building is expanded by 2% or 5000 square feet, whichever is less, or the number of required parking spaces is reduced by 2% or 2 spaces, whichever is more, then a new special permit is needed.

• A site view will be scheduled for 1265 Main St, the hotel being proposed for the Market Basket complex.

• The complete streets resolution was discussed and the law department will have an update at the March 17 meeting.

• The dog grooming resolution was briefly discussed and was tabled to allow for more research and discussion.

The next meeting is with the full council on March 10, 2025, at 7:30pm at City Hall.

February 24, 2025: Full council meeting went to nearly midnight, lots of discussion. Full meeting recording is available on WCAC.

1. Public Hearing to hear input on the draft ADU-accessory dwelling unit ordinance. This draft ordinance was written and published prior to the state releasing their definitive version of the law. Several residents spoke in opposition of the draft ordinance, but most of the feedback given will be incorporated into the ordinance that will be worked through the ordinances and rules committee. The state requires certain elements to be included in local ordinances. This matter will be discussed further, as there is no deadline to pass this locally, as there was with the MBTA communities act.

2. Public Hearing to discuss time limitations and changes to modifications to the special permit process. There was discussion on this amongst councillors and the process to change existing buildings that were constructed under a special permit from the city council. The goal is to streamline the process and allow for public input into modifications. Previously, there was no coded language to define a "minor modification" to a special permit in the zoning code. This will be further discussed in the ordinances and rules committee.

3. Special Permit Public Hearings

a. Boston Properties' 180 Third Ave is seeking a modification to install a pad to hold a generator. No changes to the building itself are being made. After discussion amongst councillors as to whether this could be approved without committee reference, it was found that the city engineer had an outstanding question, and this was referred to the ordinances    and rules committee.

b. J & Co.'s hotel special permit for 1265 Main St had no added information and was continued to April 21, 2025.

c. McDonald's at 789 Main St had no added information and was continued to March 10, 2025.

d. ALP PHOP's special permit application at 460 Totten Pond Rd had no added information and was continued to March 24,   2025. This is an office tear-down and rebuild.

4. Communications from the Mayor were several donations to the city hall museum room, an appointment of John E. White to the biosafety committee, $1.45m for the projected deficit in snow operations, and $258k for design services for 200 Trapelo/Fernald design services for phase two.

5. Two resolutions were introduced. I signed on to Councillor Katz' resolution to investigate using technology to help with traffic issues in the city, and Councillor LaCava’s resolution to investigate removing the curbing near the Elm St train crossing was referred to the economic and community development committee for discussion.

6. Council Approvals

a. The re-appointment of David McGann as a constable was approved.

b. Several donations to the city hall museum room were approved, as was a $5000 donation to the city from Prestige Car Wash for use by the police department. After discussion and debate, this was approved 9-5. The donation will be used to   wash police cars, not for any personal use. The city budgets $5000 per year for this matter. A letter from the mayor was read to the council to clarify this donation's intent and legality. A grant from the MA board of library commissioners for $100k was approved for design services for improvements to the library building.

c. Eight lodging house licenses were approved, as was dedication plaques for benches at 200 Trapelo/Fernald's dedication area. A grant of location for National Grid on Second Ave was also approved.

d. The outside dining ordinance was approved for a sec0nd reading. 

7. Ad-hoc committee assignments were made, and I was moved from the cable access committee to the Kevin Ritcey Award Committee. Committee assignments are Ambulance Committee - Lacava and Lafauci, Cable Access - Dunn, Katz, Lafauci, Master Plan Committee - Leblanc, Durkee, Katz, Vidal, McMenimen, Ritcey Award Committee - Harris, Hanley, McLaughlin.

The next meeting is committee night on Monday, March 3, 2025.

February 18, 2025: Busy committee night. The meeting recordings are now posted on WCAC for more detail.

1. Licenses and Franchises approved more bench dedications for Fernald/200 Trapelo after the mayor's presentation, approved several lodging house renewals and Councillor Logan made a motion to file his lodging house resolution. The L&F committee made site visits to the city's lodging and rooming houses over the last three months. The city council is the licensing authority for these types of rental properties. A grant of location was approved for National Grid's work on Second Ave. All of this will go to the full council for approval on Feb 24, 2025.

2. The Public Works and Public Safety Committee met, but I was unable to attend.

3. In committee of the whole, we approved a re-appointment for David McGann as a city constable and heard from Dillan Patel from the state department of energy resources. He made a presentation on and took questions about the state's opt-in specialized energy code.

4. The finance committee approved a $5000 donation from Prestige Car Wash at 101 Elm St. This donation is intended for car wash tickets to the Waltham Police Dept. Several donations to the city hall museum room were also approved. Staff from the library and library board of trustees answered questions about a $100k state grant for the design of building improvements to the library. This was approved. The assistant city auditor, Laura Doane, presented the mid-year budget report.

5. Ordinances and rules discussed the mayor's recommendations to change the trash ordinance. This would add language about dumpsters and help with enforcement of rat activity. Recommendations from residents, the mayor, other councillors and the health director were incorporated into Councillor Logan's draft. This matter was tabled after discussion with the mayor and health director. The development team from McDonald's appeared and answered questions from committee members. After discussion, the committee voted to send the matter to the law department for final review. In addition to a teardown and rebuild, as well as adding a second drive thru lane, McDonald's will pursue extended hours, staying opening until 2am. They will not pursue a 24-hour operating license. The team representing the office and lab development at 1432 Main St also presented and answered questions. Both projects will move forward in the special permit process. Officer Frassica appeared and further discussion was held on adding cameras to the extendable stop signs on school buses. This was approved after the law department's review and approved to send to the city council for a first reading. We also discussed the dog grooming business resolution, and I made a request to have the city solicitor attend the next meeting to answer legal questions about those changes to zoning.

The next meeting is with the full council on Feb 24, 2024, at 7:30pm at City Hall.

February 14, 2025: Mid-year city budget update. Waltham continues to be fiscally responsible, and our accounts and tax rates reflect that. The financial health of the city is in excellent condition.

1. City revenues are on track and have met or exceeded the mid-year target. We are $410k ahead in expected excise tax collections and building permit revenue is at the 50% mark. Hotel and meals taxes are both higher than last year's mid-year numbers.

2. Expenditures are on-target in the 45%-55% range. 

3. The city-funded medical insurance trust fund is performing favorably. Waltham is self-insured with a stop-loss insurance policy that has seen several claims paid this fiscal year.

4. Our OPEB trust fund (Other Post-Employment Benefits) currently has a liability of $591m. OPEB is the retirement benefits employees receive outside of pensions. Retiree medical insurance is the largest item within OPEB. Waltham makes deposits to this fund annually as part of the budget, with employee contributions and investment income also contributing.

5. There is currently $48m in the unreserved fund balance (free cash). 

February 10, 2025: Full city council meeting, please see the recording on WCAC for full details.

