Candidate for Medford City Council
candidate email: blungo2001@yahoo.com
Candidate for Medford City Council
candidate email: blungo2001@yahoo.com
I would like to be able to park easily and walk or cycle through a thriving square. I want to go through the square and say to myself, "this is a square that people want to come to, not a square that people have to come to." I want to see the riverfront developed with riverfront access, outdoor restaurants, and wider sidewalks for seating. I want to see a safe place where people can live, work, shop and dine all within the revitalized area. I want to see a great deal of foot traffic within improved bicycle and walking trails; people going to and from all of the businesses, new and old, to and from the Chevalier auditorium, the Royal House, Springstep, City Hall, the Medford Public Library, and the Boys and Girls Club. I hope to see a diverse square with a number of assets including cultural, housing, retail, and offices. I know that with all of this development and hard work, the real estate values will increase within our whole community.
In the short term, I hope that a number of different developers respond to the Request for Proposals. I hope that they are all interested and excited to become part of the wonderful project. I also hope that the Mayor and the City Council can look into the possibility of hiring someone to assist Lauren DiLorenzo, the Office of Community Development Director, and the Medford Square Committee, who have all worked tirelessly on the project. With all the hard work and determination, I believe that we will start to see the Master plan taking shape in the very near future.
We are lucky to have a number of strong assets in the City of Medford and even luckier to have such dedicated people to look after them and help them prosper. Our strongest assets include, but are not limited to, the Royal House, the Brooks Estate, Chevalier Auditorium, and the Organ at Chevalier, Mystic River Bend, Springstep, the Medford Public Library, the Boys and Girls Club, Medford Health Matters, Medford Family Network, the Medford Visiting Nurses Association, The Council on Aging, and the Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
To enhance these assets, I as one councilor will continue to support the different organizations and the people who make them thrive day in and day out. Without such wonderful supporters and activists no organization would stay alive, and be as vibrant as so many Medford organizations are. We also need to make sure the assets are well maintained, which means helping out with the funding, as we have done in the past. The City council, on a number of occasions has appropriated money to help these assets, for example, the new roof at the Brooks Estate. I will continue to be a supporter of Medford's social, cultural, and historical assets, because without them we would not be as great a community as we are.
The best way to help small businesses throughout our community is to do all that we can as a business friendly council, to make sure that patrons are frequenting their establishments. A flourishing business is one that makes money, but to do so there needs to be parking for the patrons. As a city councilor I have and I will continue to encourage the city to erect a new parking garage in Medford Square. This current council was right on top of the parking issue when the parking garage in Medford Square needed to be condemned. We fought to tear down the old garage and either put up a new one, or repave the existing lot so that the businesses would no longer suffer. I will be on top of the parking situation as the Master Plan for Medford Square is implemented.
We have also had a number of issues in Medford Square as well as West Medford Square in regards to construction and poor repaving. The current Council has addressed the issues and has done all that is within our power to make the situations better for our struggling businesses.
Whether it is West Medford Square, Salem Street, Medford Square, or any other business area in our community I will do what I can to make sure issues they are facing are given the time and energy that they need to be resolved.
Also, as a City Councilor I feel it is our job to be inviting to all those who are thinking of opening a business. We work with small businesses all the time for such issues as, signage and hours of operation, so we need to be respectful and encouraging to all who want the opportunity to own a business in the City of Medford.
Throughout my four years as a City Councilor, I cannot remember a time that we met with a developer and did not encourage, if not require, affordable housing to be a component of their proposed plan. Affordable housing is so important today. Living costs have increased within the last number of years and it is so hard for a low to moderate income family to continue to live in Medford. I know first hand, being at the age where a number of friends have had to move out of Medford because they cannot afford to reside here. It is unfortunate to see someone who has lived here for thirty years have to leave because they cannot afford to stay. I will continue to push for affordable housing units, like those that are going in on Brainard Street.
I have also been talking to residents about finding a way for homes to be allowed to have a legal in-law apartment. It is something that needs to be looked into, not only for young adults who want to stay in Medford, but also for the senior population who need to be cared for and live close to their families. Many of our Senior citizens are on fixed incomes and need help with living costs, which are only going to get worse with the skyrocketing energy costs.
The City of Medford was lucky to have had Kim Lundgren, and now have Patty Barry as our environmental agent. They have and continue to work tirelessly on so many issues facing Medford and its residents. Not every city is afforded the opportunity to have a department that focuses solely on the environmental needs and concerns of their city. Our Energy and Environment office focuses on a number of important issues such as energy efficiency, climate change protection, air quality, and open space conservation.
This past year, the City Council, with the help of the Medford Conservation Commission, passed the Wetlands protection Act. I am glad to have been a part of it. The commission protects and preserves wetlands within the City of Medford as well as open space. They work to insure that all construction and development projects are in compliance with the state and local regulations.
