Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Beverly City Council Regular Meeting - October 5, 2026

City Council — Monday, October 5, 2026

BodyBeverly, Massachusetts

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, October 5, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:17:40

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:33

Good evening, everyone.

0:35

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

0:39

This is our inaugural city council meeting here in the Beverly Middle School Library.

0:45

We're here, of course, because City Hall is now closed so that renovation work can happen.

0:52

And the temporary city hall space next door to our city hall just doesn't have a meeting space that can accommodate our meetings.

0:58

And so we're grateful to the team at the middle school, team at the school department for allowing us to have our meeting here.

1:06

And my thanks to Dr.

1:07

Cushing and Jay Nardella who met with me earlier today just to talk through what we might need for the room.

1:13

And so I appreciate that.

1:14

We appreciate that.

1:15

As is our habit, we'll walk through what's on the agenda before I officially call the meeting to order, just so that we can all have a sense of what's before us.

1:24

Of course, our thanks to Kim in the Bev Cam booth for keeping us live and streaming.

1:28

Thank you very much, Kim, for

Unassigned speaker

1:29

that.

Speaker 1

1:30

Tonight we do have a presentation right at the beginning of our agenda.

1:34

We have an opportunity to officially both recognize here in a council meeting and officially vote to approve our senior of the year resolution.

1:43

And so we'll come to that in a few moments.

1:45

Of course, that was presented at Senior Day in the park, but we always like to have a chance when we get back in session to bring our senior of the year to a meeting and really celebrate.

1:54

And so we're glad that Gail Diane can be with us and we'll come to a chance to celebrate you a bit more, Gail.

2:00

Thank

Unassigned speaker

2:00

you.

Speaker 1

2:01

We have two folks who signed up for public comment spots.

2:06

These are spots that are available at all of our regular meetings, they're for up to three minutes each, and so we'll come to those uh as we can on the agenda.

2:13

We have a 7 30 hearing that's continued from our last meeting.

2:17

This is continuing a public hearing on a national grid petition, and then we've got some routine business to take care of.

2:24

We'll take a break for some subcommittee work and then we'll be back to finish everything up.

2:28

So with that, we'll officially call to order this regular meeting of the Beverly City Council Monday, October 5th, 2026, 7 o'clock p.m.

2:37

Ms.

2:38

Kent, will you please call the roll?

2:39

Crowley?

Speaker 2

2:40

Here.

Speaker 1

2:40

Feldman, Houseman,

Speaker 2

2:42

Malady?

2:42

Here.

2:43

Rutando.

Speaker 3

2:44

Here.

Speaker 2

2:44

Sonia.

2:44

Here.

2:45

Spang.

2:45

Here.

2:46

St.

2:46

Hilaire.

2:46

Here.

2:47

And Flowers.

Speaker 1

2:48

Here.

2:48

Thank you very much, Ms.

2:49

Kent.

2:50

Counselor Crowley, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

2:52

And there's a flag here at the front of the room.

Unassigned speaker

2:55

My

Speaker 4

2:55

Pledge of Allegiance.

2:56

To the flag of the United States of

Speaker 1

2:58

America and to the Republic for which it stands.

3:02

One nation, under God,

Speaker 5

3:04

indivisible,

Speaker 2

3:06

with liberty and justice

Speaker 5

3:08

for

Unassigned speaker

3:08

all.

Speaker 1

3:11

Thank you very much, Councillor Crowley, for leading us in the pledge.

3:15

So as I mentioned, we do have order 245.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural████████████████████████████████████████40%

Grant Management█████████████████17%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████9%

Public Education███████7%

Disability Rights███████7%

Public Safety█████5%

Senior Services████4%

Public Infrastructure████4%

Arts And Culture███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Beverly City Council Regular Meeting - October 5, 2026

This meeting of the Beverly City Council was held in the Beverly Middle School Library due to City Hall renovations. The council honored the 2026 Senior of the Year, heard two public comments, conducted a continued public hearing on a National Grid reliability project, and approved several ordinances, grants, and appointments, all by 8-0 votes.

Public Comments & Testimony

Paul Hansen Mitev (Ward 6) expressed concern about Beverly public schools dropping from 81st to 102nd in Boston magazine's rankings while Salem rose to 101st. He referenced the 1993 teachers strike and suggested that lessons from that resolution could inform current labor issues. He also raised the possibility of a Proposition 2½ tax override.
Paul Willenbrock (Ward 4), Chair of the Commission on Disabilities, described the commission's recent accomplishments: establishing an autism sign pole, repairing wheelchairs for beach use, establishing handicapped parking near the golf course, and seeking ASL support for a deaf adult. He provided meeting details (Oct 22, 12 noon at Council on Aging) and urged awareness of the commission's services.