1. Five public hearings were held for five private ways to become public streets in the Pigeon Hill neighborhood of Ward 1, Lory Dr, Matthew Ln, Raffaelle Dr, Michaelchris Dr, Roseanna Park Dr). 30+ residents attended and stood in support of the matter that was referred to the public works and public safety committee for deliberation. I put in a request to ask the public works director to provide the city council with a list of private ways, citywide, that still have outstanding bonds. Ward 3 has quite a few ways and most of them need paving.

2. The mayor's request to change the city's trash ordinance was referred to the ordinances and rules committee. I look forward to working on that and strengthening city ordinances 7.6 and 7.7. We need more enforcement on how trash and garbage are stored to stop rat activity and decrease their food supplies. The dumpster ordinance is also under its first reading as a separate ordinance.

3. Several donations to the city were referred to the finance committee, including a $5000 donation from Prestige Car Wash to the police department for unlimited car washes for police cars. Also sent to finance was a $100k grant from the MA board of library commissioners.

4. Sent to the committee of the whole (CoW) was a mayoral recommendation to reappoint David McGann as a constable.

5. Councillor Bradley-MacArthur filed a resolution, sent to CoW, to invite a presenter from the state to speak to the city council about adopting the specialty stretch code. Councillor LaCava's resolution to explore options to remove road medians at the Elm St train crossing was tabled, and Councillor LeBlanc brought in a resolution to allow dog grooming business without special permits, I signed on to that resolution.

6. Added bench namings for 200 Trapelo/Fernald were sent to licenses and franchises.

7. All matters approved by committees on 2/3/2025 were approved by the full council.

8. The council went into executive session to discuss a real estate matter and adjourned.

February 3, 2025: Committee night, please see the recordings on WCAC for more granular details.

1. Licenses and franchises made several approvals. National Grid appeared and we discussed several grants of location for their system upgrades. Gas lines dating back over 100 years are being replaced these were approved. Bentley's licenses for their dorm buildings were approved, as were several lodging houses that were visited by councillors. There are several more lodging houses that have tabled licenses while the next site visit is scheduled for this month. Also approved was a secondhand dealer's license for The Tool Shed. We also approved the naming of memorial benches at 200 Trapelo Road for Fernald residents, Fernald employees and the Fernald Guardians, who were involved in the design of the memorial area of the property where these benches are located.

2. Economic and community development met and discussed several matters, please see the WCAC recording.

3. The committee of the whole entered executive session to discuss real estate matters and had no other agenda items other than approving minutes.

4. Finance committee met and discussed several grants and appropriations. $36k for environmental studies at Withington and Farrell Halls at 200 Trapelo, a fire safety grant for $35k for WFD, rental of a sewer jet truck for two months for $31k while ours is repaired, $57k for improvements to the Stanley Senior Center building, $236k for improvements to the Trapelo Cottage at 200 Trapelo, this will be for public bathrooms for the park.

5. Ordinances and rules discussed the addition of cameras being added to school buses. These cameras will be used to enforce drives passing stopped school buses. Officer Frassica attended and explained that the cameras are installed on top of the stop sign that is extended when the bus is stopped. The cameras only operate when the bus is stopped and students are getting on and off the bus, not while the bus is moving. We passed the change in ordinance language related to outside dining. Restaurants will now have a more streamlined process for applying and will be legally allowed to use adjacent properties with the adjacent property owner's permission. The law department added language related to bonded coverage of the properties in question. No special permit matters were discussed this week.

January 27, 2025: Full city council meeting. Please see the recording on WCAC for more granular details.

1. National Grid appeared for a public hearing. They intend to replace several stretches of underground gas line, some dating back as far as 1914. Councillors asked several questions and National Grid, if approved in committee and council, will perform the work after the winter season. Streets affected include Church St to Main St, Park Pl, School St, Orchard Ave from Church St to Warren Ave, Mt Pleasant from Liberty to School St. This was referred to the license and franchise committee.

2. Several public hearings were held, none had new information to report, so the attorneys will continue to work together with the city law dept. All were referred back to the ordinances and rules committee. 1265 Main St (6-story hotel at Market Basket property), McDonald's at 789 Main St (complete rebuild and request for a 24-hour operating license), 460 Totten Pond Rd (tear down of existing office building and rebuild).

3. Several donations were referred to finance, as was a request for $36k for environmental surveys at Withington and Farrell Halls at 200 Trapelo, approval of a $35k state grand for WFD fire safety equipment, $31k for rental of a sewer jet truck, approval of a $121k energy efficiency state grant for the planning dept, $57k for improvements to the senior center building, $236k to renovate Trapelo Cottage.

4. Bentley University filed 10 renewals for their dorms and 5 additional lodging house renewals were received. The Tool Shed filed a renewal of their secondhand dealers license. All were sent to L&F.

5. I signed on to a resolution, written by Councillor Logan, that would install cameras on school buses. These cameras would be used to enforce violations of vehicles failing to stop for city school buses.

6. All committee approvals from January 21, 2025, were approved by the full council.

7. The meeting was capped off with an approval of the first reading of the dumpster ordinance amendment. This is intended to give the board of health the tools they need to combat rat activity throughout the city.

8. Next meeting is committee night and is Monday, February 3, 2025. January was one fast month....

January 21, 2025: Special meeting of the city council and committee meetings.

1. The following committee assignments were made by Council President John McLaughlin during the special meeting.

a. Committee of the Whole: LaCava (chair), all councillors

b. Public Works and Public Safety: LeBlanc (chair), Dunn, Durkee, Katz, Lafauci

c. Long-term Debt: McMenimen (chair), Durkee, Bradley-Macarthur, Stanley, Vidal

d. Licenses and Franchises: Vidal (chair), Dunn, Hanley, Katz, Logan

e. Economic and Community Development: Brasco (chair), Bradley-Macarthur, Harris, Lacava, Stanley

f. Finance: Lafauci (chair), Lacava, Leblanc, McMenimen, Vidal

g. Ordinances and Rules: Harris (chair), Dunn, Hanley, Logan, McLaughlin

h. Veterans Services: Durkee (chair), Brasco, Hanley, Leblanc, McLaughlin

2. Committee Meetings (only meetings I attended, please see WCAC's website for all committee meeting recordings)

a. Licenses and Franchises: A class 2/used car sales renewal for 712 Moody St was approved and discussion was held with Eversource for a grant of location at Moody and Carter Streets. Several tabled lodging house renewals were approved after site visits by the committee.

b. Committee of the Whole: Minutes from the previous meeting and executive session were approved. The executive session minutes were sent to the law department for review prior to release.

c. Veterans Services: Waltham Veterans Agent Michael Russo addressed veteran homelessness in Waltham. Councillor Durkee submitted a resolution to address this and I signed on with other councillors. Mr. Russo does receive occasional referrals and requests for services from some homeless veterans in Waltham. While a chronic problem nationwide, this is a sporadic problem for veterans in Waltham that is addressed on an individual basis. There are currently no known homeless veterans in Waltham, but a survey is being conducted by Waltham Police this month.

d. Ordinances and Rules: The resolution related to the outside dining ordinance was sent to the law department for review, then tabled. The team pursuing a special permit and building permit for McDonald's on Main Street appeared before the committee to discuss progress. After discussion related to traffic, dumpster location and site layout, the matter was tabled until Jan 30, 2025.

