City Council - Regular Meeting

Are we ready? Good evening and welcome to the Ordinary and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. A subcommittee of the Lawrence City Council and the meeting is scheduled for today, Tuesday, June 23rd. This is 2026, 7-10. This meeting is also conducted as a hybrid meeting and you may remotely access the meeting through the digital platform below. I have with me the voting members, Franklin Miguel, Vice Chair, Councilor Gregory Del Rosario to my right, and myself, Anna Levy, the Chair of the Committee. Person to the Chapter 20 of the Act of 2022, this meeting of order and committee is being conducted both in person and via remote participation. It reminded that person who would like to listen or to view this meeting while in progress may either attend in person at the location above or use any of the following access location, Facebook, Lawrence City Council, or YouTube, Lawrence City Council. So please stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States Council, there are minutes to approve Fall 14, 2026 and 6-9-2026. May I have a motion? So moved.

Second.

All those in favor? Aye. The ayes have it. New business.

Chair. If it's okay, can we take out of order item 273-26, resolution honoring the Youth Development Organization, YDO?

Yeah, that's the item that I was taking right now. May I have a motion? Motion to take item 273.26 is the resolution honoring youth development organization in 20 anniversary and recognizing July 16, 2020 as YDOD. Council? I know there is one that is going to answer. President is over here, was here, he is one of the.

Yeah, if you guys want to come up and talk to us about it.

Hello, my name is Milan Castillo, and I have been a resident of Lawrence for my entire life. I have just graduated from Community Day Charter Public School Gateway, and this fall will be attending Phillips Andover Academy. The , which is a program I've attended for the past six years, is 15 . We stand here before the ordinance committee today to request a YDO day to honor the 20 years of mentorship towards the youth in Lawrence. Personally, I have engaged in a variety of courses, including STEM, woodworking, high school prep, theater, dance, and more. Every single one of these classes has helped shape me and many others into more confident scholars. This is thanks to the great wonders YDO has done for the adolescents in our town. Now, my colleague Isabella will come up to tell you more about our program.

Can you hold one second? Please. Can you recognize Councilor Reyes, please? She's come after we already mentioned all the councilor name.

Okay. So, Councilor Reyes? Present.

Thank you. Isabella Moore Hello, my name is Isabella Moore. I have recently completed seventh grade at Lawrence Family Development Charter School. I'm a resident of Lawrence in the YDO address at 15 Union Street. YDO started offering enrichment programs for the youth 20 years ago, and the organization has served 2,000 Lawrence residents. It has worked with youth to pursue high-quality STEM and art opportunities, and has built long-term relationships to provide personalized opportunities for success. For example, a student can start with YDO in third grade, take programs and get a first job, and receive help applying to college 10 years later. And now my colleague Maya will tell you more about what it's like to be a young leader in this organization.

Good afternoon, my name is Maya Maldonado. I have been a resident of the Lawrence community for the majority of my life. I currently attend Abbott Lawrence Academy as I just finished my freshman year, and the YDO address is 15 Union Street. Although I am only 15 years old, for the past year and a half at YDO, I've been supporting the high school prep class, and I've also been an assistant to one of the senior staff throughout majority of the school year. I also taught my own class during the winter term to a group of middle school students. It is not uncommon for YDO to trust young people like me with different responsibilities. This summer, I will be helping to lead a STEM program staffed by 31 high school and college students. As a part of this STEM summer program, we will have a showcase of students' projects and learning Thursday, July 16, 2026. And now my colleague, Laisha, will speak about our request.

Hi, my name is Laisha Morales. I'm going to seventh grade at Lawrence Family Development Charge School, and YDO is located on 15 Union Street. Members of the committee, you have heard from my colleagues how special YDO is to the city of Lawrence, and that is why we come before you tonight. We respectfully request the city council recognizes the contributions of YDO over the past 20 years by declaring an honorary YDO day in the city of Lawrence on July 16th, 2026. Thank you for your time this evening.

Thank you, guys.

Chair.

Okay, Councilor Rosario.

Thank you to you, Chair. And I want to thank you guys for showing up. And what I'm gonna say might sound bad, but the city hall's locked. by not showing what YDO does. We haven't recognized what YDO do for our kids. Like my kids go to YDO. I have a high school kid, Gregory, that's gonna be a mentor and he's gonna be working today, this year with you guys for high school prep. Gregory is attending Belmont Hill High, one of the 20th best schools, high school in Massachusetts and it's thanks to YDO. I have Eddie also going to YDO and Roseli, my kids, and this is an amazing program. And it was a shame to me, every time I go there, you guys need financial help, and the city either denying you guys, or it was too hard for you guys to get financial help, and I think you guys are getting some this year, somehow, but what you guys do to our kids, I mean, you can see it, and I can see it in my house with my kids, the great work that you guys do. And it's not just, it shouldn't be just YDO day on that day. It should be YDO day every year. We should celebrate what you guys have been doing for 20 years for our kids. I mean, I'm proud to say that my kids are going there. And all that my kids are doing today, I can say that it's not just because of school. It's what YDO has done for them, for them to be where they are now academically. The kids behave pretty well, and even again, my kid has somehow a learning disability. You guys did not discriminate, and my kid is doing amazing. He had a prize last year, the most improvement, I guess it was the most improvement kid of the year, You guys turn him around. My kid was hyper and all kinds of stuff, and you guys turns that kid around. And again, it's amazing. And my son is looking forward to work with you guys this summer. And I mean, he had all kinds of places to go and help. And I said, you got to get back. to this place, they give you so much. So I'm in full support of it, and I think the city should be looking for this type of program and provide help. Even if you guys don't show up, we should bring the help to you guys, because you guys are doing extremely great work, and you can see it on the youth. Thank you for what you do.

Thank you. Council, any other council that would like to say something?

Yes, Carmen, I'm so glad to see you presenting the beautiful resolution, and I follow my colleagues. We are so proud, and we support the resolution.

So I'm going to read the resolutions from the city council that we're going to be sending to the full council for the next meeting on July. Whereas, the City of Lawrence takes great pride in recognizing organizations that, through value, enrichment, and mentorship, empower the youth of the Lawrence to discover and pursue the bright future. And, in so doing, make a better our community. And, in the spirit the Lawrence City Council proudly celebrates, Youth Development Organization YDO. on the occasion of their STEM Summer Showcase to recognize and honor their 20 year of dedication services to the youth and family of the city of Lawrence. And whereas, YDO seeking to help youth recognize their potential, take pride in their talents and become participating members of the community. has done so by providing high-quality educational activity in STEM and in the arts, developing supported long-term relationships, and providing personalized opportunities for students. And whereas YDO has developed noteworthy expertise, facility and capacity to support the youth allotted in their exploration, and pursue the staying education through hands-on, project-based learning, as well by providing wraparound service like academy, advising, and transportation for students across the city. And whereas, YDO's summer program has been a demonstration of the organizers' effectiveness by granting unprecedented control to older youth over the design and delivery of offering younger students and high-sufficiency youth near peer mentoring and relationship to build a welcome culture to achieve among its YDO kids and network of alumni. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Lawrence City Council, on behalf of the citizens of Lawrence, hereby extend its highest prize, congratulation and gratitude to the Youth Development Organization on their 20th anniversary and officially declare July 16, 2026. to forever be known as the first YDO day in the City of Lawrence. The Lawrence City Council hereby set its hand and cast the seal of the City of Lawrence to be affixed this seventh day of July in the year 2026. So this resolution is going to be signed by the council and also by the city clerk to testify that the July 16, 2026 is going to be a great celebration for the YDO. Thank you.

Thank you.

Chair.

Sorry.

Through you, Chair.

Councilor Rosario.

