City Manager’s latest monthly message focus on lead exposure and fire safety
City Manager Fidel Maltez has placed an emphasis on communicating with residents since he took office in January. Earlier this week, Maltez recorded the latest in his series of public outreach videos to air on Chelsea Community TV. The text of his November video, which focuses on lead exposure issue, is below:
Hello Residents of Chelsea. Welcome to our community. My name is Fidel Maltez, and it is my honor to serve as your City Manager. Today, I want to talk about something that directly affects the health, safety, and future of all of us: lead exposure.
This is a serious issue, one that is both silent and invisible, but devastating, especially for our children. Lead poisoning doesn’t just affect a child’s body, it can impair their mind, hinder their ability to learn, and ultimately limit their future. That’s why we, as a city, are taking strong action to eliminate lead exposure once and for all.
In 2018, our Department of Public Works launched a Lead Service Replacement Program to replace every public and private lead service line in the city of Chelsea at no cost to residents.
Since its launch, we’ve replaced approximately 200 lead lines,
We have also confirmed well over 3,000 copper service lines, which deliver safe drinking water to our residents.
This month, our lead task force has reached out to over 1,000 homes in an effort to identify the roughly 1,400 unknown lines pending confirmation. As a result of these boots-on-the-ground efforts, over 100 homes have signed up for service line inspections.
To continue this important work, we have launched a Lead Task Force composed of key leaders from our Department of Public Works, Housing and Community Development, Public Health Department and the City Manager’s Office. This Task Force is driving immediate action to raise awareness about the dangers of lead and is leading a comprehensive effort to eliminate lead service lines in Chelsea.
These efforts are backed by funding from the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority. We have also applied for a $15 million grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency to make sure we finish the job.
Our work goes far beyond drinking water service lines.
Early detection for lead exposure in Children is key to preventing long-term harm. That’s why our Task Force is pushing to ensure every child under five gets a blood test to screen for lead every year.
To help us reach this goal, we launched the Chelsea Lead Exposure Mitigation Collaborative aimed at identifying children who missed their lead screening and ensuring they get tested. This collaborative includes our Public Health Department, the Cambridge Health Alliance, the Massachusetts General Brigham Chelsea Health Center, and Neighbor Health.
Our Lead Task Force is also partnering with Chelsea Public Schools to send direct texts to caregivers, urging them to get their children tested annually for lead exposure.
The City has also hosted various community meetings for parents, caregivers, and daycare providers to raise awareness about the dangers of lead and encourage lead testing. As a result of these efforts, we have seen tremendous progress. In the first quarter of 2024, 87% of Chelsea children were tested for lead, surpassing our 2023 screening rate by an incredible 19%.
This September, Chelsea was selected to participate in the EPA’s Get the Lead Out Initiative, which will help us accelerate the identification and replacement of lead pipes. We are committed to getting this done quickly because you and your family deserve safe, clean water. If you are unsure if your water lines are safe, we will test them for free. If they are lead, the City will replace them for free.
In October, we launched an online Water Service Line Inventory Dashboard, where you can check what your home’s water service line is made of. If you don’t know, just give us a call, and we will come to your home to check for free. These efforts cannot and will not succeed without your help. We need you to take action. If your child has not been tested for lead, we encourage you to please get it done. If you do not know what your pipes are made of, call us. This is Our Community, and together, we can solve this. Clearly, we have made huge improvements, but we are going even further to make these
programs successful. We will leave no stone unturned. The health of Our Children is our priority.
Let me know now jump into another safety concern impacting our entire region: Fire Safety. As you are likely aware, the state of Massachusetts is currently experiencing high-risk fire weather.
I’m asking all our residents to protect themselves and their neighbors by refraining from outdoor activities that involve open flames, sparks and embers, or other heat sources. We are not just at risk for fire outdoors. It’s important to practice indoor fire safety as well. The number one cause of residential fires is cooking. Some tips for practicing safe cooking include keeping your cooking areas clean, staying in the kitchen while cooking, and keeping metal out
of the microwave. Another cause of indoor fires during the cooler months is the misuse of space heaters. If you are planning to heat your home this winter, please, please, follow the state’s best practices for preventing space heater fires, which include always turning off space heaters when going to bed or leaving home; keeping anything that can burn three feet away; and using only heavy-duty extension cords to electrify your heater. Please visit chelseama.gov for a complete guide to fire safety.
Finally, I want to talk about the results of the election. We know that the outcome of this election will have a direct impact on so many of us, particularly around immigration policy, housing, and healthcare. Many of our families depend on stable, supportive policies, policies that allow us to live with dignity, regardless of our immigration status. Whether you’re here temporarily, or you’ve been here for generations, your well-being matters. Federal policies, especially those concerning housing, healthcare, and immigration, shape our ability to provide for you and support our community as a whole. As someone who immigrated to this country when I was 7 years old, I know firsthand the
challenges and hopes that come with starting a new life in a new place. And that’s why, for me, ensuring that all our residents feel safe and secure is not just a job; it is my mission. This for me is personal.
As we move forward, we must be ready for potential changes in funding and programs, but I want to be absolutely clear: the City of Chelsea is committed to making sure that every one of
you feels safe, valued, and protected, regardless of what happens at the national level. For me, this is not just about policy; this is about our people, and Our Community. This is about ensuring that each person, no matter where they come from, no matter their immigration status, feels like they belong here.
In 2007, Chelsea made a bold decision to declare itself a Sanctuary City, and since then, we have worked tirelessly to protect and support our immigrant communities. Our work continues today as we monitor changes at the federal level and provide accurate, actionable information to our residents about their rights and resources.
Ahead of the election, we ramped up our efforts to connect people with legal services, particularly for those who might be impacted by changes to immigration policies. Just recently, the Chelsea Public Library hosted an immigration webinar with experts from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and later this month, the Library is bringing in an immigration attorney to answer your questions. These are just a few of the resources we’ll continue to offer to ensure you feel informed and supported. In addition, we’re actively exploring new programs to provide broader access to language classes, job training, and health services that are tailored to the unique needs of our immigrant
community. These services are not just for some of us—they’re for all of us. Chelsea will continue to listen, especially in the aftermath of the election. We know that each person’s experience is different, and we remain committed to making sure that your concerns are heard. But regardless of any national rhetoric or the shifting of political winds, Chelsea will keep its focus on what truly matters to us here—housing, healthcare, economic opportunity, and climate resilience. These are the issues that affect all of us, and they are the issues we will
continue to fight for, together.
To me, this is personal. But it’s also who we are as a community—a community of immigrants and the children of immigrants, who know the value of hard work, resilience, and caring for one another. And that’s how we’ll move forward. We’ll move forward, together.
We are making Chelsea safer, one step at a time. Together, we are securing a healthier future for all of us. See you next time on Our Community. Thank you and May god bless the City of Chelsea.