January 13, 2025: The Waltham City Council met for the first meeting of calendar year 2025 on Monday, January 13th, please see the summary below. Some significant legislation, which took a lot of work and collaboration, was passed. The next meeting is Tuesday, January 21st at 6:30pm.

1. Ward 4 Councillor John McLaughlin was elected city council president and Ward 5 Councillor Joseph LaCava was elected vice president. Both will serve in these leadership roles for the entirety of 2025.

2. A public hearing was held with NStar to allow them to install 63 feet of conduit at Moody and Carter Streets. This was referred to the licenses and franchises committee.

3. National Grid was not able to attend, so the public hearing for various grants of location was tabled to 1/27/2025.

4. The public hearing for the special permit application for 1432 Main St was continued to 2/24/25. No new information from the petitioner.

5. The special permit application for 1074 Lexington St in Ward 3 (Green Jacket Cleaners) was withdrawn without prejudice. A juicery franchise was going to move into this location, but that no longer will proceed.

6. Several communications from the mayor were referred to committees. Request for bench locations on Main and Moody Streets was sent to economic and community development. Referred to finance was $26k in grant funding from the MA emergency management agency, a donation from the New Light  Korean Church to WFD for $300, a donation of an "Empowering the African American" booklet, and an appropriation of $225k for a comprehensive zoning ordinance and map update. A class 2 license renewal was referred to licenses and franchises.

7. An outside dining resolution was referred to the ordinances and rules committee.

8. In a 13-0 unanimous vote, the preferential veterans housing ordinance was approved and sent to the mayor's desk for final approval.

9. The MBTA Communities Act zoning change was passed in a 12-0 vote, with one councillor voting present. This puts Waltham in compliance with the commonwealth and is also now on the mayor's desk for her signature.

10. A loan authorization for $1.03m to fund design work for the Howe and Administration buildings at 200 Trapelo (former Fernald) passed for a second reading.

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11. The council closed the meeting in executive session to discuss a real estate matter.

December 23, 2024: Council/Committees/Council, final meeting of the calendar year.

1. Special permit public hearing for 460 Totten Pond Rd was held and referred to the ordinances and rules committee.

2. Several communications from the mayor were referred to committees (which met and approved these matters after the first council meeting).

a. New confidential matters related to 187 Lexington St were tabled and referred to the C0W.

b. Appropriation of $28k for HVAC supplies at WHS was referred to finance. Also sent to finance was a request for two rectangular rapid flashing beacons for $19k, $6000 for the mayor's special events account, and $124k for construction at 48 and 58 Chestnut St properties operated by OFI.

c. A loan authorization for $1.03m for design services for the Howe and Admin buildings at 200 Trapelo Rd was referred to long-term debt.

d. A class two renewal and four lodging house renewals were referred to licenses and franchises.

3. Three resolutions were proposed. Councillor Durkee presented a Veterans Homelessness in Waltham resolution which was referred to the veterans services committee. I signed on to this resolution as a member of that committee. Councillors Harris and Logan brought a bike racks in the downtown resolution that was sent to economic and community development and Councillor Lafauci presented a resolution to explore purchasing the parking lot at the corner of Main St and Prospect Hill Rd.

4. After committee meetings, the council discussed and voted on several matters in addition to those mentioned above.

a. After O&R approved the ADU ordinance, the council voted unanimously to schedule a public hearing.

b. The council voted 14-0, with Councillor Bradley-MacArthur voting present, to approve the ordinance for the MBTA communities act zoning compliance for a first reading. The city currently has conditional approval from the state.

c. With a 15-0 vote, the council approved the preferential veterans housing zoning amendment for a first reading.

5. The next council meeting is Monday, January 13, 2025. Agenda is HERE.

December 16, 2024: Special meeting of the city council and board of survey and planning

1. A public hearing was held for discussion on the zoning changes required for compliance with the state's MBTA communities act. 20+ residents spoke at the hearing and the recording is available on WCAC.org. After discussion and questions for the city solicitor and assistant city solicitor, the board of survey planning held a separate meeting and voted in support of allowing two four-family buildings per 6000 square foot lot in the zoning areas. You can read the full text of the zoning HERE.

2. The council broke out into committees for the remainder of the night.

a. The public works and public safety committee discussed a street opening for National Grid at 115 Second Ave

b. Licenses and franchises approved a secondhand dealer's license for LaDonna Jackson of Finely Find IT Vintage at 681 Main St. Lodging house renewals were tabled until the committee completes site visits of these properties in January.

c. Economic and community development met and discussed the benches around Waltham resolution.

d. The committee of the whole approved the appointment of Colette Casey-Brenner as the new director of housing and community development. The mayor discussed a license for the use of 92 Felton St by Bentley University. Raymond Buscemi was approved for a re-appointment as a constable. Dr. Mendonsa, Supt of Schools, and Chad Mazza, Asst Supt for Finance and Operations presented an update to the committee and answered questions from councillors. 

e. Ordinances and rules met and discussed several matters, please see the recording HERE.

f. The finance committee had no current agenda items and did not meet.

December 9, 2024: Full City Council

1. LaDonna Jackson appeared in a public hearing for her application for a second-hand dealer license. Finely Find IT Vintage Jewelry will be opening soon at 681 Main Street. This was referred to the license and franchise committee and will be discussed next week.

2. NStar/Eversource appeared for a grant of location at 71 Porter Road in Ward 3. This was the second appearance and all abutters have been duly notified. The electrical connection will be done through Baldwin Road. Since this was the second appearance, I motioned that this be approved without committee reference so the work could begin immediately. That passed unanimously.

3. National Grid appeared for three public hearings. They are planning a significant amount of gas line and main replacements in Waltham. The first, for 1650 feet of gas main work on Second Ave was referred to the license and franchise committee. The second, a street opening for 115 Second Ave, was referred to the public works and public safety committee. These two projects are related. The third was for several gas line and main replacements around South Street and connecting streets. This sizable project drew a significant amount of discussion from the Ward 7 and 9 councillors as well as several others. One Ward 7 resident spoke and asked what the cost, disruption and benefit would be. This was referred to the license and franchise committee.

4. Two brief special permit hearings were held and neither had any new information to present to the council. 1432 Main St will be discussed at the ordinances and rules committee on 1/13/2025 and McDonald's at 789 Main St will be discussed on 1/27/2025.

