Recap of February 25, 2025 Regular Meeting of the City Council

Agenda on City Council Public Portal

Recording on Youtube

Recording on MCM

Before this meeting, we held a meeting of the Committee on Education and Culture to follow up on the conversation begun in regular session related to community advocacy for more City programming for youth with disabilities, and to discuss needed line items in the City’s operating budget to support and improving recreational offerings and make accessibility improvements robust and sustainable. 

Recreation Director Bailey detailed the need for more staffing to support expanding programming, explaining that much of the Department’s limited capacity is tied up in facilities management and event scheduling. Councilors and residents discussed ideas for short-term improvements as well as ideas for long-term capacity building to get to a place where we can say that all programming in the City is accessible for abled and disabled people alike – and not just relating to recreational programming for youth with disabilities, but genuinely all City activities and events. 

At the regular meeting, we passed a resolution in remembrance of Ruth Youngblood, and a resolution in remembrance of former School Committee Member Bob Skerry. 

We reviewed a petition for an amendment to the zoning ordinance. This petition pertains to 10 & 20 Revere Beach Parkway; it is not related to the zoning overhaul process. The petitioner was a small real estate firm requesting three changes to the Wellington Station Multi-Family Overlay District. In reviewing the WSMOD, the petitioner noted some areas where they felt the zoning was not clear, and they were requesting changes to remove the ambiguity: 

• Clarification about stepback restrictions because DCR-imposed stepback seemed in conflict with other notation of minimum stepbacks

• Change “certified LEED platinum” to “certifiable LEED platinum” in Development Incentive Bonuses section – an unintended Catch-22; building certification cannot occur until the building is constructed

• Clarification about how overhangs relate to building coverage

These zoning proposals were referred to the CDB for a Public Hearing, as that is required before a vote on any zoning change. 

We approved a common victualler’s license for Kelly’s Roast Beef. 

We approved for first reading a Loan Order for Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) Water Bonds and had a long discussion about the topic with the DPW Commissioner and City Engineer. 

They explained that this is a loan program to help municipalities remove 100% of lead water service lines. It is motivated by a relevant revision to the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule, which creates the mandate to remove lead lines fully and to give notice to all homes that may have a lead line (whether confirmed or not). The rule imposes a rigorous deadline – the City has until 2032 to make service lines confirmed lead-free throughout the City. 

Removing the lead service lines “fully” means that rather than just removing and replacing the “city side” of the service lines, the city replaces both the city side and the private side of these old lead water service lines, all the way from the house to the street. The lines are old and should be replaced, and this funding is extended to Cities who remove them fully, not just in part. 

City staff emphasized that this program is not being undertaken in response to a current safety issue. It is to adopt current best practice, to avoid potential future issues and increase water quality over the long term by removing potential lead sources from the service lines, which in aggregate make up a huge part of the City’s entire water system. 

Not everyone has a lead line, and even if you do, MWRA testing has confirmed that Medford’s water is AOK. The City already publishes best practices for avoiding lead exposure despite our good water quality. 

They also clarified that this is separate from the program to replace old and leaky water mains. This is about the service lines, not the mains. 

This process will also enable Medford to continue the work of confirming which water service lines are made up of what. Currently some are classified as lead, some as classified as copper, and others are not known. Many records were destroyed in a Water Department fire in the early 2000s. They said that so far, most of the lines classified as copper are indeed copper, most of the lines classified as lead aren’t indeed lead, and most of the unknowns aren’t lead either. The work to confirm all lines will continue and replacement will proceed accordingly. 

The City Engineer also clarified that this program is different from the $1,000 rebate to homeowners for replacing their own lead service lines. That program will be phased out when it’s no longer useful. 

We approved the proposed wage adjustment for the Traffic Supervisors Union. 

We approved a Community Preservation Committee appropriation request for Phase 1 of the Cross Street Cemetery Monument Restoration project. 

We approved a Home Rule Petition from the Mayor, “An Act Granting the City of Medford the Authority to Require the Adoption of Institutional Master Plans Subject to the Review and Approval of the Municipality.”