CITY OF WORCESTER

JOURNAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Council Chamber

Convened: 7:08 P.M.

Adjourned: 9:21 P.M.

Mayor
Konstantina B. Lukes

www.ci.worcester.ma.us

City Manager
Michael V. O'Brien

City Auditor
James A. DelSignore

Councilors

PROCLAMATION -Mayor Lukes read a proclamation proclaiming March 24th to April 30th as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Weeks. Mayor Lukes recognized the presence of representatives of the Mass Motorcycle Association and motorcycle enthusiasts and requested Councilor Clancy to present the award to their representative Ed Ramstrom who addressed City Council.

James Sullivan request private street maintenance at 61 Circuit Ave. West.

Allison and Robert Hale request private street maintenance on Wildey Ave.

Timothy O'Rourke request sidewalk repair at 25 Blanche St.

Kevin Taylor request Bluehill Rd. be repaved.

Kevin Taylor request the sidewalks be repaired on Bluehill Rd.

Brian Cooper, Facilities Manager, Charter Communications request repair of a large hole in the sidewalk that extends out into the street located at 95 Higgins St.

Keith Fearon request handicap parking sign in front of 43 Standish St.

Lori Rosario et al request to have residential parking in front of 52 to 58 Laurel St.

Theresa Ortiz request to install two stop signs on East Shelby St. facing both directions at the intersection with Merrifield and Prospect Sts.

Georgette Demars et al request a sign be installed indicating no turns on the corner of Main St. and Madison St.

Transmitting Communication regarding Worcester University Partnership.

Recommend City Council Review, Deliberation and Adoption of the Attached Parking Overlay and Zoning Ordinance Amendment for the Chandler Street Business Corridor and the Blackstone Canal District.

Transmitting Communication regarding the Disposition of Lee Street School.

Recommend City Council Review, Deliberation and Adoption of the Attached Order Transferring Jurisdiction and Custody of the Attached List of Tax Foreclosed Properties from the Division of Neighborhoods and Housing Development to the City's Treasurers Office.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to a Status Report on Abandoned Vehicles and Abandoned Shopping Carts.

Recommend City Council Review, Deliberation and Adoption of the Attached Order Authorizing the City Manager to Accept Two Easements for Drainage Purposes at 81 and 77 Clover Street.

Recommend City Council Approval to Issue a Request for Proposals for the Management of the City's Municipal Garages for the Contract Term of Five Years.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to the Schedule for the Spring Street Sweeping Program.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to a Spring Neighborhood Clean-Up in the Pleasant Street Neighborhood.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to a Report on the City's Urban Forest.

Recommend City Council Adoption of a Resolution to File and Accept a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Revenue Underground Storage Tank Removal Reimbursement Grant.

Recommend that City Council Accept with Gratitude, a Donation of a Diesel Powered Generator for use in the Worcester Fire Department Emergency Operations Center.

Recommend Adoption of a Resolution to Authorize the Lease of Space at the Worcester Senior Center by Quinsigamond Community College.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to the Appointment of the City's Human Rights Director, Ms. Frances Manocchio to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) Advisory Board.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to the Month of April being Designated as Rabies Awareness Month throughout the Commonwealth and April 5th as Rabies Vaccination Day in the City.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to the Designation of March 24th through April 30th as Motorcycle Awareness Period by the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association.

Recommend City Council Adoption of a Resolution to File and Accept Grant Funds of up to One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (BSAS).

Recommend City Council Review, Consideration and Approval to Accept the Attached Resolution to Accept a Donation from the American Library Association to the Worcester Public Library.

Transmitting Communication Regarding a Legal Opinion on what the Powers and Duties of the Historical Commission are in Relation to the Development or Alteration of Property in Historic Districts.

Transmitting Communication Regarding Processes that are Available to Initiate a Review of the Worcester Home Rule Charter.