5. Robert J. Waters, interim city planner, spoke and answered questions from councillors. Mr. Waters has served Waltham for over 30 years and was unanimously voted in favor as the permanent city planner. He worked his way up to the top of his field and I look forward to continued work with him. Congrats, Bob!

6. The mayor's appointment of Colette Casey-Brenner as director of housing and community development (position vacated by Mr. Waters' promotion to city planner) was referred to the committee of the whole. Also referred to CoW was the temporary license agreement for Bentley University to use 92 Felton Street's first floor and parking lot. The health department requested a new truck for weights and measures, this was referred to the finance committee.

7. Three lodging house renewals were referred to the license and franchise committee.

8. I signed on to a resolution drafted by Councillor LeBlanc that aims to tighten up our ordinance on modifications to special permits. This was referred to O&R.

9. All matters approved at last week's committee meetings were approved by the full council.

10. The traffic commission draft ordinance to regulate on-street parking on private ways was referred to O&R.

11. City Clerk Joseph Vizard spoke before the council on his reappointment to another three-year term. He has served the city as a councillor-at-large, assistant city clerk and now is in his second term as city clerk. He also manages our city elections, among other responsibilities. Congrats, Joe! 

12. Two matters were discussed in executive session, 61 Tomlin Street and 56 Whittier Ave/66 Brewster Rd. 

December 2, 2024: City Council committee meetings.

1. Ordinances and rules met in a special meeting at 5:30pm to hear a proposal from zoning consultants CommunityScale. The city will hire consultants to analyze and offer suggestions on a comprehensive zoning ordinance update and map review and this was their response to the RFP.

2. Licenses and franchises approved a class 2 license for MetroWest Motors, and four lodging house renewals were tabled. The committee is planning site visits to lodging houses and dates in late December and early January are being scheduled. Lodging houses provide a housing option to many city residents and are abundant in Waltham.

3. Public works and public safety met and entered executive session to discuss a real-estate matter. Also discussed was the matter of Forest Park Drive converting from a private to a public way. This is under review with the law department.

4. Committee of the whole entered executive session to discuss a real-estate matter. After executive session, the police and fire chiefs, purchasing agent and mayor appeared to discuss the needs of the police, fire and CPW for new facilities on Lexington Street at their current sites. The mayor also reviewed the building committees for these facilities. 

5. Finance approved a donation to the Council on Aging from the estate of Antoinette Tambascia and a donation from Connors and Connors Attorneys-at-Law for upkeep of the Waltham Common holiday lights. We tabled a discussion and approval of a grant of $195k so the director of the Council on Aging could attend the next meeting to review. Also approved were two change orders to the 200 Trapelo Universal Playground project totaling $403k. One was for additional drainage and erosion control and the second was for Eversource and water and sewer work. The law department is involved and are trying to recoup some of these funds from design errors. The work will not delay the project and it will also support the buildings that have been bid for lease.

6. Ordinances and rules met and discussed the dumpster and rat ordinance, as well as the special permit for 101 Elm St/Prestige Car Wash. Please see WCAC for the full recording.

7. The next meeting is with the full city council on Monday, Dec 9, 2024. Following that, committees meet Monday, Dec 16, then the final meeting of the year is council/committees/council on Monday, Dec 23.

November 25, 2024: City Council meeting following the classification special meeting described below.

1. Public hearings held for Forest Park Drive to be accepted as a public way. This was referred to the public works and public safety committee and the law department for review. Special permit public hearings were held for 195 Bear Hill Rd (Extra Space Storage) and this special permit was approved. A public hearing was held for 103 Fourth Ave, Boston Properties, and there was discussion and a motion was made to approve this without committee reference. This was not voted on, the petitioner preferred this be sent to the ordinances and rules committee to vet additional items. Wilder Companies requested the public hearing for Tropical Smoothie Cafe, in Ward 3, at 1074 Lexington Street be tabled. This hearing will be held on January 13, 2025. 

2. The city council passed an appropriation of $49k to fund the cost of poll workers for the 2024 Presidential Election without committee reference.

3. Referred to the finance committee were a grant approval for $195k for the Council on Aging, an appropriate of $403k for tw0 change orders related to the universal playground at 200 Trapelo Rd (former Fernald), a $400 donation from Connors and Connors, and a donation of $27k from the Tambascia Estate to the Council on Aging.

4. Referred to public works and public safety and the committee of the whole were a request from the mayor to appear before the committee regarding 187 Lexington Street, and a request to speak to the full council and PWPS on the needs of the police, fire and public works departments for new facilities. The mayor also requested councillors to volunteer for these potential building committees.

5. Four lodging house renewals and one class two renewal were referred to the licenses and franchises committee.

6. All approvals from last week's committee of the whole, finance, PWPS, L&F. Also of note were full council approvals for special permits at 195 Bear Hill Rd and 245 Fifth Ave. The full council also approved holding a joint public hearing with the board of survey and planning on December 16, 2024, at 8:30pm. This will be a special meeting of the city council to deliberate the MBTA communities act plan that is being worked by the city for approval by December 31, 2024.

7. The minor modification to the special permit for 103 Fourth Ave was withdrawn without prejudice.

8. A second reading of the loan authorization for $1.9m for public works, police and water and sewer equipment was approved.

November 25, 2024: Special Meeting of the City Council to set the tax levy, residential exemption, tax rates and residential factor. City Assessor Frank Craig presented at our special meeting to set the tax rate, residential exemption, and residential factor. With the city budget, these are the impactful votes that the city council makes each year. Waltham is still a bargain compared to our neighbors on all sides. The balance of low taxes to city services makes Waltham a great place to live and purchase a home. Waltham imposes a tax levy that is $53 million LOWER than is allowed by state law. Waltham is very financially healthy thanks to the demanding work done by our assessor's, treasurer's office, city auditor's and mayor's teams. I also personally thank them all for their hard work keeping Waltham so financially stable. Their amazing work and financial talent doesn't go unnoticed. You can read the documents related to this at the city website HERE.

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1. The city council voted to accept the FY2025 CPA surcharge allocation of $4.125m with a $703k state match. This is a 17% match from the state. Also approved was an unallocated reserve of CPA funds in the amount of $540k.

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2. We voted to approve appropriations of $1.5m from water retained earnings and $2m from the unreserved fund balance. These defray the increases in water rates and in the $244m tax levy for Waltham residents.

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3. City council approved the maximum residential exemption at 35% and a residential factor of .597170, resulting in the lowest residential tax rate possible of $9.82. This results in the average homeowner tax bill increasing by only $115/per year, or $29/quarter. The lowest increase possible.

November 18, 2024: Committee meetings, please see WCAC for recordings.

1. Both the Public Works and Public Safety committee and the Economic and Community Development committee met at 7pm. In PW&PS, CPW director Chiasson addressed paving plans for next year and how funding and prioritization works. Many of us on the council want to see an increase in paving for 2025. In E&CD, several Lexington Street business owners, Baltazar Corp and MWRA attended to discuss the MWRA water main project. 