Thank you. And I want to thank Council President Rodriguez to put this item on the agenda. And I would like to make a suggestion for YDO and then Council President Rodriguez. If you guys have a flag, you guys can make a flag and maybe we can ask permission at the mayor's office and hand the flag at the park for that day. YDO day, we can raise a flag if you guys have one, if that's okay. I mean, I have so much for you guys that I, that's the least that we can do. As a request at the mayor's office, if you guys have a flag, we'll raise the flag at the park, and we leave it there for a couple of days. And July 16th, so let us know if it's possible, and that will be a way to say thank you for everything you guys do to our youth and our kids here in the city of Lawrence. And with that, I would like to make a motion to send to the full council with a favorable recommendation. Second.

Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Thank you so much. Thank you. Okay, congratulations. Thank you. Council, I'm gonna take an item out of table. from the new business that is dated May 5, 2026. This is the item 188.26. Request a vote to opt in and the property access clean energy base program from the new business. Francisco Surillo, I'm business and economy development director. So Mr. O'Connor from Mass Development is here to finish because this is when we had the electricity window a couple of weeks ago.

Yes, thank you for having me back Madam Chair and fellow councillors. You may recall that I went through that presentation with you on that May council date and we had just wrapped up with it before we lost power. So I'm happy to circle back and go through that presentation or kind of just give a light overview depending on kind of if you guys remember the presentation or I know there was kind of a lot of information. So if you want me to kind of run through the slide deck or the pages again, I'm happy to do that.

I think that's if we can just provide an overview.

Just a little overview and to wrap up the presentation.

So the PACE program, or the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program, is a financing mechanism for commercial property owners to finance energy efficiency improvements or new construction developments, and the financing is repaid via a betterment assessment on their property tax bill. So we've already met with the mayor and his team and answered staff questions about the process and procedures, and they support this program. For the benefits for the City of Lawrence is that it can obviously help with job creation with new construction jobs, attract new or routine existing business, and then the environmental benefits associated with reducing energy consumption and energy cost savings. For the property owners, PACE is attractive because for a number of different reasons. First and foremost, it's a long-term form of financing. The repayment takes 20 years on the financing, so they can kind of plan out logistically and space out the repayments over those 20 years. And it doesn't show up as new debt on their balance sheet either because this financing actually is attached to the property itself and not them. So if they sell the property, the assessments or the PACE loan runs to the new owner so it doesn't follow them. So those are kind of what differentiates PACE financing from traditional financing. You know, there's other states that do this program as well. There's 36 states plus Washington, D.C. that have this program. Our program in Massachusetts, it's been around since 2020. New construction became eligible in 2023. Mass Development is the program administrator, and we also work with the Department of Energy Resources as well. They have to approve any PACE application to ensure that it meets the energy standards. and this program is eligible for any commercial or industrial property owners like office malls restaurants bars hotels not-for-profits can actually qualify as well and then multi-family housing qualifies as a commercial building if it's five units or more Some of the things you can use PACE financing for, if you're upgrading or replacing your HVAC system, getting rid of old boilers and furnaces, building envelope upgrades, so like improvements to your insulation, new windows and doors, new management control systems, new lighting. like even replacing your roof is eligible for PACE financing. And then renewable energy systems, if you want to put a solar panel or a solar system on your roof, parking canopies, geothermal, heat pumps, there's a lot that can be used for PACE financing. As I said, the financing is repaid through the property tax cycle. So the payments, I think, for the City of Lawrence, it's either twice a year or four times a year you bill property taxes. So a property owner would have either two or four payments every year for 20 years. So again, kind of spacing out that repayment cycle. And then there has been some updates actually since we last met. We updated our guidelines and released them on June 1st. And we based some of our eligibility criteria for new construction financing off the existing building code. So Lawrence is a stretch code community. So for any project that's permitted in the city of Lawrence, they automatically qualify for the new construction financing at a 25% level cap. They have the choice to, if they want to build to the specialized code, which is the higher code above the stretch code, they can access 35% of the total eligible construction costs. So if a project costs $10 million and they're permitted under the stretch code, they can access $2.5 million in financing for that new construction project. If they build to that specialized code standard, they can access 3.5 million out of that 10 million that's eligible. If it's a retrofit or an existing building, you can use PACE financing to pay for 100% of the project. You don't have to go through the total eligible construction cost calculation. As I said, Lawrence is one of the stretch code communities. It's one of the 243 towns and cities in Massachusetts that adhere to the stretch code, so there's a lot of eligibility opportunities there. This is just a diagram that kind of walks you through the new code-based eligibility criteria that we just released. And I'll go through just one example so you can kind of see exactly how PACE was used. So on page 13, this was an old blighted historic 12,000 square foot building in Greenfield, Massachusetts. And PACE was part of the capital stack that helped the owner kind of completely transform this building. They installed a solar PV system on their roof. They did efficient electrification of space heating, energy recovery, ventilation, LED lighting controls, and improvements to their windows and insulation. Their energy savings was 189,000 kilowatts. And the financer or the person that provided the capital was Nuveen Green Capital. The mortgage holder on the property that worked with us was Berkshire Bank. They're also known as Beacon Bank now. And the financing was $450,000 being repaid over 20 years. It's a great example of a small business owner that used this program to transform this. It's a beautiful building out in Greenfield with retail space on the ground floor and residential on the second and third floor. And PACE can be used in a number of different ways in these scenarios. It can even be used for adaptive reuse of buildings. So if there's a vacant building and a developer wants to transform the use they can use PACE to finance that too. So there's a wide range of applicability for this program. And we have had, we haven't had applications yet, but we've had two property owners or developers in the city of Lawrence approach us about wanting to utilize this program. Like I said, we don't have an application yet, they would probably most likely, or they told us they would apply once the city opt-in. So I just want to be upfront and say that there is some local interest in this program in the city of Florence. The next few pages are just more examples. So you can kind of see the applicability of PACE. But that's kind of a, the kind of PACE 101. And I can answer, you know, any questions or comments the Councillors have.

Any questions, Councillors? on item 188.26?

You guys know where I stand. I mean, this is all, to me, this is all looking into what's coming to Lawrence, not what it's in Lawrence. And again, the question what everything happened that I left is, what is this difference? How can I go to my neighborhood and offer this when this is a loan attached to what they have already a mortgage, but There's programs at the state offering the same thing without giving a single penny. Mass Energy, I think it is, has the same program.

Mass Save.

Mass Save has the same program that they bring all that to your neighborhoods without paying a single penny if you qualify. This is a loan, if I bring this to my neighborhood, which is the Allentown neighborhood, I gotta educate the people that you're gonna have another loan on top of your loan And this is what I'm seeing, so to me, I mean, again, everything that comes like this is based on what's coming to Lawrence right now, not what's in Lawrence. We just opt in an energy program that is gonna save the city money. But what I don't like about this, again, is while there's program for free that could benefit the community that is here already, I don't see any benefit in this for the community that is here, but it's great business for construction programs that are coming, construction projects that are there. Like he said, some developers are interested in this because they bring in new construction, but how will this benefit, let's say the Allentown neighborhood and the three houses right next to my house, how can I tell my neighbor that to become green or energy saving, you need to up then to a loan of $450,000 on top of you paying for your house. So that's what I don't get. So how could I go out and advertise that and tell my neighbor?

So this, it's only for commercial property owners, so it's not a residential program. Mass Save does have a residential incentive program. And we work directly with Mass Save and the Mass Clean Energy Center on this program. Our application, we ask them to reach out to Mass Save, reach out to their local utility provider, because we want them to maximize their incentives. But when it comes to commercial properties, the cost of these energy efficiency upgrades is too big for tax incentives or grants to cover the full cost. So PACE is designed, especially for new construction, it's designed to pair with those incentive programs because they can't cover the full cost. So for that new construction or that example in Greenfield, like I said, that was part of a larger capital stack to help pay for that project. Pace was only a small piece of that. So that's what we're working with with new commercial property owners. And it's like you said, not just for new construction. Existing business owners or property owners in Lawrence can also access this financing. One of the entities we did talk to is an existing business already in the city. And the other one is a developer that is looking to potentially take over a vacant property and use an adaptive reuse for the property. So there's a wide range of applicability for this program. And like I said, we will always, we're Mass Development, we're the state's economic development agency. If we're working with someone and they can get access to cheaper capital, we're always gonna tell them to go take that route. We're never gonna, we won't take it personally if they say no to PACE because they are working with a local bank or something that can provide cheaper capital, so. I hope that answers or addresses your concerns.

