I’m a little wait this week but that doesn’t stop the world from spinning. Council is back in the Great Hall at the Searles Building Monday at 6:00 P.M. We are kicking off the fun an hour earlier to cover everything they’ve packed into this agenda… 23 contracts, six resolutions carried over from last time, seven new ones, two ordinances, and an executive session to close it out. +
Grab a coffee or mix your drinks… here we go, section by section so those playing along at home can follow.
Roll Call / Acceptance of the Agenda
This should be pretty typical and uneventful. However, given the recent preference to move our friends up the agenda so they don’t have to wait in wings of the Great Hall, it’s fun to guess who the golden ticket receipt may be tomorrow night.
Pledge of Allegiance, Invocation, Moment of Silence, Public Participation
Standard open with public participation as usual. There is so much on the agenda that people may want to talk about.
Organizational Business
None.
Reading and Acceptance of Minutes
Minutes from the Monday, July 6, 2026 Regular Meeting.
Proclamations and Correspondence
A citation for Victor Rivera, Jr.
This is the carry over from the last meeting where he was unable to attend. The Methuen native and Marist Social Work major was recently named the university's first-ever Truman Scholar, one of 55 picked nationwide this year for a career track aimed at policing informed by clinical mental health training.
Consideration of Appointments
Pamela Bertheim – Constable (re-appointment) - Back up
Bryan Chase – Licensing (re-appointment) - Back up
Douglas Cairnie – Registrar of Voters (re-appointment) - Back up
Approval of the 2026 Poll Workers List for the September 1, 2026 State Primary (backup attached)
Why it matters: Three of the four appointments are re-appointments, so this is mostly a check-the-box exercise. The poll workers list is the one with a hard deadline attached since the State Primary is three weeks out.
I’ve attached the back up from the agenda so you can see what the Council will see on each individual.
Presentations, Projects, Department Updates
Nothing listed this week.
Mayor’s Report
As usual, this section is blank but will cover many of the items listed below in Requests of Councilors plus whatever else the Mayor has to share.
Update on trash barrel fees and fines (Req. of Clr. DiZoglio)
Five-year list of revenue from fees and fines (Req. of Clr. DiZoglio)
Why it matters: DiZoglio has been pushing on trash and fee revenue for a while now. This is the kind of recurring-line-item accounting that doesn’t make headlines but shapes next year’s budget fights. The problem is his complete blind eye to the City’s historical incompetence as he consistently lables every resident as purposelly withhold their extra barrel fees.
Requests of Councilors
Update on Searles Estate expenses and revenues (Req. of Clr. Soto)
Cost breakdown and tonnage for the Methuen Housing Authority’s trash collection through the city’s municipal trash contract (Req. of Chair Soto)
Worth watching — if MHA is riding on the municipal contract, this is really a question of who’s subsidizing whom.
Request to the City Solicitor and DPW to build a dedicated section of the city website walking residents through the process for accepting unaccepted ways — application, eligibility, fees/betterments, timeline, contacts (Req. of Clr. Valley)
This is a real gap. Unaccepted ways are one of the more opaque processes in city government, and right now there’s no public roadmap for how a resident actually gets one accepted. The question to watch for here is how hard some Councilors push to use City money do offset the cost to residents… keeping in mind it is illegal to use public money on private property.
Buildings Audit RFP status update (Req. of Clr. Drew)
City employee email signature standardization (Req. of Clr. Drew)
HHSI permit fee review and update status, following up on the FY2027 budget workshop discussion (Req. of Clr. Drew)
Update and implementation plan for the Trash App that Harvey is contractually required to deliver, plus a correction path to get them into compliance (Req. of Clr. Drew)
This has been outstanding long enough that “correction path to get them in compliance” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
Update on the Methuen 9/11/01 Memorial Service (Req. of Clr. DiZoglio)
Boards and Commissions appointment/reappointment status update — vacancies, expired terms, members serving past their allowed term, and the administration’s timeline for filling seats (Req. of Clr. Drew)
Request that the City Solicitor update the council on ownership of the Depot Overhang associated with the Laborers Union building, including whether any title or deed information has been identified (Req. of Clr. Valley and Clr. Drew)
Boards and Commissions appointment/reappointment status update — vacancies, expired terms, members serving past their allowed term, and the administration’s timeline for filling seats (Req. of Clr. Drew)
This is the same request listed twice on the posted agenda, word for word. Either a drafting error or Drew really wants an answer.
