Council Recap: March 16, 2026
Written by: Dan Shibilia
Another Monday, another city council meeting in the books. Here's what happened, what passed, what got tabled, and, where I think it matters… what I think about it. My commentary is clearly marked so you can separate what took place from my take on it.
Let's jump in..
The meeting opened the way they always do… Pledge of Allegiance, roll call, and an invocation. This week, Councilor Santos delivered the invocation and closed it with "in the name of Jesus, amen." [My take] I'll just say it: that's not appropriate for a government meeting. We have residents of every faith and no faith sitting in those chairs and watching from home. A city council chamber isn't a church. This isn't a new debate nationally, but it's one Methuen apparently still needs to have. Leave your god at the door. Here you work for the citizens.
Vice Chair Pesce kicked things off by reading the public comment rules as its now the new normal at the top of every meeting.
A handful of residents showed up to speak, and honestly, it was a solid public comment session.
Heather Plunkett came up and called out the Jesus invocation right off the bat… good for her. She also weighed in on the social media resolution later in the agenda. She's supportive of the idea, but she had sharp, practical questions: if city and school devices already block social media, how exactly is the data going to be collected to measure the impact? And who is going to serve as the mental health expert judging what material is harmful? Fair questions that deserved better answers than they got.
Deb Wilkins was there to advocate for the cottage food ordinance, also on the agenda. She made the case well… letting people run small food businesses out of their home kitchens is a low-risk way for local entrepreneurs to get started. More on that later.
Eddie Santiago, a new homeowner in the city, came to talk about Railroad Street which is his new street. He says cars are flying down what is essentially a residential street, and with the rail trail bringing more pedestrian traffic into the area, it's becoming genuinely dangerous. He wants speed bumps and plans to bring a petition forward.
[My take] Chair Soto broke council rules here by responding to Santiago directly from the table during public participation. The rules exist for a reason and public comment isn't a dialogue with the chair. It's a one-way channel for residents to speak. Engaging back is exactly what the rules prohibit.
An email from a resident named Jason was read into the record. He questioned the price on the laptop and monitor contract on the evening's agenda, saying the per-unit cost seemed off based on his professional experience. It came up again later. It should also be noted there was no address read into the record which is the big rule lately.
Finally, a letter from Kelsey Shibilia (yes, my wife) was read, requesting a moment of silence for a Massachusetts resident who died due to medical neglect while detained in an immigration facility in Arizona. That request, absolutely not coincidentally, set the stage for a later debate over the Council's moment of silence rules.
Then it got into the business…
Two committee items were handled quickly.
Councilor John Drew was formally added to the Veterans Committee. Their next meeting is April 6th.
The Council also stood up a new Public Memorial Committee, which will evaluate requests to place memorials on public property. Councilors Pesce, Drew, MacLaren, and DiZoglio are on it, with Chair Soto as tiebreaker if needed.
Then something came up that wasn't on the agenda… Soto turned to Councilor MacLaren, who shared that Methuen Community Studios has put out a survey to assess the state of audio-visual equipment in the Great Hall. Fine update, but it's worth noting: if it's not on the agenda, it probably shouldn't be coming up from the dais.
Next, Councilor Santos presented citations to Johan Lopez and Walkiria Manzueta, who have run a real estate brokerage in Methuen since 2009. They're also the owners and developers of the new apartments in the building at the corner of Hampshire and Broadway near the clock tower. You may remember that apartments went in a few years back.
[My take]: I’m going to be direct here. Councilor Santos is a mortgage lender. She presented citations to real estate professionals who operate in the same market she does. These are people she could plausibly do business with, or already has. That doesn't automatically mean anything improper happened, but the appearance matters in public service. Residents deserve to know when their elected officials have potential professional ties to the people they're honoring. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
The Mayor had a lot to cover. Here's the rundown:
Trash: The city is heading toward a one-year renewal with Harvey. As part of the deal, Harvey will cut about $200,000 in cart costs, take over cart delivery and maintenance, roll out a resident app for requesting carts or repairs, and bring on a bilingual team member to assist city staff. A long-term RFP for trash services is also out. Councilor Drew flagged that the new "trash logistics coordinator" role the Mayor described sounded a lot like the position the Council already approved a few weeks ago but the Mayor still sees the role as essential for enforcing the ordinance on the ground.
Snow and ice came up too. The city is approximately $2 million over budget on snow and ice this season. The Mayor also mentioned exploring waste-to-energy options, though that's still early days. (It is important to note that this is one of very few accounts able to be overspent under state law.)