2. Licenses and Franchises met and approved the fuel storage license for Boston Orthopedic and Spine at 1265 Main Street. The new medical center expects to open in early 2025. Three class two/used car sales renewals were approved, two extended retail hour permits were approved and five lodging house renewals were tabled until the committee can arrange site views.

3. The Committee of the Whole discussed the regulatory agreement with the 40B development that is currently being built at 73 Pond Street in Ward 6. Councillor Durkee spoke on the matter and 20% of the units will be designated affordable in perpetuity. This matter passed by the committee and will go to the council next week, authorizing the mayor to agree to the terms.

4. In Finance, we approved a 1969 varsity letterman jacket donation from Ed Pilicy. This is for the city hall museum room. Also approved, was acceptance for a DCR grant for $100k for the "Replant Waltham" initiative. This is being administered and run by Kevin Thompson, city tree warden. 146 trees will be planted in the Cedarwood area.

5. The ordinances and rules committee also met and discussed several ordinances (dumpsters/rats, MBTA communities act, extending marijuana retail hours, group housing) and special permits. Recording is available at WCAC.

November 12, 2024: A rare Tuesday full-council meeting. Please see WCAC for the full recording, lots got done.

1. A public hearing was held on a request from Uma Flowers to amend the zoning code for cannabis business hours. Increasing hours in the evening and adding Sunday. No extended retail hours license would be needed unless the business wants to operate after midnight. Uma Flowers expects to open in March 2025 and has seen delays at the state level, the city council approved the special permit two years ago. This matter was referred to the ordinances and rules committee.

2. Three public hearings were held for on-going special permits. The fuel storage license for Boston Orthopedic & Spine at the Market Basket property at 1265 Main Street was referred to the licenses and franchises committee. Short public hearings were held for the teardown and office construction and 460 Totten Pond Rd, and the new hotel being constructed at the Market Basket property. Both were referred to O&R.

3. Mayor McCarthy requested approval of a varsity jacket donation for the city hall museum room and acceptance of a $100k grant from DCR for planting trees. Both referred to the finance committee. Approval of re-appointment of Raymond Buscemi as a constable and the affordable house restriction for the 40B housing development at 71 Pond St were referred to the committee of the whole.

4. Two extended retail hour licenses, three class two renewals and five lodging house renewals were referred to L&F.

5. Four resolutions were proposed by councillors. Ward 8 Councillor Harris proposed the Salvation Army Holiday Bell-Ringing resolution and Small Business Saturday resolution, along with Ward 9 Councillor Logan. I signed on to both and both were approved without committee reference. I also signed on to Councillor Brasco's Lexington St Business resolution to get an update on the MWRA Lexington St project. This was referred to the Economic and Community Development Committee. Finally, Councillors Harris and Logan wrote a resolution for updating the city's ordinances to regulate group housing. There are several group homes in Ward 3, and I signed on and look forward to this update as a member of the licenses and franchises committee.

6. The matters approved last week by the committee of the whole, and the L&F, finance, and long-term debt committees were approved by the council. Highlights were the re-appointment of Crystal Philpott as purchasing agent and $6m in CPA funding for the Boys and Girls Club renovation and $1.3m for abatement and window replacement for the city buildings at the farm at 240 Beaver St.

7. A time extension was granted for the special permit application for 104 Fourth Ave.

8. Finally, a reminder about the community outreach meeting is being held by Prestige Car Wash at 101 Elm St. The meeting will be held at Govt Center at 119 School St on Thursday, Nov 14, 2024, at 6pm. This was initially published on Oct 30, 2024, and is a part of the special permit application process.

November 4, 2024: Committee Meetings. Please see WCAC for full meeting recordings, this summary only includes the committee meetings I attended.

1. Public Works and Public Safety discussed my resolution for National Grid's work on private property. Councillor Katz made a request to invite a representative from National Grid to the next committee meeting to discuss their communication and notification process to Waltham residents. Also discussed was Councillor Leblanc's electric car charging resolution. Several department heads attended to discuss this, Planning Director Bob Waters, Traffic Engineer Mike Garvin, City Engineer Bob Winn and Wires Inspector Tim Kelly.

2. In licenses and franchises, we approved a class 2 renewal for Waltham Auto Tow and approved extended hours for Wendy's and ProTech Towing. Also approved was a grant of location for National Grid on Church, Summer and Warren Streets. There was discussion about site visits to lodging houses and those visits will be further discussed and planned. Representatives from CVS attended to discuss and answer questions as to why their Harvard Street store no longer offers 24-hour pharmacy services. This is the only 24-hour retail location in the city and that license was granted so residents had access to a 24-hour pharmacy. While there is still some value for being able to buy over the counter medication at all hours, we encouraged CVS to explore their hours further.

3. Committee of the Whole approved a three-year term for purchasing agent and chief procurement officer Crystal Philpott.

4. The finance committee approved minutes to the previous meeting, but had no additional agenda items this week.

5. The long-term debt and ordinances and rules committees also met, please see WCAC for those recordings.

October 28, 2024: Full City Council meeting, please see WCAC for the recording, this is just a summary.

1. Brian Bower was sworn in as chief building inspector and Parker Williams was sworn in as assistant city solicitor. Thank you both for your service to Waltham.

2. Two public meetings were held, 195 Bear Hill Rd and 1432 Main St. These were the second meetings for both.

3. Councillors proposed three resolutions. I wrote a resolution to hold National Grid accountable for communicating with residents when they are working the neighborhood and on private property and returning that private property to its original condition. That was referred to the public safety and public works committee. I signed on to the Complete Streets resolution proposed by Ward 9 Councillor Logan and Ward 8 Councillor Harris. Passing this ordinance, program and plan will allow us access to state funding for street and pedestrian safety funding. This was sent the ordinances and rules committee. Councillor LeBlanc filed a resolution for electric vehicle charting and infrastructure that was referred to the public works and public safety committee.

4. All items approved by committees on October 21, 2024, were approved by the full council.

5. The dumpster license ordinance was recommitted for additional discussion.

6. Two special permits were recommitted to the ordinances and rules committee, 245 Fifth Ave and 103 Fourth Ave.

7. The rDNA ordinance was approved for a third reading.

8. The loan authorization for $2.7k for improvements to pedestrian access on Totten Pond Rd and the skating rink was approved for a second reading.

9. A funding request for $6m in CPA funds was sent to the long-term debt committee and a minor modification to the special permit for 180 Third Ave was sent to O&R. A request for $1.3m in CPA funds for the farm at 240 Beaver St was sent to long-term debt.

October 21, 2024: Committee Meetings. Please see WCAC for full meeting recordings, these are only the committee meetings I attended.

