OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Beverly City Council Regular Meeting - February 18, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, February 18, 2026
BodyBeverly, Massachusetts
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, February 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:02:03

Transcript — Verbatim
0:26

Thank you so much.

0:31

Thank you very much, everyone.

0:32

Good evening.

0:34

Thank you so much for joining us.

0:35

If you're here in Council Chambers, if you're joining us on Bevcam, thank you, of course, to our team at BEVCAM, Cam and the Bev Cam booth for keeping the meetings live and accessible and streaming.

0:45

We really appreciate that and the way that it makes the public meetings accessible to folks, whether or not they can be here in this space with us.

0:52

And of course, welcome to those who are here in this space with us.

0:56

Before I officially call the meeting to order, I'll run through what's on our agenda this evening so that we can be on the same page with that, have a sense of what we have before us.

1:04

We have uh three speakers, three resident speakers who have signed up to speak.

1:09

These are those meeting spots that are available at all of our regular meetings.

1:13

There are up to five spots for three minutes per speaker.

1:17

Um they are first come, first serve, and they can be signed up for by contacting the city clerk no later than 9 30 a.m.

1:24

on the day of the meeting.

1:25

I will probably say that again when we get there for folks who are following along, just so that everyone knows how they could sign up for those spots.

1:31

We do have some posted public hearings this evening beginning at 7 40, and we will need to take those at the times that they are posted.

1:39

If there are folks who are here hoping to speak in the public hearings this evening, you can sign up for those on the sign-up sheets over by the window.

1:45

Um, did I correctly anticipate your question?

1:48

Okay, perfect.

1:48

Um, you can sign up for those on the sign-up sheets.

1:51

You can just check to make sure that it's the one that you hope to speak in, and we will take public speakers in the hearings in the order that they are signed up.

1:58

And folks can get up at any point and sign up to speak in those hearings.

2:01

And then we've got some routine business to take care of.

2:04

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

2:08

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

2:17

Ms.

2:17

Kent, will you please call the roll?

2:19

Crowley?

2:19

Here.

2:20

Feldman, Houseman?

2:21

Here.

2:22

Melanie, Rotundo?

2:23

Yeah.

2:23

Sonia?

2:24

Spang?

2:25

Yeah.

2:25

St.

2:25

Hilaire?

2:26

And Flowers.

2:27

Here.

2:28

Thank you very much, Ms.

2:28

Kent.

2:29

Councillor Crowley, will you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

2:33

I pledge allegiance to the flight of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

2:41

One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

2:49

Thank you very much, Counselor Crowley.

2:52

So I'd like to go right to those folks who had signed up to speak at this meeting.

2:56

And as I mentioned, these are spots that are available to folks who live or work in Beverly.

3:01

There are up to five of these spots at any of our regular meetings.

3:04

There are three minutes each, and they can be signed up for by contacting the city clerk no later than 9 30 in the morning of the meeting.

3:12

They're not spots where you'll see the city council interact back and forth with speakers.

3:16

It's not a question and answer conversation, but I always say that it's still very important.

3:21

We appreciate when folks come and speak and we are listening, and often what we hear from folks does inform future conversation among the counselors as well.

3:29

So we'll go right to those speakers.

3:30

The first person signed up is Joyce McMahon.

3:33

And if you would uh welcome former Councilor Joyceanne, nice to have you here with us.

3:39

And if you would begin with your name and address for the record, uh, Vice President St.

3:42

Hilaire is our our timekeeper, just to make sure that everyone gets those three minutes.

3:46

So if you hear the timer go off, if you would just draw your remarks to a close at that point.

3:50

Thank you so much.

3:51

Yep, thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████46%
Public Safety██████████████████████22%
Budget Review█████████9%
Public Infrastructure██████6%
Public Engagement█████5%
Personnel Matters████4%
Animal Welfare███3%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Parks And Recreation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Beverly City Council Regular Meeting - February 18, 2026

This regular meeting of the Beverly City Council covered routine approvals, public comments, and several public hearings. Key topics included a $160,000 transfer to support the dispatch department, a $150,000 transfer for park improvements, a National Grid infrastructure petition, and discussion of a public hearing on Paradise Camp. The council also approved final passage of a commercial kennel reporting ordinance and referred the wildlife feeding ordinance back to legal affairs.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes: Approved minutes from the February 9th Public Services Committee of the Whole meeting (7-0).
  • Mayoral Communications: Referred orders 67-73 (donation from Beverly PVD Elks Lodge, reappointments to Veterans Advisory Committee and Parking & Traffic Commission, eminent domain at 171 Brimble Ave) to appropriate committees.
  • Other Communications: Referred orders 74-84 (reconsideration of Order 58, secondhand junk dealer license renewal, flammable storage renewals, class 2 dealer license, school district leases for copier and postage machines, National Grid petition on Dodge Street) to committees.
  • Lease Approvals: Three leases for school district equipment (Ricoh copier, Pitney Bowes postage for middle and high school) approved 7-0.
  • Reappointments: David Dines and Richard Benevento (with residency waiver) approved to Parking & Traffic Commission (7-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Joyce McMahon (15.5 Rowell Ave) expressed hope that the city would apply the same careful review given to the nuisance cat portion of the proposed wildlife feeding ordinance to the backyard bird feeding provisions. She emphasized the value of bird feeding for community connection and environmental stewardship.
  • Diana Neath Hamer (12 Pratt Ave) voiced deep concern about Flock surveillance cameras used by the Beverly Police Department, citing ACLU warnings that Flock contracts often allow data sales to federal agencies including ICE. She asked the council to determine if Beverly's contract permits data sale and, if so, to strike that clause or terminate the agreement.
  • John Taylor (41 Cole St) supported holding a public hearing on the future of Paradise Camp, suggesting the city bookmobile as a convenient venue for community input.

