House of Diesel Urges City to Adopt State Cannabis Template for Host Community Agreement
Election Commission Nominee Brian J. Souza Pledges Independent Decision-Making
Election Commission Nominee Addresses Low Municipal Voter Turnout
DPI Provides Phase 2 Construction Update for County Street
Police Detail Shortages Force Full Lane Closures on County Street
The Committee on Appointments and Briefings met on September 15, 2026, to discuss appointments, neighborhood concerns, ongoing municipal infrastructure projects, and pending local development matters. During public input, resident William Lacey addressed the committee regarding unsafe police vehicle speeds without sirens on Lucy Street. The committee reviewed the mayoral appointment of Brian J. Souza to the Election Commission for a term expiring April 2029; following questions regarding election integrity and nonpartisan administration, the committee voted to report the appointment out with a favorable recommendation to the full City Council. The committee also received updates on multiple ongoing municipal matters. City Solicitor Eric Jaikes and representatives of TH Connect LLC (doing business as House of Diesel) provided an update on the pending Host Community Agreement application for a cannabis facility at 301 Herman Melville Boulevard, which was maintained on the table as the review nears completion. Department of Public Infrastructure Wastewater Superintendent Jim Costa updated the committee on the County Street reconstruction project (Phase 2) and presented the 2026 odor complaint log regarding the South Rodney French Boulevard wastewater treatment facility. Additionally, Wendy Morrill of South Coast Neighborhoods United provided a legal status update regarding the appeal of the South Coast Renewables (formerly Parallel Products) facility, noting that a court ruling is expected by October 23.
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Good morning, everybody, and thank you for coming to the Committee on Appointments and Briefings.
1:14It is September 15th, 2006.
1:17It is 7:02.
1:19And we're beginning the meeting.
1:21Note, this meeting is being live streamed and recorded.
1:24City Council committee meetings can be viewed on the City of New Bedford's homepage under Quick Links, then Meetings.
1:31In, in our chamber, we have Councilor at Large Ian Abreu, Councilor Ward 2 Scott Pemberton, Councilor Ward 1 Leo Choquette, Councilor Ward 5 Joseph Lopes, Councilor at Large Brian K. Gomes, Councilor President and Council Ward 6, Ryan J. Pereira, Councilor at Large James Roy, and Councilor from Ward 4, Derek Baptiste.
1:58Thank you all for being here.
2:00Do we have anything to read into the record?
2:01I have one letter to read into— excuse me.
2:03And we have Councilor at Large Shane Burgl.
2:08Thanks for joining us.
2:10Okay.
2:10I have one letter to read into the record.
2:11This is from Councilor Oliver.
2:13I am writing to inform you that regretfully I will be unable to attend the Committee on Appointments and Briefings meeting on Tuesday, September 15th, 2026 due to a prior commitment.
2:22Please read this letter into the record to make my colleagues and the public aware of the reason for my absence.
2:27Okay, made by Councilor Burgos, seconded by Councilor Gomes.
2:33All in favor say aye.
2:35Opposed?
2:35The ayes have it.
2:37Item number 1 is citizens input time, not to exceed the first 30 minutes of each meeting.
2:41Each individual recognized will be allowed to speak for a total of 3 minutes.
2:451A is Kyle Fahey, 59 Shawmut Avenue, speaking on excessive car and motorbike noises.
2:52Mr. Fahey.
2:54Mr. Fahey.
3:01Motion made to table by Councilor Pereira, seconded by Councilor Gomes.
3:04All in favor say aye.
3:06Aye.
3:06Opposed, the ayes have it.
3:071B is William Lacey of 914 Lucy Street speaking on unsafe driving by New Bedford police officers on Lucy Street.
3:15Mr. Lacey.
3:16Thank you, Councilor.
3:18It's nice to see you, Dennis.
3:21If before my 3 minutes begins, just as a resident— so many know me because of my past career— thank you for this opportunity.
3:32It's appreciated, and in today's world, this is an important thing.
3:38Thank you, Mr. Lacey.
3:40You may begin.
3:42I'm going to begin by throwing out some numbers and facts because I know you people love that sort of thing.
3:50The Ford Explorer is one of the larger SUVs from the Ford Motor Company.
3:57It has a gross vehicle weight of 6,160 pounds when it rolls off fresh from the line, just over 3 tons.
4:07It goes from 0 to 60, depending upon what it's carrying and its makeup, in between 5.1 and 5.9 seconds.
4:18These numbers will become important.
4:21Its stopping distance, though, 60 to 0, almost 110 feet.
4:28That becomes even more critical tonight.
4:31On the 14th of June, in 2026, my wife texted me.
4:36I happened to be outside in the garden.
4:38Took me a while first to see the text, a little longer to do something about it.
4:43It said, police up the street.
4:47I finished what I was doing, went, assumed that our neighbor far up the street had had another medical incident.
4:53That was not the case.
4:55The incident that occurred up the street is not of importance.
4:58What occurred after that incident is.
5:02At the conclusion of that incident, at 7:41, 3 New Bedford police employees in 3 separate Ford Explorer SUVs transited from Bartlett Street to LePage Street at speeds of probably 50 miles an hour or above.
5:32If anyone wants to know how we deduced that, I have a way of telling you, but that's going to go beyond my 3.
5:40They did so only with lights.
5:43June 14th, the first weekend our children are out of school, 7:20.
5:52Daylight lasted that night 8:30.
5:56Our children are out, our elderly were out, and specifically a little boy I'll get to if you ask questions about was out.
6:05Those 3 police officers did not use sirens while transiting Lucy Street, instead waiting until they got to the outlet where Route 18 and Kushnet Avenue occurs.
6:19They took a left to head towards Trucchi's, and only then did they put on their sirens to warn of their coming.
6:29Now, I have some thoughts, but I'm out of time.
6:33If anybody would like to know more about that incident, I am here to answer a question.
6:39I will give you another minute if you want to continue.
6:42Thank you.
6:42They continued past Trucy's with lights and sirens.
6:47If you're familiar with the area, That's half a mile by that time, plus the quarter mile on Lucy Street.
6:54My point is, I think they used reckless judgment that night.
7:01But more importantly, I went and researched Mass General Law.
7:05It allows them to do that in times of when there was high need and they had to operate silently.
7:14If the need was on Lucy Street, the need was on the avenue, the need was on Phillips Road.
7:21That little boy is 5 years old and he's autistic.
7:257 days earlier, we lost a little boy on a bike, 5 years old.
7:31Stopping distance, 110 feet.