I mean, again, there's commercial property right up in the city. I mean, the property owners are struggling, the businesses are struggling, and now you want to top them. On top of that, for them to get some savings, but you got to end up getting a loan. I mean, again, the part of the neighborhood that I represent is the poorest part of the city, and that's how I see it, regardless if it's commercial properties or not. And if they're going to save some money, but to you to access those savings, you need to get a loan of $180,000, how much are you really saving? So that's how I see it. I mean, I don't know how my colleague feels, but the part of the city that I represent is the poorest part of the city, even if it's commercials, business and other stuff. So I cannot sell this to the property owners or business owners that are in my neighborhood. That's how I see it.

It would be available citywide, too. It would be a citywide program. It's voluntary, obviously. Most other cities that have opted in, they put it in their economic development department as just an option. We call it put a pace as a tool in the toolbox, that if the city wants to offer that to their commercial properties, they can. Like I said, it's a completely voluntary program, and the city can market it or not market it as much as they want. And then for existing buildings, I should caveat that they have to pass an energy savings calculation with the DOER. So they have to demonstrate that all the energy efficiency upgrades that they are installing, they're going to be over time, those savings are actually going to pay for the cost of the project. So for the existing buildings, you can actually demonstrate that it's like they're saving a lot of money through those. And that's administered by the state agency, the DOER.

And that's how I see it. How long have you guys been in this business?

The PACE program has been in Massachusetts since like summer of 2020.

So over six years. I've been sitting here over six years, too. So it wasn't this big construction world coming into Lawrence, it wasn't back then. So that was never offered to the people back then. So again, to me, it's nothing to do with you guys, but this is more facing what's supposed to be coming to Lawrence. All this construction world is coming, all this coming in, so I mean... It's great, but for me, it would be hard to offer in the neighborhood what I sell, and I'm not in support of that. I'm not in support of putting another loan on a business or a business property owner to get some type of saving on green. We should go green, but green shouldn't be that expensive to get some savings.

Through you, Chair. Okay. So do you have a minimum set up if someone's, you know, any business or any commercial property wants to be part of, I mean, do this program?

Do you have a minimum that they have to come in with? Not by statute or language. There's no minimum. It's not mass development provided the financing in this program. We rely on third party capital providers or local banks. So it's according to whatever their minimums are. I know there's a few capital providers that are on our registry. We have an open RFI on our website that they have to apply through to be registered. I think the lowest minimum on the registry I believe it's $250,000, but we're working with another local bank to join our registry that would do deals below $250,000. And then also we're working internally to see if there's some type of state mechanism that mass development, we could become a direct lender to work directly, especially in gateway cities, to help address the needs of businesses that are below that minimum.

So help me understand... I mean, this program basically, I mean, you will work with any other financial institution. This is just basically to provide whoever decides to join this program to have the benefit, you know, the chance so they can get the payment through their tax bill. It's basically granting

any type of uh authorization from for you or whoever joined this program to do it through the tax uh to the tax office yeah yeah so we like i said we've met with the um like the filling our collection department head and like the chief administrative officer of the city we met with all those department heads to give the same presentation answer their questions they said they'd be able to accommodate the betterment assessment process in the existing system that the city has. And we work directly with the mortgage holders too on the property because they actually have to also consent to this deal. They have to give their sign off. We can't move forward with a PACE deal without the mortgage holder on a property giving the okay on it. So we work directly with them. And obviously we work directly with the capital providers too. And then we have a transaction council at Mass Development. They prepare all the closing documents and they share that information with the city ahead of time. So we give the city a notice first that we've received an application. Then we let them know that they've gotten technical approval from the DOER. And then we provide a final notice once we kind of have all the closing documents ready. And then the betterment assessment process kind of kicks in to start.

So if someone, if any other, I mean, if any business or any commercial property owner wants to join the program, they have to reach out to you and be willing to do the program?

Yeah, so they would either probably most likely reach out to me because I cover the north region, which the city of Lawrence is, for PACE. Sometimes we work with other cities in town. Sometimes they send us. If they have a relationship with a business owner or someone and they have someone interested in PACE, they can refer us. refer them to Mass Development. Other times, banks or capital providers, they come to us about a project that they're working on. So there's a number of different ways that can come to us. But we also, we have a consultant that Mass Development pays for. called muni cap and they work with the city staff on the betterment assessment process to kind of help them and alleviate the administrative burden as much as possible so it's really simple for them and it like i said it follows the existing billing cadence you have for your property taxes so they don't have to do any ad hoc billing or any kind of extra work it falls completely in line with the existing schedule okay for property so this is basically another avenue that

investors should, I mean, might have in case that they want to develop any type of program with PACE and, you know, just go these avenues. It's another option.

Yeah, exactly. It's just another option. Like I said, it's another tool in the toolbox for cities and towns to kind of partner with, you know, private enterprise and mass development. You know, we're always, we're the program administrator by statute, so we're always going to be involved in every deal. And it's a voluntary program, so if a commercial owner, if they see the advantages of that PACE financing, the fact that it's attached to their property and it's long-term financing, you won't get that with traditional financing, that 20-year repayment period. It's going to be a lot shorter if you go to get a traditional loan. so if they see the benefits of that program they applied for it we've had like i said we've had a couple of deals so far we've closed and you know we're hoping the city of lawrence will be um the number 86 community since i last met with you we've had two other communities join the program so um like i said hoping you guys will be number 86. thank you i'm sorry any other questions in this regard or any other discussion

May I hear a motion?

A motion to send to full council if ever recommended.

Second. Motion already made by Councilor Miguel and second by Councilor Selena Reyes. All those in favor?

Aye.

They aye, have it. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

So the next meeting is July 7th. 7 o'clock over here, please. Okay.

I can attend as well. Thank you so much.

Thank you too. So let's continue with the agenda. Item 269.26 is the naming of the part on the construction on Bay State Road as the Billy Robinson Park by Susan Fink, Manager of Financial and Administrative Survey, Office of Planning and Development.

Good evening, Council. I'm going to give you a handout before I start.

Thank you.

Good evening, councillors. The city is currently constructing a new park on Bay State Road adjacent to the Boys and Girls Club. Construction is planned to be completed this summer. I've just handed you a rendition of the park as it's being conceived. Amenities at the park include a basketball and futsal court, A volleyball and pickleball court, a learn to skate slash bike track, game tables, benches, trashy receptacles, court lights, an esplanade for walking, and a sail shade structure. The Boys and Girls Club have been very supportive of this park and were instrumental in the initiation of discussions with the Office of Planning and Development to get this project started. Because of its proximity to the Boys and Girls Club and their involvement in the project, it was initially thought to name the park after Steve Kelly, who has been a long-time employee who has touched countless lives. As you know, Steve was recently awarded the Arthur Dengler Award by Lawrence History Center. The Boys and Girls Club building has been named after him, so the name of Billy Robertson was then brought forth. Mayor DePena has approved this naming of the park. At this time, I'd like to read a little bit something about Billy Robertson. Billy Robertson has dedicated 54 years of his life to Lawrence Boys and Girls Club, where he currently serves as an associate director. Over more than five decades, he has worn many hats, but perhaps none more important than that of mentor. Generation after generation of Lawrence children have grown up with Billy in their corner. He is the visionary behind most of the club's cornerstone program, including the academic basketball program. This innovative program integrated homework time into athletic practices, created connections with teachers and schools, and introduced participants to leaders and alumni who helped ensure academic success. Alongside Steve Kelly, Billy has been one of the driving forces behind the club's mission, and what sets him apart is the depth of his passion. For Billy, this has never been just a job. It has been a calling, a decades-long commitment to helping kids find their way into transforming young lives one at a time. And with your indulgence, I'd like to introduce the Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club, Marcus Fisher, to say a few words.