Murphy's Farm / Dracut: A mediation on Friday stemming from the Mayor's appeal of a Dracut zoning board ruling resulted in a commitment of $400,000 for traffic mitigation on Wheeler Street, bringing the total to $600,000. The Mayor was clear: the process is far from over.
Buildings: A feasibility assessments of DPW and public safety facility needs are underway with an outside vendor. Once we have them back, site selection starts. The Mayor's vision is a joint Police/Fire building and a separate new DPW facility. Things are finally moving, he said.
Arlington Neighborhood: A request to Congresswoman Trahan's office for support on the Arlington neighborhood project was accepted. Hopefully federal funding is coming on this.
Searles Estate: A briefing is being set up before the next regular meeting. Chair Soto asked about the Searles Estate bids. The Mayor said several local contractors couldn't commit to the original timeline, so it was extended. He implied bids are in hand but didn't get into specific.
Around town: Aroma Joe's opened earlier this week (he announced it earlier but by the time I am writing this it has passed). The St. Patrick's Day parade is this weekend. The Methuen Literacy Partnership launches at the Timony on March 24th at 6 p.m. The annual Easter egg hunt at Greycourt is Saturday, April 4th at 11 a.m. A community cleanup is also on the horizon.
Since the CAFO was absent tonight due to having sick kids at home, items under her report were essentially tables.
The Council approved C-26-79, a contract with B&H Foto & Electronics out of New York for 25 HP ProBook laptops and 25 monitors with docking stations … $31,699.75 total. IT Director Luis Santiago explained the city buys 25–50 units a year on a rolling basis. The Mayor pointed back to the public comment from Jason and walked through how procurement works under MGL Chapter 30B stating this was the lowest of three quotes. It was explained that old equipment gets used for parts or recycled and that this is funded through the CIP. Passed unanimously.
Councilor DiZoglio kicked off committee reports and had a full update from the Public Safety Committee: the rail trail safety situation is being worked on (DPW is running power down there), a site tour is being scheduled although it's not clear what they're getting a tour of, a path from the trail to the PD is being explored, the state has been contacted about the stop light at the old Walgreens to address timing with the rest of the intersection, a motorcycle safety awareness resolution is coming, a new camera is up in the Great Hall, and new processes are being developed for utility road permits and handicap sign installations. Also a mural project, pending state sign-off, is in the works.
Councilor Valley recapped the Unaccepted Ways Committee meeting where discussions around eminent domain, funding, and transparency were the main items.
Councilor Pesce noted the Finance Committee is working around a scheduling conflict with Methuen Community Television so an update will be coming soon.
This is where it picked up speed….
TR-26-16… $1,300 from the Castle Fund for the Methuen Business Alliance/Greater Haverhill Chamber… this passed unanimously without a single word of discussion. These funds are for the creation of some short videos for local business. It's unclear why the city is funding this.
TR-26-18…. $292,000 transfer within the DPW budget to cover utility cost increases… this was unanimously approved without any discussion discussion. [My take]: This one deserves a moment. This shortfall didn't come out of nowhere. When the Council approved the budget with a flat, level-funded utility line, this gap was undeniably inevitable given rising energy costs. The transfer fixes the immediate problem, but the underlying issue is a budgeting choice. It's something the Council should reckon with seriously in the next budget cycle rather than patching it after the fact.
TR-26-19 … $20,000 transfer within the Fire Department budget for utility costs. This is the same sad story and unanimous approval with zero discussion about the systematic failure.
TR-26-20 … $10,000 transfer to the City Clerk for additional election-related costs. [My take]: this is another planned failure courtesy of the previous council. In their desperate need to look tough on spending during the budget, then Councilor Nicholas DiZoglio led the charge to cut money from the election line. The clerk argued against and lost. Now, we have to put it back. Another predicable failure..
TR-26-21 … $2,500 transfer to City Council Personal Services for unanticipated personnel costs. Another one that passes nanimously with no discussion. [My take]: this was brought forward by the mayor to pay the legal department which is under the management of the city solicitor who reports to the council. Who is working out of grade and why? What is going to be done remedy it? Is it still ongoing? We would some of this but they decided we weren't worthy of hearing any discussion.
TR-26-22 … $60,000 transfer from Economic and Community Development to Health, Human Service and Inspections for unanticipated personnel costs. Councilor DiZoglio asked what this was about and the Mayor explained they budgeted for a half-year hire but found the right person earlier, so they're pulling from a vacant position to cover it. Passed with 8 voting yes … Councilor Marsan abstained.
[My take]: Marsan's abstention was quiet. That's worth noting. If you have a reason to abstain from a vote, the public deserves to hear it. Silence isn't transparency.