7:37By the way, other towns and cities have enacted a quiet time.
7:42In other words, when sirens are off, beginning at 10, lasting through about 5 AM.
7:50You have the power to make certain this doesn't happen again, or worse yet, a little boy like Kevin doesn't meet up with the wrong end of a police cruiser.
8:03Thank you, Mr. Lucy.
8:05Does, does anybody have any questions?
8:08Seeing none, thank you very much.
8:11Oh, thank you, Councilor Socap.
8:13Thank you, Madam Chairman.
8:15Yeah, Mr. Lacey, so I apologize, at what time was it when this happened?
8:19Was it dusk?
8:21No, dusk would have been 45 minutes to an hour later.
8:25Sunset on that evening was 8:30.
8:28It's one of the longest days of our year.
8:30Yeah, correct.
8:31That's right.
8:32Okay.
8:33All right, yeah, let's, let's talk some more about this off, off here.
8:36Thank you.
8:36Thank you, Madam Chairman.
8:38Thank you, Council Virgo.
8:39Oh, I thought you waved.
8:41Oh, okay, okay.
8:44Anybody else?
8:46Seeing— thank you very much.
8:50I don't remember.
8:511C is— I'm sorry, 1C.
8:57Oh, I'm sorry.
8:58Okay, 1C is Carmen Norman, 941 Oakley Street, speaking on safety.
9:03Concerns and traffic accidents near 5 Nauset Street, referred here on July 22nd, 2026.
9:09Carmen Norman.
9:10Carmen Norman.
9:13Motion to table.
9:14Second.
9:15Motion made to table.
9:16Councilor Pereira, seconded by Councilor— Councilor Roy.
9:21All in favor say aye.
9:23Aye.
9:24Opposed?
9:24The ayes have it.
9:25Number 2 is a communication, Mayor Mitchell to the City Council, submitting an appointment of Brian J. Souza New Bedford, Mass., to the Election Commission.
9:32This term will expire on April 29th— excuse me, April 2029.
9:37It was afforded here on August 21st, 2026.
9:41Number 2 is now before you.
9:43Um, I just was going to tell you that I would like to leave it.
9:47No, they're going to be here at 7:30, so we can either table or we can just go to the next item.
9:52So we can just go to the next item.
9:56Okay, I'm sorry.
9:57Number 3, communication.
9:59Councilor Gomes submitting a host committee agreement, a community agreement proposal application on behalf of Shamar James, founder, CEO of TH Connect LLC, doing business as— no, I'm sorry, Brian Souza is here.
10:12It was just one D and one E that— no, but, um, Brian is here, but, um, because Manny wants to be here with him.
10:22He's still here.
10:23He'll be running late.
10:24He called me and asked to do that.
10:26It's going to be— Manny's just running a little late.
10:29He wants me to support him.
10:31Okay, what about 1D?
10:40Yeah, let's just keep going.
10:43Okay, okay, okay.
10:46Doing business as House of Diesel seeking to operate a co-located adult-use marijuana retail and product manufacturing establishment at 301 Herman Melville Boulevard, New Bedford, Mass.
10:5702740.
10:59It was referred here on January 23rd, 2025.
11:01February 18th, 2025, it was tabled.
11:04September 16th, 2025, it was tabled with a related motion that a letter be sent to the CCC staff asking why they did not attend the meeting and request that the mayor reconvene the HCA screening committee as soon as possible.
11:17November 18, 2025, it was tabled.
11:19On December 9, 2025, it was tabled with a related motion that a letter be sent to the mayor asking him to enter into a host community agreement, HCA, with House of Diesel, enabling the organization to seek reimbursement from the state for funds previously expended.
11:34On February 17, 2026, it was tabled once again, and it is now before you, and it remains on the table.
11:42From the table, motion made by Councilor Gomes, seconded by Councilor Virgo.
11:46All in favor say aye.
11:47Aye.
11:48Opposed?
11:48The ayes have it.
11:50Madam Chairman, could we hear from— I think we have some notes.
11:53Yes, City Solicitor first.
11:56Oh, okay, let's get— he's right behind you.
12:05Good evening, Madam Chairwoman, councilors.
12:08I spoke to Councilor Gomes earlier this evening.
12:11I'll give you an update on where we are with House of Diesel.
12:15Councilor Baptista is aware of where we are.
12:17The committee met a few weeks ago.
12:20We reviewed their proposal.
12:22There were some technical errors in the proposal.
12:26We wrote back to House of Diesel with questions, and today we received their responses this afternoon.
12:33We are circulating their responses to those questions, and we'll meet again briefly.
12:39And I will not commit to saying that we'll enter into an HCA, but I suspect that that is likely.
12:52How close is likely?
12:54I'm one member of the group, so I can't speak for the entire group.
12:59But okay, I'll be saying yes.
13:02I'd like to have your, your footsteps with this.
13:05Sorry, I'd like to have your footsteps with this, the solicitor, to— we've been through this for a while and we seem to be making some progress little by little, and I would hope that you would walk it through as fast as we can.
13:17The responses came in this afternoon and that we were sending out the acknowledgment to the folks at House of Diesel who I see in the back of the room.
13:26And we were circulating through planning the materials.
13:31Uh, I don't know if they went out yet.
13:33Councilor, uh, Baptiste may know if he got his copy today.
13:38They came in this afternoon, but he's not looking at me, so I don't know.
13:45Okay, thank you.
13:49Anybody have any questions for Attorney Jakes?
13:53Um, Councilor Baptiste.
13:56Thanks, Madam Chair.
13:57I didn't, I didn't get anything yet, so, um, I just wanted to say there was very— how thorough was their application compared to the other dispensaries in the city?
14:09I apologize for not being able to answer that.
14:11Those prior applications came in before I was city solicitor counselor.
14:16All right, all right.
14:17But, but it was, it was very thorough, and I indicated that I was impressed with it.
14:21The committee had a number of questions.
14:22We sent them back out to House of Diesel and they answered them all this afternoon.
14:27Yeah.
14:27And knowing what they've done and knowing what they've been through, just going through us, like, I know I'm a yes.
14:36So I'm a firm yes.
14:38And as long as they, you know, going by what the city has asked, like, I don't, I don't see why it would be an issue having it.
14:47I, I thought that the, that the board had simple questions that could be answered easily, and I think that, you know, the, the process has been taking so long to get them to be open that I think that we should, you know, hopefully move— we should move expeditiously to just get this stuff running.
15:06Do you agree?
15:07I do.
15:07The councilor— the answers came in this afternoon.