I also think Energy is one of the city's biggest concerns right now. Everyone is suffering at the gas pump, but as we edge our way into the cold winter months, I have a big concern about heating bills, especially in regards to the Elderly on fixed incomes, who have to pay the astronomical heating bills.
Another thing this city is involved with is "Green UP." I have been a member for almost a year now and every month I pay a charge depending on my electric bill which goes to help research different sources of energy such as wind, or solar energy. In the long run a percentage of the money collected will come back to Medford to help educate our children and also for other energy projects that the city wants to take part in.
The Administration of this City hired another department head for 87 thousand dollars this year, who will work for the Department of Public Works. Five of the current seven city councilors, including myself, voted to remove 87k from the budget because we felt the position was not needed at this time. The reason I voted to eliminate the position, had nothing to do with the gentlemen who was hired, it had to do with how this city spends money, and the fact that we need the money to be spent in different areas such as to repave our streets, which are in dire need of repair, and to better maintain the parks in this city. We also cannot do all of this work that desperately needs to be done without more workers, men and women who will actually have their boots on the ground. The parks are kept up as best as can be with only five members of the parks department, which is headed by Joe Nowak. With over 15 parks in this City, having five people to maintain them, does not cut it, and I have fought and will continue to fight for additional hiring so that the parks can be better maintained. Medford does a wonderful job creating new parks, such as Victory and the Columbus, but we neglect parks which need to be better maintained. I receive calls every week on a different park. Barry park needs new tennis courts, Victory Park already has missing pieces, Dugger Park needs better lighting, and just recently Carr park needs additional structural pieces as well as a paint job. The list is never ending and needs to be addressed. We as a council talk about and fight for all of these concerns to be taken care of, but we only have so much authority. I promise that with the power I do have I will continue to be a voice on these important issues. Our parks are for the children of this community, a population that seems to have no voice, which is why I ran for office in the first place and why I continue to want to be a part of it.
As far as Open Spaces and trees, I am a big supporter of green space. Every development that comes into this City, from Wendy’s to the Wellington development, I have made sure that green space and additional trees are part of their master plans. We also have to continue to fund the replacement of trees throughout this whole community. If trees rot, which they sometimes do, they should be taken down and replaced. Our tree warden does a great job with the funding that he receives, but of course he could be doing a lot more if he had additional personnel and funds.
I will start with the maintenance of directional signals, which is taken care of by Brenden Reagan, head of the electrical Department. He does a great job and responds to all of the city councils concerns promptly and does what is in his power to fix them. When it comes to the installation of new traffic signals, I feel the city is slow to respond. I feel that certain areas are dangerous and need more attention than they are currently given. A few months ago I brought up the need for installation of traffic lights at the exit of the new schools onto riverside Ave. I discussed it on the council floor and stated, "That if something is not done on Riverside Ave. to protect the children crossing the street, we are going to have an unfortunate accident like the one we had in front of St. Raphael’s a few years prior, where a child was struck." The city took a very reactive role with the installation of that light, which is the wrong way to operate. We need to be more proactive when it comes to protecting our pedestrians and cyclists, and making the roads safer.
I also believe there are a number of places in the city that need more signage, especially signs that illustrate the speed limit. One area that I recently mentioned is on Salem Street. Speeding is one of the biggest concerns in this city and needs to be better enforced.
I am open to the possibility of extending the Green Line to West Medford because it could bring with it a number of benefits to the community, such as improve the quality of air by getting vehicles off of the roads, it is a convenient way for many people to commute, it will increase property values, and it is good for the economics in Medford; but I do have my concerns. My first concern is parking in West Medford and along the train route. Many questions need to be answered such as how we are going to address non-Medford residents coming in to Medford and congesting the city with additional parking that we do not have right now. Keeping the integrity of the neighborhoods must be of top priority and is another concern of mine.
I feel that we need to receive more community input through open community meetings to make sure all the issues and concerns are put on the table and addressed. Once one of the 4 alternatives is decided on, we need to come together and decide what the best decision is for the community as a whole. Right now, we are in the beginning stages, but in the short term we do need an action plan so that all concerns are looked into and met.
Rising Energy costs are going to tragically impact this city's budget on both the municipal side and the school side. The School Budget was in a deficit this year and it had a lot to do with the high energy costs. It costs a great deal to heat, light, and run the school buildings as well as the municipal buildings. With gas prices and electric costs continuing to increase we are in for another tough year. We need to come up with a plan on how we are going to deal with the specific line items that deal with energy costs. We cannot wait until June to find a way to pay for the increased bills. The city as a whole, which includes the Mayor, City Manager, School Committee, Superintendent, and the City Council have to start now and figure out a way to handle the upcoming budget concerns.
