Worcester City Council Agenda Preview: July 18, 2023
Losing lawsuits, adjusting commissions
The City Council meeting is Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. The agenda is here.
This week: Legal losses over the past five years.
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/91727574825
Zoning: There’s a new petition to rezone 0 Grafton Street from manufacturing to general business. This request will go to the Planning Board for discussion. The Council will vote whether to rezone some parcels at the corner of Mason & Parker from manufacturing to residential, and whether to extend the adaptive reuse overlay district to 24 & 38 Harlow Street.
Boards and Commissions, Appointments: The Manager has appointed Andrew Truman to the Conservation Commission, and reappointed Natalie Turner to the Parks and Recreation Commission. The Council will vote whether to appoint Michael Richard to the Citizen Advisory Council, Francisco Valdes to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board of Trustees, and Barry Fradkin, Frank Callahan, Diane Long, Edward Moynihan, and Bill Eddy to the Community Preservation Committee, and whether to reappoint Robert Bureau to the Accessibility Advisory Committee.
Boards and Commissions, Adding and Removing: The Manager would like the Council to get rid of the Worcester Ballpark Commission, and hand responsibility for Polar Park to the city’s Department of Public Facilities. Councilor King would like the city to create a LGBTQ Commission, “responsible for encouraging, promoting, and monitoring policies in the city that impact the LGBTQ community.”
Selling 30 Rodney Street: The Chief Development Officer wants the Council to authorize him to sell the city-owned 30 Rodney Street (worth $34,000) to someone who will build “owner-occupied affordable housing.”
City Lawsuit Losses: The Law Department has a report outlining more than $13 million the city has paid out over the past five years in legal settlements and judgments. Most of this, $8.8 million, the city had to pay a developer because we backed out of a skybridge project. The report is screenshotted below. The most common category is “motor vehicle accident.” Masslive has a great writeup.
Worcester 311 App: If you need to conduct non-emergency city business, there’s now an app for iPhone and Android. You can report broken things or trash dumping via the app, and will be linked to the city website for things like bill payment and job applications.
Community Preservation Act: Councilor Colorio wants the city to note on property tax bills when part of the tax is from the recently-approved Community Preservation Act, which adds a 1.5% tax on anything above the first $100,000 in property value.
Points of Clarification: At the suggestion of the great Bill Coleman, the Municipal Operations Committee wants the Council to vote that people petitioning the Council get one additional minute for a “point of information or clarification on an item.”
Honorary Streets: The Council will vote whether to make a few blocks of various streets in the city into honorary streets. Among these would be Dr. Ogretta V. McNeil Way, Judge Luis G. Perez Way, and John the Barber Way.