Thank you.

Good evening, councillors, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. I had the distinct pleasure to working with Billy Robertson for the last 25 years.

Please, your name and address?

Pardon me?

Your name and address for the record, please.

My name is Marcus Fisher. I'm the executive director of the Poison Girls Club of Lawrence. Do you want my home address or my work address? Work address. 136 Water Street, Lawrence.

Thank you.

So again, I had the distinct pleasure of working with Billy over the last 25 years, and I've seen firsthand the impact that this person has on the lives of the Lawrence kids and the youth here in our city. I'm here tonight to express my strong support for naming Bay State Road Park in honor of Billy Robertson. Bill is a Lawrence native. He grew up here, was born here, grew up here. And his impact in our community is truly extraordinary. For more than 50 years, he has been dedicated his life to serving young people here in the city through the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence. That kind of commitment is rare. The consistency of his effort is even rarer. But what makes Bill special is not just the number of years, it's the lives that he has changed over that period of time. Thousands of kids in Lawrence have walked through the doors of the club and found more than just a place to go to. They found a mentor, somebody that provided guidance. They found someone who believed in them and often at moments when they most needed it. For many of these young people, the person that provided that was Billy Robertson. His passion for helping kids find their path in life has been a straight mark. Quietly, steadily, year after year, he has helped shape generations of Lawrence residents. His influence does not just stay within the club. It echoes throughout our neighborhoods, our schools, and our families. And if I might say, if you talk to people in the police department or the fire department, half of them are alums of the club that have worked with Billy. Billy's legacy is deeply connected with his lifelong friendship with Steve Kelly. Together, they have been woven into the very fabric of the city. It's fitting that the Boys and Girls Club bears Steve Kelly's name. And naming Bay State Road Park after Billy Robertson would be a beautiful honor that they share the legacy, two men side by side who gave so much to Lawrence. This is more than a name on a sign. It's really a message to other people here in Lawrence. It's a message to our young people that a life of service matters. It's a message that showing up for your community year after year makes a difference. And it's a message that Lawrence remembers those who give their lives to lifting others up. For all of these reasons, I respectfully ask for the council's support naming Bay State Road Park after Billy Robertson. I'm very passionate about this just because I've seen firsthand what this man does. And to have the Kelly Club right next to the Billy Robertson Park would be amazing. They have been working hand in hand for over 50 years, and it would be just a beautiful thing. Thank you.

Thank you. Council? Okay. Council LaPlante?

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee. I just now found out about Mr. Robertson? Robertson.

But they do call, most of our kids call him Robertson.

So he'll answer both. That's amazing and awesome. So what an amazing man, right? He definitely has Mark LaPlante, 21-year city council member, enjoyed working in this institution. But the point here is that we've got someone here who clearly has given a life of dedication. And what I'm about to say has no reflection on Billy Robinson or Robertson. It has everything to do about our history. It has everything to do about remembering and not forgetting those who came before us. Now, I'm not gonna go too much in depth, but a little in depth about a guy by the name of Edward F. O'Sullivan. You probably never heard that guy's name in your life, and there's a reason for that. I'll get to that in a second. He went to Lawrence Public Schools, graduated from Lawrence High School. He's actually, you know Weatherby School? Heard of the Weatherby School? So one of his teachers was Emily Weatherby, right? So he's been around that long. When he was 18 years old, When he was 18 years old, he started his own company, Company I, in the Massachusetts militia here in the city of Lawrence. 18 years old. At the age of 19, he left here to go to college in Ottawa, Canada, Ottawa University. And he took a side job as a teacher to pay his tuition. While he was in college, he formed a football team. in Canada, and that football team won the national championship in Canada. Amazing. When he returned to Lawrence, he applied to be the principal of the Saunders School that no longer exists on South Broadway. And then when he didn't get the job, he ran for state rep. Sound familiar? One. He won the state rep's job for two terms. While he was there, he focused on labor issues. That was like his thing. If you look him up in the state house, you will see he's in a lot of labor stuff. But the state reps didn't get paid much in those days. So his job was as a city engineer. And one of his primary responsibilities and achievements was completing the Spicket River Valley improvements. He also became the editor of the Lowell Sun, the editor of the Lowell Sun, equivalent of the Today's Evening Lawrence Tribune, right? When he was a part of the militia, because when you're part of the militia, you can do your militia like the reserves. You can still do militia work while you're at their job. He rose to the rank of captain before resigning, and here's going to tell you how old he is. When the Spanish-American War came up, he joined the 9th Regiment and was in Santiago, Cuba, and was part of the fighting there. He was a war veteran and active in fighting for our country. When he came back home, he died. He died at the age of 46. And he died because of malaria and the fever that he got while he was serving in Cuba. Now, why am I telling you all this when we're supposed to be talking about Billy Robinson, right? This guy died at 46, but at such an amazing impact, Senator O'Sullivan, in our city, that they named a park after him. Big whoop, right? Guess where the park was? The park was where the Boys Club is today. Where the Boys Club took over, I don't remember the exact year, 1960s, early 70s? 62. Shame on our city leaders back then who decided not to remember this patriot that came from our city that had such an accomplished career. Shame on our people whose shoulders we say we're supposed to be standing on. They let us down. No one knows about Edward F. O. Sullivan. Forget about the park that he had, because now, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful place at the Boys and Girls Club. Beautiful place, amazing job, has nothing to do with the reflection on their work and what they do for our children today. Nothing. But shame on us. Shame on us for forgetting, not knowing. And now that we know, what are we going to do? Now that we know that some other person who had a family, who had a major impact on our city, who did things internationally, pretty big league stuff, what do we do now? So I don't envy us to be in this position. I say me too, because I'm in your shoes. But I can't turn a blind eye. Our city made a commitment back in the day, back in 1918 when we named that park after Senator, excuse me, Edward F. O'Sullivan in 1918. And our people that preceded us have forgotten. I say we can't forget. We have an opportunity now to not forget. How many years has it been now since 1918 when they named a park after him? He died in 1904. It's time that we don't forget. Now that we have a chance. We never had a park there. We weren't gonna kick the boys and girls. God bless them. God bless them. But now we have something. So anyway, I throw that onto your plate as you make the decision whether you're gonna sign it up with a recommendation, without a recommendation, committee report. But we can't forget our history. So I know where I fit on this. You may not share, you may share. I don't know where you all stand on this. You may want to think about it some more. I know where I stand on this. I stand on the fact that we need to remember our history, those people who came before us, who made a difference in people's lives as well, and we can't forget them. And when an opportunity like this arrives, we can't shut the door. Thank you.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Council President De Rosario.

Thank you very much. Great path of history. But what is a shame, Councilor LaPlante, is that you've been sitting here for over 20 years and you have done nothing about Mr. Sullivan. And now there's something that's presented to us It's your opportunity to show it. What I say, the boys and girls have decided to turn this around. It's not their fault that counselors like you that have been sitting there for 20 years have forgot about this and haven't done nothing about it. And now there is something beautiful presented you want to do. But I want to encourage the Boys and Girls Club to name this park, continue to name this park the Mr. Robinson. And maybe put a plaque on it for Mr. Sullivan, because you could have requested to do something there for Mr. Sullivan. When we went there, you've been sitting there for 20 years. And where was the building? The Boys and Girls Club was built in 1962. So now you put it on us. It's not fair. I'm in full support. named the park after Billy. And if the boys club decide, maybe put a bench or maybe the basketball court, we can put the name of Mr. Sullivan on it. It's after the boys club. But again, it comes with a plan. As masters, I love your history books and everything. You also should feel ashamed that you've been sitting there for 20 years and you didn't do nothing about it when you're knowing that history. But you took five minutes of your fame, five minutes of fame, to sabotage this beautiful presentation of this park and the memory of Billy that has been done. And again, I encourage the Boys and Girls Club to maybe do a plaque, name the basketball court, this cable park, or something about Mr. Sullivan. But again, don't wait 20 years, or don't wait for somebody to implement something new to bring back history. When you have been sitting here for 20 years, you could have done something about it. As much as I respect you and I love the history you bring to us, but if I sit here for 20 years or longer and I had to wait for somebody to bring something new, for me to try to remember whoever was there before, 1962 was the Boys in Glows built. And that's about the time that you've been sitting on the city council. And you haven't done anything about it, nothing about it. And you've been doing a great job for veterans. Not even a sign for that gentleman. You should have a sign for that veteran right at the Boys Club with his name, with the program that you had. So I'm in full support of sending this with a favorable recommendation, and I will ask the Boys and Girls Club if they allow some part of the park being named after Mr. Sullivan, even the basketball court, the skateboard, or even ask Mr. LaPlante, Counselor LaPlante, bring one of those signs in honor of that great veteran that we shouldn't forget, but he forgot all about it, and now tons of years later. My humble opinion.

