Council Round-Up: Parks to Close at Dusk

Missed the city council meeting this week? No worries – Malden Patch was there, picking up your civic slack. Here's a round-up of their major discussions.

Parks to close by dusk: Ward 4 Councilor Jim Nestor asked for a suspension of docket rules to pass a motion not listed on the agenda: to close any city parks without lights by dusk.

The motion, unanimously approved by the council, will require new signage informing residents of the change and would allow police to remove those in the park after sundown.

“For parks that don't have lights, and there is no after hours activity going on...and it's dark...we're asking that (they close) at dusk instead of 8 to ten o'clock,” Nestor said.

Nestor said that the move was aimed at helping police work in such parks, but did not elaborate on the impetus for the non-listed resolution.

While not expressly referenced by the council, the meeting was their first since Malden Patch ran a story .

The move would likely have an effect on any attempts to start an encampment on public space by the activists. 

The “M” is for “mad”: The council also approved a resolution proffered by Ward 8 Councilor Barbara Murphy, “expressing dissatisfaction” with a proposal by the MBTA to close at least twelve bus routes she said would adversely affect Malden's students and elderly.

“The elimination of those buses is going to have an impact on our schoolchildren going to Malden High School, as well as Salemwood and Forestdale schools,” she told her colleagues.

“It's important that, as a hub of the MBTA and...a city that welcomes commuters from all over the commonwealth into our train station...we get on board with them right now to make sure our citizens locally are adequately serviced – especially as the cost of a ride may be going up.”

The MBTA : one with higher fee increases but fewer closures, and a second scenario, which would favor bus line closures.

Non-profits moving in: The council unanimously moved a proposal to allow Mayor Gary Christenson to enter into a Section 108 loan agreement to help two local non-profits – Bread of Life and the Tri-City Community Action Program – to to commitee.

The property includes office space, pantry storage and dining areas.

Section 108 loan agreements are a program by the federal department of Housing and Urban Development, aimed at securing financing for community development projects.