15:10Yeah, I read the answers this afternoon.
15:13I instructed the planning director to forward the answers to all of the members of the committee.
15:19That was at about 4 o'clock when I spoke to her.
15:23Uh, if you didn't get it today, I suspect it'll go out tomorrow.
15:26It'll probably come in tomorrow.
15:27All right, I was just looking for it, that's why.
15:28Because again, as I said, I was satisfied with the answers.
15:31I'm one vote on the committee.
15:33Yeah, so once, once I get it and, and look over it, like, I, I, after speaking to them personally right here.
15:39Um, I know they're ready to go through the process and start, you know, opening up their, their business and getting their fit— their feet, um, wet in the cannabis business.
15:50No.
15:50Yeah.
15:51So they got a great spot.
15:52They got a great location, not around any houses, around a lot of, uh, businesses on a back street.
16:00You know, the only thing in front of them is water and a lot.
16:02So I think that we should, you know, be looking forward to having this group owner, you know, own dispensary in the city.
16:10I yield the floor.
16:12Thank you, Councilor Baptiste.
16:13Anybody else for Attorney Jakes?
16:17Thank you, Attorney Jakes.
16:18Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
16:20Madam Chair, could we hear from House of Diesel, please?
16:22Absolutely.
16:39You can, yep, you get, but you can state your name and address for the record for the people and for the rest of my colleagues.
16:45All right, I'm Shamar James, CEO of House of Diesel.
16:48We'll be located at 301 Herman Melville Boulevard.
16:52Pull the mic closer to you.
16:54I'm Shamar James, CEO of House of Diesel.
16:57We'll be located at 301 Mervyn— uh, Melville— Herman Melville Boulevard.
17:04Yeah, thank you.
17:06And I'm Connie Sousa, same company, same location.
17:10Thank you.
17:11Okay, um, we've been told this afternoon that they received the application, went through it.
17:18There was a couple of flaws, uh, something that had to be straightened out or whatever.
17:22You have taken that approach and did that and submitted it today as the city solicited.
17:26It says, are you happy with the— with— as the process is moving along?
17:31This has been a long wait for you.
17:33I know you're on the verge of putting out some more thousands of dollars to hold on to your spot that you've been holding on to for a long time.
17:42Is this moving in the right direction on your behalf at this point?
17:45Uh, yes, it is.
17:47You're happy with what's going on, working closely, close with the city solicitor.
17:50Now I'll say that publicly, and I've, I've asked him to do that, is to work as close as he can with you as, um, we move this process along.
18:00Yeah.
18:01Okay, you happy, Connie?
18:04Um, yeah, we are happy.
18:05We actually thank the city for that, for moving forward.
18:09We thank all of you for your effort and your support and the fact that we are here.
18:15Thank you, Councilor Gomes, because if not for you, I don't believe we would be here right now.
18:21So we appreciate all of you.
18:24We are ready to do this.
18:25We are ready to move forward.
18:27The only ask that we have for the city of New Bedford is to please consider adopting the template that already exists by the CCC, which is state-approved, it's compliant, it's ready to go.
18:46No need to reinvent the wheel.
18:49Money, time, effort, personnel.
18:53And if we could just use the— adopt the template at ACA, we would be okay to move along.
19:03Okay.
19:03Thank you.
19:04Thank you.
19:04Thank you for your kind words.
19:06I don't do it all alone.
19:07It is a process, and I have 10 other men and women that are behind me to make it happen when it does happen.
19:14And that's how I do business, and I'll continue to do business.
19:17And I thank you again for your kind words, but again, it's the entire body that's been behind you, have supported my actions to see that this comes to fruition.
19:28You have waited a long, long time, and I'm hoping that you can get your doors open as soon as possible.
19:34I know there's been a lot of money spent, but you and your family and the corporation itself have been committed to doing this, and I think that's why you've hung in there as long as you have.
19:47You could have packed up the bags and said, we can go elsewhere, but you wanted to make it happen here, and we're hoping that we can make it happen with you.
19:56Yeah, we want to do business in New Bedford.
19:58We want to invest in New Bedford.
20:01We want to hire people in New Bedford.
20:04So the next step is just being here.
20:06We thank you for everything, and we look forward to being in New Bedford.
20:11Thank you very much.
20:12Thank you, Madam Chairman.
20:13Thank you.
20:13Thank you.
20:13Thank you so much, and thank you so much for your patience.
20:17Oh, don't leave yet.
20:18Councilor Baptiste says don't go.
20:22Councilor Baptiste, what's up, guys?
20:24We spoke a little bit earlier, but, um, The asks weren't too much, right, to pivot on your end that the committee had requested from you?
20:34No, they weren't.
20:36And you got them done and you went through your whole thing and make— to make sure, like, so it was— so we don't have to— so they don't have to ask for anything anymore, like, so we can start moving forward.
20:46So everything's all set.
20:47Yeah.
20:47They decide to move forward.
20:50We're ready to, you know, hold another outreach meeting and, you know, get an HCA signed.
20:56How confident are you coming into the city and being a new business and, you know, getting into the industry?
21:01How confident are you guys?
21:04I don't want to say we're overly confident, but from what I see in the industry and talking to other people, I truly believe our business model is going to work and it's going to work extremely well.
21:16Thank you so much, man.
21:18And thank you for coming into the city, man.
21:19I appreciate you guys.
21:20Good luck.
21:21Thank you.
21:21I yield.
21:22Thank you, Councilor Baptiste.
21:24Anybody else have questions for House of Diesel?
21:28Seeing none, thank you so much.
21:30And thank you for your patience, because you had patience.
21:34Thank you so much.
21:35Thank you, guys.
21:37Did you have a question?
21:38No, not a question, Madam Chairman, but I would like to keep this on the agenda.
21:42Yes, still we're going to keep it tabled because this is our live bullet to bring all parties together.
21:47It's not a done deal yet, so let's keep it on table.
21:50So we're going to motion to table, made by Councilor Gomes, second by Councilor Lopes.
21:54All in favor say aye.
21:56Opposed, the ayes have it.
21:57We're on table.
21:58Thank you so much.
21:59Okay, we'll go back to number 2.
22:02Number 2 is a communication, Mayor Mitchell to the City Council, submitting the appointment of Brian J. Souza, New Bedford, Mass., to the Election Commission.
22:08This term will expire April 2029.
22:11It was referred here on August 20th, 2026.
22:14Number 2 is now before for you.
22:18Motion made by Councilor April, seconded by Councilor Pabergo.
22:22All in favor say aye.
