What’s on the Agenda: Tuesday, April 21, 2026 City Council Meeting
You have stuff to do… we know that. The City Councilors know too. Here is your quick breakdown of the upcoming Council meeting agenda and cliffnotes on why it’s important.
Written by: Dan Shibilia
Watch live at methuen.gov/livestream | Channel 8 (Comcast) or Channel 32 (Verizon) or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@MethuenMeetings
Full agenda link: https://www.methuen.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04212026-1069?html=true
Agenda items and reports are linked for your convenience.
Procedural Opening
The meeting kicks off with a roll call, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Invocation, and a moment of silence. The part to watch for here is if they decide to work their god back into it or if they stay religiously neutral as they did at the last meeting.
Then comes public participation. Given some of the topics on the agenda (Health Insurance for employees and the transfer of buildings, one of which holds mountains of historical artifacts), I think we should expect a few participants here from the City unions.
The council will also approve the minutes from the April 6th meeting, confirming that the written record of that meeting is accurate.
Proclamations/Correspondence.
Michele Desrochers of Creative Hair will receive a citation. These citations have been a bit of a point of contention lately between Pesce and Santos. Pesce believes they should be giving out sparingly to honor those who have gone above and beyond for the community, while Santos seems to be determined to give them to her friends. Keep in mind, this is a formal honor from the city recognizing her contributions to the community. Ironically, it does not say on this agenda who is sponsoring this citation, as it has in the past. I can’t help but wonder if this is because we called out the previous clear ethical ambiguities of the last few.
Mayor’s Report
This is where the Mayor will rifle off some updates. Always a good time and typically tied directly to the requests of councilors noted below.
CAFO Report (City’s Financial Officer Update)
The CAFO report (Chief Administrative and Financial Officer), prepared by Maggie Duprey, provides a financial overview of the agenda items. Two specific questions are also being asked:
Paid Parental Leave costs: Councilor Pesce is asking for a breakdown of how much the Mayor’s Executive Order on paid parental leave will cost now and in the future. As a first-world country, a City desiring to attract qualified staff, and a City with predominantly female city leadership. The goal here leaves me scratching my head. We shall see….
Stadium Improvement Project accounting: Chair Soto wants a clear explanation of an email sent on February 18th regarding money tied to the Stadium project.
Councilors Asking Questions
Several councilors are asking city departments for updates on things residents care about:
Echo Lane Sewer Connection: Residents on Echo Lane want to know when their sewer connection project will start. Councilor Valley is asking the Mayor and DPW for a timeline.
Police, Fire and DPW Buildings: Councilor Santos wants to know where things stand on plans to rebuild or replace the aging Police, Fire, and DPW facilities. She has asked about this at every meeting. It may be prudent of the Mayor, CAFO, Solicitor, or even the Chair to explain how government works and how slow things like this move even under the best of circumstances.
Oakland Avenue Bridge Report: Councilor Santos is requesting the state’s report on the condition of the Oakland Avenue Bridge.
New Trash Barrels: Councilor Drew wants an update on when the new trash barrels will be delivered and handed out to residents.
Lowell and East Capitol Street Construction: Councilor Marsan wants to know when construction on that stretch will resume and when it’s expected to finish.
Second and Third Trash Bin Fees: Councilor Marsan is asking how many residents have extra bins and whether the city is actually collecting the fees for them in years 2, 3, and 4.
Restrooms at Youth Baseball Fields: Chair Soto is raising a public health concern: kids playing baseball don’t have access to restrooms, and water service is delayed. The council wants an official response from the administration.
Holy Family Hospital Maternity Ward Closure: Councilor Valley wants the Mayor to address the proposed closure of maternity and neonatal services at the former Holy Family Hospital and what the city plans to do about it. I’m curious what she thinks the Mayor can do about a private non-profit hospital.
Parks and Buildings Audit RFPs: Councilor Drew is checking on the status of formal requests for proposals to audit the city’s parks and buildings.
Veterans Service Officer (VSO) Position: Councilors Drew and Simard want to know if the city has posted the permanent VSO job opening yet.
Downtown 2-Hour Parking: A request to Police Chief McNamara to look into eliminating the 2-hour parking limit downtown and replacing it with something more flexible.
Lowell Street Bridge Revitalization: Councilor DiZoglio wants to start a conversation about bringing new life to the Lowell Street Bridge area.
Contracts Up for Approval
The council will vote on five contracts. Here’s what each one is for:
C-26-82: Boiler Replacement ($796,689)
View contract -- The city needs to replace the aging Marsh boiler. This contract with the Rise Group covers equipment, labor, materials, and a 5-year warranty for a new high-efficiency condensing boiler. The cost is split between this year’s and last year’s capital improvement budgets. This project previously had problems and is LONG overdue as the Marsh has been running on one ancient boiler for a long time.
C-26-83: Two New Lawn Mowers ($48,888.60)
View contract -- The DPW’s Environmental Division is getting two new zero-turn mowers with baggers to maintain city green spaces. Fully funded in this year’s budget.
C-26-84: Old Ferry Road Culvert Engineering ($144,000)
View contract -- The city is hiring Woodard and Curran to design the replacement of a culvert (a pipe or channel that carries water under a road) on Old Ferry Road. This is an engineering and planning contract… the actual construction comes later. This project is to be funded through the FY24 CIP, which currently has $1,331,600 available. This has been a major pain point for the businesses up on the hill.
