Revere City Council Round-Up

By Barbara Taormina

City Council appointments

  City Council approval of appointments to boards and commissions don’t always get the attention they deserve. Our bad. But this week Council rules were suspended so a vote on the recommendations from the Appointments Subcommittee could be first up on the agenda. A crowd had gathered in the council chamber, mostly for the high school bond vote, but they were engaged in the Appointments Subcommittee meeting and applauded warmly for the candidates.

And the candidates included two local favorites: former city councillor and mayoral candidate Steven Morabito was appointed as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Chris Ciaramella was appointed as Superintendent of Public Works.

“I couldn’t think of a better appointment,” said former Public Works Superintendent and current Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio of Ciaramella.

Councillors also approved the appointment of Leah Hoffman, who promises to bring a blend of youthful perspective and some impressive professional and institutional knowledge to the Planning Board. Isaac McDaniel’s appointment as the new Director of Veterans Services and Paul Barrasso’s appointment as Assistant Harbormaster were also approved on a voice vote.

Members of the audience applauded each of the nominees, who were generously praised by city councilors.

Community composting coming

  Councillors supported Councillor-at-Large Juan Pablo Jaramillo’s motion for a public hearing on launching a composting program for the city. In the city’s new contract with WIN Waste Innovations, the waste company pledged $25,000 to the city to help create a composting program that would reduce the amount of solid waste Revere sends to a landfill and save the city on disposal costs.

Jaramillo said he has had robust conversations with colleagues. He recommended referring the motion back to the Climate, Workforce and Sustainability Subcommittee, which he chairs. Fellow councilors praised the idea and several said they had received dozens of messages and calls from constituents supporting the proposal.

A call for fixes for Pines Road

  The council approved Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya’s motion to request the Public Works Department to repave and resurface Pines Road in the interest of public safety. According to Guarino-Sawaya the road has been destroyed by salt, water, sand and clamshells.

Lt. John Jones Memorial Park

  Councillors Michelle Kelly and Chris Giannino proposed renaming Liberty Park to Lt. John Jones Memorial Park to honor Jones, a lifelong North Revere resident, one of the first Black police officers in Somerville and an Air Force veteran. Fellow councillors asked to have their names added to the motion.

J.J. Jones spoke briefly about his father, who he said was born in the woods a few steps from the park and died in the nearby home he built for his family. “He was a fixture at every game, ever practice, every city event,” said J.J. Jones. “There wasn’t a kid in the city who didn’t know Mr. Jones.”

The motion includes a request that DPW and the Open Space and Environmental Planner install appropriate signs with the name of the park and that a dedication ceremony be scheduled once work is done on the park revitalization.

Banning Airbnbs

  Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya presented a motion requesting the city planner to draft a zoning ordinance prohibiting short-term rental use in single-family zoning districts. Guarino-Sawaya said short-term guests create neighborhood problems with parking and other issues. While other councillors acknowledged the problems, several said they would like an opinion from City Solicitor Paul Capizzi.

Waiting to hear from you

  Councillors Robert Haas, Joanne McKenna and Angela Guarino-Sawaya are asking the building department and city policy writers to look into requirements that utility companies and other workers that conduct road work notify abutters with a timeline two weeks in advance of the work. Residents must be informed about lane closures, traffic congestion, parking bans and overnight noise. This proposed notification would be applicable for all scheduled nonemergency work.

Several councillors said the traffic and the late-night noise from jack hammers are unacceptable. However, as Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri mentioned, there have already been many requests that have been ignored. Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky said there may be trouble with notifications when work is being done on state roads.

Councillors felt state agencies, such as MassDOT, could at least notify the city when work would occur.