Votes at a glance: Medford City Council, Jan. 20, 2025

The Medford City Council took the following formal actions at its Jan. 20, 2025 meeting. Items are listed in the order presented at the meeting. Where roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript, they are included.

1) Approval of meeting records (01/14/2025) — Passed (voice vote). Recorded at meeting open. (transcript: records approval segment)

2) Committee reports and routine approvals — Passed (voice votes). Included Planning & Permitting, Committee of the Whole and other committee reports; motions to approve were recorded in the minutes and passed by voice. (transcript: committee reports section)

3) 25,021 — Celebratory resolution: “Medford City Council celebrate Lunar New Year” — Passed (voice vote). Sponsored by Councilor Tsai/Sanger; invites residents to the Feb. 1 celebration at the Medford Senior Center. (transcript: public celebratory resolution segment)

4) Tax-bill resolution (two versions): - A paper (Councilor Scarpelli’s original language) — Failed on roll call (3 yes, 4 no). Roll-call recorded: Councilor Callahan—Yes; Vice President Collins—No; Councilor Lozaro—No; Councilor Lemming—No; Councilor Scarpelli—Yes; Councilor Singh—No; President Bares—Yes. (transcript: roll-call segment) - B paper (amended text offered by Vice President Collins) — Passed (voice vote). Referred committee work and outreach tasks to Administration & Finance Committee and staff. (transcript: amendment/acceptance segment)

5) 25,012 — Parking department update resolution (Councilor Scarpelli) — Passed (voice vote). Council requested an update, a meeting with the new parking director and a review of the South Medford G-zone pilot and appeals; referred to Planning & Permitting (and discussion about Committee of the Whole invitation for traffic commission members). (transcript: parking resolution segment)

6) Business-friendly agenda rule change proposal — Referred to Governance Committee (motion to refer passed). (transcript: order-of-business discussion and referral)

7) 25,016 — City messenger recruitment process — Passed (voice vote). Direction: city council president, vice president and city clerk to recruit and recommend candidate for final council vote. (transcript: city messenger segment)

8) Open Meeting Law complaint (Laura Ortiz) — Council acknowledged receipt and authorized a formal response drafted by counsel; motion to accept the response passed on roll call (unanimous among present members). (transcript: open-meeting-law segment)

9) Community Preservation Committee (CPC) appropriation recommendations — Approved (roll call recorded as affirmative; motion passed). Items listed in the mayor's letter included: $526,000 for tennis court resurfacing; $322,500 for City Council chamber window restoration (later moved to CPA funding in follow-up); $100,000 for Medford Movement Rental Assistance; $99,000 for Unitarian Universalist Church exterior restoration; $400,000 for Shiloh Baptist Church ADA improvements; $85,000 for Oak Grove Cemetery design phase 2; $250,000 to Affordable Housing Trust initial funding; $98,285 from CPA open-space reserve for Condon Shell Field lighting. (transcript: CPC appropriation segment)

10) Capital Stabilization Fund rescission and appropriation request (Mayor’s office) — Approved (roll call recorded; motion passed). Council rescinded a prior stabilization appropriation for City Council chamber windows and approved a $197,012.95 appropriation from stabilization to fund multiple facilities and fire-station repairs; staff noted that the CPC fund will now cover the chamber windows. (transcript: capital stabilization segment)

11) Legal settlement approval (Forcellati claim) — Approved (roll call 6–0, 1 absent). Global settlement: total $15,000 agreed between the city and nearby nursing-center operator; city share $7,500. (transcript: legal settlement segment)

12) McCormick Avenue parcels transfer/conveyance (Mayor’s request) — Tabled. Motion to table and convene a committee-of-the-whole with the mayor’s office and Affordable Housing Trust representatives passed; council requested supporting documents and a memo on options (sale vs. on-site development). (transcript: McCormick parcels segment)

13) Motion to adjourn — Passed (voice vote).

Notes on procedure and sourcing: This list is drawn from the council transcript of Jan. 20, 2025. When the transcript records a roll call, the tally above matches the minutes read aloud. Where only voice votes were recorded, the transcript indicated the presiding officer called “Aye” and “Opposed” and the clerk recorded passage.

If you need the exact line-level transcript excerpt for any item listed above, consult the meeting record and the timecodes cited in the provenance below.