22:23Opposed, the ayes have it.
22:25Okay, Rankin, you can take the podium.
22:29And just to my colleagues, um, our commissioner wanted to be here with the nominee and he was running a few minutes late, so I told him that I'd hold off till he got here, and he's here now.
22:41Thank you.
22:43Hello, welcome.
22:44Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
22:45Please state your name and address for the record and we can move on.
22:50My name is Brian Souza.
22:52Um, I have been a lifelong resident of New Bedford and have served the city of New Bedford in a number of different ways going all the way back to 1979.
23:00I don't know how many people on the council remember that they used to have auxiliary police offices in the city of New Bedford.
23:08Who were volunteers, and I volunteered at that at 20 years old, worked there and was part of civil defense for a number of years until I went to work for the city— excuse me— as an emergency medical technician and eventually a police officer in the city of New Bedford.
23:25I ended up leaving the city and going to work for the sheriff's department when they wanted to set up a training academy for them.
23:33So I went to work for the sheriff's department and worked there until an injury forced me into retirement.
23:40I am also— have been a pastor in the United Methodist Church and now the Global Methodist Church.
23:47We are— I pastored here in New Bedford at the Center Trinity United Methodist Church on County Street, which is now falling apart and breaking my heart.
23:57But I served in that way for a long time.
23:59I also served as a deputy director of emergency management back when it was civil defense.
24:05Um, and that's kind of my, my little bit of history with the city.
24:12Thank you.
24:13Does anybody have any questions?
24:16Councilor Bergo.
24:17Thank you.
24:19Thank you for being here tonight, Reverend Souza.
24:20How are you doing?
24:21I'm doing well.
24:23Um, I— first question, I know it sounds silly, but in your appointment letter to us, um, your last name was spelled with an S or Z.
24:33It is changed.
24:34It is with a Z.
24:35With a Z.
24:36Okay.
24:36Yes.
24:36So I just want to confirm because on our communication it's with an S and then in the mayor's letter it's spelled in one sentence with an S and then again with a Z and then it's like flip-flops.
24:46So I just wanted to confirm with you if it's a Z or an S. So it is officially Reverend Souza with a Z.
24:53Thank you for that.
24:57I guess my first question to you that seems, um, very clear based on your actions, which I want to commend you for, is if appointed, who do you feel that you're accountable to, the mayor or the voters and laws?
25:13Oh, elections, voters in the city of New Bedford, always.
25:16Yes, I felt that as a police officer.
25:18I felt that as in any position I've held.
25:21You know, my, my loyalty is to the city, the voters and the people, the city residents of the city of New Bedford.
25:27And it sounds like you, if I'm understanding correctly, you're part of the Republican City Committee here in New Bedford, and you put your name forward to serve in this capacity, and your name was submitted by the chair of the Republican City Committee, correct?
25:41Okay.
25:41And that was done months ago, back in April.
25:47Just wanted that for the record as well.
25:48And so I want to thank you It sounds like you have a long history of service, so I thank you for your public service to our community.
25:56And it sounds that you're willing— again, on the record, you would commit to making decisions independently, even if that decision may be politically unpopular.
26:05Correct.
26:07Great.
26:07I just want to commend you and apologize on behalf of the city, because obviously I'm sure you're aware you were really caught in the middle of a political tug-of-war.
26:19I hope you understand that had nothing to do with you or your appointment.
26:24So I just publicly want to make sure that you know that was nothing about you personally.
26:30Has to do with, obviously— and that's why I asked my first question about the laws governing elections, because there's been a long dispute long before you came along with even your commissioner, if everything goes well for you tonight, which I plan to vote for you.
26:45You'll join your fellow commissioners like Daniel Higgins, who also had a similar situation where this mayor attempted to appoint by emergency, which is not allowed in the city of New Bedford.
26:57So I want to commend you for being as honorable as you have been by not showing up and potentially causing legal problems with this election and still showing up today and serving in this honorable way.
27:10So I want to thank you, Reverend Souza, for that.
27:13That's all, Madam Chair.
27:15Thank you, Councilman.
27:16Councilman Baptiste.
27:18Thank you, Madam Chair.
27:19How you doing, Reverend Souza?
27:20How's everything today?
27:22Excuse me, I'm sorry.
27:23I said, how's everything today?
27:24Doing well, Councilman.
27:25Good, good.
27:26So with all your years of service, um, what made you want to be on the Election Commission?
27:31Why do you think it's so significant that you take on this role?
27:35I think one of the most pressing questions for most people today around the election process is election integrity.
27:43And it's gotten a lot of negative press all the way around from both sides of the realm.
27:50I just want to make sure that in the city of New Bedford, that people can have confidence that when they vote, that their votes are done in a proper way, in accordance with law.
28:00And, you know, everything is done on the up and up.
28:03How helpful has the Election Commission been, the commissioner been with you?
28:07How helpful?
28:09Yeah, how helpful has Manny been with you?
28:11Manny's been tremendously helpful with me.
28:12I mean, he's been very knowledgeable, asked me any questions that I might have had, he's answered.
28:17He's been a great help.
28:19Like we said, like the councilor before me from Purchase Street said, it's sad that, you know, you put your application in so early and they waited so late to submit it.
28:28You know, that should have been done earlier so we could have already been through this process and you could have been up and running.
28:33So we're sorry for that, but, um, good luck.
28:36I, I plan on supporting you as well, and, um, I hope you serve the city well.
28:41Thank you so much.
28:42No apologies are necessary.
28:45Thank you, Councilor Baptiste.
28:46Councilor Abram.
28:47Thank you, madam.
28:48Uh, good evening, Mr. Souza.
28:50Good to see you.
28:51Thank you, Councilor.
28:52Good to see you again, as always.
28:55How important is trying to work with the commission and the community to increase voter activity and voter turnout?
29:02I mean, the federal stuff, I'm not too concerned about that.
29:05People come out for president, they come out for U.S. Senate, they even come out with the state for the most part for the governor and state reps and things like that.
29:13But let's talk about municipal every other odd year.
29:17What we do in this building, whether upstairs or in here on the second floor really impacts our residents and their lives every day, day to day.
29:25You know that.
29:26You were a police officer.
29:27You've served.
29:27You get it.
29:28What can we do to increase our voter activity and voter turnout, to let people know that what they do when they cast their ballot every other odd year, not the even years, it really does matter?
29:40Councilor, this was the first question I asked Manny when I met with him the first time.
29:45And I said, you know, I vote at the Parker School.
29:48And I think the last city election, we lived right in the neighborhood, we walked over.