Public Service
A. Grants
Public Service Grant 301043582 — Temple Drive, Westgate Circle, Jewel Circle: National Grid will replace existing direct-buried cable with a conduit system (removed from the table)
Why it matters: This had been sitting on the table. Taking it off doesn’t mean it’s approved… it just means it’s back in play for a vote.
B. Licenses
Nothing listed this week.
C. Contracts
Before we get into the Contracts on the docket for this evening, I think it’s important to note how fundamentally flawed procurement law is for cities and towns. Granted, we have no control over this, but it’s worth noting that while cities and towns are generally bound to award to the lowest responsible bidder under M.G.L. c. 30B for supplies and services, and M.G.L. c. 149 for public construction… the state itself, under 801 CMR 21, operates on a “Best Value” standard: a weighing of price and performance and not just whoever comes in cheapest.
To be fair, c. 30B does give municipalities an RFP track that can weigh criteria beyond price, but in practice, Methuen and most of its peer communities default to the lowest-bid IFB process for the bulk of what shows up on a contracts list like tonight’s. The state carved out more flexibility for itself than it extended to the cities and towns actually spending the money.
Why does this matter? Because “cheapest” and “best” are not the same thing, and a council voting on 18 contracts tonight has almost no legal room to weigh a vendor’s track record, reliability, or long-term value against a lower number from someone else. It’s a structural issue, not a Methuen issue, but it’s the water this whole Contracts section swims in, and it’s worth keeping in mind every time we hit a line that reads like the lowest bid won by default. Again, when you look around and ask yourself “we paid for that" with disgust in your voice.
Ok, off my soapbox and back to the agenda…
(Also, you can click the C-##-# for the backup on each contract.)
C-27-6 – TEC, Inc. (Lawrence) — FY26–FY27 Paving Program construction administration services with DPW — $190,000.00
C-27-7 – Water Safety Service, Inc. (Woburn) — Backflow prevention device testing and cross-connection program, one year plus two one-year extension options for the Water Treatment Plant — $137,637.00 total across all three years (FY27: $42,627.00; FY28: $45,825.00; FY29: $49,185.00, extensions subject to appropriation)
C-27-8 – Holland Company, Inc. (Adams) — Aluminum sulfate for the Water Treatment Plant — $150,000.00 ($1.78/gallon)
C-27-9 – Borden & Remington Corp. (Fall River) — Sodium hypochlorite, 3,000 gallons for the Water Treatment Plant — $90,000.00 ($0.1509/wet pound)
C-27-10 – Energy Source, LLC (Smithfield, RI) — Energy conservation project through National Grid/Eversource’s Project Expediter Program under M.G.L. c. 25A, § 14, for attic insulation at the North End Fire Station — $25,221.00
C-27-11 – Corolla Contracting, Inc. (Winthrop) — Shingle roof replacement at the North End Fire Station, 250 Howe Street — $37,130.00
Why it matters: C-27-10 and C-27-11 are both North End Fire Station work in the same meeting… one’s weatherization, one’s the roof. Makes sense to bundle the read: this station is getting a real capital push this cycle.
C-27-12 – Providence Capital Network (Charlotte, NC) — Tax-exempt lease-purchase financing for 1,045 Chromebooks and licenses for education — $124,358.00 annual payment, 48-month term, 4.98% interest, $1.00 buyout
C-27-13 – Apple Financial Services (Scottsdale, AZ) — Financing for 550 iPads, AppleCare, and STM DUX Ultra cases for the Class of 2030 — $63,016.85 annual payment, 48-month term, 1.90% lease rate factor, four-year total $244,722.50
Why it matters: With the school year starting in a few weeks, losing a week on this hurts. These are machines issued to students. Teachers plan around these machines and now we run the risk of them being late.
