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Special Committee on Special Permits and Licensing — September 17, 2026
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Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
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I would like to call to order this special committee on permits and licensing.
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It is Thursday, September 17th.
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2026 at 6:30 PM in the New Bedford City Council Chambers.
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Note, this meeting is being live streamed and recorded.
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City Council and committee meetings can be viewed on the City of New Bedford's homepage under Quick Links, then Meetings.
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0:48
I am joined by my colleagues in government this evening.
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We have Ward 1 Councilor Leah Choquette, Councilor of Ward 5 Joseph Lopes, and myself, Councilor at Large Ian Abreu and chairman of this committee.
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Thank you all for joining.
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1:00
I'll ask the clerk, are there any letters to be read at this time?
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There is.
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1:02
I have one from Councilor Carney.
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1:04
I'm writing this letter to inform you that I will be late arriving at the Special Committee on Special Permits and Licensing meeting on Thursday, September 17th, 2026, at 6:30 PM due to a prior commitment.
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I ask that you read this letter into the record to make my colleagues and the public aware of the reason for my delayed arrival.
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1:24
Motion received and placed on file, made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
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1:28
Anyone on the question?
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All those in favor say aye.
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1:31
Opposed?
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1:32
The ayes have it.
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1:33
Item number 1 is now before us.
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1:34
Item number 1 is a communication, Mayor Mitchell, to the City Council submitting the appointment of Gerald L. Ribeiro, New Bedford, as a constable.
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1:42
It was referred here on July 16th, 2026.
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1:45
1A is the application, which was referred on the same day.
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1:47
1 and 1A are now before you.
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1:51
Need a motion to receive and place on file.
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1:54
Made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
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Anyone on the question?
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1:57
All those in favor say aye.
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1:59
Opposed?
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The ayes have it.
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2:00
Is Mr. Ribeiro here?
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Take the podium, my friend.
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Give us a little overview of yourself and why you'd like to be a constable here in the city, and then I will open it up to the floor for questions.
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Okay, I am formerly a constable from 2003 to 2005, and I let my license lapse.
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2:24
I was involved in a terrible car accident and So I let it lapse, and a few things happened along the way, and I finally got the gumption to come back and try and do it again.
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2:37
Okay, thank you.
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2:40
Uh, colleagues, questions for this applicant?
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2:42
Chair recognizes Councilor Lopes.
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2:43
So, Mr. Ribeiro, you answered one of my questions.
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2:45
You already have the experience as a constable.
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2:47
Yes.
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2:48
Are you going to do this on your own, or are you going to work with somebody else as you start up again?
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2:53
I'm going to try— I'm going to start off on my own.
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2:55
But I do know a few constables that I'd like to work with.
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2:59
Okay.
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3:00
Because a lot's changed in 22 years.
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3:02
So that's my only thing, is that a lot has changed in 22 years.
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So I don't want you to be in a situation where a simple mistake, something that you could do in 2001 or '02, you're no longer allowed to do in 2026.
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3:14
Yeah, I understand.
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That's my only concern.
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3:16
All right.
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3:17
So thank you.
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You have my support.
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Thank you, I appreciate it.
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3:20
Thank you.
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Thank you, Councilor.
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3:21
The chair would like to acknowledge that we have now been joined by Councilor at Large Naomi Carney.
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3:26
Thank you, madam.
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3:26
The chair recognizes Councilor Choukout on his first.
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3:28
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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3:29
Good evening, sir.
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3:31
Um, just curious, um, do you have any other, uh, law enforcement experience?
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3:36
I'm just constable previously.
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3:39
Okay, no, no, that's fine.
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3:40
I just— I wasn't sure if there was anything prior that you needed for that.
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3:45
No, no, sir.
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3:46
No.
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Okay.
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3:48
All right, um, I have no further questions.
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3:51
That's it.
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3:51
Thank you, Councilor.
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3:53
Anything else from the floor for this applicant?
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All right, seeing none, colleagues, a motion referred to the full council for positive recommendations made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
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Anyone on the question?
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All those in favor say aye.
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Opposed?
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The ayes have it.
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4:14
So Mr. Ribeiro, this will be referred out to the full New Bedford City Council for a final ratification vote at our September 24th— Thursday, September 24th, next Thursday— full council meeting.
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So you don't have to be here, but if you want to come to watch the final vote, that will make it official.
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Okay, 7 PM here on the 24th.
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4:33
7 PM?
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4:34
Yes, sir.
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Thank you, sir.
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All right, have a great evening.
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4:36
Thank you.
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Appreciate it.
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4:38
Thank you, sir.
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All right.
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4:40
Oh, that's okay, Mr.
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4:43
Clerk.
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All right, so we have item 2 now before us.
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Item number 2 is a communication.
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4:47
City Clerk, Clerk of the City Council, to the City Council, submitting a petition by Mark DeCambrous of Somerset, Massachusetts, doing business as SideQuest Complete, 127 West Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford, Mass., requesting a waiver of residency in accordance with the Section 15-38 on the city code to obtain a license to deal in junk, old metals, or any other second-handed articles.
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5:12
It was referred here on August 25th, 2026.
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Number 2 is now before you.
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Motion made to receive and place this on file, made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
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Anyone on the question?
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All those in favor say aye.
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Opposed, the ayes have it.
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5:27
I assume you have missed it, DeCambra.
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Take the podium, sir.
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5:34
Similar to the first applicant, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you're looking to do, and then we'll open it up for questions.
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5:40
So my name is Mark DeCambra of Somerset, Massachusetts.
