~ Revere City Council Roundup ~

By Barbara Taormina

City of Revere Community Scholarship Fund Awarded

  As is their custom, the City Council opens every meeting building a sense of community by celebrating residents with commendations, or some type of recognition, for noteworthy service or contributions to the city or for achievements and accomplishments that make Revere proud. This week, they recognized Sirena Ross, Karla Leal Robles and Zaraius Bilmoria, who were each awarded $2,500 from the City of Revere Community Scholarship Fund. Mayor Patrick Keefe did the honors and said that every year recipients of these scholarships are selected for their outstanding academic performance and for their commitment to the city displayed through community service.

Hablas Español?

  Councillors Angela Guarino-Sawaya and Jaun Pablo Jaramillo presented a motion that the Mayor request the DEI Director or the Revere Community School to investigate grant opportunities for the purpose of fully funding Spanish classes for City of Revere employees. Guarino-Sawaya said she wants to learn enough Spanish to be able to better communicate with residents. Other councillors also supported the motion and welcomed the idea.

Residents request a return of the police blotter

  Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley proposed resurrecting the police blotter that includes an arrest log and information on citations, accidents and any other relevant law enforcement activities. Kelley called for posting it on the city website and that it complies with relevant laws and regulations concerning public records. Kelley said the proposal came from talking with people who wanted to know what was going on in their neighborhood. People said they felt uncomfortable calling the Police Department to ask for information.

The Health and Human Services Subcommittee had left Kelley’s motion on the table, but fellow councillors supported the idea and pulled it off the table. Councillors made several changes before approving the motion. There will be no names included in the police blotter. Incidents involving substance abuse and mental health will not include addresses. It will be published on the media page of the Police Department’s website and there will be a link on the city’s webpage to the blotter.

Appointments

  The council referred the following appointments from Mayor Patrick Keefe to the Appointments Subcommittee for review: the reappointment of Deborah Frank to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board, the reappointment of Toby Pearlstein to the Library Board of Trustees, the appointment of Marita Coombs to the Library Board of Trustees, the reappointment of Paul Ring to the Library Board of Trustees, the appointment of Diana Ayala to the Library Board of Trustees.

Paying the bills

  The City Council approved an appropriation of $103,918.83 from the cable access Receipt Reserve Fund for payment of Revere TV’s quarterly invoice.

Sand Sculpture

  The council approved spending $150,000 from the city’s free cash, or cash surplus, to support the annual sand sculpting festival. Councillor Kelley and Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto voted against approving this spending.

June Proclamations

  Former City Councillor Steve Morabito, who is now the city’s executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion, presented two proclamations from Mayor Patrick Keefe – recognizing Pride Month and Juneteenth – to the council. “WHEREAS, in accordance with the values of diversity, equality, and inclusivity that are foundational to our city’s identity I, Patrick M. Keefe Jr, Mayor of Revere, hereby declare the month of June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month,” read the first part of the proclamation.

The second proclamation read in part, “in recognition of the historical significance of Juneteenth, a day commemorating the final emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States, we solemnly pledge to conduct a yearly flag-raising ceremony.

“WHEREAS, this commemoration stands to solemnly honor the some 500,000 enslaved peoples who were freed by this final emancipation on June 19, 1862, as well as the some 4,000,000 African Americans who were enslaved throughout the course of American history.”

The proclamations were approved.

Curb Appeal

  Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna filed a motion requesting the Public Works Dept. to install a new concrete sidewalk on the left lower side of Pearl Avenue, which has already been repaved and finished with a new concrete sidewalk on the right-hand side of the lower portion of Pearl Avenue.

Island issues

Councillors Paul Argenzio (Ward 4) and Michelle Kelley filled a motion asking the Mayor to request the Engineering Department and the Public Works Department to reconfigure the northwest corner of the island at the intersection of Park Avenue and Dale Street. The curb at the island comes to a point, and vehicles making a left turn from Park Avenue to Dale Street are damaging their tires and rims. The point should be removed and replaced with a piece of radial curb to round off the corner.

Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto agreed. “People are blowing tires and ruining rims. It’s one of the most dangerous places in the city,” he said.

Looking at Brown Circle

Council President Anthony Cogliandro would like to request MassDOT to conduct a traffic study for Brown Circle in the interest of vehicular safety. Brown Circle has long been the site of traffic accidents due to its high traffic volume coming to and from Logan Airport and Boston.