Appointments & Briefings Committee Meeting – September 16, 2025
Appointments & Briefings Committee Meeting – September 16, 2025
The Appointments & Briefings Committee of the New Bedford City Council met on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at 7:02 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting was live-streamed and recorded. Chair Naomi Carney presided, joined by Councillors Lopes, Gomes, Pereira, Baptist, Burgo, and Oliver. The committee considered eight appointments and license items (approved unanimously) and a lengthy discussion on a stalled host community agreement (HCA) for a proposed adult-use cannabis establishment.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 – Port Authority Appointment: Heather Haggerty (1018 Shelburne Street, New Bedford) was appointed to the New Bedford Port Authority, replacing Raymond J. Houtman. Her term expires December 2026. Ms. Haggerty, owner of Big G Seafood, described her background in fisheries and port management. The committee voted unanimously to refer the appointment to the full City Council with a positive recommendation.
- Items 2–8 – New Private Livery Licenses: All six applicants appeared and described their transportation businesses (mostly school and medical transport). Each had off-street parking and used one to three vehicles. The committee unanimously approved each application and referred them to the full City Council:
- Item 2: Glenda B. Reyes, Glenda Reyes Transportation LLC (68 Erin Court)
- Item 3: Rafaela Arita Guerra, Rafaela’s Transportation (122 Frank Street)
- Item 4: Sumaria and Ali Bokhari, Magic Wheels Transportation LLC (44 Liberty Street) – renewal license
- Item 5: Denise Affonseca, Miss Dee’s Transportation (240 County Street, Apt. 1)
- Item 6: Rutilia Aguilar Orrego, Transportation Cabrera Aguilar (7 Phillips Avenue, Apt. 1)
- Item 7: Venancio Mendes, Venancio Transportation (35 Independent Street)
- Item 8: Thierry Uwizeye, MEL Transportation (109 Robeson Street)
Discussion Items
- Item 9 – Host Community Agreement for Houz of Diesel (THConnect, LLC): Councillor Gomes introduced the matter, which had been tabled since February 2025. The applicant, Shamar James (CEO), and his partner Tyrone Gomes requested the committee vote to issue an HCA for a co-located adult-use marijuana retail and manufacturing establishment at 301 Herman Melville Boulevard. They reported submitting the application in September 2023 (two years and two days prior), paying ~$2,000/month in holding costs, and receiving no clear timeline or response from the city. The discussion involved:
- City Solicitor Eric Jakes explaining that the city needed to update its Social Equity Policy (SEP) after state rule changes in March 2024. The SEP was approved by the mayor in June 2025, filed with the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) on August 4, 2025, and was awaiting CCC investigator Dan Huber’s review. Jakes acknowledged delays but blamed inconsistent CCC responses and the need to sign under oath.
- Assistant City Planner Michael McCarthy confirmed the application is complete and on file but could not be forwarded to the screening committee because the committee had not been convened due to ongoing HCA amendments for existing operators.
- Councillor Pereira expressed frustration, calling the delays “unacceptable” and directly questioning Jakes’ credibility. Councillor Baptist raised concerns about equity, noting all other cannabis licensees in the city are white. Councillor Gomes stated his “theory” that the city does not want the applicant at that location.
- The applicant’s team noted that the CCC investigator was unaware of the issue until contacted and that many other municipalities have already filed their SEPs.
Key Outcomes
- Votes: All items 1–8 were approved unanimously and will be voted on by the full City Council on September 25, 2025.
- Item 9 (Houz of Diesel): The committee voted unanimously to:
- Send letters to the Cannabis Control Commission (Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins and Investigator Daniel Huber) requesting a response about the delayed SEP approval.
- Request the Mayor of New Bedford to convene the screening committee as soon as possible to process pending HCA applications.
- Table the item to the next Appointments & Briefings Committee meeting (date to be determined, but guaranteed to be on the next agenda).
- No HCA was issued or denied; the process remains paused pending CCC action and mayoral direction.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we're going now? We gotta wait. We got one more. Where dare we go? I know. Good evening, everybody. I'd like to welcome everybody to the committee on appointments and briefings. It is seven oh two, September sixteenth, two thousand and twenty-five. Note this meeting is being live streamed and recorded. City Council and Committee meetings can be viewed on the City of New Bedford's homepage under quick links, then meetings. Tonight I'm joined by my colleagues in government. Uh Joseph Loepes, Ward Five City Councillor, Council at Lodge, Brian K. Gomes, Council Ward Six, Ryan Pereira, Council Ward 4, Derek Baptist, Councillor at Large and Council President Shane Burgo, and Counselor Councillor from Ward 3, Sean Oliver. And I am Naomi County Councillor at Large and the Chair of this committee. Thank you all for joining us. Do we have anything to read in the record? We have um four letters to read into the record. This one is from Councillor Abreu. I am waiting to inform you that I will be late in attending tonight's committee meeting due to attending the Board of Health meeting at six PM. Please read this letter into the record to make my colleagues in the public aware of the reason for my absence. Second letter from Council Giesta. I am writing to inform you that I expect to be late for tonight's committee meeting as I will be attending the Board of Health meeting at the time. Opposed. We did have to leave early before the decision came down. But the decision did come down. They voted against it. So it's not it's not site suitable, and it was two to one vote by the board. Unfortunately, Council Gomes and I left just before they came down with the vote so we can get here for the meeting. So I just hope the uh the listening audience was aware that we were there also. Okay. Yes, I did. We're ready. Number one is a communication. Mayor Mitchell to the City Council submitting the appointment of Heather Haggerty, New Bedford Mass to the New Bedford Port Authority. Ms. Haggerty will be replacing Raymond J. Hauptman, who has resigned. This term will expire on December 2026. It was referred here on August 21, 2025. Number one is now before you. Motion received the place on file communication. Second. Motion be made by Councillor Pereira, second by Councillor Lopes. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, the ayes have it. Ms. Haggerty. Welcome. And you can state your name and address for the record.
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