29:54At the end of the day, there were 64 people that had voted in that precinct.
30:0264.
30:03And so I think, you know, we've tried to do a bunch of education, we've tried to do a bunch of— you know, not we, but, you know, it's been trying to get out there.
30:13I think this just has— I don't know what exactly to do other than try to show how important it is and to try to stop some of the apathy that when it's not a popular election or when there's not a major issue on the ballot.
30:27I mean, I get it.
30:28We're not on CNN.
30:29We're not on Fox News.
30:31I get it.
30:32But what we do is important.
30:34It really is.
30:34And you understand that.
30:36Yeah.
30:36Yeah.
30:37Well, We're supportive, we're here, and I'll defer to you and your fellow commissioners and your judgment how we can increase the turnout.
30:46If you have any ideas, something we can run with, let us know.
30:48But I wish you well.
30:50Thank you.
30:51And that is, that is a huge thing on my heart that I think, you know, is to try to get voter turnout to a point where, you know, it matters, because you can't complain, constant complain on Facebook that everything's bad.
31:04And nobody votes.
31:06So that's true.
31:07That's— thank you.
31:09Thank you, Mr. Souza.
31:10Thank you, Madam Chair.
31:11I'll yield.
31:12Thank you, Councilor Abreu.
31:13Anybody else?
31:14Questions for Mr. Souza?
31:17Reverend Souza?
31:19Madam Chair, I just want to make a motion to amend the communication to correct the spelling of his name from a Z to an A for Souza.
31:30Motion's been made.
31:31Oh, I don't know if that's necessary.
31:33No.
31:33Oh, okay, great.
31:35So the motion to refer out to the full City Council for approval— motion made by Councilor Bergo to submit, to put out to the full City Council for approval.
31:43Second by Councilor Abril.
31:45All in favor say aye.
31:47Aye.
31:47Opposed?
31:48The ayes have it.
31:49And it'll be reported out— what's the date on the next City Council meeting?
31:52It will be on September 24th.
31:54So September 24th.
31:56Reverend Souza, if you want to come, we will— we can swear you in then.
32:00Did you hear me, Reverend?
32:02Reverend Souza, on September 24th, it'll be reported out with a favorable recommendation by the City Council.
32:10If you'd like to be here, we can swear you in then.
32:14Okay, then you can go see the clerk after that and he can swear you in.
32:19Thank you so much, and thank you for serving.
32:23Item number 4 and 4A before us.
32:26Written motion, Councilors Abram and Pereira requesting that the Committee on Appointments and Briefings discuss the ongoing construction project on County Street, and further that the committee meet with local businesses to discuss the impact of the street disturbances.
32:39It was referred here on May 7th, 2024.
32:41July 16th, 2024, it was tabled, and it was heard again and then tabled on June 23rd, 2026.
32:476, where it was tabled.
32:494A is a related motion.
32:50Councilmember requesting that the Committee on Appointments and Briefings meet with County Street business owners and a representative from MassDOT, Mayor Mitchell, DPI Commissioner Jamie Ponte, State Representative Antonio F.D.
33:02Cabral, and State Senator Mark C. Montigny for a discussion regarding the future projects, including the upcoming TIP project and possible issues that may arise.
33:11That was referred here from committee.
33:14On July 16, 2024.
33:16Motion to receive and place on file.
33:17Number 4 is on the table.
33:19Oh, motion to remove from the table.
33:21Okay, motion made to remove from table, made by Councilor Roy, seconded by Councilor Abril.
33:25All in favor say aye.
33:26Aye.
33:27Opposed?
33:27The ayes have it.
33:28If we could hear, um, I received communication, Madam Chair, from Commissioner Ponte, and, uh, he has a representative here.
33:38Okay.
33:46Perfect.
33:51You, you.
33:54Oh.
33:56Yeah.
33:56Hello, how are you?
33:57Could you state your name and address, your name for the record?
34:00We know you work for DPI.
34:01Good evening, everyone.
34:02Jim Costa from DPI.
34:05And your position?
34:06Uh, wastewater superintendent.
34:08Okay.
34:08Um, so I'm here to speak, uh, briefly on the County Street project, uh, on behalf of DPI.
34:15Um, PA Landers is currently working in their phase 2 of the project between Rivet Street and Allen Street.
34:25As of now, the utility work is complete and binder course pavement has been installed.
34:30Right now the project is going to be wrapping up all their sidewalk work and should be completed this fall.
34:38DPI, PA Landers, and District 5 have all been working together fielding requests from residents, outreaching to businesses, and anything that comes our way, working together.
34:52The contractors right now are continuing to utilize police details, and they haven't approved traffic management plan for detours.
35:00So they've been working on through that plan to make sure everything is flowing as good as it can be flowing.
35:07Um, it's anticipated that the contractor will, uh, have all their site cleaned up before the pause in, uh, as the winter moratorium comes.
35:16This week, District 5, Landers, and DPI will be meeting with Eversource Gas and Eversource Electric Um, all the management teams will be talking together, um, to coordinate their schedules for the Phase 3 portion of the project.
35:30Um, it's the update that I've got from DPI.
35:34Councilor Pereira, please.
35:35Thank you.
35:36Um, so basically, so are we on schedule, Jimmy, you think, or— We are.
35:41Okay, perfect.
35:42And rough, obviously things might happen, but rough schedule still probably about 2 years, one more year probably major construction.
35:52I believe that is the outlook, yes.
35:54Punch list and stuff that might occur after that.
35:56And you said, um, you anticipate all the sidewalks to be completed by this year, the— in that Phase 2, in that— in the Phase 2 section, correct?
36:05Okay.
36:06My only concern that I do have, and I ask that you take back, is I know, uh, when I— I believe when I last spoke with, uh, Jamie was that once the project's done, they're going to do one final coat on the road so it's seamless all the way down.
36:20Um, one last layer.
36:22Yes.
36:23Can we get some better temporary paintings on the road just for safety of driving on the road, the yellow line specifically?
36:30Sure.
36:30Yeah, I'll bring that.
36:30Just bring that back to them and just see if we can— what we can do to try and just get something there.
36:36I know that the majority of this phase is, is in my colleagues' wards.
36:41Um, so I'll yield if my colleagues have any questions and then take it from there.
36:46Thank you, Madam Chair.
36:47Thank you.
36:48Councilor Baptiste.
36:49Thank you.
36:50What's happening?
36:50How you doing today?
36:51Great.
36:51How are you doing?
36:52Good.