C-27-14 – International Dioxide (North Kingston, RI) — Sodium chlorite, 1,500 gallons for the Water Treatment Plant — $70,000.00 ($0.82/wet pound)
C-27-15 – BETA Group, Inc. (Norwood) — Engineering services for pavement management — $88,650.00
C-27-16 – BETA Group, Inc. (Norwood) — Engineering services for sidewalk and curb ramp inventory / ADA compliance plan — $42,900.00
C-27-17 – ESO Solutions, Inc. (Austin, TX) — EHR fax, fire incident, and CAD integration software for the fire department — $27,071.28
With the back up provided, this appears to be new software requiring real integration. Anyone fimailir with software will tell you that integration is the hard part (just look at our integration of Munis…). There is nothing to talk about who is going to manage this intergration. Hopefully, someone asks…
C-27-18 – Systems Electrical Services, Inc. (Chelsea) — LED lighting installation at the MHS stadium lower turf field — $169,000.00
C-27-19 – Carahsoft Technology Corp. (Reston, VA) — First Platform cloud-based occupancy/inspection software renewal via COMMBUYS contract ITS60 — $31,133.77
C-27-20 – UNIVAR — Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), 4,000 gallons for the Water Treatment Plant — $90,000.00 ($0.1681/wet pound)
C-27-21 – D & J Landscaping (Merrimac) — Landscaping maintenance for Charles Street, Osgood Street, and Grey Court parks — $86,658.00 for a three-year term, with two optional one-year extensions at the city’s sole discretion
In typical municpal contracting fashion, this contract is up for approval to the lowest bidder without a single word of how we measure success. There is nothing in the attached contract to say how we determine if this vendor is doing a good job. Oddly, Question 6 on the Intent to Award form says "Does the item require a service contract to guarantee proper performance? YES" but nothing in the actual agreement functions as a performance guarantee beyond the general "failing to perform to the satisfaction of the CITY" language in the termination clause. That's a checkbox that doesn't match the document behind it. This is just a piece of the reason we spend so much on legal bills.
C-27-22 – The Stepping Stones Group (Boston) — Educational and behavioral services — $2,555,280.00
C-27-23 – Trane U.S., Inc. (White Bear Lake, MN) — Replacement of three rooftop AHUs at Marsh Grammar School with Trane Performance Climate Changer units — $399,402.00
Why it matters: Hold onto C-27-22 and C-27-23… both come back later tonight under New Business, funded by resolutions that specifically reference these dollar figures. This is the contract, and later you’ll see the money.
D. Election
Order calling for the 2026 State Primary Election on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 (backup attached)
Other Officers and Committee Reports
Nothing listed this week.
Unfinished Business
Resolutions
TR-26-67, As Amended — Declaring the Pleasant Valley School property, 180 Pleasant Valley Street (Parcel #1109-78E-45), surplus and authorizing sale/redevelopment
TR-26-68 — Declaring the Currier School property, 36 Boylston Street (Parcel #914-105-63), surplus and authorizing sale/redevelopment
Why it matters: That’s two former school buildings up for surplus and sale in the same meeting. Worth watching what “redevelopment” actually means for each parcel and whether there’s already a buyer or developer in the wings. The highlight is that the Mayor has openly committed to these funds being used to update the school facilities. Before you push for them to be used elsewhere, by law they need to be used on facilities.
TR-26-69 — Accepting $15,795.31 in FY2027 state 911 Emergency Medical Dispatch grant funding
TR-26-70 — Accepting $168,186.09 in FY2027 state 911 department training grant funding
TR-26-73 — Declaring the property at 30 Railroad Street (Parcel #716-14-16) surplus and authorizing sale/redevelopment
That’s a third surplus-property resolution this meeting. This reads less like disposing of odd lots one at a time and more like the city working through a backlog systematically… which isn’t a bad thing, but it’s worth naming as a pattern rather than three unrelated items.
TR-26-74 — Transferring funds from the Edwin J. Castle Fund to the Methuen Literacy Project/Nevins Library and to Methuen Public Schools’ CTE Early Childhood Care program
I’ll save you some time. This is for $10,000 to launch a pilot early learning initiative for Methuen families who have children entering kindergarten in Sept 2027.
What does that mean in action? Wish I could tell you but that is all the documents give us.
Ordinances
TO-26-18 — Amending Section 8-5A of the Municipal Code to increase ambulance rates and charges and establish a new lift-assist fee
Why it matters: This is the second read. For those that missed the first… this DOES NOT impact residents. This is a fee for nursing homes and the like when they call in MFD to lift a fallen patient because they don’t want the liability of doing it themselves.
TO-26-16, as amended — Amending “Section 9-52. Trash and Recyclables Collection” of the Municipal Code (sponsored by Councilor Ryan DiZoglio), removed from the table
This is DiZoglio’s trash ordinance coming back off the table the same night he’s also got two CAFO Report requests in on trash fees and fines. Consistent focus, at minimum.
