THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2020 Page 5 City receives over $113K in annual rideshare fees By Adam Swift G etting a dime per ride from every Uber, Lyft or other rideshare trip in the city might not seem like a lot, until you realize there were over 1.1 million such rides in Revere last year. Monday night, the City Council approved accepting $113,260 of those fees and putting them in the city’s roadway improvement fund. “This is the third year we have received funds from Uber and Lyft and other types of services like that,” said Richard Viscay, the city’s fi nance director. “We are entitled to one dime for each ride that originates here, and believe it or not, we had over 1.1 million Uber and Lyft rides originate in the city, so $113,000 and change is available to us to support our infrastructure needs and roads.” Councillor-at-Large George Rotondo asked if those funds were GEORGE ROTONDO Councillor-at-Large strictly for infrastructure repair or if they could be utilized for anything else, such as being put in the city’s general fund or capital project fund. Rotondo said he had several ideas about how the funds could be used. Viscay said the money can’t go into the general fund, but can be used for projects such as traffi c studies. “I believe we are going to use some of this money to do a street scan of all of our roads and get their conditions,” said Viscay, “so we can use it for capital planning, basically any kind of traffi c improvements that help offset the wear and tear on the roads and infrastructure we have in the city due to the increased volume of cars on the road.” The council unanimously approved accepting the funds for the roadway capital fund. In other infrastructure-related business at Monday night’s council meeting, Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna introduced an order asking the mayor to have the public works department repair the public stairs at Winthrop and Bradstreet Avenues before the winter weather makes the situation more dangerous. McKenna said the top portions of the stairs are missing, making it dangerous for pedestrians using them. Councillor quarantines after friend tests positive for COVID-19 By Adam Swift W ard 6 Councillor Richard Serino has attended the last two City Council meetings via video, as he was under quarantine after coming into contact with a friend who tested positive for COVID-19. While Serino subsequently tested negative for COVID-19, he has quarantined at home for the past two weeks in line with state and federal guidelines. He said his situation is a reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is still a serious issue locally and nationally. “About 11 days ago, I was meeting with a friend of mine who contracted COVID,” said Serino during Monday night’s council meeting. “He was a person who I considered as being in my circle, and is among the people I’ve been with since the beginning of the pandemic and I was seeing regularly. He was only getting a COVID test not because he was symptomatic, but rather because he was traveling and needed the test to go where he was going.” Serino said he was with the person the day after he got his COVID test, but said his friend was not symptomatic at that time. The day after that, Serino said, his friend got the positive test results, and Serino began his 14-day quarantine at home. “I do look forward to being back in the council chamber at the end of October,” said Serino. “I did test negative; however, under the advice of the CDC and Commonwealth guidelines for contact tracing, I will be staying inside until late this Thursday night (Oct. 8). This is just a reminder, too, to residents of the city that we are in the midst of a pandemic, and even if you are not symptomatic, you could still be a carrier of COVID-19.” With the ongoing pandemic, Serino said, it’s important to continue to follow CDC guidelines. “We must continue to be vigilant, wear a mask and stay socially distanced,” he said. Serino reminded residents that there is free COVID-19 testing at Revere High School and on Revere Beach near the Markey Bridge. “As we continue to be in a red community, please continue to stay vigilant and QUARANTINES | SEE Page 11 Gerry D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657
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