EV EVE ER T Vol. 32, No.26 -FREEBy Tara Vocino T he City Council voted 10-0 to take the Devens School property as previously discussed in executive session, E ERE T T News in 7 Languages: Subscribe to Advocate Online! D OCAT www.advocatenews.net with the appropriation of $9.9 million from ARPA funding to compensate the owner, during Monday’s City Council meeting at City Hall. Ward 2 Councillor Stephanie Free Every Friday Martins asked for an explanation as to why the matter was taken into executive session for the public’s clarifi cation. City Solicitor Colleen Mejia replied that it falls into exemptions of Enjoy. Connect. Celebrate. We’ll be closed Monday, July 3rd and Tuesday, July 4th in observance of the holiday. The bank will be open for regular business hours on Saturday July 1st and Wednesday, July 5th. You can access your accounts using our ATMs and Online & Mobile Banking. Thank you! ADVOCTE 617-387-2200 open meeting law to discuss certain issues relating to real estate and its negotiations. Mejia clarifi ed to this reporter that eminent domain is when a government entity takes private property for a public purpose. Martins then inquired about the fi nancial aspect of the property. Chief Financial Officer Eric Demas said the city began negotiations with the owner of the property since the city’s 10year lease was expiring. “From a purchasing standpoint, it didn’t make sense to go ahead with the lease due to the signifi cant request that the owner had and increasing year after year under the terms proposed to the city,” Demas said. “The lease that they had prior was stagnant.” Martins asked Schools Supt. Priya Tahiliani if there were any alternative placement options for the 53 high-needs students that utilized the Devens School. Tahiliani said they would have Friday, June 30, 2023 City Council unanimously votes to take Devens School by eminent domain to be placed in out-of-district options since they’re in that school to receive specialized services. “In order to avoid that, we have to make a decision on that building,” Martins said. Ward 6 Councillor Alfred Lattanzi asked Tahiliani how many students the Devens School building can hold. Tahiliani estimated 300 students. Councillor-at-Large Richard Dell Isola said if the city didn’t buy the school, the city would have to pay the cost of transportation and tuition for outof-district placements. “My biggest concern would be the waiting list for those 53 students,” Tahiliani said. “The tuition would also be my second concern after the waiting list.” She said the tuition costs for each of the 53 students is approximately $125,000 to $150,000 per year at the Lighthouse and the busing rate is VOTES | SEE PAGE 2 Craftsman Glass celebrates 40 years in business SINCE 1921 Messinger Insurance Agency 475 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 Phone: 617-387-2700 Fax: 617-387-7753 NEW COMPETITIVE AUTO RATES AND BENEFITS AVAILABLE ACCIDENT FORGIVENESS DISAPPEARING COLLISION DEDUCTIBLE 11% DISCOUNT WITH SUPPORTING POLICY 10% COMBINED PAY IN FULL DISCOUNT AND GREEN DISCOUNT 10% GOOD STUDENT DISCOUNT Celebrating 100 years of excellence! Monday thru Friday: 8am to 6pm Saturdays 9am to 1pm! Check out our NEW website! www.messingerinsurance.com Last Wednesday, Craftsman Glass & Mirror owner Richard Sully, shown with his wife, Mary Lynn and daughter, Maria, received a Citation from Mayor Carlo DeMaria in celebration of the local company’s 40 years in business in Everett. See page 18 for photo highlights. (Advocate photo)
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