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My business partner and I own a small toy shop in the Kilburn Mill.
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We've been open for about 1 year.
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I just recently moved from Taunton to Somerset, so I had to reapply for for the waiver of residence.
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6:00
Okay, thank you, sir.
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6:01
Colleagues, Councilor Lopes.
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6:04
So thank you for the additional information that the reason why you're here is because you, you relocated your primary residence.
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6:09
Can you just give the general public a little brief overview of what you sell at the store and why you need the license?
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6:15
I'm sorry, can you give an overview of why you need the license to sell the junks and old metals?
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What kind of business you operate?
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6:20
Um, so we're a secondhand toy store.
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So we, you know, buy and sell, you know, vintage toys, video games and the like.
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6:30
So that's what the— how many years have you been there again?
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6:33
Just one year.
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So last August we opened.
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6:36
Yeah, perfect.
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I remember— I thought I remembered the name from last year.
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I wasn't 100% sure.
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Okay.
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Well, thank you for the additional information.
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All set, Councilor?
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Yes, sir.
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Thank you, sir.
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6:47
Anyone else for this applicant?
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6:48
Chair recognizes Councilor Chilcotinis first.
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Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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6:52
Thank you for coming in tonight, sir.
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6:53
I have a very important question.
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6:56
Do you sell Star Wars stuff?
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I have some Star Wars stuff.
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7:00
Like this stuff?
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Yeah, we have some Pops, Funko Pops, and we have some vintage '90s stuff.
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7:06
Nice.
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7:07
Oh, that's cool.
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7:08
It sounds like your store is one of these places I could go in and just waste 3 hours of my life wandering around looking at all the cool stuff.
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7:16
Yeah, that's the part.
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We have the perfect place for that.
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All right, cool.
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7:21
All right, well, thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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Thank you, Councilor Choquette.
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Anyone else on their first or second for this applicant?
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7:28
Make a motion to refer to the full City Council with a positive recommendation.
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Motion for a positive recommendation to the full council made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
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Anyone on the question?
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All those in favor say aye.
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Opposed?
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The ayes have it.
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7:42
So, Chair, before you read item number 3, I've talked to Stephanie Sloan as well as Eric Jakes, our city solicitor.
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7:48
Unless we see motions from this committee to refer indoor cannabis consumption licenses, I'll leave this item tabled for the time being.
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All right, so hold on, I will hold it before— no, it's the same thing I was going to say, but then, um, he's, he's gone.
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8:07
So same thing for him, September 24th.
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8:09
So Council, before we actually go to that, we do have a We do have a communication that we need to receive and place on file submitted by Police Chief Jason Thode regarding this item.
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Make a motion to receive and place on file the communication made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Choquette.
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8:23
Anyone on the question?
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All in favor say aye.
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Opposed, the ayes have it.
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8:26
I'll ask the clerk to read this just into the record so folks know what the police chief had to say about this.
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8:32
I am writing regarding matter 0179, a motion requesting that the City Council engage in the appropriate city department heads to explore the feasibility of permitting on-site tobacco consumption, commonly referred to as cigar lounges.
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Unfortunately, representatives from the New Bedford Police Department will be unable to attend the upcoming City Council meeting concerning this matter.
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We nevertheless appreciate the opportunity to provide input as the city considers this issue.
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The police department remains available to work collaboratively with the City Council, the Health Department, Planning Department, City Solicitor, and the Mayor's Office as the proposal is further evaluated.
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9:07
From a public safety and enforcement perspective, the department would be particularly interested in any proposed regulations addressing the hours of operation, occupancy, security measures, age verification, alcohol service if available, parking and traffic impacts, and compliance with existing state and local laws and regulations.
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The department would also welcome the opportunity to review any proposed licensing or permitting requirements before implementation.
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9:31
We respectively request that this letter be included in the record for the matter of 0179.
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Although we are unable to attend the meeting, the department remains willing to participate in any subsequent discussions, hearings, or working sessions regarding the feasibility and regulation of cigar lounges within the city.
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Respectively submitted by Jason Thodey, Chief of Police, New Bedford Police Department.
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9:52
All right, thank you, Mr.
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Clerk.
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9:53
So at this time, I'll recognize Councilor Lopes.
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9:54
The floor is yours, sir.
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9:57
As I stated before we read the letter into the record, I had a conversation with Stephanie Sloan earlier today.
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10:02
I made her aware that since there's no pending motion in front of the body to allow for cannabis consumption or the permitting for indoor cannabis consumptions at this time, we'll table this item.
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As to me, they correlate one for another.
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If we're going to allow indoor cannabis sales, then we should allow indoor tobacco sales, an equal number of licenses, as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts already allows municipalities through the Board of Health to allow or permit indoor tobacco licenses in their municipality, but that authority falls strictly within the Board of Health's privy, even though it is allowed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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10:37
So your motion is to table, made by Councilor Lopes.
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10:39
Do I have a second?
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10:40
It's already been tabled.
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10:42
No, it has not.
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10:43
Okay, I'm sorry.
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10:44
Councilor Lopes.
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Seconded by— well, you know, it's on the table.
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10:49
You know what, it's still on the table, so we're going to leave it on the table.
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10:51
Yeah, we'll leave it on the table.
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Leave the item on the table.
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10:53
We'll leave it on the table.
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10:54
All right, so seeing there's no other business before us, a motion to adjourn is appropriate, made by Councilor Lopes, seconded by Councilor Carney.
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All those in favor say aye.
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Opposed?
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The ayes have it.
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We are adjourned at 6:41 PM.
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Have a great evening, everyone.
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