City Council — January 22, 2026

How we do?

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

It is Thursday, January 22nd, 2026, at 7:00 PM.

Um, opening of the session of the City Council will be by myself, City Council President Ryan Pereira, and At this time, I will ask Pastor Morgan Proudfoot of the Grace Harbor Church to lead us in prayer.

Pastor, thank you for the great privilege of praying tonight.

It's my joy and honor.

I really am glad to be here.

Also, just want to let you know our church prays for you guys regularly.

Thank you for the way you selfishly serve our city.

Let's, let's pray.

Our God, we pray to you tonight and we confess that we need your help.

In the days that we live, it seems often as if every leadership decision is scrutinized without compassion and magnified under microscopes.

And we often admit that we, we don't always get every decision right.

And so this evening, God, we pray for wisdom.

Would you infuse these men and these women, these leaders of our city, with the wisdom that is not common but that is divine?

Would you, would you lead them to make decisions that lead to the flourishing of our city?

Every man, woman, and child, from its residents to its immigrants, God, would you cause the city to flourish, we pray.

Would you remind us of what your word says in Jeremiah 29:7, that when the well-being of the city is intact, it'll be a place where the— all of its peoples thrive and flourish.

And so this evening, God, we pray that you would cause our city to flourish, and I pray that we would do that through leadership that leads to its well-being, that makes hard decisions for its good.

God, would you give us wisdom, we pray this evening.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

We will be led by the— in the Pledge of Allegiance by Ward 2 City Councilor Scott Pemberton.

I pledge allegiance to the flag 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, Mr. President.

Thank you, Councilor.

I would like to note that 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 click Meetings.

I am joined in the City Council chamber this evening by my colleagues, Councillor at Large Ian Abreu, Councillor of Ward 2 Scott Pemberton, Councillor of Ward 1 Leo Chowkat, Councillor of Ward 5 Joseph Lopes, Councillor at Large Brian Gomes, Councillor at Large James Roy, Councillor at Large Naomi Carney, Councillor of Ward 3 Sean Oliver, Councillor at Large Shane Burgill.

I'll ask the clerk if there are any communications to read into the record.

There are none, Mr. President.

Okay, we'll move to the hearings portion.

I'll ask the clerk to read item number 1.

Mr. President, item 1 is a petition from Verizon of New England Incorporated for the location of conduit at the intersection of County Street and Allen Street.

This work is necessary to provide electric service to a node attached to a light pole for wireless service.

Note, police details will be engaged while the work is being completed, and 1A is the order.

Motion to receive and place on file and open the public hearing.

Second.

Motion to receive and place on file and open the public hearing made by Councilor Oliver, seconded by Councilor Burgo.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

Um, from Verizon, if you would state your name please for the record.

Uh, James DeOturando representing Verizon New England.

Okay, and if you would give us a brief overview of the project.

Sure.

So Verizon is petitioning to intercept an existing conduit heading north on County Street and place approximately 6 feet of 4-inch conduit to meet an extant handhole.

And this is to provide service to a wireless node at the light pole on the northwest corner of County Street and Allen Street.

Are there any questions?

The chair would recognize Councilor Lopes.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

President, um, how long is the work expected to last to start with?

Uh, it should be a single day's work.

Single day's work.

And I know it says there will be a police detail, but you are going to arrange for a police detail because that intersection is heavily traveled?

Busy one, yes.

Yes.

So one day's work and, and there will be a police detail?

Yes.

Perfect.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor.

Chair recognizes Councilor Abreu.

Mr. Chairman, those are the exact same 2 questions I was going to ask, and then they've been answered.

Thank you.

I'll yield.

Thank you.

Colleagues, any other questions at this time for the petitioner?

Okay, seeing none, this is a public hearing, so members of the public, anyone who would like to speak in favor of this project, speak in favor.

Anyone of the public who wishes to be recorded in favor?

Would anyone like to speak in opposition of the item?

Speak in opposition.

Would anyone like to be recorded in opposition?

Be recorded in our possession.

Seeing none, the motion has been made to close the public hearing by Councillor Abreu, seconded by Councillor Oliver.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Opposed, the ayes have it.

Your pleasure, colleagues.

Motion to adopt the order has been made by Councillor Abreu, seconded by Councillor Lopes.

