At last week’s City Council meeting, District 6 Councilor Giovanni Recupero introduced several motions centered on quality of life issues in Chelsea.
One motion requested that the city manager provide the council with an update on the status of streetlights in the city, an issue he has raised on several occasions. Specifically, Recupero said he wanted to know if all the streetlights in the city have been updated to LED lighting, and if the lighting was set to the highest brightness levels.
“I’ve been getting complaints that certain parts of the city are darker than other parts of the city,” said Recupero. “I would like to know, what is the setting, is the setting the highest, and how many times do they go around to check the lights to make sure they are all working?”
Recupero said he knows the streetlight issue has been brought up in the past, but that he wanted to make sure he was looking out for the safety of Chelsea residents.
In another motion, Recupero requested that city officials make sure that public bag dispensers used by residents to remove dog waste are filled on a regular basis.
“It’s nice to have dogs, but I think it is better for (the owners) to pick up the waste,” said Recupero. “I think the city has an issue with that.”
One of the ways to address the issue is to make sure the bag dispensers located in the city are fully stocked, he said.
“It doesn’t mean that people are going to use the bags, but at least the bags should be put there,” said Recupero.
He also noted that there are other communities that have containers where dog waste can be deposited so the waste could be converted to compost, and asked if the city could explore that.
“I have no issue with dogs, dogs are great things, I have dogs,” said Recupero. “The only issue I have is stepping on it.”
District 1 Councilor Todd Taylor noted that there are a lot more dogs in Chelsea than there used to be, likely leading to the shortage in waste bags.
“The main point is, for those of you walking your dog, and you don’t have your own bags, please go to find out where you can get the bags,” said Taylor. “In Prattville we have bags at Washington Park, along Sagamore Avenue, and over by Winthrop Street. So please, pick up after your dogs; this is an ongoing problem.”
In other business, Councilor-at-Large Leo Robinson requested that there be a subcommittee on conference meeting to discuss the city’s plans for Memorial Day and Veterans Day and how they will tie into the Chelsea 400 celebrations this year.