For joining us.

And a really big thank you.

We have uh many members of different Beverly Girl Scout troops who are here with us this evening.

Thank you all so much for being here with us.

It's a real pleasure to have you.

I know you're here because we have a really special guest who's going to be receiving a proclamation when we start this meeting.

I won't give away the rest of that yet, but thank you for being here.

That's such a special occasion, and even more special because we have all of you here.

So thank you.

So this evening, we do have a proclamation uh in honor of Priscilla Douglas, who is here with us this evening.

We'll say more about that when we come to it, right at the beginning.

We have a 7 30 public hearing with National Grid.

Um we do have one resident speaker who signed up to speak, and then we have some routine business that we'll take care of, take a break for some subcommittee work, and we'll be back to finish it all up.

And I do note that we have uh his honor Mayor Cahill is here with us also.

Thank you, Mayor Cahill for being with us.

I know you're gonna join us for the proclamation.

Thanks for joining us this evening.

So, with that, I'll officially call to order this regular meeting of the Beverly City Council, Monday, November 10th, 2025, 7 o'clock p.m.

Ms.

Kent, will you please call the role?

Crawley, Feldman, Houseman, Retundo, Spain, St.

Hilaire, Sweeney, and Flowers.

Here.

Thank you, Ms.

Kent.

Counselor Sweeney, will you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please?

And to the Republic for which it stands under God, intervisable with clarity and justice for all.

That was thank you, Counselor Sweeney.

Thank you all, and we sounded much better with all of your voices here.

Thank you.

Um, I do want to also just mention and uh and congratulate Councillor Elect John Mullady, who is here with us this evening.

Um, Counselor Elect Malady was sworn in, so actually is officially on his way to being Counselor Malady, um, sworn in by Ms.

Kent today.

Uh, folks who've been following along with the council may remember that state rep Panna Bowen resigned as of October 30th from the city council so that she could step fully into the state rep role.

Her doing that uh under our city charter meant that the highest vote getter in the at large race not currently on the council could be sworn in and start at the end of this term.

That is uh Mr.

Malady.

Counselor Merlady, it's a pleasure to have you.

We look forward to having you in this seat um next week.

And the reason that we're sort of in between here is there's just some HR and new higher paperwork that's still getting worked out, but we're so happy to have you and congratulations.

We look forward to having you on up here.

Um, Mr.

Mayor, are you set?

Shall we go to the podium and do the proclamation?

So we will begin, as I mentioned, with this special proclamation.

This is Order 246, a proclamation for Priscilla Douglas.

Oh, I let signed it on my sorry, Priscilla.

Okay now.

You starting last starting.

Okay.

Hey everybody, so good to be here.

Priscilla Douglas, we're very excited to honor you and glad that the scouts could be here to join in.

Whereas Priscilla Douglas, a longtime resident of Beverly, has made a profound and lasting impact on the community through her lifetime of service, mentorship, and leadership, embodying the values of the Girl Scout Law in both word and action, and whereas Priscilla first joined the Girl Scouts in 1947 as a brownie in Gardner, Massachusetts, following in the footsteps of her mother, one of the organization's earliest members.

As a teenager, Priscilla earned the Curved Bar, the highest Girl Scout honor of her time, and represented the United States as one of four delegates at an international leadership program at R.

Chalet in Switzerland, the first World Center for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and whereas following her graduation from Wellesley College, Priscilla carried her passion for empowering others into her professional and volunteer life, serving as a field representative for the Girl Scouts of the Philadelphia Council before moving to Beverly in 1973 with her husband Neiland.

Here she led Girl Scout troops for her three daughters and countless other girls for nearly two decades, nurturing confidence, leadership, and a lifelong love of community among Beverly's youth.

And whereas, in addition to her many roles within Scouting, Priscilla strengthened the organization and the community through initiatives such as organizing safety trainings, leading early recycling efforts, serving on Gold Award review committees, supporting camp property planning, chairing fundraising campaigns, and mentoring new leaders, and whereas her dedication to service extended well beyond scouting, enriching Beverly through her volunteer work with the YMCA, Harbor Light Homes, the League of Women Voters, and the Beverly Female Charitable Society, and through her service on the Beverly School Committee, where she stepped up to fill a vacancy and support local education during the 1970s.

And whereas earlier this year, in recognition of her extraordinary lifetime of service, Priscilla Douglas was honored by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts with a lifetime of service award, celebrating her unwavering commitment to empowering girls and strengthening the community.

Now, therefore, on behalf of the citizens of the City of Beverly, on this 10th day of November, night two thousand whoa, 2025.

It is our distinct honor to recognize Priscilla Douglas for her decades of wonderfully impactful service and leadership in our community.