Ayudon, Counselor Rosario. Cancel the plan. Do you want to say something again?

Listen, we all have opinions and my good friend and colleague has an opinion. I don't share the opinion. I don't think the opinion is factual. I haven't been sitting on this often waiting for this exact moment to lay the hammer down. This is not a Machiavellian kind of thing. Listen, those of you who know me, who know me well, know that I've been working on a project to try to get information out about the various things. It has taken me, and I'm still working on it, eight or nine years, not 20 years. And you could say, well, why didn't you bring this up earlier? The fact of the matter is this is not the first time that we've talked about some brief information, and to our state senator as well, that I said to them, we've got some history there with the park, and I've done that years ago. But there is no, I'm not, we can't force property that's already been made for the boys club now to insert ourselves in. But now we've got public property. Now it's different. And now is our first opportunity to look at naming something. It's not the exact same spot. It's a different spot. So I'm not going to be offended, counselor. I mean, I listen. I like you. You're a good man. You can overstate things to try to make a point. You're a good guy. I like a lot of the stuff that you're doing. I think you're a little unfair on the characterization. I think you embellished a little bit. I think we have an opportunity now to do something. There's more stories. And as much as I can possibly get those stories out, I will. But I'm only one person trying to do something. This is a side thing for me. This is not my full-time gig. I happen to have an interest in this. And I wanted to bring this information to your attention. All nine of us are going to take the vote on this. I didn't have a vote on this before in my 21 years, but I want to have a vote on it finally on year 21. Yeah, I'll have a vote finally, yes, on something. We will have something. So thank you. Thank you for the constructive criticism. I'm going to take it in the spirit that it was intended because you want me to do a good job. You want the very best, and I appreciate that. And I also wanted to make sure they were all informed. Thank you.

So I want to thank you from my side. I want to thank all of you. And it's great, you know, it is great to hear about the history of Lawrence and people like Miss Billie Robinson. So that is practically my first time that I hear from him. And I am the one that always think that we have to remember the one that came before us and made something from the place or the city or whatever that we are living in. It's very important to know about the history. And that's the history that you mentioned earlier. that you talk about Mr. Billing, Robinson is grateful. So yes, you have my vote on this regard because I'm the one who think that we have to give the merit to the merit is part of that. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. LaPlano, for bringing some of the history about something that at least me haven't heard before.

Discussion? I have a question. I have a question. Hold on one second.

I don't know who came with the name to name this area or this park with a name, but I want to say thank you also to remember things like this.

Yes, both observations are valid. We do value the work of Councillor LaPlante and also the work that is being done by the Boys and Girls Club. But now since we have Sue Fink from the Office of Planning and Development, we can ask her if we have any other park coming up so we can probably commit and name after Mr. Sullivan. And we can just go ahead with the proposal.

We're in the very beginning planning stages of an additional park that's going to run behind the Boys and Girls Club. up to the water treatment plant so that could possibly be an opportunity to take council of plants um suggestion which will be more impact uh impact the park right right okay of course that would be something that we need to bring before the mayor approval on of course but good thank you

Thank you, Mr. Marcus, also for coming and talk about the life of Mr. Robinson. Okay. Council, may I hear a comment? I have a comment.

You have a comment?

Okay. Thank you.

So I want to say thank you both for presenting. I think it's very important when we can bring back something about our history, what we do through the year. I think it's amazing to recognize that part But at the same time, I would love to see another improvement because I'm working very hard to see some renovation on Reviviendo Park and also Escarito Park is behind Brook Street. I strongly believe this post park, we need to do something for that place too. And I'd love to see some renovation on these two parks because sometimes we don't think too much on Escarito Park because it's behind, it's a little bit hiding, but we have a beautiful community there and a lot of children around, so I want to see something improving there and also Reviviendo Park is like King Dakota with beautiful community around, new development. I want to see some improvement there. But I love to see the news improving on the Boys and Girls Club because my children went there, and I'm so proud to see this kind of remodeling. Thank you.

Well, I'll tell you something interesting about Scorito Park. Scorito Park was the very first park project that I worked on.

Yes, I just remember that, because I was the money here for all the property. Yep.

Trioche.

Councilor Rosario.

And I admire the work that Councilor LaPlanta. So, Councilor LaPlanta, we have a project in my district, which is the Bennington Triangle. So let's think of a name. of any veterans that is around there, and I know you have it, and before they propose any names Let's bring that name up and us propose it with my full support. The Bennington Triangle, and I heard a name that they might put in there, which that veterans already have names all over the city, and that was, I overheard, so if you can help me work on a name of a veterans that need recognition in that area or nearby, you have my full support. I do support everything you do when it comes to the veterans, and I love your passion that you put in. With that said, I will, Make a motion to send this to the full council with a favorable recommendation.

Second. All those in favor?

Aye.

The aye, however. Thank you, councillors. Thank you, too. Have a good night. Thank you very much. Council, the next item in the agenda is 270-20C. It's the Hawkers and Pilots License, Lourdes Garcia-Ureña.

Good evening. Good evening. My name is Lourdes Garcia. I live in 32 Baldwin Street, South Loring. I'm happy because I say, oh my gosh, I'm here because I need permission for selling in the park. I make rosary and I make some bracelets. And I'm happy because I say, oh my gosh, I'm here to talk with them about that I need to do this in the park. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. At the beginning, let me talk about something about what I do in this. At the beginning, I'm doing for help people, so about, I don't know if I can say about the religion, I'm Catholic. So, and I have the shirt with this. But now, I don't have a job. and I need to sell this for only, maybe for buy everything that I need to make it. But my goal is to help. And they tell the people how to use this and how to make it. And they tell the people about how important is that. And I want to explain that we use that, not like, not for me, it's for everybody. Sorry, my English is a little big. So, but I need your permission to do that. Yes, please.

So this is for sale duties on the park.

Yeah, I sell like this. This is the first time that I'm doing that.

That's for sale every day or just only...

Maybe three day of week, like when the park have something special. For example, they short some time, want to do something, and I want to go there to do that, to sell that. Yeah. And a mission here too. I going to different places And I have some communities, some . Yeah. And I have the shorts here in Lawrence. For example, now the voluntary in the Sanctuary of Rosaries, Sanctuary of Shorts is involved in the library. And I don't know. Yeah.

You're looking on the ordinance. I don't know if we are given a permit to sell on the park. the computer or the laptop with me in the ordinance for sale in the park.

It's like a, I'm sorry, I put it like a table and I put the thing on the table.

Because I know that we can give a permit, you know, or not us, so when people have it like any carnival or any event and they are selling the table and you can put it in there. But I don't think so that we are able to provide permit for you to sell every day or every two, whatever the time for sale.

Or a special day.

Just only a special day when there is something that you get a permit through whoever is having the event. So that's something that is not like giving to you the permit. It's the person who is doing the event that can say, Okay, you can come in and you can have a table. But us, I don't think so that we are able to provide you a place in the park, in the area, for sale.

Okay, I understand.

