Wednesday, June 29, 2011
A look at Tuesday night's City Council action.
At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, the Economic Development Committee and full council took the last step in the process of authorizing the Malden Redevelopment Authority to develop a downtown urban renewal plan. Renewal discussions have been ongoing for nearly a decade, and National Grid's planned move from its downtown facility will make a future project a reality, according to Mayor Richard Howard. Howard and the Malden Redevelopment Authority Director Stephen Wishoski were on hand to provide support for the plan. Mayor Howard said it was a "once in a hundred year opportunity." Wishoski explained that the authority would research all potential uses for the site and would come back to the City Council in the fall to present the…
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Malden's ailing, century old water mains have led to reduced water pressure and compromised hydrants across the city.
After nearly a century of service, Malden's water mains are in need of replacement. The city will use a combination of state funding and borrowing to complete the work. The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow Mayor Richard Howard to seek up to $6.75 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for the purpose of replacing Malden’s water mains. Last year, Malden was award $6.6 million by the state fund and is in the process of replacing six miles of water mains. An additional $6.7 million would allow Malden to replace approximately six to seven more miles. Approximately 40 miles of Malden’s water mains were installed between 1900-1930, and some date as far back as 1890. Department of Engineering, Planning, and …
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A look at the June 28 City Council and committee meetings.
There’s a full City Council meeting scheduled for tonight, but the docket is pretty bare. The subcommittees, however, will be busy. The full council is currently scheduled to act on a couple of items, including an adjustment to marijuana law enforcement in the city, giving police more power to disband groups smoking marijuana. Officers have felt stymied since Massachusetts effectively decriminalized possession of small amount of marijuana, according to the paper’s sponsor, Ward Four Councilor James Nester. The new provision would give officers the right to break up groups smoking pot in public. The Economic Development Committee will consider last week’s motion to have the Malden Redevelopment Authority create an urban renewal plan for …
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Monday, June 20, 2011
Council set to order MRA to file urban renewal plan for the site. Move may help private groups' effort to build a baseball stadium on the site.
Buried in the City Council agenda for Tuesday night is an innocuous-looking motion that could significantly change the make-up of Malden Center. Ward One City Councilor Gary Christenson has filed a motion ordering the Malden Redevelopment Authority to file an urban renewal plan for the property bound by Route 60, Commercial Charles and Canal streets. That encompassed the entire National Grid site and three smaller parcels. According to Christenson, National Grid sent the city a letter outlining is relocation plan. The company will consolidate its Malden operations at its Medford Street location. National Grid plans to vacate Commercial Street by the spring of 2012. “[National Grid] in a letter dated June 14 announced that the move would be…
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Friday, June 17, 2011
A look at who's running for office in Malden.
After months of announcements, declarations and hinted intentions, Malden's 2011 election season officially kicked off June 14, when City Clerk Karen Anderson opened the nomination period. As of Friday afternoon, 30 candidates had taken out nomination papers. Most had previously declared their intention to run, though there are a few new names in the list. Two people—mayoral candidate Deb Fallon and Ward Eight challenger William Roderick—have already submitted names for consideration by Anderson's office. Below is the most up-to-date information on who's running and who's not in Malden's 2011 election. All names in each ward are listed alphabetically, and incumbents are marked with an asterisk. Nomination papers for all offices aren't …
Cites experience, service while councilor.
- ELECTIONS
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Friday, June 17, 2011
[Editor’s note: The following was submitted by Barbara Murphy.] My name is Barbara Murphy and I am announcing my candidacy for re-election as your Ward Five City Councillor. It is amazing how quickly time has passed since inauguration day January 2010. During this time I have enjoyed meeting residents, listened intently to understand needs and solve issues, and worked diligently to address the fundamental challenges of running the City of Malden. I believe I have added both a common sense and business savvy approach to leading the city and positioning Malden to be a place that we can all be proud to call home. During my tenure, I have steadfastly focused on my campaign vision “to make Malden a community of strong neighborhoods where …
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
How to fund parks, schools and a potential new fire station split the City Council Tuesday night.
City Councilors were split over recent borrowing by the city, leading to a tense and protracted debate over how to fund a new fire station near Maplewood, repairs to schools and whether the city should claw back bonding for Malden’s parks and recreational facilities. The discussion dominated the council’s Tuesday night meeting. Councilor-At-Large Deb Fallon made a motion to refer the recent bonding by the city back to the Finance Committee for reprioritization. Fallon said the review is warranted to make sure funding is available for a new east side fire station and for school repairs. “Maybe we should go back to the table and look at some of the projects that maybe we can look at in the future in favor of more immediate projects, whether …
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Tuesday, June 7, 2011
A look at Tuesday's City Council agenda.
After months of wrangling over process, the full City Council will debate creating a Chief Financial Officer position in Malden. Most councilors support the creation of the position, which would create one financial manager for the city. The move was originally planned as a bulwark against corruption and embezzlement in the wake of the Assistant Treasurer scandal in 2009. The Finance Committee was deadlocked over who would hire or fire the CFO, who would report to the new finance chief, and whether the new position is needed at all. On one side, several councilors want the City Council to appoint the CFO, just as they hire the Treasurer in the current financial structure. Other councilors want the mayor to appoint the CFO since the finance…
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Friday, November 26, 2010
Several councilors think parking permits will decrease crime and increase revenue for the city
After a series of community forums on public safety around the city, several Malden City Councilors are considering expanding overnight permit parking to deter crime and potentially raise revenue for the city. This issue was last raised by the council in 2005, but councilors were split on moving forward. At Tuesday's city council meeting, councilors unanimously approved a motion to hold a joint committee between the city council and the traffic commission to discuss the idea. Councilor Gary Christenson said that many of the crimes and drug activity happening in the city are being trafficked in by non-residents. "This might help us with a multitude of issues," Christenson said, regarding the permit parking situation. He said the issue could…
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Council seeks cost savings and greater control over city job vacancies
In an effort to streamline Malden's financial operations, the Malden City Council has made a recommendation to the finance committee to explore hiring a chief financial officer (CFO) for the city. Councillor Gary Christenson said creating a CFO role would be a "less costly, more efficient and organizationally sound structure." The CFO would be responsible for managing personnel in both the treasurer's and controller's office. Christenson advocates for the CFO to report directly to the mayor instead of the city council (where the treasurer and controller positions currently report). The mayor would have full-time oversight over the role. Hiring a CFO to replace the controller and treasurer roles would also offer a substantial cost savings…
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Rick O'Shea
2:21 pm on Friday, July 1, 2011
Yet another ordinance passed because they don’t like the fact that decriminalization passed? I’m glad there are no other pressing issues that need addressing in this city. Any details on what they are up to now? I am curious why they needed an amendment for groups when it already covered individuals. Only a 2009 document is up on the website now. See SECTION 7.25 http://www.cityofmalden.org/… more ›