1

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH! Vol. 31, No.5 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday Serino proposes snow removal help for veterans and retired first responders By Adam Swift L ast Saturday’s blizzard was just further proof that it can be diffi cult for the city’s senior citizens to dig out after a heavy snowstorm. Recently, the City Council gave its support to a plan proposed by Ward 6 Councillor Richard Serino that could help some of Revere’s most vulnerable residents. The council approved Serino’s motion to have Mayor Brian Arrigo look into the City of Revere hiring unemployed veterans to shovel out elderly veterans and retired fi rst responders following storms. “This stems from a resident on Sigourney Street who is an 86-year-old retired Revere police offi cer,” said Serino. “He calls have family nearby and they can’t aff ord to have their house shoveled.” Serino did point to the good RICHARD SERINO Ward 6 Councillor me once every winter at our fi rst snowfall. He and his wife live in their house, and they don’t work done by Revere High School’s JROTC Snow Angel program, but he said there is a backlog to take part in the program and his constituents on Sigourney Street have been on the waiting list for several years. A program separate from the Snow Angel program could provide some relief for older veterans and retired first responders and put some money in the pockets of younger unemployed veterans, Serino said. “I think it would be a win-win; we would be putting community veterans who are in need SNOWSTORM | SEE Page 3 781-286-8500 Friday, February 4, 2022 Board of Health approves mask advisory By Adam Swift T he Board of Health approved a mask advisory for Revere businesses and indoor spaces at last week’s meeting. While the move does not mandate the wearing of masks indoors, Public Health Director Lauren Buck said she hopes it encourages local businesses to take a closer look at COVID-19 protocols. “It’s not a mandate, but it is a strong encouragement,” said Buck. “We hope businesses use the guidance we are giving them to reconsider their protocols in their businesses, but it is an advisory, not a mandate.” Buck said the advisory was Revere High School’s JROTC Snow Angels are pictured outside a home on Endicott Ave. following a recent snowstorm. Conservation Commission approves Sullivan Park plan By Adam Swift L ast Wednesday, the Conservation Commission approved a notice of intent for a major upgrade to Sullivan Park. The public hearing on the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) park at Revere Beach Boulevard and Revere Street was continued from December. During Wednesday’s meeting, landscape architect Skyler Chick of Shadley Associates addressed some of the issues that were raised at the December meeting. “The proposal is to rehabilitate an existing park that is sorely underutilized; it has compacted soil, and it lacks vegetation,” said Chick. “The DCR is planning a pretty major investment in this park to upgrade the walkways, amenities, site furnishings, and there will be a signifi cant amount of plantings and stormwater improvements.” The park is bound by Revere Beach Boulevard on the east, Revere Street to the south, a National Grid parcel and Diamond Creek to the west and a recently completed six-story residential development at 320 Revere Beach Blvd. to the north. Currently, there is a baseball fi eld at the park that is underutilized, and plans for the upgraded park include bocce courts, a water feature like a splash pad, and a paved concrete plaza with tree pits, benches and game tables. Chick said the project now has a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) fi le number, which it did not have in December. There were also some issues with some references in the operations and maintenance manual for the park. “The references to the city of Revere have been updated to the DCR, so Revere does not have any maintenance obligations at Sullivan Park,” said Chick. “There was also a question about the use of a divertput forward due to the spike in cases due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and she pointed to mandates and protocols that are in place in neighboring communities. “Revere is not immune to the trends we are seeing around the country and the world because of Omicron,” said Buck. “The good news is that we have already reached the peak, we think, of Omicron and it’s on a downward trend. Most experts think that just as quickly as it went up it will quickly go down.” In general, however, Buck said the city’s COVID-19 daily case count is still very high. “They are much higher than we were experiencing back in March 2020…” she said. Buck said the best defense against the Omicron variant is to get vaccinated and a booster shot. While the vaccination rate in Revere is high, she said the percentage of residents who have gotten their booster shot is currently around 26 percent. “We need to make sure everyone eligible for a booster is geter for the water feature. We discussed that with the DCR, and that has been included in the project.” There will also be signage in the park regarding dog walking and dog waste. “The DCR has reviewed that, and they are including park regulation signage, and there will be a condition on that that will say something to the effect that dogs must be leashed at all times and owners shall remove all pet waste,” said Chick. ting a booster, and we have a lot of work to do there,” said Buck. Board of Health Member Nezha Louaddi asked if other COVID-19 measures, such as a return to sixfoot social distancing in businesses, might be needed in the city. “Last summer and spring, as part of the state reopening plan, a lot of the protocols around distancing and the number of patrons in an establishment kind of ended,” said Buck. In preparing the mask advisory, Buck said she and Inspectional Services Director Michael Wells wanted to make sure they came up with a plan that is manageable for businesses in Revere. “We want to make sure we keep in mind that a lot of our small businesses have been very hard hit,” said Buck. “We think that masking is the best method of prevention in a business setting right now, and that we do not need to go back to a sixfoot distancing mandate. At this time, it’s not really mandated anywhere that I know of in Massachusetts.” Buck also said the city has to be cognizant of the fact that, at some point, everyone will have to start living with normalizing COVID-19 a little bit more. “Moving back to mandates doesn’t really feel like the right move for Revere and Revere small businesses and businesses in general at this time,” said Buck. Wells also noted that the city doesn’t have the resources available to enforce a mandate. “It also puts the businesses in a little bit of a bind when they have an uncooperative customer, and it just causes a lot of unnecessary hate and discontent in businesses that are already struggling as it is,” said Wells. “In addition to that, the project does include waste receptacles, so they will be around the site so people will have an opportunity to dispose of their bags in the waste receptacles.” The DCR will be responsible for maintaining and emptying the trash barrels. Conservation Commission Chair John Shue said Chick addressed all the issues that were raised during the December meeting. “I think it’s a great project,” he said.

2 Publizr Home