Friend The first three months of my second term have been a busy time and I wanted to provide an update on what we’ve been up to. If the 2-year Mayoral term were a Celtics game, we’d be halfway through the first quarter and we’ve used the time to get as many baskets on the scoreboard as possible: We staffed up and launched our in-house parking program. We kicked off several processes to invite Medford residents into government, including asking for help renaming city parking lots. We signed the first host community agreement with a marijuana dispensary. Some of the benefits of the agreement include a requirement to build a 10,000 square foot community arts center, hiring preferences, $435,000 in up-front contributions to various causes, an annual police cruiser purchase, $50,000 in annual contribution to Medford community organizations and EV and blue-bike stations onsite. We hired a new Diversity Director and have begun planning various engagement opportunities, including Medford first pride festival. We hired a federal funds manager and reached out to the community for input on how to spend federal ARPA funds over the coming years. We also hired a new finance director and auditor. We appointed a new DPW Commissioner and City Engineer who will work together to address the sidewalk and roads using the street and sidewalk assessment that we were able to undertake through a Community Compact great we received. We advocated with the Gaming Commission to restrict future entertainment venues at the Encore that unfairly compete with the Chevalier which resulted in important limitations on new Everett casino-district development. We continue to add to the ranks of police and fire to bolster public safety, and have hired 7 veterans to these two departments in Q1, We advanced plans for Medford PD to wear body-worn camera and securing a $293,000 grant to add more social workers to the department. We welcomed a new truck and a new ladder truck to the Fire Department’s Station 4 & 5, along with station improvements advancing across several locations. We continued progress in the comprehensive master planning process. We advanced plans and received multiple grants to pilot Blue Bikes in Medford this summer. We advanced plans for an Affordable Housing Trust Fund. We unveiled new designs for murals at LoConte Rink. We continue to address the pandemic and have revised our approach as the situation evolves. 93 percent of ELIGIBLE Medford residents have received at least one dose We advanced plans to add electric vehicle charging stations across the city. We refiled the Charter Commission Home Rule Petition with the City Council. I continue to believe its time to look at Medford’s charter to make sure our government is organized to meet the needs of the 21st century and will continue to work to give voters the right to consider potential changes despite some hesitancy from some Councilors resistance to advance this discussion. We celebrated the grand-opening of the new state-of-the-art, net-zero Medford Public Library. In summary, the first quarter of 2022 has been a busy time in City Hall. Perhaps most of all, I’ve appreciated the ability to start getting back to community events and hear your ideas and suggestions. Please keep them coming! I also wanted to share a save-the-date for a Spring fundraising event hosted by my campaign on May 31st 5-7pm at the Ford Tavern on Locust Street across from Wegmans/Marshalls. We hope this event will be a fun time to get together, especially since we weren’t able to host a proper post-election celebration with our supporters due to Omicron. Unfortunately, with a two-year term, we’re constantly having to think about having the resources to spread our message for a better Medford and these events help support that need. Thank you for your support. Breanna If you can't make the upcoming event and still want to help Breanna continue moving Medford Forward! |
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