Any discussion on adoption?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, the ayes have it.

Thank you very much.

Colleagues, without objection, the chair will take items 2 and 3 together.

They are petitions for work being done on the same street by Eversource.

Okay, without objection, I'll ask the clerk to read items 2 and 3.

Mr. President, item 2 is a petition from NSTAR Electric Company doing business as Eversource Energy for the location of one handhole and approximately 70 feet of conduit in Walnut Street.

This work is necessary to provide upgraded service to Walnut Street.

2A is the order.

And item 3 is also a petition from Enstar Electric Company doing business as Eversource Energy for the location of approximately 38 feet of conduit in Walnut Street.

This work is necessary to provide electric service to 198 Walnut Street, and 3A is the order.

Motion to open the public hearing has been made by Councilor Oliver, seconded by Councilor Chokat.

Any discussion on opening the public hearing?

All those in favor say aye.

Opposed, the ayes have it.

Jessica, good evening.

Good evening, Mr. President and members of the City Council.

Jessica Elder representing Eversource.

As again, thank you for having me this evening.

Um, so these 2 jobs, although they're both on Walnut Street, are, uh, 2 different work orders, just so you know.

Um, so we have one that is, uh, we're requesting, which is work order 22498240, where we're installing one handhold labeled 8000/1390E and approximately 70 feet of conduit.

And it's going in the right-of-way on Walnut Street.

It's underground service for the customer at 242 Walnut Street.

Work shouldn't take more than a day, 2 days maximum.

I don't think it will take 2 days.

But a detail will definitely be necessary and we will request one, obviously, to make the area safe.

So on that, Chair recognizes Councilor Gomes.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Will, um, you be blocking off the entire street?

I haven't been notified.

One-way street, so that's why I'm asking that.

Okay, I haven't been notified that the entire street will be blocked off.

I can get that information, uh, and get back to someone.

It's just important for the redirection of traffic and to make sure.

So are you requesting a detailed police officer?

Yes, but are you requesting that it not be blocked?

No, I am, I, I am just asking if, okay, it's going to entail the whole street for the time, because what, as I said, Walnut is a one-way, um, street.

So on this particular one, we're actually going on the side, we're not going across the street.

So they— okay, okay, okay.

All right.

And how about the other one?

And so the other one, we are going across the street.

This one is on the corner of Walnut Street and Pleasant Street.

I think it's going to be the customer at Pace.

The, um, I think that's where it's provided for.

So we're going from a manhole that's already existing, um, and coming across Walnut Street over to Pleasant Street, which is right where the customer is installing their own handhold.

So you'll be working on Pleasant and Walnut, right?

Pleasant.

And so we'll have a detail, very little unpleasant, mostly on Walnut.

Mostly on Walnut.

Yeah.

So most likely you will block off Walnut there.

The entire street while the work gets done.

Yeah, that's because we're going completely across the street, so that's just as long as— but we'll definitely get a detail as well.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Councilor.

Anyone else?

Okay, seeing none, this is a public hearing, um, similar to one— there's 2 items before us, so I will ask the general public if anyone would like to speak in favor, speak in favor of this item.

To be recorded in favor of this item.

Recorded in favor.

To speak in opposition.

To speak in opposition.

To be recorded in opposition.

To be recorded in opposition.

Okay, colleagues, motion to close the public hearing.

Motion to close the public hearing made by Councillor Oliver, seconded by Councillor Burgot.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

Adoption of the audits 2 and 3.

A motion to adopt orders 2 and 3 made by Councilor Gomes, seconded by Councilor Lopes.

Any discussion on adoption?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, the ayes have it.

Move on to mayor's papers.

I'll ask the clerk to read item M1.

Mr. President, M1 is a communication from Mayor Mitchell to the city council submitting a loan order appropriating $12,610,194 for the purpose of making critically needed repairs to city-owned buildings, including but not limited to projects for the repair and renovation of public safety facilities, recreational facilities, general office space, replacement of capital equipment and vehicles, and roads and infrastructure improvements.

M1A is the loan order.

Motion to receive and place on file, refer to Committee on Finance.

Second.

Second.

Motion to refer to the Committee on Finance made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Carney.