Recommend City Council Review, Deliberation and Adoption of the Attached Order Authorizing the City to File a Petition with the General Court that will Authorize the City's Retirement Board to Grant a Special Pension to Mark S. Stomski, a City Firefighter who Sustained Life Threatening Injuries in the Line of Duty.

Transmitting Informational Communication Relative to Properties in the City Owned by CSX Corporation.

Transmitting Informational Communication Regarding the Impact of Reforms on the City's Annual Operating Budget.

Recommend that Forty Nine Thousand Six Hundred Eighty One Dollars And Forty Seven Cents ($49,681.47) be transferred from Account #91C711, Building Rehabilitation and be appropriated to Account #26C704 , Fire Department Capital Rehabilitation.

Recommend that Four Hundred Thousand Dollars And No Cents ($400,000.00) be transferred from Loan Account #91C713, Water Mains, and be appropriated to DPW Account #45C720, Water Mains to allow for the payment of current invoices and anticipated future obligations.

Recommend that Seventy Five Thousand Dollars And No Cents ($75,000.00) be transferred from Loan Account #91C715, Dam Improvements, and be appropriated to DPW Account #41C707, Dam Safety Regulations to allow for the payment of current invoices and future obligations.

Recommend that Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars And No Cents ($2,500.00) be transferred from Account #330-09, Reserve for Appropriation Real Estate Sales, and appropriated to Account #043-92000, Economic Development Ordinary Maintenance, to provide additional funding for survey work of parcels surrounding Washington Square.

Recommend that Thirteen Thousand Nine Hundred Thirty Eight Dollars And Ninety One Cents ($13,938.91) be transferred from Account # 330-08, Reserve for Appropriation on Loans, and be appropriated to Account # 660-92000, Treasurer's Office Ordinary Maintenance, to provide funding for obligations associated with the March 20, 2008 Bond Anticipation Note.

Recommend City Council Adoption of the Attached Amended Loan Order in the amount of Four Million Seven Hundred Three Thousand Dollars And No Cents ($4,703,000.00) for Citywide Building Rehabilitation which when Adopted by the City Council on July 17,2007, contained a scrivener's error as to the date of the original adoption.

Transmitting Communication Relative to a Cost Comparison of the Expenditures of the Election Commission Prior to and Since its Merger with the City Clerk's Department.

Roberta R. Schaefer, President, the Research Bureau transmitting Report : Benchmarking Public Education in Worcester: 2008.

Communication of the City Manager transmitting informational communication regarding the Top 250 Wage Earners in the City. (Tabled Under Privilege - Lukes March 18, 2008)

Communication of the City Manager recommending that Twenty Two Thousand One Hundred Forty Seven Dollars And Forty Eight Cents ($22,147.48) be transferred from Account # 150-91000, Election Commission Personal Services, and be appropriated to Account # 100-91000, City Clerk Personal Services, to properly account for the reorganization of the City Clerk and Election Commission in Fiscal Year 2008. Furthermore, request that Thirty Five Thousand Two Hundred Eighty Five Dollars And No Cents ($35,285.00) be transferred from Account # 670-91000, Assessing Personal Services, and be appropriated to various accounts to cover expenses associated with voter registration, elections and street listing operations in Fiscal Year 2008. (Tabled Under Privilege - Lukes March 18, 2008)

Proposed Ordinance amending the Montvale Historic District by the adoption of a new map enlarging the District. (Tabled Under Privilege - Palmieri March 25, 2008)

Order of Mayor Timothy P. Murray - That the ordinance relative to the Police Department License Board as it relates to taxi regulations be rescinded. (Tabled - Murray April 25, 2006)

Communication of the City Manager recommending the Adoption of a Loan Order in the amount of Three Hundred Thousand Dollars And No Cents ($300,000.00) to be appropriated to Account #91C778, Providence Street Tot Lot, for the purpose of funding the construction of the planned playground at Providence Street. (Tabled - Lukes July 17, 2007)

Grant permission to NATIONAL GRID for conduit system in KANSAS ST. (Tabled - September 18, 2007)