1. Public Works & Public Safety discussed several matters. Discussion was held about a water main extension on Old County Rd. The matter of 187 Lexington St went into executive session.

2. Licenses & Franchises approved several class 1, class 2 and extended hours permits. The grant of location for Baldwin Rd was filed without prejudice to allow Eversource to correct their abutter notifications.

3. Committee of the Whole confirmed two mayoral appointments, Brian Bower as Chief Building Inspector and Parker Williams as assistant city solicitor.

4. The finance committee approved six matters: $5000 for code enforcement ticket books and office chairs for the building dept, a transfer of $189k to complete the purchase of three fire engines from Seagrave, approval of a community policing grant from the US DoJ for $168k, approval of a municipal road safety grant for $60k, approval of a donation to the City Hall Museum and approval of a donation of $3392 to the WFD for firefighter ID cards from Global Enterprises Technologies.

October 15, 2024: Full council meeting on a Tuesday due to Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day.

1. The council recognized two very accomplished and impressive young men who attained the rank of Eagle Scout, Gregory Doane of Ward 7, and Nicolas Adams of Ward 8. Congrats to both on very impressive achievements and projects.

2. Newly appointed City Solicitor Katherine Laughman was sworn in publicly, as was newly appointed Assessor Edgar Martinez. Thank you both for your service to Waltham. It was great to see you and your families.

3. Three public hearings were held.

a. (Ward 3) Grant of location for Eversource to connect 71 Porter Rd's electrical service from Baldwin Rd. The plan is to start this work asap and I inquired as to why no abutters on Baldwin Rd were notified. This was referred to the licenses and franchises committee.

b. Also sent to licenses and franchises was a request from National Grid to replace existing gas lines on several streets in Ward 6. After questions from councillors, it was stated that the planned start date was July 2025.

c. McDonald's presented their plans to tear down and rebuild the current restaurant at 789 Main St. This requires modifications to their current special permit. Also requested is a 24-hour opening license. Councillor Durkee and other councillors asked questions during a lengthy hearing, and they plan to start in April 2025. This was referred to the ordinances and rules committee (O&R).

4. An RFP for a comprehensive zoning update was referred to O&R.

5. Two appointments, Brian Bower as permanent chief building inspector, and Parker Williams as assistant city solicitor were referred to the committee of the whole.

6. Six funding requests were referred to the finance committee and fourteen licenses to the licenses and franchises committee. A loan authorization request for $1.9m for CPW and police equipment was referred to the long-term debt  committee and an application for water main work on Old County Rd was referred to public works and public safety. See the list here.

7. All docketed matters from the October 7, 2024 committee meetings were approved by the full council. Included were new windows for both the 101 Prospect and 48 Pine properties owned by the Waltham Housing Authority.

8. The new rDNA ordinance was approved for a second reading.

9. The city clerk reminded everyone that early voting for the November 5 election starts Saturday, October 19, 2024 at the Malone Archives Building.

October 7, 2024: Committees (please see WCAC for full recordings, only meetings I attended are mentioned here)

1. The public works and public safety committee met at 6pm and discussed several matters. A resolution requesting road improvements and increased paving was discussed. All ward councillors signed on to this resolution drafted by Ward 8 Councillor Harris. The goal is to increase the number of streets paved in FY25. Also discussed in executive session was the property at 187 Lexington Street, adjacent to the current central fire station.

2. Licenses and Franchises approved several renewals for retailers who open for extended hours. A class 2 license for Pilicy Auto and Yacht was tabled. Also approved was a fuel storage permit for the 40B apartment complex at 73 Pond Street.

3. The committee of the whole approved the appointment of Edgar Martinez as a city assessor for a three-year term.

4. Finance committee approved the succession plan for the treasurer/collector and approved funding of $37k for temporary customer service staff during the transition period. Also approved was $2000 for utility carts for the disability services commission, a transfer of $50k for curbing realignment and sidewalks at the Elm Street railroad crossing. This will add a lane to that intersection and improve traffic congestion in that area. This work will be completed asap.

5. The economic and community development and ordinances and rules committees also met, please see WCAC for details.

September 22, 2024: Full Council

1. Three public meetings were held for three special permit petitioners, all were changes related to existing applications and were referred to the ordinances and rules committee. The three were: Anchor Line Partners' tear down and rebuild of office and lab space at 460 Totten Pond Road, Ferris Development's self-storage facility at 1432 Main Street, and 1265 Main Street's boutique hotel at the Market Basket complex.

2. Communications from the Mayor

• Appointment of Edgar Martinez as an Assessor was sent to the committee of the whole.

• Two donations from Digital Federal Credit Union for police and fire were approved without committee reference.

• A succession plan for the treasurer's office was sent to the finance committee, as was a $2000 appropriation for disability services and a $50k transfer for Elm Street railroad crossing improvements.

3. Five extended retail hours licenses and one class two renewal were referred to the licenses and franchises committee.

4. A resolution for collaboration between the ZBA and City Council was sent to the ordinances and rules committee.

5. A resolution for street paving was sent to public works and public safety.

6. All previous matters from committee meetings on September 16 were approved by the full city council.

7. Councillor Leblanc motioned to merge two matters, the resolution for a new police/fire/public safety facility and the mayor's communication regarding the 187 Lexington Street property (old Guthrie Lumber, current Interior Stone). This was approved and the matter was tabled. A site visit will be scheduled for councillors.

8. The first reading for the rDNA ordinance amendment was approved and the matter was tabled. Advertisement is required for ten days.

9. A first reading was approved for the loan authorization for $2.7m in improvements for pedestrian safety improvements for the skating rink on Totten Pond Road. Matter was tabled.

10. An extension for BXP's 103 Fourth Ave special permit was approved.

11. Two CPC funding requests for new windows at WHA's Crane Apartments and Arthur Clark Apartments were sent to long-term debt and capital planning.

September 16, 2024: Committee Meetings

1. The following committees met: Long Term Debt, Licenses and Franchises, Economic and Community Development, Public Works and Public Safety, Committee of the Whole, Finance, Ordinances and Rules. Please check out the recordings on WCAC for full details, details here are only for committee meetings I attended.

2. Licenses and Franchises discussed and then tabled the fuel storage permit for the 73 Pond Street 40B development. The fire prevention office has a concern with the location of the EV chargers in the parking garage under the building.

3. Public Works and Public Safety had a long discussion about my resolution regarding tree work on private ways. Attorney Sewell attended and spoke about public shade tree laws and options. She agreed to research what other cities and towns have done with trees on private ways. Thank you to Chris Leary for attending and speaking about recent events on Kingston Road where a tree knocked out power. The matter was tabled and will be discussed further. Councillor LaFauci motioned to have the matter of 187 Lexington Street transferred to the committee of the whole. The motion passed.