Discussion Items

  • Dispatch Department Funding (Order 53): Finance Director Brian Ailes requested $160,000 from the Reserve for Unforeseen Account to cover overtime from training and turnover, equipment reconfiguration, and maintenance contracts for backup batteries. Budget analyst Jerry Perry noted the reserve would have $65,000 remaining and recommended approval. Council and the chiefs discussed structural overtime, staffing challenges (10 full-time dispatchers plus a supervisor), and plans to better align the FY27 budget. The mayor and chiefs confirmed turnover has been high but expects stability.
  • Recreation Enterprise Fund Transfer (Order 54): Ailes requested $150,000 from the Recreation Enterprise Fund for park improvements. Parks Director Bruce Doig explained the funds would support playground repairs, bridge replacement at O'Brien Park, and contingency for approved CPC projects. Perry noted the fund has $358,358 in certified retained earnings and supported placing the money in a capital project fund to allow multi-year use.
  • National Grid Petition (Order 65): Representative Ismail Mikou sought approval for underground conduits on Broadway. Council raised concerns about restoration of newly paved street; Mikou committed to checking if curb-to-curb restoration is possible. The hearing was continued to March 2.
  • Paradise Camp Public Hearing (Order 61): Councilor St. Hilaire confirmed a requested staff member is undergoing surgery; the public hearing will be scheduled for April.
  • Animals Ordinance (Order 58): Councilor Houseman filed a motion to reconsider. Assistant City Solicitor Dole withdrew the nuisance cat portion. The entire matter (including bird feeding) was referred back to Legal Affairs.

Public Hearings

  • Order 53 (Dispatch Transfer): Opened at 7:40 PM, recessed, then resumed at 8:25 PM. No public speakers signed up. Testimony from Ailes, Perry, mayor, and chiefs. Closed and referred to Finance & Property.
  • Order 54 (Recreation Fund Transfer): Opened at 7:55 PM. No public speakers signed up. Testimony from Ailes and Doig. Closed and referred to Finance & Property.
  • Order 65 (National Grid Broadway): Opened at 8:05 PM. Testimony from Mikou; no public speakers. Continued to March 2 at 7:30 PM.
  • Order 48 (National Grid): Withdrawn by the petitioner.

Key Outcomes

  • Order 45 (Commercial boarding/training kennel injury reporting) passed final passage 7-0.
  • Order 53 (Dispatch transfer) approved 7-0 by full council after favorable subcommittee report.
  • Order 54 (Recreation enterprise fund transfer) approved 7-0.
  • Order 73 (Eminent domain at 171 Brimble Ave) approved 7-0.
  • Order 75-77 (License renewals and new license) approved 7-0.
  • Order 80 (City solicitor's letter on nuisance cats) received and placed on file 7-0.
  • Order 84 (National Grid on Dodge Street) public hearing set for March 16 at 7:30 PM 7-0.
  • Continued Hearing: Order 65 (National Grid Broadway) continued to March 2 at 7:30 PM.
  • Subcommittee Meeting: Legal Affairs will meet March 2 at 6:30 PM to continue discussion on Order 58 (wildlife feeding).
  • Paradise Camp: Discussion postponed to April.
  • Adjournment: Motion carried 7-0 at approximately 9:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you so much. Thank you very much, everyone. Good evening. Thank you so much for joining us. If you're here in Council Chambers, if you're joining us on Bevcam, thank you, of course, to our team at BEVCAM, Cam and the Bev Cam booth for keeping the meetings live and accessible and streaming. We really appreciate that and the way that it makes the public meetings accessible to folks, whether or not they can be here in this space with us. And of course, welcome to those who are here in this space with us. Before I officially call the meeting to order, I'll run through what's on our agenda this evening so that we can be on the same page with that, have a sense of what we have before us. We have uh three speakers, three resident speakers who have signed up to speak. These are those meeting spots that are available at all of our regular meetings. There are up to five spots for three minutes per speaker. Um they are first come, first serve, and they can be signed up for by contacting the city clerk no later than 9 30 a.m. on the day of the meeting. I will probably say that again when we get there for folks who are following along, just so that everyone knows how they could sign up for those spots. We do have some posted public hearings this evening beginning at 7 40, and we will need to take those at the times that they are posted. If there are folks who are here hoping to speak in the public hearings this evening, you can sign up for those on the sign-up sheets over by the window. Um, did I correctly anticipate your question? Okay, perfect. Um, you can sign up for those on the sign-up sheets. You can just check to make sure that it's the one that you hope to speak in, and we will take public speakers in the hearings in the order that they are signed up. And folks can get up at any point and sign up to speak in those hearings. 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, Tuesday, February 17th, 7 o'clock p.m. Ms. Kent, will you please call the roll? Crowley? Here. Feldman, Houseman? Here. Melanie, Rotundo? Yeah. Sonia? Spang? Yeah. St. Hilaire? And Flowers. Here. Thank you very much, Ms. Kent. Councillor Crowley, will you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flight of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much, Counselor Crowley. So I'd like to go right to those folks who had signed up to speak at this meeting. And as I mentioned, these are spots that are available to folks who live or work in Beverly. There are up to five of these spots at any of our regular meetings. There are three minutes each, and they can be signed up for by contacting the city clerk no later than 9 30 in the morning of the meeting. They're not spots where you'll see the city council interact back and forth with speakers.

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