Any discussion on referral?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, the ayes have it.

We're on to new business now.

Without objection, uh, to the makers of the next 2 motions, if we could read them together and take them together.

If there's no objections— no objections.

Okay, I'll ask the clerk to read item 4 and 5 together.

Mr. President, item 4 is a written motion from Councilor Gomes requesting that the city council go on record opposing the sale of nitrous oxide canisters and cylinders within the city to anyone under the age of 21.

And further requesting that the Committee on Ordinances draft an ordinance to ban the sale of nitrous oxide containers and cylinders in New Bedford.

This request is made in light of the increasing use and the serious and devastating effects associated with it.

Item 5, Mr. President, is a written motion from Councillors Abreu, Choquette, and Pemberton requesting that the Committee on Ordinances consider drafting an ordinance prohibiting the sale of nitrous oxide-related products to individuals under the age of 21 within the city of New Bedford.

In response to growing public health and safety concerns surrounding the misuse of nitrous oxide, commonly sold as whipped cream chargers or similar products, which can cause serious neurological, respiratory, and long-term health harms, particularly, particularly among youth, and to ensnare appropriate— and to ensure appropriate enforcement provisions and any necessary exemptions for legitimate commercial or medical use are considered.

Motion to refer items 4 and 5 to the Committee on Ordinances, the Mitchell Administration, the Health Department Director Stephanie Sloan, Police Chief Jason Thode, and City Solicitor Eric Jakes, made by Councilor Abreu, seconded by Councilor Choquette.

Any discussion?

The chair recognizes Councilor Abreu.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, and You know, those who know me in this room know that I'm as pro-small business as they come, being one myself.

But being pro-small business obviously has its limitations and its limits when it comes to the health, safety, and wellness of the community, in particular the youth of the city.

We've been seeing the growing trends, unfortunately, of the use of— misuse of these nitrous oxide containers We saw an unfortunate incident that happened which resulted in a loss of life a few weeks ago here in the city, which unfortunately was linked to— so we're being told right now anyway through the investigation— the misuse of these products.

You know, I'm trying to be as common sense with this measure as I can.

I know we would delve into this in the Committee on Ordinances, so my colleagues, um, vote in the affirmative for this tonight, for this both of these items to go to the Committee on Ordinances where we can do the work and really kind of delve into this and roll up our sleeves.

But I think the premise of an ordinance like this, and for me anyway, and I know others may want to speak, for this motion addresses a couple of key items that I have just jotted down here in my notes.

It addresses, number one, the growing public safety concern that I just talked about, recreational misuse of the nitrous oxide.

It's often marketed innocently, which we all know, as whipped cream charges, but kids are buying them, the youth are buying them, and it's become more prevalent nationwide.

So this ordinance is more of a proactive, not a reactive response.

That was point one in my impetus for wanting to put this forward.

Number 2, in my opinion, it'll reduce some emergency and healthcare burdens.

Misuse can lead to obviously emergency room calls, hospitalizations, long-term medical treatment, use of our New Bedford EMS, fire, police if you have to dial 911, there's a medical emergency related to this.

So that cuts that down.

That's point 2.

Point 3, this will support law enforcement with clear standards.

I think, as I had written in my motion that was sponsored by a couple other of my colleagues, by clearly defining the age restrictions like I had written, and I know the previous motion as well has the same language pretty much, for listing it as anyone under 21 years old.

By clearly defining age restrictions in this ordinance, um, we're giving law enforcement some mechanisms, and it gives police and regulators clear authority and guidance, and it avoids any ambiguity.

And this can hopefully improve compliance among our retailers.

And point 4, as to why I wanted to put this forward, um, I think it balances safety with legitimate use, in my opinion.

I think the motion calls for exemptions, as you can see here, for medical, culinary, and commercial uses, ensuring that businesses or healthcare providers are not unfairly impacted or targeted, or adults making adult decisions.

So that's kind of why I wanted to put this forward.

I think it's definitely worth a conversation with the growing national problem, which we've seen it unfortunately happen here locally.

And I thank you for the time, Mr. President.

I know I'm a little over my time.

You gave me a little extra, which I appreciate, but I think this warranted some really good discussion.

So with that, I'll yield at this time.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Councilor.