4. The committee of the whole was busy as well. School Supt Dr. Marissa Mendonsa answered questions from councillors and discussed her entry plan. The committee approved proposals to allow the mayor to negotiate with Opportunities for Inclusion (OFI) and Caritas Communities for plans to lease North (adult day care), North Nurses (housing for disabled adults aged 22+) and Dolan (veterans housing and services) buildings at 190 Trapelo Rd/Fernald. After questions from councillors, the motions made by Councillor McLaughlin passed. Representatives from Eversource appeared to speak about the delayed response to the July 15th fire on Main Street at Cowboy Market. After questions from Councillor LeBlanc, the discussion moved to the reconductor upgrade project currently on-going in Waltham. This project will not cause outages and will proceed through 2025.

5. Finance had several items before the committee. Two donations to the city hall museum were approved, as were three grants for the Police and E-911 departments. Great work by those teams in securing $410k in grant funding for our city. A transfer of $396k was approved for fencing work to secure 190 Trapelo Rd/Fernald. $1.75m was approved for utility and street improvements for Elson Road. Councillor Durkee has worked on this since 2021 and $1m in ARPA funds will be used for this project. 

6. There was a full docket of important zoning, ordinance and special permit changes that went late into the night at the ordinances and rules committee, please watch that meeting on WCAC. 

7. The next meeting is the full council on Monday, September 23, 2024 at 7:30pm.

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September 9, 2024: Full Council Meeting

1. Minutes for the August 5, 2024 meeting were approved.

2. Communications from the mayor

a. Donations made to the city hall museum were referred to the finance committee.

b. Three bids were received for 190 Trapelo/Fernald buildings, all were referred to the committee of the whole. The North building bid was from OFI for an adult daycare facility. Caritas Communities submitted a bid for 28 units of veterans housing for Dolan Hall and OFI also submitted a bid for a housing for disabled adults aged 22+ for the North Nurses Building.

c. Referred to the finance committee were a $396k transfer request for fencing at 190 Trapelo, a financing plan for $1.75m for utility and street improvements for Elson Rd, and several WPD grants.

d. A loan authorization for $2.7m for traffic improvements near the skating rink was referred to long term debt.

3. Resolutions

a. Councillor Vidal submitted a Hispanic Heritage Month resolution, and this was passed by the full council.

b. Councillor McMenimen submitted a resolution, to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Sullivan VFW post. This was also passed by the full council without committee reference.

c. Councillor Harris submitted an ADU-Accessory Dwelling Unit resolution, and this was referred to the ordinances and rules committee for analysis and discussion.

4. Several matters were discharged from ordinances and rules and referred back to that committee.

5. A second reading was approved by the council for $1.33m for improvements to McKenna Playground and Logan Park.

6. The mayor's communication related to 187 Lexington Street (next to Fire HQ) was referred to the Public Works and Public Safety Committee.

July 26, 2024: The next city council meeting is August 5, 2024. The format is council, committees, council, and there will be a public hearing about the MBTA Communities Act in Waltham. After a recent power outage that was avoidable, I am bringing in a resolution about maintaining trees on private ways. Private ways are something all city councilors struggle with when providing constituent services. There is a public shade tree law at the state level (MGL 87, section 7) and our city ordinance 2-215 does not allow the forestry division and tree warden to work on trees on private ways. No trees on private ways are considered public shade trees. Residents on private ways own the street trees between their front yards and the private way on which they reside (as a rule, a resident on a private way owns to the center of the street/private way). My resolution aims to explore options the city may have to assist residents on private ways with street trees.

City Council, Committees City Council Meetings, June 24, 2024

The final city council meeting before the summer break was last night and several items were approved and continued. Below is a quick summary, but the full meeting is available on WCAC. The format was council meeting, then a recess, then committee meetings, then completion of the council meeting.

1. Five special permit public hearings were continued because no new information was available for discussion. All were referred to the ordinances and rules committee. 460 Totten Pond Rd (tear down of existing, build new lab and office space), 1432 Main Street (new research lab and office) and 1265 Main Street (boutique hotel at Market Basket property) was continued to Sept 23, 2024. 195 Bear Hill Road (self-storage building) was continued to Oct 28, 2024. 219-221 Bear Hill Rd (cannabis retailer and Dog Retreat and Spa) was continued to Aug 5, 2024.

2. Several items were referred, and later approved by the finance committee and then the full council.

a. Appropriations for architectural design and project management for the new police, fire and 911 headquarters and the new CPW offices and garage were approved ($113k). Police drug forfeiture funding is also being for this project, saving the taxpayers a significant amount of money over the lifecycle of the design. 

b. Overtime and EMT expenses for the fire department were approved ($244k).

c. $16k was approved in a transfer from the parking meter account to the parking general expenses account.

d. $214k was approved for several minor capital items (copiers, voter registration machines and equipment, survey equipment for engineering, law dept server, rink improvements).

e. $115k for the human resources worker's comp account.

f. An $825k loan authorization was approved at the mayor's and school committee's request for improvements to 617 Lexington Street (old high school). This supports the dual language school and the valor alternative high school in that building. One gas boiler, elevator, generation, transformer, and hot water valves.

g. Appropriation for $1.3m was approved to complete the Piety Corner intersection. The anticipated completion date is September of this year, and the city will be seeking offsets in funding from contractors who did not complete the work. N. Granese & Sons (currently working on the Winter Street water main project) will be the contractor.

h. $453k was approved to complete improvements for the Ash Street and Exchange Street parking lots. EV charging stations are included.

3. A fortune teller's license renewal was approved for James Spanks 

4. The council approved the election warrant for the Sept 3, 2024, state primary and the authorization for the police chief to assign security. 

5. A request from the mayor to gauge interest in a five-cent deposit on small nip bottles sold at liquor stores was sent to the ordinances and rules committee.

6. Two eagle scout resolution were tabled. A resolution honoring Kellie Durkee-Erwin and her work for veterans’ organizations at the local and state levels was approved, as was a resolution to welcome Dr. Marissa Mendonsa as the new Waltham Schools Superintendent. 

7. The full council approved a fuel storage permit for 55 First Avenue and the naming of the corner of Crafts and Lowell Streets for Gerry Feeley, long-time Waltham Police Lieutenant and Ward 8 City Councilor.

8. All finance committee matters from June 17, 2024, were approved.

9. First readings for the compensation ordinances for the first city solicitor and the first senior building inspector were approved, then tabled.

10. A time extension for the special permit for 840 Winter Street was approved.

The next city council meeting will be Monday, August 5, 2024.

City Council Committees and Special City Council Budget Meeting, June 17, 2024

Busy night. The 18th Celtics banner was a great way to end it. For the last two meetings before the summer break, we meet as committees and as the full council. The city and school department budgets were approved, first by the finance committee, then by the full council with a vote of 11-1.

1. Licenses and franchises approved the naming of a city square after the late Waltham Police Lt and Ward 8 City Councillor Gerry Feeley.

