Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 17, 2025 Friends of Fellsmere Heights Update Hello Friend, Welcome to 2025 We expect this to be a very important year, in both its short- and long-term aspects. With major changes to how Malden manages open space, and with the opening of the new hospital expected in July, we have many reasons to be engaged and hopeful. This update provides: • Information about new committee assignments at Malden City Council and why this matters to us. • Information about our first meeting of 2025. New Year at Malden City Hall In our last email of 2024, we told you about proposed changes to the Malden City Charter that may affect our work. The incoming City Council President, Ryan O’Malley, has announced new committees, appointments and other changes that will likely speed this process up. Of note: • More meetings will be available over Microsoft Teams, so that committees can meet remotely on “off” nights. Teams is rather like Zoom, but it comes with the software bundle used by Malden and is significantly ~ Legal Notice ~ CDBG and HOME Annual Action Plan and 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan and Public Comment Periods The City of Malden’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and the North Suburban Consortium’s Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) program are federal community development programs that help cities like Malden address the causes and consequences of poverty by building affordable housing, improving parks and infrastructure, funding social services, and more. The City and the Consortium are developing the next Annual Action Plan, which describes how CDBG and HOME funds will be used in the new program year that begins July 1, 2025. The City and Consortium are also developing a Five-Year Consolidated Plan, which describes community needs and strategies for CDBG and HOME resources in the 2025-2029 program years. The City and Consortium will hold community meetings and a public comment period on the Annual Action Plan and Consolidated Plan following the schedule below: Tues. Jan. 21: CDBG Public Services and Physical Improvements applications available online at https://www.cityofmalden.org/864/CDBG-Program. All applications must be submitted using the City’s Neighborly Software platform linked from this page. Potential CDBG applicants requesting technical assistance regarding their applications should email apratt@cityofmalden.org. Wed. Jan. 22: Community meeting at 6pm, in person at Malden City Hall, 215 Pleasant Street, Malden, and via Teams. This meeting will include an overview of the CDBG and HOME programs and the Annual Action Plan and Consolidated Plan process. Thurs. Feb. 20: CDBG applications due by 5pm. Tues, Apr. 1: Draft Annual Action Plan and Consolidated Plan is released and public comment period begins. The plans will be published online at https://www.cityofmalden.org/873/ HUD-Reports-and-Notices. Hard copies are available by request to ktseng@cityofmalden. org. Comments may be submitted to ktseng@cityofmalden.org with subject line “AAP Public Comment” or to Kristina Tseng, OSPCD, 215 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148. Wed, Apr. 16: Community meeting at 6pm, in person at Malden City Hall, 215 Pleasant Street, Malden, and via Teams. This meeting will include an overview of the draft annual action plan. Mon, May 5: Public comment period ends at 5pm. By Thurs. May 15: Annual Action Plan is submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for review. Tues. July 1: Program Year 2025 begins. Updated Teams log-in information and in-person room information is available at https://www.cityofmalden.org/calendar.aspx. To request language interpretation or accommodation for a disability, please contact ktseng@cityofmalden.org or 781-324-5720. January 17, 2025 less expensive than Zoom for the city to use. A meeting link is being provided in the posted agenda for committees that will use Teams, and can be opened in a web browser on desktop systems and supported tablets other than a smartphone. For now, on-line access is view-only, but more participation will be available in the near future. Also for now, meetings will either be in-person or hybrid. (This change is separate from the streaming of Malden City Council meetings.) • The Rules and Ordinances Committee is likely to have a significant effect on our work. The chair of that committee is Councillor Winslow; the vice chair is Councillor Linehan, and the members are Councillors Crow, O’Malley and Taylor. • Last year, we told you the planned combination of three small committees (Public Property, Public Works, and Cemetery). This change is to be codified and committee membership increased from three Councillors to five. Councillor Spadafora will chair the new Public Property committee; the vice chair is Councillor McDonald, and Councillors Sica, O’Malley and Linehan will be members. • There are three new committees: Arts and Culture, Community Traditions, and Quadricentennial Planning (Malden’s quadricentennial is in 2049). We aren’t sure how these might affect our own traditions, such as the Lantern Walk. The most important of the City Council committees from our perspective is likely to be Rules and Ordinances (R&O). At their next meeting, they will be considering ordinances to implement the new state law regarding Accessory Dwelling Units by defining the site review standards for such dwellings. We are going to keep an eye on the R&O agenda so we can let you know when issues of concern to us arise. We will be testing the Teams remote access at the next R&O meeting, Tuesday, January 14, at 6:00 PM. First Meeting of 2025 Our first meeting of 2025 will be held on Saturday, January 18, and will be held through Zoom. As usual, the Steering Committee will meet from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, and the General Meeting will be held from 10:30 to 11:30 AM. Members and supporters are welcome to join at any point. Please RSVP at the Events page if you plan to attend. The link is available from that page and is also provided in the email you will receive when you respond. And we’re off! Let’s make this an excellent year. Lauren McGillicuddy, Clerk Friends of Fellsmere Heights BBB Scam Alert: Scammers are impersonating road toll collection services in text message scam Eastern MA, ME, RI & VT – If you’ve been on a road trip, you’re probably familiar with modern tolling systems that allow you to pay your toll fees online. If you anticipate paying for any outstanding tolls, watch out for this text message phishing scam: Fraudsters are impersonating toll collection services, trying to trick consumers into paying for fake outstanding tolls. They might even use AI technology to create more convincing fake websites or personalized messages to include your personal information. How the scam works You receive a text message from what appears to be a state tollway collection service, like the Illinois Tollway, the Florida Turnpike (Sunpass), Georgia Peach Pass, or EZ Drive MA. The text message says you owe a road toll fee of $11.69 or around $12, but you need to pay it immediately to avoid a late fee of $50. Other variations are in Massachusetts for $6.99, Georgia Peach Pass for $3.75, the Ohio Turnpike for $7.60 or even $97.50, with a $150 penalty, and Texas Toll for $7.79. The message includes a link to settle your balance, which appears to be from the state’s toll service, making the message look legitimate. However, if you click the link, you might notice they are asking for sensitive personal information, like your Social Security number. If you proceed and provide your personal and payment information on the website, scammers could now have access to that information, and you might have lost some money. BBB Scam Tracker – https://www. bbb.org/scamtracker – has received reports of text messages that appear to be from toll-collection services. One consumer recently shared, I received a text from EZDrive MA Alert - 63 964 942 8797 SCAM | SEE PAGE 17
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