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Page 4 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, AugusT 18, 2023 City Council Sends Communication to Mayor on CORI Checks for City Employees By Neil Zolot A sexual assault victim wants Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) checks on City of Everett employees and sex offenders to be limited to certain city jobs. “Any public employee whose job has them entering a person’s home needs to be CORIed,” Wendy Poste said in Public Participation time at the City Council meeting Monday, August 14. She also said those who don’t have CORI checks or fail them be reassigned to jobs that don’t involve entering people’s homes. Poste was sexually assaulted by an Everett firefighter in 2019 and has pursued the matter since then. “I don’t know how much more I have left in me to come before the City Council and ask for protection from sexual predators,” she confessed. $2.95 GALLON We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover Price Subject to Change without notice 100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602 Dan - 1972 We Sell Cigars & Accessories! ALL MAJOR BRANDS Singles * Tins * Bundles * Boxes * Travel Humidors * Desk Top Humidors * Many Types of Lighters * Ash Trays * Juuls * Vapes * Glass Pipes * Rewards Program * CBD Infused Products * GIFTS UNDER $30 - GIFT CERTIFICATES SMOKER’S DELIGHT! 15 HANDMADE CIGARS! Four-Year-Old Tobacco * 100% Long Filler * Cellophane $43.95 STORE HOURS: Mon. - Sat.: 9AM - 7PM Sunday & Holidays: 9AM - 6PM R.Y.O. TOBACCO & TUBES ON SALE! WE MAKE ALL HOUSE KEYS! A.B.C. CIGAR 170 REVERE ST., REVERE (781) 289-4959 She also said unions shouldn’t object to the idea and doing so means they don’t trust their members. “I sit here trying to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again and support Wendy in calling for CORI testing,” Joetta Yutkins added. “Please don’t let this happen again to an innocent man or woman.” Matters brought up in Public Participation are not subject to debate or discussion at the same meeting. It would violate the Open Meeting Law to discuss a matter not on the agenda because there’s no advance notification to the public the matter is being discussed or something decided. Usually, the subject is placed on an agenda of a subsequent meeting. Councillor-at-Large Stephanie Smith, however, offered a “point of clarification,” as the Council has sent its concerns on the matter to Mayor Carlo DeMaria. “We’re not ignoring the issue, but it’s not something the Council can do,” she said. “We hope to get a response from the administration.” In other business the Council passed a proposal by members Smith, Darren Costa and Stephanie Martins “that the Legislative Code of the Council be amended to include a section on yearly performance reviews for City Council employees,” who include its Clerk of the Committee, Legislative Aide, the City Clerk and Assistant City Clerk. “We’re doing this for accountability and transparency,” Smith explained. “There should be some written record.” She also said the administration is instituting a similar practice and “it’s great the Council takes the first stab at this.” Our 51st Anniversary Chris 2023 Along with Costa, John Hanlon and Michael Marchese, Martins is on the Legislative Affairs and Elections Subcommittee. “This is about accountability for use of public money,” Martins added. “We want to make sure how things are done.” Costa said the reviews could pinpoint areas for improvements and are not designed to “take away jobs.” Hanlon, Marchese and Wayne Matewsky voted against the measure. “I’ve never seen a need for this,” Hanlon said. “It will take more time for the employees to do this than their regular job.” Although voting in favor of the measure, Councillor Richard Dell Isola asked, “Who will be doing the reviews?” In Public Participation, Sandra Juliano, who resides in Reading, Mass., misunderstood the proposal and commented on it as if it was a review of city councillors’ performance. “Our accountability is through elections,” Martins clarified. In other matters, Zachary FLOOD MAPS | FROM PAGE 3 28, 2023. The affected communities in Middlesex County are listed in the Proposed Flood Hazard Determinations Notice in the Federal Register and can be found at https:// www.federalregister.gov/ documents/ 2023/07/31/202316142/ proposed-flood-hazarddeterminations Residents may submit an appeal if they think modeling or data used to create the map is technically or scientifically incorrect. • An appeal must include technical information, such as hydraulic or hydrologic data, to support the claim. • Appeals cannot be based on the effects of proposed projects or projects started after the study is in progress. • If property owners see incorrect information that does not change the flood hazard information – such as a missing or misspelled road name in the Special Flood Hazard Area or an incorrect corporate boundary – they can submit a written comment. The next step in the mapping process is to resolve all comments and appeals. Once these are resolved, FEMA will Trani, a distribution designer with National Grid, informed the Council of plans to install electric car charging stations at the intersection of Church and Devens Streets near Devens School, at the request of the city. The matter was tabled after no one responded to calls from Marchese for testimony during the scheduled Public Hearing on the matter. Hanlon said he would vote against the proposal based on National Grid’s incomplete work on a project on Broadway. Trani told him that was a gas project and the electric and gas divisions of National Grid “almost operate as two different companies.” Marchese said he agreed with Hanlon but was in favor of the charging stations because it was a service needed in Everett. Matewsky also took time to tell Trani about inadequate electric power for air conditioners and other appliances at 381 Ferry St. (Glendale Towers). “I wouldn’t want a relative living there under those conditions,” he said. notify communities of the effective date of the final maps. To review the preliminary maps or submit appeals and comments, contact your local floodplain administrator (FPA). A FEMA Map Specialist can identify your community FPA. Specialists are available by telephone at 1-877-FEMA-MAP (1-877-336-2627) or by email at FEMA-FMIX@fema. dhs.gov. The preliminary maps may also be viewed at the following websites: https://msc.fema. gov/portal/home – https:// hazards.fema.gov/femaportal/prelimdownload – https:// fema.maps.arcgis.com/apps/ webappviewer/index.html?id=e7a7dc3ebd7f4ad39bb8e485bb64ce44 More information Contact a FEMA Map Specialist by telephone at 1-877-FEMA-MAP (1-877336-2627) or by email at FEMA-FMIX@fema.dhs.gov. There are cost-saving options available for those newly mapped into a high-risk flood zone. Learn more about your flood insurance options by talking with your insurance agent or visiting www. floodsmart.gov. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK ADVOCATE NEWSPAPER FACEBOOK.COM/ADVOCATE.NEWS.MA

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