Written by: Dan Shibilia
Monday is a marathon, not a meeting. The City Council has three separate sessions stacked back to back starting at 6pm, and by the time the regular meeting gaveled in at 7 pm there was already a workshop and a public hearing in the rearview mirror.
The headline items are a data center moratorium ordinance up for a vote, a mental health coordination contract worth over sixty thousand dollars, and a batch of executive session minutes going all the way back to 2020 that the Council may finally vote to release or keep sealed.
There is also a fair amount of the usual Methuen bread and butter in here: utility pole grants, pavement crack sealing, and a long list of councilor requests ranging from barrel fees to billing software complaints.
Let’s get into it.
Links to original agendas
Methuen City Council & GLTS Workshop Notice, Monday, September 21, 2026, 6:00 PM
Notice of Public Hearing, Monday, September 21, 2026, 6:45 PM
Methuen City Council Regular Meeting Agenda, Monday, September 21, 2026, 7:00 PM
I’ll be honest, three agendas in one night from one council is a lot even by Methuen standards. The night starts in the Great Hall with a workshop between the full Council and representatives from the Greater Lawrence Technical School, then rolls straight into a public hearing about a couple of utility poles, and only then does the regular business of the city actually begin. If you’re tuning in on Channel 8 or the livestream, budget your evening accordingly.
City Council and GLTS Workshop, 6:00 PM
This workshop to discuss how GLTS can better serve Methuen students is likely going to be must-watch TV. Every time the GLTS Superintendent comes in front of the Council it is always a pissing contest. There is a lot of resentment over what Methuen pays to the school versus other member communities and the salary the Superintendent gets paid yearly which is Solomon like is size.
Why it matters: This is a joint sit down between the full Council and representatives from the Greater Lawrence Technical School, and the agenda item itself is deliberately broad, a workshop to talk about how GLTS can better serve Methuen kids. No specific proposal is attached, so expect a conversation rather than a vote, but it is worth watching for what direction the Council wants to push GLTS in going forward.
Public Hearing, 6:45 PM
P.S. Grant #31193015, Pleasant Street
National Grid wants to install one jointly owned pole on Pleasant Street, beginning at a point approximately 40 feet north of the centerline of the intersection of Pleasant Street and Independence Drive.
Why it matters: Utility pole grants like this one are routine, but they still require a public hearing before the Council can sign off, since the pole sits in the public way. Nothing controversial here, just the process working as it should.
P.S. Grant #31194501, Jackson Street
National Grid also wants to install one jointly owned pole on Jackson Street and Pleasant Street, continuing approximately 360 feet in a south direction.
Why it matters: Same deal as above, a second pole grant for the same general area of Pleasant Street. Both hearings feed directly into the Public Service grants item later on the regular meeting agenda, where the Council actually votes on them.
Regular Meeting, 7:00 PM
On to the big show.
1. Roll Call
The usual head count to make sure the Council has a quorum before anything else happens.
2. Acceptance of the Agenda
This simple procedural vote to formally accept the night’s agenda isn’t alway so simple. This part is always fun to see if anyone gets preferential treatment and is voted worthy of skipping the line.
3. Pledge of Allegiance, Invocation, Moment of Silence
The big watch here is how the council chooses to proceed with the invocation. More often than not, this becomes a religious invocation instead of general words meant to be uplifting and motivational. The council floor is no place for anyone to be invoking any god.
4. Public Participation
This is the time for you to attend and speak.
5. Organizational Business
No specific items are listed under this heading on the posted agenda.
6. Reading and Acceptance of Minutes from Previous Meetings
● Tuesday, September 8, 2026 Regular Meeting
7. Proclamations, Correspondence
No specific proclamations or correspondence are listed on the posted agenda.
8. Consideration of Appointments
None.
9. Presentations, Projects, Department Updates
No specific presentations or updates are listed on the posted agenda.
10. Mayor’s Report
No specific items are listed under the Mayor’s Report on the posted agenda, this is typically a verbal update.
11. CAFO Report
● Request for Update on Searles Estate Expenses & Revenues (Req. of Clr. Soto): Chair Soto wants a rundown of what the city has spent and taken in from the Searles Estate.
● Status on outstanding back taxes and recovery to date (Req. of Clr. Drew): This was asked at the beginning of the year, and Councilor Drew wants to know what progress has been made in collecting.
12. Requests of Councilors
● Cost breakdown and tonnage for the Methuen Housing Authority trash collection services through the city’s municipal trash contract (Req. of Chair Soto): Chair Soto wants to know exactly what the city is paying to haul trash for the Housing Authority.
This is a continuation driven by Soto on her revenge tour following a resident of Housing calling for her resignation along with two other Councilors.
● Request to the City Solicitor and the DPW to develop a dedicated section on the City’s website providing residents with a clear, step by step roadmap for the acceptance of unaccepted ways (Req. of Clr. Valley): Councilor Valley wants an overview of the whole process, an online application or petition form, eligibility requirements, fees and betterment assessments, estimated timelines, and contact information, all in one place for residents.
This request was already acknowledged and should be in the queue with the City. Not sure why is remains here in its original form.
● Whether the Echo Lane sewer connection will be included in the 2027 Capital Improvement Plan (Req. of Clr. Valley): A direct ask about whether that project is getting funded next year.
● Buildings Audit RFP Status update (Req. of Clr. Drew): A check in on where the buildings audit request for proposals stands.
