Public Safety & Neighborhoods Committee Meeting - August 19, 2025
Public Safety & Neighborhoods Committee Meeting - August 19, 2025
The Public Safety & Neighborhoods Committee of the New Bedford City Council met on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 7:00 PM in City Council Chambers (Room 214, City Hall, 133 William Street). The meeting was live-streamed and recorded and concluded at approximately 8:29 PM. The committee welcomed newly appointed Police Chief Jason Thody, who introduced himself and outlined his background and public safety priorities. The committee then considered three substantive agenda items and two items recommended for no further action.
Discussion Items
1. Home Rule Petition Amendment for Retired Police Officers (Matter ID #1388)
- This item, originally referred in August 2022 and tabled multiple times, was removed from the table. Chief Thody expressed support for allowing retired officers over age 65 to work paid details, noting it helps fill shifts and keeps officers engaged. He suggested a medical clearance requirement after age 65 to ensure fitness for duty and agreed to follow up with the union president. The committee voted to table the matter for 45 days.
2. Abandoned Campers, RVs, Boats, and Trailers (Matter ID #1214)
- This item, tabled since August 2024, was removed from the table. Chief Thody provided a detailed status: of 46 identified vehicles/campers, 23 remain active and are all registered; 5 have moved voluntarily; 18 have been towed; 11 sent for destruction; and 7 are pending pickup. Destruction costs are approximately $100 per foot, funded from the DFFM solid waste budget ($25,000 allocated plus end-of-year encumbrances). Discussion highlighted the legal limitation that registered vehicles attached to a car cannot be towed, and enforcement requires a local ordinance. Councillor Lopes successfully motioned for legal counsel to draft an ordinance prohibiting overnight parking of campers on city streets. Councillor Pereira motioned to add Chief of Staff Neil Mellow as an invited guest for future discussions, which was approved. The item was then tabled.
3. E.L. Harvey Trash Facility Fire and Rodent Issue (Matter ID #1261)
- Cliff Bassett, District Manager of E.L. Harvey, reported on the May 14, 2025 fire at the facility on Shawmut Avenue and the resulting rodent problem. He detailed mitigation efforts: expansion from 45 to 110 bait stations, daily monitoring by Flynn Pest Control (three times daily at the peak), and street-level cleanup. Activity has dropped sharply; only 8 of over 2,000 bait pods required refill recently. He presented a new rodent control plan for reopening, including daily floor cleaning and reduced permit capacity. Health Director Stephanie Sloan confirmed the situation is under control and the park near the airport has reopened. Councillor Gomes praised the response. The committee voted to receive and place the matter on file.
4. and 5. No Trespassing Signs and ARPA Funds Communication (Matter IDs #1443 and #1868)
- The chair recommended waiving reading and taking no further action on a motion to install "No Trespassing" signs at Wilks Library (Item 4) and a communication regarding use of ARPA funds for solar radar speed limit signs (Item 5). The committee approved.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Tabled for 45 days (motion by Councillor Pereira, seconded by Councillor Abreu; unanimous aye).
- Item 2: Approved motion to direct legal counsel to draft an ordinance prohibiting overnight parking of campers on city streets (motion by Councillor Lopes, seconded by Councillor Carney; unanimous aye). Approved addition of Neil Mellow as invitee for future discussion. Item then tabled.
- Item 3: Received and placed on file (motion by Councillor Burgle to receive and place on file, and motion by Councillor Oliver to receive the communication; both approved unanimously).
- Items 4 and 5: No further action (recommendation by chair, seconded by Councillor Carney and Councillor Lopes; unanimously approved).
Meeting Transcript
It's a rat. How can they put that instead of rather rather than like hey, what's happening? Counselors want to take your seats, please. Gus, you ready? Okay, go ahead. All set, Gus. Good evening, everyone. Like to call the committee on public safety and neighborhoods for August 19th, 2025 meeting at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers at 7.01. Note that this meeting is being live streamed and recorded on City Council and committee meetings. Can be viewed on the city's New Bedford pay homepage under the quick link and then meeting. Anything to be read into the record tonight. I have nothing to be read into the record. That said, in attendance tonight, and my colleagues that have joined me, Counselor at Large, Ian A. Brooke. Ward 2, Councillor Maria Giasta. Ward 5, Counselor Joe Lopes, Wad 6, Councillor Ryan Pereira, Counselor at Large, Linda Pereira. Linda Pereira. Sorry, Linda. I don't know what that I don't know what that was all about. That slip. Congratulations. Yeah, to both of you. Counselor at large, Linda Morad, Counselor at Large, Naomi County, Ward 3 Councillor Sean Oliver, City Council President and Councillor at Lodge, Shane Burgle, and Waterfall Counselor Derek Baptiste. Thank you all for being here. Hold up. Ladies and gentlemen, before we get underway tonight, I would like to um call to the podium our newly appointed uh police chief Tody, if you would take the podium and um give him a nice warm welcome to the city. Some of you have not welcomed him. So the the welcome has been warm. Um so uh uh I I was asked to to stop by here and introduce myself. So I've seen a uh a bunch of folks out in the community at some of the great events like the feast and the feast parade and the and the national night out. Um you know this is uh this is day two of of week five, so it's been a little uh busy, I'd say coming in for a couple weeks before the feast and uh trying to get myself immersed in that, making sure that event goes off without a hitch. But uh as I settle in, um I'll I'll be reaching out to to a lot more folks, including all of you to sit down and uh do some one-on-ones about what you're seeing in the city and what your uh public safety priorities are so that uh so that we can best align them with uh kind of our efforts. Um born and raised in Connecticut, uh started in uh police explorers when I was 14. Um got hired in in Hartford as a police cadet when I was 19, uh stayed with Hartford for 28 years, uh served everything from cadet to officer to detective, uh went all the way up through the ranks, uh served from uh 2019 to 2024 as chief uh through the super simple times that were COVID-19 and uh and George Floyd and everything that was uh uh the that was a true challenge for law enforcement. Um but wouldn't trade it for the world, uh loved the job. Um loved that city uh and was honored to work there as the the mayor of of Hartford uh decided not to run. He's pursuing uh bigger and better things now. Uh I thought it was a good time to to retire. Uh the department was in a good place. We got it out out from under a 50-year-old uh stipulated agreement consent decree. Um good time to pass the reins. I had a great staff there. Um so uh and then was kind of like on the lookout for the next chapter. Uh this opened up. Uh my wife and I are uh we love the ocean. We we have a boat. Um we love we love to golf, so we first kind of looked at the city to see if it was a place that we would want to call home. Uh passed that test with flying colors, um, had some some great food up here and walked around in some great streets and we had a nice hike on the cove walk and all the all the great things that New Bedford has to offer. So we we visited a couple times before I applied for the job, uh went through the process, met a couple uh council folks uh during during the process process as well.
openpublica.com