You know? But what I can do, we can... IF THE COUNCIL WANTED, WE CAN TABLE AND WE CAN GET THE INFORMATION AND GIVE IT TO YOU AT THE NEXT MAYBE COUNCIL MEETING.

THROUGH YOU, CHAIR.

COUNCIL MIGUEL.

I MEAN, WHAT WOULD THEY SEND AN APPLICATION TO US IF THAT WAS NOT PART OF THAT?

THAT IS NOTHING, YES. I BELIEVE IT DEPENDS. WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT BECAUSE Are you asking through some event? Maybe it's not...

Okay, so one second. So he was making a question. What is your question first?

I mean, if we are receiving the application and send it to the ordinance committee for discussion, and we see that all the background and everything has been performed, I mean...

We only, well, everybody had a package in here, so regarding the public safety and security, the criminal record, but we don't really have like an application directly saying regarding selling.

Through you, Chair. I mean, they are.

Okay, give me one second. Okay, so Councillor Reyes has.

Did you finish? I give the floor to my colleagues. Okay.

The Hawker imperial license is a license that allows you to sell from place to place, but I believe that you need to be registered with the state first and then come back here. Isn't it how it is? In Massachusetts, you must have stayed a statewide license first and then come to the city clerk and tell them where they're going to sell it. But, I mean, we have given Hawkers imperial license here before. Like, we have done it.

For people selling every single day at the park?

Yeah, they have a hockey and pedal license. Those people they offer is those phones, those government phones. They have a hockey and pedal license. I don't know where they get it from, but they have a permanent one.

What type of license do we have? Are you sure? Just probably, is it the same license that we do for food trucks? I mean, people to be on the street selling, not necessarily at the park, but walking on the street selling stuff. But, I mean, if we have any doubts, I mean, I will entertain the motion to table and send it to the chairman.

To the attorney and the inspection at Selby, or so that's practically is the place that most of the time provide the license for sale.

Yep.

so uh what we are going to do we're going to leave it in here we're going to table and so we're going to send correspondent to uh inspection ourselves and to the city attorney just to guide us in that regard um cancel yeah motion to send to to table and send it to the city attorney and special services for guidance yeah So motion is already made and second by Councilor Rosario. All those in favor? Aye. Okay, I have it. Okay, so as soon as we got the information, we're going to ask the secretary to call you again just so that we can explain and give the information to you.

All right, thank you so much. Bye-bye, thank you.

Council, the next item on the agenda is 271.26, is the naming of Cornell, O'Hare, and Ansboury Street as Anthony DeFrosia Square, submitted by Council President Giovanni Rodriguez and also Mr. Mark DeFrosia.

Good evening, Madam Chair, Councilors. I am Mark DeFrusia, home address 337 Kendall Road, Tewksbury, Mass. Business address, 260 Havel Street, Lawrence, Mass. Right at the corner of Havel and Eastbury Street. As you can see, the big signs is DeFrusia right on the front. It was my dad's law office. He actually still has an office there. He's still with us, thank God, he's 86. He was born in Lawrence in 1940, a blinded Italian family, which means Naples and Sicily, that's a blend at a time, two different, well, I guess Italian, but we fight in between ourselves, different parts of the country. Volunteered as a kid at St. Mary's Church at the time, then over at Mary Immaculate Church, it was at the corner of Bennington, I think, and White Street, now it's just a parking lot. He went to St. Mary's School on scholarship, also Central Catholic on scholarship, Emerson College on scholarship, and New England School of Law on scholarship. He worked full time in the city, and he was like a lot of other people talking, this was state rep from 68 to 72. He tried for Congress, lost that fight to John Kerry in the primary, and Joe Cronin in the general election, if anybody remembers Congressman Cronin, he was a one-term congressman from Lawrence, a Republican. And then he focused his effort back on Haverhill-Aimsbury Street. Our whole life has been in those three little blocks. In fact, my family owns the apartments called Parkside Apartments, which are behind the St. Mary's. Of course, and the joke is we go from St. Mary's to Mary Macklin to John Breen. That's all we know. We go from living to assisted living to death. They're all written the same three blocks. We've all grew up there, I grew up there. I am the manager of Parkside Apartments now. My sisters also work with me there. My dad is very connected with Lawrence, as a son of Lawrence. He doesn't say a lot, he doesn't do, publicly, but he's very passionate about St. Mary's Church. He grew up there, he donates a lot there. We do what we can there. He's passionate about Green Works, Green Ground Works, Lawrence. They have a air sensor kind of thing on a, I don't know what the heck it is. They measure the air traffic, I don't know what the heck they do. But they do something there, and he's very passionate with the Lawrence YMCA, not the Andover one, Lawrence. He's, we get, As a family, we get notices all the time, donate to this, donate to that. If it doesn't affect the residents of Parkside, he won't do it. He will not give money to any outside organization outside Lawrence for the most part. St. Mary's Church, Lawrence Y, Greenworks, those are our three. He's very passionate about the residents of Parkside. He's there every day. He's yelling at me every day about snow bank, a piece of wood, a trash, something on the ground. He gives back to the residents. He has a Christmas party every year for all the residents. He gives them all gift cards to Market Basket. He has a, which most of you weren't voting to, we always send, some get the letters, some don't, but we send emails out to all the counselors. He does a summer party. He has a Chick-fil-A truck show up at pretty pricey. People love to take three or four of them home with them, doesn't mind. And if he knew I was here tonight, he'd lose his mind on me. Thank God he goes to bed at 7.30. He can't watch this, but he never wants any recognition. Don't say anything. Don't do anything. Just give a check and walk away. Walk away. He doesn't want any ribbon, none of that. So my family, I'm trying to, that's his block. He's been there for 50 years at the corner. We're trying to give him a little recognition. Hopefully he'll still be around to cut a ribbon or something. We really would appreciate it if any help the city council would do for us. for him in that corner. The city came calling about a year ago, wanted some of the parking lot to make Amesbury Street two-way. Okay, where do I sign? No question, no issues. The police details, let them park in the parking lot. The construction trucks, let them park in the parking lot. So anything the city needs, he's always giving back. And so I would appreciate, and the family would appreciate if we could give him a little recognition for that. Thank you.

Thank you. Council.

And how old is your dad now?

86. 86.

Councilor LaPlante, do you know anything about Mr. DeFugia? Anything you can add or know in the history of?

Yes.

Thank you, sir.

I've known Mr. DeFugia since I was 10 years old.