● City employee email signature standardization (Req. of Clr. Drew): Councilor Drew wants city staff emails to look consistent.
I’m not sure why this lingers. This is something easy that IT could format and standardize on the backend within Outlook. This could have been an easy win.
● HHSI permit fees review and update status, discussed during the FY2027 Budget Workshop (Req. of Clr. Drew): Following up on a fee review that came up during budget season.
● Update on barrel fees, whether anyone is sending emails out and if there is no response whether the city is following up with a phone call (Req. of Clr. DiZoglio): Councilor DiZoglio wants to know if the barrel fee collection effort has any teeth to it.
This is still DiZoglio’s pet project. While he isn’t wrong - the City botched this big time - his approach hasn’t been working and blaming residents and labeling 1,000+ households as essentially deadbeats is not a good way to build a solution. The sticker approach was logical. Let’s hope that gains traction.
● Residents dealing with issues receiving their bills and the billing software in the Water Department and the Treasurer’s Office (Req. of Clr. DiZoglio & Chair Soto): A shared concern about billing problems residents have reported.
● Issues with some departments accepting checks and some not (Req. of Clr. DiZoglio): A basic consistency question about which city offices will take a check.
13. Public Service
A. Grants
● P.S. Grant #31193015, Pleasant Street: National Grid to install one jointly owned pole on Pleasant Street, beginning approximately 40 feet north of the centerline of the intersection of Pleasant Street and Independence Drive. This is the same grant covered in the 6:45 public hearing. View National Grid letter
● P.S. Grant #31194501, Jackson Street: National Grid to install one jointly owned pole on Jackson Street and Pleasant Street, continuing approximately 360 feet in a south direction. Also covered in the public hearing. View National Grid letter
B. Licenses
None.
C. Contract(s)
● C-27-29: Amendment of Employment Contract By and Between the City of Methuen and Scott J McNamara. This one is being removed from the table, meaning it is not moving forward at this meeting. View C-27-29
With the Mayor back in the building tonight, this should see some discussion. This will be a worth hearing to see if they kick in the extra 4 weeks.
● C-27-30: CARE SOLACE, Inc., 120 Birmingham Drive, Cardiff, CA 92007, for Mental Health Care Coordination Service, at $66,250.00. View C-27-30
● C-27-31: Seal Coating, Inc., DBA Indus, 825 Granite Street, Braintree, MA 02184, for Pavement Crack Sealing, High Performance, at $114,585.00. View C-27-31
● C-27-32: TEC, Inc., Phase 2 Pelham Street/Salem Street Roadway Improvements, in the amount of $255,000.00. View C-27-32
● C-27-33: TEC, Inc., Phase 2, Brook Street over Unnamed Water Body Culvert Replacement, in the amount of $30,000.00. View C-27-33
14. Other Officers and Committee Reports
No specific reports are listed on the posted agenda.
15. Unfinished Business
Resolution(s)
All of these are second reads. I don’t anticipate there being much discussion or any big surprises here.
TR-26-83: FY27 Budget True Up, an Order Concerning Appropriations for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2026. Effective upon passage is requested, and it was requested by the Mayor and the CAFO. This item is being removed from the table for a vote. View TR-26-83 | View Sources & Uses | View Summary | View Summary Rev & EP
TR-26-84: A Resolution Authorizing a Transfer of $456,055 from FY27 General Fund Employee Benefits Health Insurance and $40,000 from FY27 General Fund Veteran Benefits Personal Services to various FY27 General Fund Other Expenses lines. Effective upon passage is requested, and it was requested by the Mayor and the CAFO. View TR-26-84
TR-26-85: A Resolution Authorizing a Transfer of $1,181,649 from FY27 General Fund Employee Benefits Health Insurance to various FY27 General Fund Personal Services lines. Effective upon passage is requested, and it was requested by the Mayor and the CAFO. View TR-26-85
TR-26-86: Complete Streets grant acceptance resolution for Methuen High School. View TR-26-86
TR-26-87: Castle Fund Resolution for First Church, Methuen. View TR-26-87
Ordinance(s)
TO-26-20 AS AMENDED: An Ordinance Establishing a Temporary Moratorium on Data Centers in the City of Methuen, requested by Mayor Beauregard. View TO-26-20 as amended
This is the ordinance to watch this week. A temporary moratorium would pump the brakes on any new data center projects in Methuen while the city figures out how it wants to handle them, and the fact that it’s back on the agenda as amended suggests there has already been some negotiating over the language.
16. New Business
Resolution(s): none listed.
Ordinance(s): none listed.
You read that right. Nothing new on the agenda. How do we even get to a point where there is nothing new.
The Council will vote on whether to enter Executive Session under Exemption 7 of M.G.L. c. 30A § 23(b). If the Council votes to go into Executive Session, it will discuss and vote on whether to accept and disclose the executive session meeting minutes from a stack of past dates: 5/4/2020, 11/7/2022, 1/17/2023, 4/3/2023, 5/1/2023, 6/13/2023, 7/10/2023, and 10/16/2023.
That is a five year old batch of minutes finally coming up for a release decision, which is worth watching for what it says about what has been sitting sealed since 2020. Per the agenda, following the conclusion of the Executive Session the Council will adjourn and not reconvene in open session, so do not expect any final votes read into the public record afterward.
Watch live:
methuen.gov/livestream
Channel 8 (Comcast) or Channel 32 (Verizon)
YouTube: youtube.com/@MethuenMeetings