36:52Um, so most of the stuff that, you know, Jamie and Manny, and they're very direct with everything that's going on and what's going on with the project.
37:01The only, like, the only concerns that I had was, um, some of the neighbors in the area, when the guys were working, the construction workers were working, it tough for them if they work from home to leave and come back or get their trash picked up and, you know, their mail delivered.
37:16So just making sure that what you guys are being— just everybody's being courteous with understanding the neighborhood, understanding there's still people that live on that stretch of road, and they can get in and out their house and make sure that their trash receptacles can get picked up and their mail can get delivered.
37:31That was the only issues that we had from my constituents that I knew.
37:35There's a couple of business It's not in my ward, um, that had some complaints.
37:39But, you know, the people in my ward that was actually— that actually living over there were just worried about how when the trucks were parked and the construction was going on, if they work from home, how they can get in and out of their homes.
37:52And their trash wasn't getting picked up on time due to the construction work.
37:57So just making sure that we can get them little things done and, you know what I'm saying, streamline that.
38:01But you guys pretty good with that.
38:03I haven't had no complaints lately, so I'll knock on wood with that.
38:08And thank you for all you do.
38:10Great.
38:10Now understood, and we'll continue to work with everyone as, as questions and concerns come in.
38:15Thank you so much, and I yield the floor.
38:18Thank you, Councilor Baptiste.
38:20We have Councilor Lopes.
38:23Thank you, Council Chair.
38:25My only complaints are the same ones that I brought up last time.
38:27I bring to Jamie all the time.
38:28Try to keep it to one lane always being open to allow traffic, and then the timely relocation of the porta-john.
38:37Nobody wants a porta-john in front of their house for 6 weeks or 7 weeks at a time.
38:41Understood.
38:42And then I asked, now that we're getting a little closer to the potential snow, we know what happens when snow gets plowed— porta-john gets moved.
38:52Can we be mindful of that and potentially move a porta-john before a heavy snowfall?
38:58Yes, we will.
38:59Thank you, because nobody wants to deal with having to deal with snow that has some attention given to it.
39:07Understood.
39:07That's all I got.
39:08Thank you very much.
39:09Thank you, Madam Chair.
39:11Thank you, Councilor Lopes.
39:13Anybody else have any questions?
39:16Yeah, Councilor Baptiste.
39:17I don't have no questions, but I got a statement.
39:19Um, What, what they did tell me about the, the one lane being open, sometimes they have to close the traffic due to not as many cops being able to work a detail.
39:30So when they don't have enough officers for the detail, that's why they was— because I had them questions too, and I was like, you know, they're supposed to have one lane open, why aren't they having one lane?
39:38Why don't they have one lane open?
39:40And, um, traffic was going all over the place.
39:42So what I was told was they're supposed to have one lane open, but if they don't have enough officers for detail, that they will have to close both lanes because they wouldn't be able to do it with all the construction going on in the city.
39:53Is that correct?
39:54That's correct.
39:55And we're unfortunately at the mercy of who's filling— how many people are filling the details.
40:00So when that happens, we try our best to get things done as quick as we can.
40:05Yeah.
40:05And that's not on you.
40:06And that's the police department's end.
40:08We're not having enough.
40:08They just don't have enough bodies.
40:10So, correct.
40:11Thank you.
40:11I wish Reverend Souza was still here and the auxiliary police officer.
40:14Maybe he could have Maybe he could have been out there, man, working the detail.
40:20But, um, thank you.
40:21I yell.
40:22Thank you, Councilor Baptiste.
40:24Anybody else have any questions?
40:27Seeing none, um, okay, so Madam Chair, this— yep, sorry, go ahead.
40:32No, I'm just saying at 4A, we don't have the representatives there.
40:36I don't know how far you want to take this.
40:38Do we have business owners here to want to speak?
40:40Yeah, so, so In regards to 4A, uh, I— that was— I am satisfied with, uh, where we're at with 4A.
40:49Uh, I, I'll yield to my colleagues regarding 4 if they would like that tabled.
40:54While that project probably has another 2 years worth of life, in regards to my ward, that project has been pretty much wrapped up and I'm satisfied with it.
41:04But I, uh, it's here.
41:06I, I'll just look to my colleague to my right if he wants table it up.
41:10And I just want to see if— do we have any business owners here that want to say something?
41:14No?
41:15Okay.
41:16So I got a nod from a couple councilors.
41:17We're going to motion to table at this time.
41:19Second.
41:20Motion to table has been made by Councilor— it's Councilor Lopes.
41:26Second.
41:27Second by Councilor Pereira.
41:29All in favor say aye.
41:30Aye.
41:31Opposed, the ayes have it.
41:34Okay, so 5 and 5A together.
41:39Yeah, Ryan.
41:41Oh, okay.
41:42Yeah, yeah, you can go.
41:43You go.
41:43I'm back for the next one.
41:45If you'd like to stay there all night long, you can, but no, but yeah, Madam Chair, this too.
41:51Yep.
41:51Oh yeah.
41:51Oh yeah.
41:51Madam Chair, I'm just curious about, um, 1D and 1E.
41:56Are we going to check to see if those individuals from citizens input time Or did they send communication that they're not coming?
42:03I know a couple for Catherine and Brian.
42:07No, we tabled those.
42:08Yeah, I'm sorry, we did not table those.
42:12So that's what the confusion was at the beginning.
42:16Can I answer that?
42:18And William Lacey, 1E and 1D, they were unable to attend and both asked if they could come to the October meeting and Instead.
42:26Oh, okay.
42:27So I, I wasn't aware of that.
42:28I apologize.
42:28Oh, I'm sorry.
42:30Okay, so those were going to be punted to the October meeting.
42:33I apologize.
42:34I did not read it in the beginning of the meeting, but you happen to be late, so— oh, okay.
42:38I was in the bathroom.
42:39Thank you.
42:40Oh, it sounds like the rest of the body didn't hear it.
42:44Well, thank you for clearing that up.
42:45Thank you.
42:47So would Councilor— would you, would you like him to move to table those 2 items?
42:51So do we have to table them items?
42:53No, they're still on.
42:54All right.
42:54Oh shit, yeah, but I'm saying, okay, we can table.
42:57Do you want to move to table?
42:59No, they weren't read into the record, so they don't need to be.
43:01Okay, yeah, okay, we're good.
43:04Thank you.
43:07Okay, that's it.
43:08Okay, 5, 5A, can we read it?
43:12Yep.
43:13Okay, thank you.