2. The finance committee approved funding of two fire department grants for educational and fire safety programs and additional funding for the library HVAC system. We also approved funding to move the Dual Language School to 617 Lexington Street. Included are physical plant uogrades, bathroom renovations, moving costs, overtime, and a play structure. The school will have full use of the gym and cafeteria. Also approved was funding for appraisals for several Main St properties around the future multi-modal transportation center.

3. The ordinances and rules committee also met. Please see the recording on WCAC for the full meetings.

City Council Meeting, June 10, 2024

1. Public Hearing - Flora Holdings requested a small modification to their special permit to allow for a shared dumpster and changes to parking. All concessions and directives from the original special permit will still be followed. The two businesses, Flora's cannabis retail operation and The Dog Retreat and Spa, are on the same lot. This was referred to the Ordinances and Rules Committee for discussion. 

2. Referred to the finance committee: Acceptance of two fire dept grants ($8500, $2900) for the SAFE-Student Awareness of Fire Education and Senior SAFE programs. $815k to fund the cost of moving the Dual Language program to 617 Lexington St. The mayor requested a placeholder to discuss the temporary AC at the library. 

3. Referred to Licenses and Franchises: Mayor requested naming the corner of Crafts and Lowell Streets in honor of Waltham Police Lieutenant and Ward 8 Councilor Gerry Feeley. The tables and chairs permit for Pho 1 was approved by the council without committee reference.

4. Referred to Ordinances and Rules: A late-filed resolution pertaining to licensing and inspecting dumpsters was referred to the ordinances and rules committee. This is to help decrease rat activity in the city. Also referred was a request for a minor modification to the special permit for Prestige Car Wash at 101 Elm Street.

5. All matters approved by the finance and ordinances and rules committees on Monday, June 3. 2024 were approved by the full council. 

6. A public hearing will be scheduled for the draft language pertaining to MBTA communities act zoning. Tentative date is August 5, 2024.

7. A second reading was approved for the loan authorization to repair the Embassy Parking Garage, $1.1m. First reading was May 13, 2024.

8. Next meeting is a committee night, Monday, June 17, 2024.

City Council Committee Meetings, June 3, 2024

Committee of the Whole: The mayor, police chief and deputy chief and purchasing agent appeared before the committee to discuss plans for a new Public Safety complex. The site will be the current site of PD/FD/CPW/911 at 155 Lexington Street. The plan presented was to temporarily re-locate WFD Central Station to 101 School Street. The fire chief approved this. The Central Station will be torn down and the new WPD will be built where the current Central Station sits. The new police station will double in square footage to allow for proper locker rooms (currently, our female officers deal with subpar facilities), training space, and community space. Police will then move to the new station and then construction of the new Central Fire Station, 911, CPW will start. Infrastructure for the new buildings will be done early to save time and money. The police chief was also in favor of this plan and said that the patrol union and superior officers union supported this plan. Tecton Architects, experts in public safety buildings are currently working on plans and designs. Funding from police drug seizure accounts was used to fund the design work. Several councilors questioned the plans, options, future uses, financing, construction and operations, but no decisions were required of the committee. In 3-4 months, it is expected that we'll see designs, preliminary plans and renderings.

Finance Committee: We had a busy night and made several approvals. Several transfers were approved: $20k transfer was approved for the Wires Dept sick time account, $8750 between treasury accounts for Group Life Insurance overages and new computer monitors for staff, $54k for new standing mowers for CPW. After questions from the committee to dept heads, we approved a MassDEP grant for $4127, appropriated funds for new benches for the downtown area and disability services and approved $36k for a new equipment trailer for Water & Sewer.

Ordinances & Rules: The committee met and discussed the MBTA communities act zoning changes near the Waverly/Belmont and Roberts/Waltham commuter rail stations. Also discussed were the current special permit applications that are in flight with the committee. All committees will be aired on WCAC.

Monday, 1/29/2024 - no city council meeting, fifth Monday, a rarity.

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Quick summary of the city council meeting from Monday, 1/22/2024:

1. Several public meetings for special permits. King First West is requesting to merge five parcels (85 First Ave, 71 First Ave, 45 First Ave, 74-76 West St, 86 West St) into one and build two large office/lab buildings and a parking garage. Boston Properties is requesting to do interior work at 103 Fourth Ave. They initially had a tenant for light manufacturing and needed 30' ceilings, but that fell through. The third was at the same location for a fuel storage permit for a backup power generator.

2. A resolution was proposed to request that the mayor discuss planning for a new Police/Fire/Public Safety building.

3. All finance committee items from the 1/8/24 meeting were passed by the full council. One of these items is a new Bookmobile. As was a late-filed request from IT to replace several servers that have reached end-of-life.

4. Flora Holdings was granted an extension for their 219-221 Bear Hill Rd dispensary.

5. The council approved all licenses that were approved by that committee at the 1/16/24 committee meeting.

6. The election warrant for the March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary election was passed.

7. Special permit time extensions were granted to Alexandria Real Estate at 840 Winter St and Uma Flowers LLC at 196 Bear Hill Rd.

The meeting will soon be viewable at WCAC's website.

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Quick summary of the city council committee meetings from Tuesday, 1/18/2024:

First committee night in the books at City Hall. WCAC will broadcast the committee meetings as well. A few highlights:

Finance Committee: We elected Councilor LaFauci as chair for 2024 by unanimous vote. Approved several donations to the city hall museum room. Approved funding for a new, state-of-the-art bookmobile. This will be a fantastic addition to the city. I fondly remember the bookmobile from the 80s. Especially for those who cannot get to the library. The library will come to them! This is funded by state money, too. Finance approved a funding plan for a new set of turnout gear for WFD. This replaces expired gear that is out of safety compliance. We also voted to explore a grant to allow the engineering department to perform an inventory of lead pipes in Waltham. This is a regulatory requirement.

Licenses & Franchises: We unanimously elected Councilor Vidal as chair for 2024. Several lodging house renewals were approved, no issues from Ward Councilors or city departments. Also approved were ten of Bentley's dorms.

Veterans: Councilor Durkee was elected unanimously as chair of the committee.

Committee of the Whole: Councilor LaCava, as council VP, serves as chair. We approved the renewal appointment of current Constable Robert Millian and an easement to create a water loop between Totten Pond Rd and Winter St

All of these approved items now go before the full city council for approval.

Councilor Harris was elected chair of Ordinances and Rules, Councilor LeBlanc was elected as chair of Public Works/Public Safety, Councilor McMenimen will chair Long Term Debt and Councilor Brasco will chair Economic and Community Development.

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Quick summary of the council committee meetings from Tuesday, 1/8/2024:

First (technically second) council meeting in the books. I was assigned to the finance committee, licenses and franchises committee and veterans services committee. I’m looking forward to getting to work! I plan to post weekly updates and implement a Ward 3-specific website to pass on information and link out to social media outlets. Summaries that also allow for deeper dives for those that want it.