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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Beverly City Council Regular Meeting - November 17, 2025

City Council — Monday, November 17, 2025

BodyBeverly, Massachusetts

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, November 17, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 42:55

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1:25

Good evening, everyone.

1:27

Thank you so much for joining us for our regular city council meeting.

1:31

Thanks to those who are here in the council chamber with us.

1:34

And thanks to those who are joining us live on Bev Cam, and thank you to Kim and the Bev Cam booth for keeping us streaming so that folks can follow along.

1:41

We appreciate you as always, Kim.

1:43

Um, as always, I'm going to just run through the agenda before I officially call the meeting to order, just so that we'll know what we have in front of us this evening.

1:52

So we do have a presentation from David Alden St.

1:56

Pierre, who's gonna be talking to us on behalf of our Open Space and Recreation Committee, and we'll get to that shortly.

2:01

Thank you very much for being here.

2:03

We have one resident speaker signed up to speak, and then we've got some routine business to take care of.

2:08

We will take a brief break for some subcommittee work, and then we'll be back to finish it all up.

2:13

So with that, I'll officially call to order this regular meeting of the Beverly City Council, Monday, November 17th, 2025, 7 o'clock p.m.

2:23

Ms.

2:23

Kent, will you please call the roll?

2:25

Crawley?

2:26

Here.

2:26

Feldman?

2:27

Houseman?

2:28

Ratando?

2:28

Yeah.

2:29

Spang.

2:29

Here.

2:30

St.

2:30

Hilaire.

2:31

Malady?

2:32

Yes.

2:32

Sweeney?

2:33

Here.

2:33

And Flowers.

2:34

Here.

2:34

Thank you, Ms.

2:35

Ken.

2:35

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

2:45

For which it stands.

2:49

Individual liberty and justice for all the thank you very much, Councillor Housman.

2:58

Before we begin, I did just want to mention, particularly for folks who may not have seen our last meeting and heard this explanation.

3:05

But we do have Councillor John Malady who's joining us this evening.

3:09

Welcome, Councillor Mullady.

3:11

Um, Councillor Mullady was elected at the most recent city election, but because Councillor former Councillor Hannah Bowen resigned effective October 31st to step solely into her role as our state rep that left a vacancy on the council, and our city charter uh outlines then what would happen if we are within a certain amount of time before our next city election, and then that the highest vote getter not currently on the city council would then fill that seat.

3:39

Uh, Councillor Mullady, that's you, and so welcome.

3:42

We're happy to have you for the remaining balance of this term.

3:45

I do want to mention also that we have Councillor Lat Keith Sonia here with us this evening.

3:49

Um, welcome, Councilor Lexonia, and we'll look forward to having you up here with us as we start our next term, but thank you so much for being here.

3:57

Um, we do have some members of our city staff here with us this evening as well.

4:02

We have our city grants director, Catherine Barrett, and our airport director, Gabe Hanniffan.

4:08

Thank you both for being here with us.

4:10

So I mentioned we have a presentation right at the beginning, and so we will go to you, Mr.

4:15

Alden St.

4:15

Pierre and turn things over to you for a presentation and update.

4:19

Thank you.

4:20

Perfect.

4:20

Thank you so much.

4:21

Um, my name is David Alden St.

4:24

Pierre.

4:24

I am uh the chair of the Beverly Open Space Recreation Committee.

4:28

Uh here to give you the annual update.

4:31

My mother.

4:32

Anyways, um, that was very suspenseful.

4:35

I liked your sound effects.

4:37

That's that's how I feel my mother calls me.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation██████████████████████████████████████████42%

Procedural███████████████████████████████31%

Waste Management█████████████13%

Grant Management██████████10%

Racial Equity████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Beverly City Council Regular Meeting - November 17, 2025

The Beverly City Council held its regular meeting on Monday, November 17, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The meeting included a presentation from the Open Space and Recreation Committee, public comment regarding a land acknowledgement, the approval of routine business, and subcommittee reports. New Councilor John Malady, appointed to fill a vacancy, was welcomed, and Councilor Keith Sonia was also introduced.

Consent Calendar

Approved the minutes of the special city council meeting of June 23, 2025, by a vote of 8 to 0 with 1 abstention.
Approved Order 262 (appointment of Councilor John Malady to the Public Service Committee and Vice President Crowley as chair) unanimously (9-0).
Received and placed on file Order 263 (notice of public involvement plan meeting for the former Varian facility site at 150 Sawyer Road) unanimously (9-0).
Approved the following orders from the Committee on Finance and Property: Order 258 (Recycling Dividends Program grant of $16,800 from Mass DEP) and Order 261 (use of FY2026 funds for two prior year invoices totaling $470) – both passed 9-0.
Approved the following orders from the Committee on Legal Affairs: Order 251 (reappointment of James Butler as Director of Municipal Inspections), Order 257 (renewal lease with Wayside Transportation Corp), Order 259 (renewal lodging house license for 68 Dane Street, LLC dba Greycroft Inn), and Order 260 (renewal lodging house license for Girdle La House at 78 Lothrop Street) – all passed 9-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

Aisha Sidicki (14 Windsor Road, Ward 3) spoke during the Native American Heritage Month, reading the city's land acknowledgement statement. She referenced the 2022 council vote that failed 5-4 to add the statement to meeting openings, and urged the council to reconsider the action. The council did not engage in discussion.