The chair recognizes Councilor Choquette.

Good evening.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Echo the sentiments of the esteemed colleague from Rickerson Street.

I was shocked at the loss of life on New Year's Eve.

Ms. Ventura Collage lost her life tragically, and unfortunately, we can't bring her back.

But it is my hope that something like this will never happen again.

So we had a 16-year-old kid, okay, couldn't get alcohol.

Apparently couldn't get marijuana because you're not 21, so you can't get alcohol without being 21, you can't get marijuana without being 21.

But you can walk into, and I won't say which store, but there's plenty of them on Accushnet Avenue, and right in the display case you've got these industrial-sized cans of Jet Whip.

And right on it, it says nitrous oxide for culinary use only.

So I don't mean to come across as smarmy, but Mr. Henry Waner doesn't buy his culinary Jet Whip from the gas station, okay?

A chef doesn't buy this stuff at the gas station.

This is obviously packaged and used and, and sold at a head shop for inhalant abuse.

And my colleague from Ricketson Street indicated that, you know, there's all this medical stuff going on where You know, this will damage your brain, obviously.

You know, nitrous oxide is the stuff they used to dilute and give to people for, you know, tooth extraction.

It's some strong stuff.

I mean, it'll knock you into next week for about 5 minutes.

So there is no way somebody under the age of 21 should be able to purchase this.

And it's my hope that we will send this to committee.

We'll talk about it, put some restrictions in there.

Hopefully it doesn't hurt small business owners too much, but we have to make sure that what happened on New Year's Eve never happens again.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Choquette.

Colleagues, any other— anyone else on their question?

Okay, seeing none, the motion before us is to refer to the Committee on Ordinances, Mitchell Administration Health Department Police Chief and City Solicitor.

It's been made and duly seconded.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

I will ask the clerk to read item number 6.

Motion to receive and place on file and refer to the Committee on Appointments and Briefings.

Second.

A motion to refer the item to the Committee on Appointments and Briefing was made by Councilor Oliver, seconded by Councilor Carney.

Anyone on the question?

Chair recognizes Councilor Oliver.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Um, I'll be brief.

Um, I— as you notice, I've put this motion forward and it is not in Ward 3.

I normally don't stick my nose in other wards' businesses, but, um, the, the residents were asking for a forum and I saw this as, um, an alternative in which to provide that for them.

I know that they— my colleague from Ward 1 is going to be having a more informal session where folks in the neighborhood can speak at one of the neighborhood meetings.

But obviously there seemed to be some miscommunication as far as the knowledge that these folks had regarding an ordinance meeting.

I know that there were some attempts a couple of weeks ago to either send the ordinance back or table it or whatever.

But as we discussed then, that would hinder some time restraints that we had and would derail the, the whole thing completely.

And all the time, effort, and, and dollars really that went into crafting that ordinance would have been wasted.

So this is a mechanism that we have where we can invite the citizens in of that neighborhood that have some concerns around the ordinance that has kind of been, um, tagged as the China buffet ordinance.

This isn't the China buffet ordinance.

It's an ordinance that we are looking to adopt citywide, and I hope that having a more broad discussion about it will help clarify some of that and also again provide citizens of that neighborhood the opportunity to voice their concerns surrounding that.

So, um, that's it.

I hope that my colleagues will consider sending it to appointments and briefings so we can hear from the neighborhood, um, as we know that they, you know, they're unhappy with what, what has, I guess, transpired.

So thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you, Councilor Oliver.

Chair recognizes Councilor Choukat.

Good evening again, Mr. President.

Um, Thank you.

I would like to thank my esteemed colleague from Ward 3.

Thank you.

So the motion speaks for itself.

We need to have a forum for the neighbors of those streets— Ohio, Jerry, Maryland, Raymond, etc.— who felt as though they were left out of this process.

And what, uh, the Ward 3 councilor alluded to is that I'm also going to have a meeting on the coming Tuesday, January 27th, at 6 PM at Pulaski School.

But this is going to be a separate meeting for appointments and briefings that we would have according to, uh, Councilor, uh, Councilor Oliver, um, on Yeah, well, it'd be prior to the 12th.

It'd be actually next Wednesday, if I'm correct.

So anyway, we need to make sure that we've given these folks as many, you know, times to speak as possible.

