Aldermen Wrap Up Work Before Summer Break

The Melrose Board of Aldermen, in its last full board meeting before summer break — and its last meeting before the turn of the fiscal year on July 1 — took care of some financial housekeeping items and took final votes on items before the board's committees over the past week.

Having already discussed a proposed budget addition at length last week during an Appropriations Committee meeting, none of the aldermen offered additional comments or debate before voting 8-1 in favor of the order, with Alderman at-Large Ron Seaboyer again the lone 'no' vote, mirroring the Appropriations Committee vote. Ward 3 Alderman and President Frank Wright and Ward 1 Alderman John Tramontozzi were absent at Monday's meeting.

The order would give $15,000 back to the Melrose Public Schools for the purpose of purchasing one FOSS (Full Option Science System) science kit for each of the five Melrose elementary schools, at a cost of $3,000 per kit. Another $18,000 would go to sidewalk repairs and $2,000 would go the veterans services' department.

Three orders requesting transfers were "essentially balancing the books matters," according to Alderman at-Large Paul Brodeur. They were $3,000 from the treasurer's office to the mayor's office to pay for the "Shine the Light" sexual abuse prevention program that the city offered in April, in conjunction with the Melrose YMCA; $15,000 within the Police Department for police vehicle repairs that Melrose Police Chief Mike Lyle said were the result of recent "fairly large repair bills;" and $2,270 within the Veterans Services Department for purchases that Ward 5 Alderman Gail Infurna, acting as Alderman President pro tempore in Wright's absence, said is eligible for 75 percent reimbursement through the state Department of Veterans' Services Affairs, according to correspondence from Melrose Veterans Services Officer Natalee Anne Webb.

All three transfers were taken up for immediate consideration by the board and passed unanimously.

Two new orders were not voted on Monday night and instead sent to committees for discussion. The first is an order asking city officials to report to the board about the feasibility of installing a crosswalk at the intersection of the Lynn Fells Parkway, Lincoln Street and Nelson Road.

Ward 2 Alderman Monica Medeiros, who introduced the order, which was sent to the aldermen's Public Works Committee, said that because the crosswalk would span the Lynn Fells Parkway, it would fall under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Brodeur said that he and Medeiros reached out to the DCR recently in the hopes of having the crosswalk installed before the start of the next school year.

Another order asking Melrose City Planner Denise Gaffey and Melrose City Solicitor Rob Van Campen to update the board on a proposed Dunkin Donuts on the Lynn Fells Parkway in Stoneham, just over the Melrose line near the intersection of West Wyoming Avenue and the Lynn Fells Parkway, was sent to the Appropriations Committee.

Other orders unanimously approved at Monday night's meeting were:

• Accepting two grants for solar arrays on the roofs of the Lincoln School and Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School.
• Using all the city's available free cash to zero out the snow budget deficit.
• Accepting a grant that will expand the Melrose Police Department's domestic violence officer position from part-time to full-time.

The aldermen also placed on file orders regarding the status of the citywide drainage project and recycling bins at city parks.