I've got

Mark should be very proud of his dad, and he rightfully is. His dad has done a lot for our city. He put it on a piece of paper that you have in front of you. So I... I don't want to sound like an ingrate, but I'm deeply appreciative of all the stuff that the DeFrusia family has done for our city. And we should be saying thank you more often to people of families in our city that contribute. That answers your question. So what I would like to add to this is a little different. So my question is when we look at naming of things, corners, do we do it for like a lifetime achievement of the, all the stuff that somebody has done? Or do we do it for something special, like momentous that someone has, and I'll give you an example of something momentous. That's something has, and there's been no thing done. Remember Aaron Feuerstein? Aaron Feuerstein owned a mill that went up in flames on Broadway. Do you remember this? Walden Mills, that's right. It was what he did at that fire to the people who lived in the area who did a tremendous amount of good as a corporate citizen. There is somebody right there out of his, not required to do any of that stuff, but that fire is emblazoned in so many people's brains and heads. We all remember that. Nothing new, but that's an example of someone on one item. Didn't grow up in Lawrence, but he had a business here. That's somebody, right? That's somebody who did something remarkable that we don't do. I just... would love to see, and again, I feel badly doing this because it sounds like I'm cheapening or reducing the contributions that the DeFrusia family, most specifically Tony DeFrusia, has done over the course of 86 years? 86 years. Not to be diminished, right? But we also need to, if it's a lifetime achievement award, we need to see the whole life. in my opinion, the whole life. Not close to the end of the life, the whole life. Because that's how we know about the person's entire life, because that's what we do. If it's about someone who's done something remarkable, that's huge, maybe we don't need to wait for that. Maybe because of that person's tremendous thing, maybe we do something maybe while they're alive. That might be a different thing. But again, this is just me speaking. This is my values. This is me. Counselors, you all will have your own way of looking at things. But I don't want, my fear as we're going through all these, and I don't, and again, I'm going to sound awful. I don't, and I don't mean to be, and I'm not saying this is the case here. I don't want to cheapen. I don't want to be handing out corners like Andy. I've yet to see somebody present something to this council and the council say no. I've yet to see it. Everybody that's been brought before the council, it's 100%. We've never said no. 100%. Always gone through. Do we have any standard? I mean, internally, is there something that we say, no, that doesn't quite cut it. I'm not sure this is the one, but I'm saying do we have that? So I want, if we're going to name something after somebody, and I know some of the arguments, It should be challenging. It should be hard. It should not be easy. It's almost, I'm Catholic. And in my faith, after someone dies, I'm not saying that these people are saints, but there's this thing called saints in my religion, in that if you have done tremendous things, and there's a whole bunch of vetting, you've got to do miracles, all these other kinds of things. I'm not saying, again, there's apples, there's a comparison here. But they just don't hand those things out. They're not easy to get, to be a saint. They're difficult, you've got to be amazing. And my point here is I think we should, whatever we think is amazing, we should lift the bar up a little bit more. We don't need to be putting saints. The people who are, I'm not a saint. People have horse-worn saints. All the corners, these aren't saints. People have got problems. They've had their ills. They've had issues. But I just want to make things a little more challenging. And I will submit to this. I don't think we've been as stringent as we should have been or have been or could have been over time. And I think... So Mr. DeFrosier and I have talked about this a little bit, about these kinds of things, about how sometimes things go a little bit easier than they should be, and they should be a little harder. So anyway, I hope that answers your question, and you kind of know where I'm going with this, aren't you? I don't need to say it, but you know where I'm going, and it's a hard place for me to be because of my... How many years? I'm going to be 60 this year. Don't wish me happy birthday. So I've known him now for almost 50 years, or the family for 50 years. Happy birthday. I knew that because we talk about that as well. Well, you see that we work out together, but clearly he works out more than I do.

Thank you.

Thank you. I mean, and I know where you're going with this, and I respect that. And you also know that I also want the belief that we should recognize people when they're alive. I mean, if they made something amazing, I read the history, and they're alive, we should recognize those people when they're alive. After they're dead, I mean, the family will take the recognition, but it's good to, you know, it's amazing. A son come here to us for father recognition of everything he has done, and he wants to do it while he's alive. And it's an amazing thing. Again, it may stop the ball on the old moldy mills. We never recognized the gentleman after what he did. Not even call it in into the city hall and say, you know what, thank you for what you did for the people. Not naming a corner, not even bringing it in, you know. that after the fire, everything after the fire, it should be appreciated. And we never did that back in those days. But I'm in full support of this and I believe we should recognize people things and they still alive. We shouldn't let people recognize.

Councilor Rosario, I agree with you. We can recognize also the councilor, President Giovanni Rodriguez is over here and he is part of the sponsor for this. I don't know if you want to say any word in this regard, Council President.

Thank you, Councilors. I believe that I concur with most of what you said when it comes to recognizing our people and that generation that we're not thinking about being recognized. that it's getting a little old, but still working hard for the community, still doing so much work that is going unknown by many people. But it is important for us to have that type of recognitions to others, because at the end of the day, the city of Lawrence, when we arrived here, there were a lot of people doing amazing things. And after we leave, there's going to be a lot of people that are going to continue doing amazing things. And I think that the Fisher family have done great things for the community, and they're going to continue doing what they know best, which is serving the community in different capacities. So I'm definitely in support of this item, and I was one of the sponsors because of that reason.

Okay, thank you. Council, what is the motion?

Motion to set the full council with federal recommendation.

Second.

Council, are you ready to make a second? All those in favor?

Aye. The aye, have it. Thank you.

So item, the next item is item 272.26, is the Groundwork Lawrence 5K, Manchester Street Park, Speaker River Greenway, Ignacio de Marca Park. Oh, I like that. It's going to be Sunday, August 9th, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. So we got here Isai Grullon from Groundwork Lawrence. Hi, welcome. Your name and address for the record, please.

Good evening, committee members and chair. So I'm Isai Grullon, here on behalf of Groundwork Lawrence. We're at 50 Island Street in Lawrence. So yeah, we're here to get our permit for the 5K. We do this event every year. We start at Manchester Street Park. The race starts at nine. We run through the Spigot River Greenway, which goes through Nascarito, and that is one of my favorite parts in the city, so I agree with you 100%, counselor. So yeah, and then we end at Nunzio DeMarco Park. Yes, we finish at Nunzio DeMarco Park, and we have a celebration at the end, and we give out medals to the winners and have a great time. So yeah, just hoping to be able to do it again this year. That's great.

So the end is the announcement of the market part. Yes. And there we're going to have all the awal and the finish. Yeah, we'll have music and celebrate everyone. Yeah. That's great. I like it. Maybe I'm going to, I don't know if I'm going to walk. You can walk. That's okay. All of the way. But, excuse me, Mr. DeFrosia? Okay, so we are done with you.

I sponsored that race.

Oh, are you sponsoring this too? Great. So.

Marco Plant walks it, I run it.

You run it? But this is great, yeah. Like I said, I'm going to be, i hope that i can be there and that is not raining there but still we have a place to be covered right that's the good thing of the uh denuncio the market part and maybe it's another part that is going to be done very soon too and we're going to do the final uh inauguration for that but um uh council any comment or question yeah through your chair

Are you guys doing the white lines, right?

Yes.

How do you call that?

The path, yeah, the green way.

I did it once, but I tend to forget every other year. I don't know if I'm lazy or what, but I did it once. I ran it while Marla Plant walked it. I'm not a fast runner but I did it and you know why I liked it and loved it because I found through that white line people don't know but you end up in parks and places in Lawrence that you don't know there is cysts

I hear it every year. I always get people, oh my gosh, I didn't know this was there. Yes. I didn't know this was there. It's wonderful.

So I took my, I remember I took my kid and we were, we decided, we were running and then we decided to walk it because it was, it was amazing going behind the scenes basically and then end up, there was a name, Marco, Marco, It wasn't named back in the days, the park. It wasn't named yet. But we end up there. And the waterfall all the way by the hospital and all that stuff, that thing is beautiful. So I encourage my colleague to walk it or run it or whatever you want to do.

Registration will be set up soon. Very soon. Very soon.

But I believe... Very soon you're going to be able to run. You're going to be able to watch the water fire.

Mr. LaFrucia, in your contribution to this, you should get medals to the counselors, even if we don't run in. We want a medal because we can't compete. We can't compete, so we will participate. We want a participation, a medal of participation or something. But it's an amazing, it's an amazing, basically, I call it a trip. To me, it was a trip through the back of the city, which is beautiful, so I'm in full support of it. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Cancion, any comment or any other question? Can I hear a motion?

Motion to send to full council with her recommendation. Second.

Motion already made and second, all those in favor? Aye. They aye, have it. So thank you and see you soon. On the 7th meeting? July 7th. July 16th. July 16th, okay. No 7th? Oh no, yes, I'm sorry, yes, July 7th. Well, July 7th for the meeting. Yes, okay. At 7 o'clock, over here. Perfect, thank you, have a good evening. Good evening. Okay, item 274.26 is the request for zoning change. I'm being asked to table this item. Can I hear motion?

Motion to table.

Motion to table, all those in favor?

Aye.

The aye, have it. So item 275.26 is the proposed ordinance, name change for ordinance zero two point 48 to Office of Human Resource and Labor Relations. Hi. Hi, good evening. Good evening.

Good evening Madam Chair and city council members. Carol Garcia, Personnel Director, hopefully for now. Personnel Director 200 Common Street. I am before you today requesting that the personnel department be changed to reflect office of human resources and labor relations.

Most of us have heard the term personnel, right?

