By Adam Swift
District 6 City Councilor Giovanni Recupero wants to make sure local businesses pay up if they don’t clean up the snow and ice on their sidewalks following snow and ice storms.
At Monday night’s council meeting, City Manager Fidel Maltez submitted a letter in response to Recupero’s motion asking for an ordinance requiring business owners to pay for the clean up in front of their properties in addition to a $50 fine.
“We got a lot of complaints about these businesses because the streets were still full of ice and they did not clean,” said Recupero. “So you give a $50 ticket and that does not mean anything. What you want to do is you clean it; if you don’t want to clean it, the city will clean it and if they do, you get a bigger ticket, you pay what it cost to clean it.”
Maltez stated that state regulations do allow the city to charge for cleaning costs if a business does not clean up after a storm and the city does it. He said the city charges through a tax lien for abandoned properties that need to be cleaned after a storm, noting that this is what the city does at the Forbes property.
“In the case of what occurred earlier, this year we got a lot of calls of ice on sidewalks and streets, and our DPW is happy to help anyone,” said Maltez.
In other council business, Maltez responded to another motion made by Recupero requesting information on the protocol for veterans using the Senior Center’s shuttle bus service.
“The shuttle service is a program that was started by our Director of Health & Human Services, Tracy Nowicki,” stated Maltez. “The service is contracted to a third party transportation company.”
The transportation services provide trips to medical appointments, social activities, and to Market Basket. Maltez said the service is available to all Chelsea residents over 62 and that residents, including veterans over 62, are encouraged to book trips by calling the senior center.
“While the Senior Center is focused on residents over the age of 62, I know that our staff go above and beyond to help any residents in need,” stated Maltez. “Our Director of Constituent Services would also be happy to connect residents with necessary services.”
Recupero said he would have liked more information on the bus service pertinent to veterans and that he would like to see the shuttle available for Chelsea veterans regardless of their age.
“How about a poor veteran who is 30 years old?” Recupero asked. “What can he do, are you going to contact him to another agency? The point of this order was to see if the bus could be used by veterans that are not 62.”