Order of Mayor Konstantina B. Lukes - Request City Manager report to City Council whether a claims process exists which is available to commercial users who experience electric power outages and surges caused by National Grid. (Tabled - Lukes February 26, 2008)

Order of Mayor Konstantina B. Lukes - Request City Manager report on the number and location of National Grid equipment stations located on public property, whether the City receives any revenue from the use of public land, and if not, whether the city can charge for said use. (Tabled - Lukes February 26, 2008)

Order of Mayor Konstantina B. Lukes - Request City Manager report to City Council regarding National Grid services in the city based on data filed with the Department of Telecommunications and Energy specifically addressing the number of outages, the locations of the outages, causes of the outages and the fines, if any, paid by National Grid in 2007. (Tabled - Lukes February 26, 2008)

Petition of NATIONAL GRID for cable and conduit system in: PLANTATION ST., CLARENDON ST. & ALMONT AVE. (Tabled - Palmieri March 18, 2008)

Motion Toomey @ #7.8C CM - Request City Manager provide a report concerning how other communities are negotiating with non-profits for terms in agreements for payment of taxes for properties that would otherwise be tax exempt. Further, request information regarding the term limits, if any, for payment of taxes in agreements with non-profits such as Clark University who pay taxes for properties which could be tax exempt.

Motion Clancy @ #7.21A CM - Request City Manger provide City Council with a schematic of the entire Senior Center building showing which office spaces have been leased, to whom they have been leased and which spaces remain vacant.

Motion Lukes @ #7.28C CM - Request to Table the item under privilege and further, request the City Manager rewrite proposed legislation for Firefighter Stomski so as the language regarding alternative employment be removed and that the language requiring medical follow-up be included in terms of determining eligibility to commence three years from the date the act is voted thereafter on an annual basis.

Motion Haller @ #7.28C CM - That the City Council hereby amend the text of the proposed legislation by removing from Section 5 the line “Mark S. Stomski shall not have his retirement allowance subject to modifications as a result of earning from alternative employment”.

Motion Haller to amend previous motion - That the City Council hereby amends the proposed legislation that the text in Section 2 state that Firefighter Stomski would be subject to reexamination for the first two years after the passage of this legislation and every three years thereafter and by deleting section 5.

Motion Clancy @ #7.30A CM - Request the Superintendent of Worcester Public Schools provide the City Council with a per pupil costs for each elementary school, for each middle school and for each high school.

Motion Petty @ #7.30A CM - Request the Mayor request the School Administration inform City Council of their plans concerning the 2.2 million dollars in FY08 budgetary savings for the Worcester Public Schools.

Motion Petty @ #7.30A CM - Request the Mayor request the School Administration provide City Council with a report on the assumptions the School Administration used relative to the budget made prior to this report relative to the impact of health care reform and the change of assumptions made since this report.

Motion Smith @ #7.30A CM - Request City Manager provide a report as to the impact to the Worcester Public Schools if Chapter 32B, Section 18 had not been passed.

Motion Rosen @ #7.30A CM - Request the Superintendent of Worcester Public Schools provide City Council with a report as to how health insurance reforms will impact their budget.

Motion Rushton @ #7.30A CM - Request City Auditor provide City Council with the formula as to how the Health Care Trust Fund is calculated.

Motion Rushton @ #7.30A CM - Request City Auditor provide City Council with a five year perspective of the Health Care Trust Fund concerning how much of the funds were kept in and how much of the funds had been released per year.

Motion Rushton @ #7.30A CM - When transmitting a communication relative to school finances and school issues request City Manager request the School Administration submit a corresponding report relative to their perspective.

Motion Palmieri - Suspension of Rules - Request City Manager request the Board of Election Commissioners provide a report detailing the reasoning and timetable for any change in the City's polling places including what plans, if any, they have to insure that all voters will know where to cast their vote.

Motion Petty - Suspension of Rules - Request City Manager request the Board of Election Commissioners provide a report to City Council regarding voting precinct changes for the last three years and issues that have resulted from those changes.