The original fined a first overflow or contaminated-barrel violation $50 outright; the "clean" version softens that into a warning-only first offense (a sticker on the barrel, a written notice, no fine) before the $50/$150/$300 ladder kicks in on the second, third, and later violations. The amendment also gives residents four more days to appeal a citation (14 instead of 10) and drops the ordinance's own bespoke late-fee schedule in favor of a cross-reference to the standard late-fee rules already in the Municipal Code. Net effect: a bit friendlier to a first-time violator, a bit less specific about what happens if you don't pay.
New Business
Resolutions
TR-26-75 — Amending the city’s Traffic Rules and Regulations to allow parking only on the even-numbered side of Elmwood Road (sponsored by Clr. Ryan DiZoglio; EPA requested)
Why it matters: This is being pitched as a safety issue since the street isn’t wide enough to be lined with cars and allow a fire truck to pass safely.
TR-26-76— Abandoning the balance of the FY26 Capital Improvement Plan for the Methuen High School water heater project and transferring $295,500 of the remaining borrowed funds to cover the Marsh Grammar School air handler replacement project (EPA requested; requested by the Mayor and CAFO)
Why it matters: This is the funding mechanism for C-27-23, the $399,402 Trane contract for Marsh Grammar’s rooftop units. $295,500 of it is coming from money originally borrowed for a different project,the MHS water heater, that’s apparently no longer moving forward. That’s a real reallocation of borrowed capital funds, not new money, and it’s worth asking what happens to the water heater project now.
TR-26-77 — Appropriating $2,555,280 from the General Stabilization Fund to the FY27 General Fund’s Methuen Public Schools expenditures line for the Constellations Behavioral Services program (EPA requested; requested by the Mayor)
Why it matters: This is the ongoing Constellations conversation that has been ongoing for months now. This is a great use of Stabilization Funds, esepcially if this systematically transforms the way MPS delievers special ed services going forward. The trick here is going to be tracking spend which will be tricky because every student is different.
TR-26-79 — Declaring surplus equipment and authorizing its auction (sponsored by Mayor and CAFO)
TR-26-80— Accepting and spending a $1.7 million Green School Works Program grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center for energy efficiency infrastructure at Donald P. Timony Grammar School (EPA requested; requested by Mayor Beauregard)
Why it matters: $1.7 million in outside grant money for Timony is a real win if it comes through clean… worth watching whether there’s a local match requirement buried in the grant terms.
TR-26-81 — Accepting the gift of a Polish American Veterans monument from the Julian J. Stopyra Veterans Post (requested by Mayor Beauregard)
TR-26-82 — Transferring $1,000 from City Council Personal Services to City Council Other Expenses (Req. of Clr. Soto)
Why it matters: Remember the hot dispute over the Youth Summer Program that was ultimately reduced in the budget hearings? Well, now Chair Soto is asking to move the the remaining $1,000 from that program to “Food & Related Items, Etc.”. For the record, that line doesn’t exist in the published budget.
Ordinances
TO-26-19 — Amending Chapter 8 of the Municipal Code to eliminate certain fees for new business registrations (requested by Mayor Beauregard and Chair Soto)
This is a nice start but this only $25 removed from the Zoning Clearance for New Business. We need to keep working if we want to attract business.
Any Other Business for the Good and Welfare of the Community
Executive Session
Council will vote to enter executive session under Exemption 7, M.G.L. c. 30A, § 21(a)(7), to discuss and vote on the acceptance/disclosure of executive session meeting minutes from a stack of old dates: July 13, 2020; June 10, 2021; June 23, 2021; September 8, 2022 (listed twice); October 17, 2022; and December 19, 2022.
Why it matters: By the sounds of it, the last executive session didn’t go so well. These are old meeting minutes that should be released if the need for secrey is gone. If there is still a need, the council should say what that need is… otherwise, this looks like more historical Methuen style politics.
That’s all she wrote. See you after the meeting with a recap.
Watch live:
methuen.gov/livestream
Channel 8 (Comcast) or Channel 32 (Verizon)
YouTube: youtube.com/@MethuenMeetings
I may need to update this if anything changes between now and Monday — this is a preview based on the agenda as posted.