43:14Number 5 is Communication Council Pereira and Abril and Gomes committing a petition for the residents of the south end of the city of New Bedford related to the sewage treatment facility located on South Rodney French Boulevard to be referred to the Committee on Appointments and Briefings, the Department of Public Infrastructure, the administration, and the state delegation.
43:31It was referred here on September 26th, 2024.
43:34On October 15th, 2024, it was heard and then tabled.
43:38On May 20th, 2025, it was heard and then tabled.
43:42On May 19th, 2026, it was heard been tabled.
43:445A was a related motion, Councilors Pereira and Gomes, requesting that the administration and the Office of Environmental Stewardship meet with the Committee on Appointments and Briefings to discuss whether a company can be hired to conduct an odor analysis in the south end of the city, and further to report to this committee the amount spent on said analysis and provide a timeline of study and data once an analysis is concluded.
44:09It was referred here from the committee on October 15, 2024.
44:13On May 20, 2025, it was heard and tabled.
44:16On May 19, 2026, it was heard and then tabled.
44:205 and 5A are now before you.
44:21Motion to remove the items from the table.
44:23Thank you.
44:24Motion made by Councilor Pereira, seconded by Councilor Abreu.
44:27All in favor say aye.
44:28Aye.
44:28Opposed?
44:29The ayes have it.
44:30Madam Chair.
44:31Councilor Pereira.
44:32Yes.
44:33Thank you.
44:34Thank you, Madam Chair.
44:35So Just to brief my colleagues, I had many conversations leading up to this meeting.
44:42We're starting to get some more information rolling in that we've requested.
44:47I know that Wendy and Tracy are here.
44:49I spoke with them.
44:50I thank them for coming.
44:51We're still kind of in the fact-finding section.
44:54We've been doing some research, getting some more information.
44:57One piece of information that was a little new nugget that was dropped on the airwaves by the administration was that the only people complaining about the odor were from out of town.
45:09So I guess he probably did not read the petition from the residents of the South End complaining of the odor.
45:14That's first and foremost.
45:15So one request that I did make that I will ask Jim if we have some information on is an odor log.
45:22I spoke with council— my colleague from Ricketts and Ricketts and Straight And, uh, so are you able to provide a list of the odor logs?
45:33I do.
45:33I have a, I have a summary of the 2026 odor complaints here.
45:38Okay, so that's all the complaints that were logged this year?
45:41Everything that's been logged since January of this year till current date.
45:44Perfect.
45:45So, uh, at an appropriate time, before we receive and place anything on file— we haven't got that information yet— I'd like to just go over and read it first.
45:53So I'll get that information tonight from Jim, then we can kind of see where that's going to go.
45:57Um, uh, what I would also like to say is, um, the other, other part of this is ongoing conversations with the Board of Health in regards to just general concerns in the area, um, as we, we look forward, um, to checking out some potentially, uh, health issues in the area too.
46:20That may or may not be related to the sewage treatment plant.
46:23I don't at this time— to my colleagues, Jim is able to provide that odor.
46:28The other item that the commissioner— that's the other item, excuse me— the commissioner said was that very shortly will be some public-facing data regarding the odor monitors installed by— paid for and installed by Veolia.
46:41So we'll have some of that data to be presented, and then we can maybe match that up with the logs and and dive into that further.
46:48Uh, but other than that, I don't have any questions for, uh, Jim.
46:51I just— I'm appreciative that you came and that he has that log for me to receive.
46:56I'll make copies for everyone, and then we can look at that before we, uh, uh, receive and place it on file or make any changes or anything like that.
47:02So thank you, Madam Chair.
47:04I don't know if my colleagues have any questions, but that's it for me.
47:08Thank you.
47:08Councilor Abrams.
47:09Thank you, Madam Chair.
47:10And through you to the Ward 6 Councilor, yes, in that motion that we had filed the last full council meeting.
47:16I do plan on having a hearing expeditiously in the Environmental Affairs Committee, which I'd chair, to go over these logs as well, because it is a problem.
47:25And to his point, he's right.
47:27I heard, I heard what was stated on local radio, and there could be some people from out of town calling.
47:34There could be.
47:35But I get the calls all the time.
47:37I know he does.
47:37I know many others in this room do.
47:39You probably do.
47:39Other at-larges do.
47:41Um, so, and they're residents, they're actual residents of the city.
47:45And I have filed complaints myself.
47:48I— there's no councilor or elected official even in the city that lives southernmost point, closest to that plant than me.
47:56So, um, I think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to these odors.
48:00And it's not all the time, but man, when, when it's there, it's there.
48:04And You know, it's, it's a problem.
48:06So, um, not looking to beat anybody up.
48:08Jimmy, you do a great job.
48:10I appreciate everything you do.
48:11Every time I call you, or Jamie, or Manny, you're right on it.
48:14You really are.
48:15I want the record to reflect that.
48:16You're not asleep at the wheel.
48:18You're always there.
48:19And I appreciate you taking my calls.
48:21So thank you very much.
48:22That's all I wanted to say.
48:23We're going to go over this environmental affairs to Ryan— excuse me, Councilor Pereira's point.
48:28We're going to roll up our sleeves on that, look at the patterns, look at where people are calling from, what the issues are, Now, I do have a question actually for you, Jimmy.
48:36The, the logs that you have, does that include emails as well and elected official calls, or is it just calls into the actual Veolia line?
48:45So it's calls into the Veolia line.
48:47But to use you as an example, Councilor, when you text me or call me, I refer directly to the Veolia folks so that it is logged in that way as well.
48:58And if they have your information or the resident's information or address, um, Edwin makes it a point to visit the house or, or business in question and get— you know, they, they have their SOP that they follow and continue to, to get the data from.
49:14And then Be Connected is connected into this, for lack of a better— okay, good.
49:18Thank you, Jimmy.
49:20Well done.
49:20Thank you, Madam Chair.
49:21That was all.
49:23Thank you.
49:23Councilor Ferreira.
49:25Thank you.
49:25Um, the only other question I had that I forgot to ask is, uh, and I— when I spoke with Commissioner Ponte, I forgot about to mention this as well.
49:33Can we also get a, um, a listing of anyone who reported via NB311 for odor complaints?
49:41Yes, they're on here.
49:43Oh, okay, okay.
49:44And we had one recently that the resident had left their email address.
49:48We reached out to them, made contact Again, the Veolia folks follow their SOP and do what they need to do.
49:55All right, great.
49:56Thank you.
49:56Thank you, Madam Chair.
49:57I'll yield until we can review this data more carefully.
50:01Thank you.
50:02Does anybody else have any more questions?
