Revere City Council Roundup

By The Advocate

Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna graciously asked that the entire City Council be included as sponsors of a motion she originally filed with Councillor-at-Large Juan Pablo Jaramillo and which is likely to be one of the most popular City Council decisions this year. The City Council called on the City of Revere to issue paper visitor parking placards to seniors who often have several well care visits each day from both family and health care workers.

According to McKenna, since the Parking Department went digital several weeks ago, seniors have been calling in frustration because they couldn’t access visitor passes. McKenna and other councillors heard complaints from seniors throughout the city. McKenna reached out to the Mayor’s Office and explained the problem. And while there needs to be some tweaking to the city’s parking system, paper visitor passes for seniors 65 and older are in the works. McKenna said they will probably be available in May. “Hang in there, seniors, be patient, they are coming.”

Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya said many seniors do not have access to computers and smart phones. “The constant struggle to update digital visitor passes are a burden when the focus of the visit should be patient care.”

“This is a nice motion that shows we stick up for the seniors,” added Councillor-at-Large Robert Haas.

Congrats to all

The City Council approved the appointments of the following people selected for seats on boards and commissions by Mayor Patrick Keefe:

Jaimie Jimenez appointed to the Cultural Council

Debra DeFilippo-West appointed to the Cultural Council

Diana Cardona appointed to the Public Arts Commission

Nina DeFreitas appointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Lucrative Deeran appointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Nancy Monkiewicz appointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Kathleen Smith appointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Ann Marie Droukis appointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Lois Internicola D’Ambrosio appointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Eleanor Vieira appointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Denise Rampelberg appointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Sandy Lozier reappointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Robert Hanlon reappointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

Linda Doherty reappointed to the Council on Elder Affairs

The following appointments were referred to the City Council’s Appointments Subcommittee:

Chaiman Hossaini appointed to the Human Rights Commission

Lark Logan appointed to the Cultural Council

Sheila Johnson appointed to the Human Rights Commission

Broadway business plans some changes

The City Council held a public hearing on Master Spray Foam Insulation’s request for a special permit to change the use of the property at 870 Broadway from a commercial garage to a contractor’s storage yard. The company plans to park and store its three vans and three box trucks at the site. Although the change represents a lesser use of the property, a neighbor expressed concerns about early morning noise, fumes from the building and a number of unregistered cars parked at the site. Those issues will be sorted out at the City Council’s Zoning Subcommittee meeting, where the request for the special permit was referred.

New players for Parks and Rec

The City Council approved the new Parks and Recreation Commission. The seven-member Commission, appointed by the mayor, will advise and make recommendations to the Parks and Recreation Department on matters pertaining to sports, recreation, parks, youth events and activities and open space in the city.

RevereTV bill due

The Council approved a $93,805.67 appropriation to pay RevereTV for the operation of their media center.

Streetscape schedule

The City Council supported Ward 4 Councillor Paul ArgenIo’s request that the Superintendent of Public Works provide a list of all upcoming road and sidewalk work and repairs and the funding available for the work.

Try, try again

Councillors agree the intersection of Mountain Avenue and Broadway is terrible. The City Council supported Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro’s motion that the Mayor and DPW Superintendent contact MassDOT to request traffic lights at the intersection. “This is the third time asking for the lights,” said Cogliandro. “Maybe the third time is the charm.”