City Council in brief: New sub shop franchise location gets city approval

A Jersey Mike’s will be replacing the former Wal-Lex Cleaners in the 864 Lexington St. shopping plaza.

The City Council closed the public hearing for the project at Monday’s council meeting. The project has been in front of the Ordinances and Rules committee since January, working out conditions for a special permit to run a fast food establishment.

The project’s lawyer, Mike Connors, told councilors at the Monday meeting that he had accepted some additional edits to the permit from the Law Department, but otherwise had no new updates or changes to present since the Ordinances and Rules Committee preliminarily approved the special permit last week.

Additionally, the council sent the following items to committee:

• A change to City Council rules about its timeline for setting its legislative budget to better align with federal data releases. (Ordinances and Rules)
• A resolution to purchase an empty lot at 67 Crescent Street to create a “pocket park” for the city. (Committee of the Whole)
• A request from Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy to purchase $9,665 in technology products for the City Clerk’s office. (Finance)
• A request from McCarthy for $2.5 million for snow and ice removal expenses from recent storms. (Finance)
• A request from McCarthy for $70,000 for operating expenses for the Veterans Memorial Skating Rink. (Finance)
• A request from McCarthy to accept a $33,295.36 state grant for the Council on Aging. (Finance)
• A request from McCarthy to transfer $1,851 between Emergency Medical Services accounts to pay for upgraded Self Contained Breathing Apparatus bottles for emergency responders. (Finance)
• Further discussion of a public hearing for a proposed hotel at 220 Moody St. (Ordinances and Rules)
• The appointment of Ward 1 Councilor Anthony LaFauci and Ward 5 Councilor Joey LaCava to the Ambulance Services Review Committee.

Prior business

The committee also approved a number of items its committees had preliminarily approved last week, including:

• The appointment of former Councilor-at-Large Kathy McMenimen as an associate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and former police officer John J. O’Connor, III as director of veterans’ services and assistant to the License Commission.
• Accepting grants for the Green Street connector project.
• Funding transfers within the Consolidated Public Works Department, a promotion within the Accounting Department, and the purchase of a new city zamboni.
• Designating the former Phineas Lawrence Elementary School as Recreation Department property so it can construct a new ice rink.
• Preliminarily taking out a loan to create a pool in the Howe Building at the former Fernald State School property.
• Filing away a resolution regulating parking on private ways. The Traffic Commission requested the City Council adopt this resolution last April and has had it on their docket ever since; last week, the Ordinances and Rules Committee determined that the City Council would not be able to enforce such a regulation.