TR-26-24 … The Oakland Avenue School sale resolution. The Mayor asked the Council to delay the vote to the April 6th meeting for further discussion. Motion to postpone passed unanimously. You can view the offer letter, the Mayor's letter to the Council, and the lease agreement on the agenda.
TR-26-25 … Social Media Safety for Youth Under 16. This one had five co-sponsors: Mayor Beauregard plus Councilors DiZoglio, Drew, MacLaren, Pesce, and Valley. The resolution creates a policy to block social media on city-like school networks and directs a study on the impact of social media on youth mental health. MacLaren was clear that this would never touch private devices. DiZoglio, a teacher, spoke to watching students trust TikTok over their educators. It passed unanimously.
[My take]: The research on social media and youth mental health already exists, and it isn't flattering for the platforms. Commissioning another study isn't wrong, but let's not pretend we're waiting on science to tell us something we already know. This reeks of “look at me" politics.
Heading into new business we had…
TR-26-26 … Moment of Silence Rules (sponsored by Councilor Simard)
Simard brought this forward to clarify that moments of silence should be for Methuen residents. What followed was actually one of the more substantive debates of the night and pretty comical in my opinion.
DiZoglio argued it shouldn't be political and should cover anyone with a connection to the city. Pesce pushed for keeping it non-political and specifically tied to Methuen. Santos wanted to include elected officials and military members regardless of Methuen ties. Drew disagreed with limiting it to local connections as he felt the Council should be able to honor any service member. MacLaren felt the existing language already addressed it. The solicitor, asked to weigh in, said the rules don't currently address the issue and left it to the Council to decide but noted simpler is better.
A friendly amendment passed unanimously to include anyone who serves in government or military. However, given the discussion I'm sure how this passed like it did.
Then Drew raised concerns about too much discretion being left to the chair under the current draft and moved to table with five proposed changes he wanted to work through. Motion to table passed unanimously (Santos was absent for that vote).
TR-26-27 … Citation and Proclamation Rules (sponsored by Councilor Pesce)
Pesce brought this forward out of concern that citations are losing their meaning when issued too frequently. She wants them to feel special and be reserved for genuinely exceptional contributions. Valley noted Boston caps citations at seven per councilor per year, though acknowledged Methuen isn't Boston. Santos pushed back, saying she didn't want to be limited in recognizing members of her community and pointedly asked if any of her citations had bothered Pesce personally. It got a little tense before being tabled unanimously.
TR-26-28 … rhe city accepted a donated scoreboard for the Girls Varsity Softball Field at Burnham Road from the Methuen Athletic Improvement Committee and the Methuen High School Boosters. Marsan thanked MAIC for their continued investment in the field. This passed unanimously.
TR-26-29 …. $700 from the Castle Fund for the Methuen DEI Committee. Passed unanimously without any discussion. It's almost like the council wanted to hide the fact that this was money being allocated to fund a public celebration for Dominican Independence Day.
TR-26-30 … Up to $16,920 from the Castle Fund for Methuen 300. Another one that passed unanimously with no discussion. Why wouldn't they want to advertise support for Methuen 300?
TR-26-31 … $290 from the Castle Fund for Historic Methuen. And yet another one that passed unanimously with no discussion. Yes, it's small but someone should be like “hey this is for a PA system" for those who don't read the agenda.
Next came Ordinances…
TO-26-8…. A zoning amendment for a parcel on Ayers Village Road. Tabled to the Community Development Committee for a joint public hearing. Unanimous.
TO-26-9 … Residential Cottage Food Ordinance (sponsored by Councilor Valley)
It's worth noting that Massachusetts already allows cottage food production under state law. This ordinance gives Methuen its own local structure to participate legally and safely.
Councilor Drew moved a friendly amendment to set an effective date of six months from passage, regardless of staffing, so the ordinance doesn't just sit on a shelf waiting for the Health Department to catch up. The Mayor acknowledged the city currently has only two health inspectors who would need to conduct home visits, and committed to growing the department in the next budget. The amendment passed unanimously, and so did the main motion.
Chair Soto asked Valley how busy other communities have found this in practice. Valley said it's been small, fewer than 20 active permits in comparable cities. That seemed to reassure folks.
[My take]: This is the kind of ordinance that doesn't make headlines but actually matters. It removes a barrier for small food entrepreneurs without creating chaos. Drew's amendment was smart… putting a clock on it prevents it from dying in the implementation phase, which is where a lot of good local legislation goes to be quietly forgotten.
That's a wrap on March 16th. The next regular meeting is April 6th, when the Oakland Avenue School sale is expected to come back for a final vote.
Have a tip, a correction, or something you want covered? Reach out.
Agenda link: https://www.cityofmethuen.net/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03
Thanks for the recap!