C-26-85: Community Development Office Renovation ($73,454.63)
View contract -- Ten new workstations, partitions, and filing cabinets for the Community Development office, designed to match the look of other city offices. This project is to be funded through the FY24 CIP, which currently has $100,000 available.
C-26-86: Assistant Fire Chief Contract (Daniel Donahue)
View contract -- A new employment contract for Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Donahue. His base salary will be approximately $238,889 in FY26, rising to roughly $246,056 in FY27 and FY28. He also receives up to two weeks of annual vacation buyback and six weeks of vacation per year. The cost for the remainder of this fiscal year is already covered in the existing budget.
Resolutions Being Voted On
Resolutions are formal positions or actions taken by the council. Here’s what’s on the table:
Returning Items (Previously Discussed)
TR-26-32: Exploring Health Insurance Options
View resolution -- This allows the city to look into alternative health insurance plans for employees. No immediate changes is coming from this as it just opens the door to potentially saving money down the road. However, there are mixed opinions if the City would need to bargain the change in insurance with the unions.
TR-26-35: $1,700 for Memorial Day Parade Band
View resolution -- A small grant from the Castle Fund (a trust the city manages) to help the American Legion Post 122 pay for a band at the Memorial Day Parade. The Castle Fund currently has over $435,000 in it.
TR-26-36: Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month
View resolution -- A proclamation officially recognizing motorcycle safety awareness in Methuen -- a symbolic gesture to promote road safety as riding season kicks off.
TR-26-37: Transferring Currier School to City Government
View resolution -- The School Department no longer needs the Currier School building. This vote would hand control of it over to the city government as opposed to the School department. The city will take on maintenance costs. Last year, those ran about $16,111 but let’s not forget this is not a new cost as its all ONE BUDGET.
TR-26-38: Transferring Pleasant Valley School to City Government
View resolution -- Same situation as above, but for the Pleasant Valley School which is a teardown. There is no saving this building. But it is worth noting that it is currently the storage facility for many of the artifacts the City and the Gate House Museum hold and there is no current plan on where to move these items.. Last year’s maintenance costs for that building were about $29,886.
TR-26-39: Accepting a $250,000 Green Energy Grant
View resolution -- The state’s Department of Energy Resources awarded Methuen $250,000 for energy efficiency projects across city buildings. The required 25% match is covered through utility rebate incentives, so no extra cost to the city.
TR-26-40: Handling Unclaimed Property
View resolution -- This allows the city to legally close out old funds sitting unclaimed for years, like contractor deposits and developer bonds. The city is currently holding about $700,000 in these kinds of dormant funds. The money would eventually become city property after the required waiting periods and public notices. Much like the findmassmoney run by the state.
New Items
TR-26-41: Naming Burnham Road Field After Mary McDonough
View resolution -- A resolution to officially name the athletic field on Burnham Road in honor of Mary McDonough. Backed by Councilor Pesce and State Rep. Ryan Hamilton. The only cost is a small sign or plaque (under $500).
TR-26-42: Restroom Policy at City Athletic Fields
View resolution -- The council is asking the city to create a formal policy ensuring that organizations using city-owned fields have restroom access during the spring and summer seasons. This ties into the public health concerns raised earlier about youth baseball fields.
TR-26-43: Moving $42,500 for Grant Writing Services
View resolution -- The city originally budgeted this money to hire a full-time grant writer. They’ve decided to hire an outside contractor instead. This vote just moves the money to the right budget line -- no new spending.
TR-26-44: $40,000 for Payroll Processing
View resolution -- The city needs an extra $40,000 to cover payroll software and service costs through the end of the fiscal year. Money would come from free cash (the city’s savings account), which currently has over $20 million. Also worth noting that this implementation has been pretty poorly handled since inception (long before the current mayor) and this has been routinely made clear by repeated questioning from the Council.
TR-26-45: $850,000 for Trash Disposal Costs
View resolution -- Methuen’s trash tonnage came in higher than expected this year, meaning higher tipping fees (what you pay to dump trash at a facility). The city needs $850,000 to cover the overage through June. Money comes from free cash. This makes you stop and think that wasn’t the new trash system supposed to stop this?
TR-26-46: Accepting $75,000 for Environmental Testing at Searles Estate
View resolution -- The state awarded Methuen a $75,000 grant to test the soil and groundwater at the Searles Estate property for contamination. No matching funds required.
TR-26-47: Supporting the State Audit of the Legislature
View resolution -- Councilor Pesce wants Methuen to officially send a letter supporting the Audit of the Legislature to Attorney General Campbell. In the last election, the people voted heavily (72%) in favor of State Auditor DiZoglio auditing the legislature. The legislature, with the help of AG Campbell, has continued to block this.
Ordinances (Law Changes)
TO-26-12: Rezoning Land on Arcadia Street for Commercial Use
View ordinance -- A developer (K & K Realty Trust) wants to rezone a piece of land on Arcadia Street from residential to a neighborhood business district. This item will be tabled for a joint public hearing with the Community Development board -- no vote tonight, but it’s coming.
TO-26-13: Updating the Nepotism Policy
View ordinance -- Chair Soto is proposing a change to the city’s anti-nepotism rules (the law that prevents city officials from hiring family members). No financial impact, but an important good-governance measure. It will be interesting to see how this ties back to the last meeting’s debacle related to the City Assessor.
After the meeting we will do a recap.
Still have questions? Ask them, let’s discuss the issues!