Discussion Items

Order 245 – Resolution Honoring Gail Dion as 2026 Senior of the Year: The council recognized Gail Dion for over 50 years of community involvement, volunteer work at the Senior Center, and generous spirit. The resolution was adopted 8-0.
Order 219 – National Grid Public Hearing (continued): A petition for underground electric reliability improvements on Bow, Wallace, Cabot, and Abbott streets. The National Grid representative described work to reduce outages. Councilors inquired about pedestrian access (sidewalk closures mitigated by steel plates/restoration), project duration (estimated weeks to a month), and restoration timing. Mayor Cahill reported that work is planned to start after New Year's, take up to three months, and that three of four Cabot Street crossings will be done simultaneously to minimize disruption. No night work is expected. The mayor noted agreements with National Grid on curb-to-curb restoration. School bus stops at Cabot & Abbott and Cabot & Bow will be addressed with the transportation department. No public signed up to speak. The hearing was closed and referred to the Public Services subcommittee.
Order 221 – Vegetation Obstruction Ordinance (Second Reading): An amendment to chapters 253 and 261 to enforce removal of vegetation blocking public ways through warnings, fines, and liens if unpaid after 60 days. The city solicitor confirmed enforcement would likely be complaint-based. Approved 8-0.
Order 222 – Human Rights Committee Ordinance (Second Reading): Clarified membership at 11 members and quorum calculation based on seated members. Approved 8-0.

Key Outcomes

Order 245 (Senior of the Year): Adopted 8-0.
Orders 221 & 222 (Ordinance amendments): Approved for final passage 8-0.
Grant approvals (all 8-0):
- Order 246: $45,010 Municipal Road Safety Program grant for traffic enforcement campaigns (annual, no match).
- Order 247: $2,143,333 for Massachusetts Task Force One site support (general operations, plus $600K more than prior year).
- Order 248: $66,590.90 for source capture exhaust systems at all three fire stations (replacing old equipment).
- Order 249: $58,805 for Fire Department Marine One rescue and dive boat equipment (two new outboard motors).
- Order 252: $430,456 from Seaport Economic Council to finalize design and environmental permitting for Lynch Park, with a 20% CPC match; Mayor thanked Lt. Gov. Driscoll for help securing funds.
- Order 253: $25,300 from Mass Cultural Council for the Beverly Local Cultural Council.
License renewals (8-0): Rileside Auto (126 Pack St.) and Beverly Gas & Tire (383 Cabot St.) class two motor vehicle licenses renewed.
Reappointments (8-0): Joan Foot Fairbank and Kevin Hovind to Lynch Park Trustees; Nancy Solak to Clean Energy Advisory Committee.
Referrals:
- Order 250 (data center use moratorium) sent to Planning Board with a public hearing set for Nov 8, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
- Order 258 (parking/traffic review on Essex and Cole streets) referred to Parking & Traffic Commission.
- Orders 259 (council oversight of mayor's out-of-state travel) and 260 (council oversight of contracts over three years) referred to Legal Affairs.
- Orders 261-263 (GoNet Speed underground fiber petitions on Virginia Ave, Charles St, Newball St) referred to Public Services.
- Order 61 (Camp Paradise utilization) referred back to Public Services for further discussion.
GoNet Speed petition on East Street was withdrawn.
Public hearing on National Grid petition closed and referred to Public Services.
Future meetings: Noted that the council will continue meeting at the Beverly Middle School Library until further notice.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us for our city council meeting this evening. This is our inaugural city council meeting here in the Beverly Middle School Library. We're here, of course, because City Hall is now closed so that renovation work can happen. And the temporary city hall space next door to our city hall just doesn't have a meeting space that can accommodate our meetings. And so we're grateful to the team at the middle school, team at the school department for allowing us to have our meeting here. And my thanks to Dr. Cushing and Jay Nardella who met with me earlier today just to talk through what we might need for the room. And so I appreciate that. We appreciate that. As is our habit, we'll walk through what's on the agenda before I officially call the meeting to order, just so that we can all have a sense of what's before us. Of course, our thanks to Kim in the Bev Cam booth for keeping us live and streaming. Thank you very much, Kim, for that. Tonight we do have a presentation right at the beginning of our agenda. We have an opportunity to officially both recognize here in a council meeting and officially vote to approve our senior of the year resolution. And so we'll come to that in a few moments. Of course, that was presented at Senior Day in the park, but we always like to have a chance when we get back in session to bring our senior of the year to a meeting and really celebrate. And so we're glad that Gail Diane can be with us and we'll come to a chance to celebrate you a bit more, Gail. Thank you. We have two folks who signed up for public comment spots. These are spots that are available at all of our regular meetings, they're for up to three minutes each, and so we'll come to those uh as we can on the agenda. We have a 7 30 hearing that's continued from our last meeting. This is continuing a public hearing on a national grid petition, and then we've got some routine business to take care of. We'll take a break for some subcommittee work and then we'll be back to finish everything up. So with that, we'll officially call to order this regular meeting of the Beverly City Council Monday, October 5th, 2026, 7 o'clock p.m. Ms. Kent, will you please call the roll? Crowley? Here. Feldman, Houseman, Malady? Here. Rutando. Here. Sonia. Here. Spang. Here. St. Hilaire. Here. And Flowers. Here. Thank you very much, Ms. Kent. Counselor Crowley, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? And there's a flag here at the front of the room. My

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com