I'll handle that first part.

I'm asking— in my meeting, I'm asking for the council to allow us to have this meeting in the motion as written by Councilor Oliver.

We know there's a lot of passion behind this, and whether or not any of you agree or disagree is not the issue.

The purpose is to let folks speak.

This is the people's house.

Again, respect to Councilor Gomes.

I'm not trying to steal his famous line, but he's absolutely right.

And in the people's house, the people must be allowed to speak.

So I would recommend that we allow this to be voted upon, and I thank you for your time.

Thank you, Councillor Choukat.

Anyone else on the question?

Okay, the item is for referral to the Committee on Appointments and Briefings.

It's been made and duly seconded.

All those in favor say aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

I'll ask the clerk to read item 7.

Mr. President, item 7 is a written motion from Council President Pereira requesting that the City Council adopt the attached proposed ordinance relative to City Council committees.

7A is the ordinance.

Motion to pass to a second reading has been made by Councilor Burgos, seconded by Councilor Lopes.

Any discussion on the item before us?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

I'll ask the clerk to read in number 8, please.

Mr. President, item 8 is a written motion from Councilor Gomes Request that the Committee on Appointments and Briefings meet with the Archdiocese of Boston's Planning Office for Urban Affairs to discuss the project timeline and proposed design plan for the former St. Killian's Church property on Ashley Boulevard.

8A is the project timeline and design plan.

Meeting on Appointments and Briefings.

Second.

A motion to refer to the Committee on Appointments and Briefings been made by Councilor Gomes, seconded by Councilor Carney.

Any discussion on the item before us?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

I will ask the clerk to read item number 9, please.

Mr. President, item 9 is a communication from Anne Laurel, the preservation planner, to the council regarding a building demolition review of Hathaway Road, Map 121, Lot 202, formerly part of 805 Hathaway Road.

This is a circa 1938 wood-framed barn garage structure And it's advising that the structure is associated with the Seth Hathaway family and is representative of the city's 19th century agricultural activities.

The structure is not located within a National Register Historic District.

The structure is of no notable historic significance, either recorded or found with the existing condition of the structure.

In light of these findings, the preservation planner has determined that the wood-framed barn garage structure located on Hathaway Road is neither historically significant nor is it be preserved.

Motion to receive and place on file and grant the demolition.

A motion to grant the demolition made by Councilor Oliver, seconded by Councilor Burgo.

Any discussion on granting the demolition?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

I'll ask the clerk to read item number 10.

Mr. President, item 10 is communication from the clerk to the City Council submitting an application for a new private livery license on behalf of Suzette Rosa de Pina and doing business as TS Suzette Transportation at 38 Trinity Street in New Bedford.

This license will expire on June 30th of this year.

Motion to receive and place on file and refer to Committee on Appointments and Briefings.

Second.

Motion to refer to the Committee on Appointments and Briefings made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Oliver.

Any discussion on referral?

All those in favor say aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

I'll ask the clerk to read item number 11.

Mr. President, item 11 is communication from the city clerk to the council submitting an application for a new private livery license on behalf of Christopher Okafor, doing business as Kick Transportation at 27 Mattie Drive in New Bedford.

This license will also expire on June 30th of this year.

Councilors, I will just add that, uh, This, this applicant has had liquor licenses in the past.

He just let his license lapse last year, so it's technically a new license, but he's been before you before.

So this will receive and place on file and grant the license.

A motion to grant the license made by Councilor Oliver, seconded by Councilor Pemberton.

Any discussion on the item before us?

Chair recognizes Councilor Gomes.

Um, through you to the clerk, um, When that license expired, was he aware that it expired, or he just— he, he decided to take a year off is what he told our office, Councilor.

Okay, okay, thank you.

You're welcome.

Thank you.

So the, the motion before us is to grant, uh, to approve the license.

It's been made and duly seconded.

Anyone else on their— on the question?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

Second.

Motion to take up and adopt the consent agenda made by Councilor Abreu, seconded by Councilor Carney.

Any discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

Motion to adjourn made by Councilor Burgo, seconded by Councilor Oliver.

Any discussion on adjournment?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

We are adjourned at 7:29 PM.

Thank you.

Yeah, baby.