But have you ever wondered where that term actually comes from? Well, I'll tell you today. It comes from the early 1900s. It's borrowed from military language where they would actually used to separate people from equipment. So they use the word personnel in order to identify people rather than the military equipment. It was never really designed to describe a modern workplace function. And over time, as organizations started thinking more seriously about how they treat their employees, that word started to really feel like a relic. Today, cities and employers that are serious about their workforce have moved towards names that reflect what the work is. It's supporting people, managing labor relations, ensuring compliance and helping the organization grow. And that's what my team does on a day-to-day basis. Renaming our department to the Office of Human Resources and Labor Relations also means that my title from Personnel Director to Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations would be a title that accurately reflects the full scope of this role. And Lawrence would be in good company making this change. Right here in Massachusetts, the city of Springfield operates a human resource department led by the director of human resources and labor relations. The city of Worcester has a human resource department as well, headed by the chief human resource officer. The city of Cambridge has a human resource department with a director of labor relations. Even the city of Lowell, our neighbor, has moved away from personnel and now operates under human relations. Each of these communities recognize that the name personnel needs a change. It needs to reflect what we do today, which is support our organization, support our employees. This isn't just about updating a sign on a door. or a business card. It's about telling our employees, our unions and our community that Lawrence sees its workforce as its greatest asset. And that we're committed to serving them in a way that reflects that. And we think that it's worth making it official.

Council, any comment, discussion on this? Okay, so the only thing that we've been doing right now is to change the name. Change the name of the department, correct. Of the department.

And as well as my title as well.

Oh, your title. Right. Okay, so I think that one thing that we have to do from here is like to send it to the city attorney just to make sure verify the language or anything that you've been presenting to us and do the confirmation at the same time to table. So after we get the information from him.

I did send this to the city attorney.

Okay.

Yes.

All right.

So we're going to wait for his response. So it will be tabled. I will have to come in front of the city, this committee again. Yes.

Yes.

Okay.

So we have to wait for him, unless the other member of the city council decide anything.

I believe that we can share through you, I believe that we can move it up pending the approval of the language from the city attorney, and that way he's not sitting here for too long while, I mean, I don't see anything to hold it here, pending that information. If he's already seen it, he just need to email us or send us an okay of his opinion, of your legal opinion on the language.

And I can get that to you by the end of the week.

Yeah, we can send him pending with documentation with the current, yeah. Do the motion.

Motion to send to the full council with a favor recommendation pending communication from the city attorney. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Okay, so the next item on the agenda is the creation of proposed ordinance. Item 27626 is the creation of proposed ordinance 02.48.050 Uh, deputy director or the human service.

Thank you. Uh, Carol Garcia, personnel director for the city of Lawrence, 200 common street. Good evening, madam chair and city council members. Again, I want to take a moment to talk about the people behind the people. And that's my department. Right now we're a team of three, four if we want to include my benefits coordinator. And we are responsible as of last week, as of our last payroll for 593 people. During an election cycle we are responsible for about 700 employees for the city of Lawrence. and that's across 10 departments, more than 10 unions. We handle everything from workers' compensation to FMLA, grievances, benefits, hiring, civil service, promotions, and our new quarterly training programs. It's an enormous amount of ground for three people to cover. Communities like Springfield and Methuen have recognized this challenge and have invested in their HR teams accordingly. We're asking for you to do the same, to add one further position, which would be the Deputy Director of Human Resources, to help us do right by our 593 employees.

Councilor, any discussion on this? Once again, for me, I will send it to, I know that you maybe you're gonna say the same thing that you already send it to the city attorney, but I will prefer to table and send it to the city attorney. So just to verify, can you hold them?

No, absolutely, yeah, I can hold them.

So just to verify the language on this proposed ordering.

Would it work best if I, when I send things down, if Attorney Tim Houghton also sponsors it?

That could be a great idea because that way we have, you know, the information, the proposal, and the confirmation from the attorney that he already read it and verify any change or any information provided. Absolutely.

Yeah.

Councilor Reyes.

We also send the item pending with information. I can do the motion. I do the motion with recommendation pending the current documentation.

Okay. Councilor Reyes. Second. Remember that's, okay, motion is already made by Councilor Reyes and second by Councilor The Rosario discussion.

Discussion.

Okay. So the first one is a proposed ordinance, and this one is a creation of the ordinance. So it's completely different. So we are not doing, so there is one that is already done that we are making the changes on the name, but the second one has to be created.

Yeah, we send the information with the hood and he can send the clarification through us and we can discuss through the full council and it's not ready yet, we can table it there. It's ready, we can move forward with the full council.

So the motion is already made by council. Arreye and second by Councilor De Rosario. Discussion. Discussion, Councilor De Rosario.

Thank you. Through you. It doesn't... Here in the language, it says grade D for the city qualification, but it doesn't show the compensation on this position.

It would be the top, if I remember correctly, off the top of my head is... Might be 84,000 or 104, it's one of those two, if I remember the classification correctly. Yes, sir.

And will this position be a union position?

No, non-union.

Non-union.

Thank you. So one of the things that I got in here, I got a note that it was sent to me. It's like to send it to the city attorney and verify the language in table. But council, I would like to do a wrong call. for this item. 276 is the creation, 276.26 is the creation of a proposed Ordinance 02.48.050 through the Deputy Director of Human Service, Carol Garcia. Okay, next question? Yeah. Okay, Councilor Miguel.

Yes, thank you, through you, Chair. So is this part of the new budget? It has been approved, yes, correct. It has been approved in the new budget, all right. Yes. Okay, perfect. So it is fully funded. So what would be the difference if we, I know that we receive usually recommendation from the city clerk whether the item needs to be sent to the city attorney. JUST FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE LANGUAGE. IF WE MOVE IT UP PENDING THE COMMENTATION OR TABLE IT NOW, I MEAN, WHAT WOULD BE THE DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF DO WE HAVE A RESPONSE BY THE CITY ATTORNEY BEFORE THE NEXT FULL COUNCIL MEETING?

You will, because I will make sure of that. And if, given the current situation of our city attorney, if anything were to happen between now and then, and we do not have an answer from Attorney Huynh, by all means table it at the full council.

Okay. So we need to have a full language verification from the city attorney for the full council.

That's perfectly fine, which is on July 6th, correct? 7th. 7th.

Mr. Clark, please make your own call, please. Yes. So the motion is to send it to the full council waiting for the recommendation from the city attorney. Please. Do you need a microphone?

So, Council Vice President Levy?

Council Vice President, I'm going to abstain.

Okay. Councilor Serena Reyes?

Yes.

Councilor Vice Chair Franklin Vidal?

Yes.

And Councilor Gregory Del Rosario? Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you too. Have a great night, everyone.

You too. Councilor, I'm going to take it as item two. There are three items that I can take it as a block. 277-26, handicap parking on 37 Bennington Street. 278-26, handicap parking 42 John Dye Street. And 279-26, handicap parking 35-37 Wilno Street. Councilor? All those in favor?

Aye. Second. I mean, who seconded it?

You make it a motion. And Councilor Regis second. All those in favor?

Aye.

So item 277.26 is a handicap parking, 37 Bennington Street. What is the motion for up to 7, the 8, 20, 6, and the cappuccino for it to turn down history and to 7, the 9, 20, 6, and the cappuccino 35 that is serving with my string.

Motion to send it to the Lawrence police department and the BW.

So I'm also already made it in sake all of us in favor.

I.

Item 236 is the resident parking and 15 bumpkin street to Sari, no, sorry, by Sari Perdomo for Rosario Nicotra. Resident parking. Can I hear a motion? Motion to withdraw item two, item 26. I have second. Second. Motion already second. All those in favor?

Aye.

The aye, have it. So, Councilor, I don't have any other items for discussion since tonight. There is anything from the table, items that can be, that you want to take it out? And I hear a motion. Motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn. Already second made it by Councilor Rosario and second by Councilor Ray. All those in favor? Aye. They aye have it. So thank you guys and have a great night. Peace.