Discussion Items

Presentation by David Alden St. Pierre, Chair of the Open Space and Recreation Committee: The committee provided an annual update. Highlights included:
- Two open seats on the committee (Wards 3 and 4).
- Eagle Scout projects (Noah Boudreau and Ben Walsh) installing routed trail signs at Norwood Pond, Sally Milligan, and Beverly Commons to combat vandalism.
- Trail cleanups by Troop 2 from the Baptist Church.
- Website updates by member Mario Tricomi for playgrounds and beach access.
- Community events supported: bird walks (led by Greg Powers, very popular), pop-up splash pads, mushroom walks.
- Social media outreach via Beverly Trails Instagram and Facebook.
- Involvement in Open Space Residential Design (OSRD) projects (Trask Lane, Stanley Street, Heart Street).
- Native planting and pollinator study group advocating for native plants.
- Trail work: bridge replacement at Beverly Commons (pending Conservation Commission), stairs replaced near Whitehall Circle.
- Issues with rogue trail builders at Beverly Commons (Greenbelt property) requiring cease-and-desist signs.
- Garden City Trail Network: updates on a 70-foot bridge at Norwood Pond (in discussion with Essex Tech for construction), connection behind Sterling Center YMCA (trail mowing request to DPW unaddressed), and access to Endicott College trails (memorandum of understanding stalled; no replies from mayor's office or Endicott).
- St. Pierre requested council assistance in advancing the YMCA trail maintenance and Endicott College trail access.
Councilor Questions: Councilor Feldman noted the waist-high grass and poison ivy on the solar field trail, and asked about partnerships with Halstead or the solar vendor. Councilor Houseman inquired about how the committee receives OSRD applications; St. Pierre explained that the committee member from the Planning Board provides updates.
Subcommittee Work: The Committee on Finance and Property discussed Order 258 (recycling grant) and Order 261 (prior year invoices). City Grants Director Catherine Barrett explained that the recycling grant amount ($16,800) is lower than previous years (historically ~$33,000) due to stricter point requirements, but unspent rollover funds provide a healthy balance. The grant supports styrofoam collection, composting, educational programs, and a portion of the waste reduction coordinator's salary. No match is required. Councilor Sweeney asked about expenses, and Barrett confirmed no immediate concern. The committee also briefly discussed future automated trash collection and related state grants. Both orders were approved.

Key Outcomes

All routine orders and committee reports were approved unanimously (9-0).
The council did not take action on the land acknowledgement request from the public comment.
The Open Space and Recreation Committee's requests for assistance with the YMCA trail mowing and Endicott College trail access were noted; no formal action was taken.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:00 p.m. (duration not explicitly stated, but noted as a relatively short meeting).
The next regular meeting is scheduled for early December 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us for our regular city council meeting. Thanks to those who are here in the council chamber with us. And thanks to those who are joining us live on Bev Cam, and thank you to Kim and the Bev Cam booth for keeping us streaming so that folks can follow along. We appreciate you as always, Kim. Um, as always, I'm going to just run through the agenda before I officially call the meeting to order, just so that we'll know what we have in front of us this evening. So we do have a presentation from David Alden St. Pierre, who's gonna be talking to us on behalf of our Open Space and Recreation Committee, and we'll get to that shortly. Thank you very much for being here. We have one resident speaker signed up to speak, and then we've got some routine business to take care of. We will take a brief break for some subcommittee work, and then we'll be back to finish it all up. So with that, I'll officially call to order this regular meeting of the Beverly City Council, Monday, November 17th, 2025, 7 o'clock p.m. Ms. Kent, will you please call the roll? Crawley? Here. Feldman? Houseman? Ratando? Yeah. Spang. Here. St. Hilaire. Malady? Yes. Sweeney? Here. And Flowers. Here. Thank you, Ms. Ken. Counselor Houseman, will you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please? For which it stands. Individual liberty and justice for all the thank you very much, Councillor Housman. Before we begin, I did just want to mention, particularly for folks who may not have seen our last meeting and heard this explanation. But we do have Councillor John Malady who's joining us this evening. Welcome, Councillor Mullady. Um, Councillor Mullady was elected at the most recent city election, but because Councillor former Councillor Hannah Bowen resigned effective October 31st to step solely into her role as our state rep that left a vacancy on the council, and our city charter uh outlines then what would happen if we are within a certain amount of time before our next city election, and then that the highest vote getter not currently on the city council would then fill that seat. Uh, Councillor Mullady, that's you, and so welcome. We're happy to have you for the remaining balance of this term. I do want to mention also that we have Councillor Lat Keith Sonia here with us this evening. Um, welcome, Councilor Lexonia, and we'll look forward to having you up here with us as we start our next term, but thank you so much for being here. Um, we do have some members of our city staff here with us this evening as well. We have our city grants director, Catherine Barrett, and our airport director, Gabe Hanniffan. Thank you both for being here with us. So I mentioned we have a presentation right at the beginning, and so we will go to you, Mr. Alden St. Pierre and turn things over to you for a presentation and update. Thank you.

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