50:06Thank you.
50:07So we have a couple more invitees on there.
50:09We've got Tracy Wallace and Wendy.
50:12Do you either have anything to say on this?
50:16Okay, okay, all right, sure.
50:20Okay, thank you.
50:21Wendy Morrill, Farm Street.
50:23Uh, I just have a comment, not, not directed towards, um, Jimmy or Jamie or any of them, um, more towards the mayor.
50:32I find it interesting that he went on the radio and made a comment that the only complaints are coming in from outside of the city.
50:38So that begs the question, how far are the odors traveling Just saying.
50:47So yeah, I just wanted to also just give a little bit of information.
50:50You know, Wendy and I are working with a group down in the South End.
50:54We meet with them every other week, and they constantly report what their community is doing and who they're calling, what they're doing, how they're making it known.
51:05And I just wanted to, I guess, ask if the NB Connect app is being looked at as well in logging all of those complaints, because a lot of the people down there are using the NB Connect like the city has been promoting it.
51:25Also, if, if those complaints are just being forwarded to Veolia, then what is the point of even contacting the city?
51:35So like, oh, we're just gonna push them onto the company?
51:39Like, I don't know.
51:40Um, so yeah, it— I guess it seems like there's more that, that really needs to be followed up on and, and done maybe from the city's end.
51:49Okay, thank you.
51:51Anybody have any questions?
51:55Seeing none, thank you.
51:57I'm going to bring you up in a minute for the last thing.
51:59Yeah, I also do know of at least a couple of complaints that were issued during the summer that they called the company directly, the water— the wastewater treatment plant directly, and the person that they reached said, oh, I don't— I don't normally do this.
52:11I have no idea who to refer this to.
52:12So that was concerning as well.
52:16Thank you.
52:19Somebody— Councilor April, actually, one quick question for Wendy before you go.
52:22Wendy, I want to get you on the record on something before you settle in.
52:27I asked this of you last time.
52:28I'll ask you again.
52:29Have you heard from DPH at all?
52:30Has the group heard from DPH?
52:32I know there's been reachouts to the state, and has there been any maneuvering or any movement on that?
52:37No.
52:38So nothing has changed from last time we did this?
52:41No.
52:42Do you expect anything will change?
52:43No.
52:44Thank you.
52:45Thank you, Madam Chair.
52:47Thank you, Councilor Avril.
52:49Any other questions?
52:53Okay, motion to table.
52:55Is that made by Councilor Pereira?
52:57Second by Councilor Roy.
52:58All in favor say aye.
53:00Opposed?
53:00The ayes have it.
53:02Number 6 is now before us.
53:03Number 6 is a written motion.
53:04Councilors Carney, Gomes, Abreu, Oliver, Council President Morad, and Councilors Giester and Marchi requesting that the Committee on Appointments and Briefings meet with Wendy Morrill, uh, from South Coast Neighborhoods United organization and Stephanie Sloan, Director of the Health Department, to speak on the South Coast Renewables LLC, formerly known as Parallel Products of New England, project being proposed for the city of New Bedford.
53:28It was referred here on June 22nd, 2023.
53:30On July 18th, 2023, it was heard and tabled.
53:33On July 17th, 2025, it was heard and tabled.
53:36Number 6 for you, and it's on the table.
53:39I need a motion to remove from the table.
53:41Motion to remove from the table.
53:43Made by Councilor Roy, second by Councilor Lopes.
53:46All in favor say aye.
53:47Opposed?
53:48Opposed?
53:48The ayes have it.
53:56Wendy Moore, Elm Street again.
53:59Thank you so much.
54:00So I know that we've come to the head, and I know you can't say much about anything right now, but whatever you can give us a little update, give it to us, because we had the court date was last week.
54:10So the appeal hearing was on September 3rd.
54:13There was a group of about 17 community members, 2 of which were Councillor Choquette and former Councillor Mourad.
54:21We organized a bus, we all went up, and I can't speak to too much of it because it is a legal proceeding, um, but now we're waiting for the, the judgment from that.
54:35There were questions asked, I guess, for— from the judge for clarity from all of— from all of the parties that were present.
54:42Present were the attorneys for SCR, for the Board of Health, and the Conservation Law Foundation.
54:49So all of them got pretty equal time to state their piece and answer the questions and provide clarity for the judge.
54:57I mean, the hearing lasted over an hour, so there was a lot of information covered even on just a few of the areas that she wanted clarity on.
55:07And I will say that at the end, she recognized that, you know, each of the parties didn't necessarily get to give the soliloquies that they had planned, instead just addressing the questions she asked, but that the hearing was unusually long for that type of a hearing.
55:24And then she also very graciously acknowledged the the community that was present there that was clearly invested in being there and in hearing everything out.
55:34Anything you want to add?
55:41Excellent.
55:42October 23rd, right?
55:44October 23rd.
55:45I believe that the— so I thought it was 30 days.
55:50On the website, it says on the docket Yep.
55:53Decision has to be rendered by October 23rd.
55:55Decision has to be rendered by October 23rd.
55:57Um, so we're just waiting.
56:01It doesn't mean that it will be October 23rd.
56:03It could be any time between now and then, right?
56:06So I'm just hoping that the judge sees that the Board of Health's decision was not arbitrary or capricious and that it had a basis and, and upholds that.
56:18So thank you.
56:21I know that there can't be many questions you can answer.
56:24Is there anything that the council— councils would like to speak on?
56:31Seeing none, thank you for the update.
56:33We're at the end and we just keep our fingers crossed and be happy.
56:38So how would you like to— would you like to keep this on the table?
56:42Okay, second.
56:44Motion made to table item number 6, made by Councilor Pereira, seconded by Councilor Lopes.
56:49All in favor say aye.
56:51Opposed?
56:51The ayes have it.
56:54Yes, I make a motion to waive the readings of items number 7 and 8, refer it out to the full City Council for no further action.
57:01Made by Councilor Pereira, seconded by Councilor Abreu.
57:05All in favor say aye.
57:07Opposed?
57:07The ayes have it.
57:08Motion to adjourn.
57:09Motion made to adjourn, made by Councilor Baptiste.
57:12No, I was just, I was just waving to Manny.
57:16Oh yeah, he was waving at me.
57:21Second by— I second myself.
57:23Yep.
57:24Oh, made the motion Councilor Roy.
57:26Second, second Councilor Haber.
57:28All in favor say aye.
57:30Opposed?
57:30The ayes have it.
57:32Motion to adjourn.
57:35At 7:58.
57:36Thank you very much for coming.