Council quietly dumps charter review initiative.Byline: Nick Kotsopoulos COLUMN: CITY HALL NOTEBOOK The charter change chatter Chatter See: Whipsawed at City Hall appears to be kaput ka·put also ka·putt adj. Informal Incapacitated or destroyed. [German kaputt, from French capot, not having won a single trick at piquet, possibly from Provençal. - ending as quickly as it came. Overshadowed at last week's City Council meeting by all the discussion on a special pension for a former city firefighter and the financial impact of health insurance reforms on next year's municipal budget was action the council took on a report it received on the processes available to initiate a review of Worcester's Home Rule Charter. When the item came up before the council, Councilor-at-Large Gary Rosen, one of seven councilors who co-sponsored the order requesting the report, thanked the city administration for the report and simply moved to have it filed, which is the parliamentary equivalent of placing it in the circular file. There was no further discussion and no motion to have the report referred to a committee for study. That was in sharp contrast to three weeks earlier when the council spent a significant amount of time discussing charter review. Some city councilors declared it was time to get "a fresh set of eyes" to look at the charter and investigate what processes are available to initiate a review of the charter. But there appears to have been a change of heart. The council's action last week could be a sign that any effort to review the charter will have to start outside of City Hall. It looks like the sale of alcohol at the Green Hill Park Municipal Golf Course is going to resurface re·sur·face v. re·sur·faced, re·sur·fac·ing, re·sur·fac·es v.tr. To cover with a new surface: resurfacing a road; resurfaced the floor. v.intr. as an issue this spring. Robert L. Moylan Jr., commissioner of public works The Commissioner of Public Works heads one of the departments in those local governments in New Jersey that operate under the Walsh Act form of municipal governance. This is a standalone position in Walsh Act municipalities with a five-member commission. and parks, told the Parks and Recreation Commission Thursday night that he would like to see the clubhouse at the golf course have the ability to sell alcohol this year for a limited number of events, and then seek to expand that to a permanent basis later on. He said the alcohol sales would be for tournaments held at the golf course and would be done through a private vendor hired by the city. He said there are no plans to rent out the clubhouse, which is undergoing an extensive renovation, for events such as banquets and weddings. "Weddings and banquets are not something we are interested in doing," Mr. Moylan said. "We're not exploring it, and it isn't anywhere on our radar screen. We simply don't plan to go there." Two years ago, Mr. Moylan broached a similar idea and it triggered a storm of controversy. Parks officials back then contended that a beer and wine license for the Green Hill Golf Course was necessary to make it more competitive with other area golf courses and to create a much-needed new revenue source for the city. But opponents argued allowing the sale and consumption of alcohol at the golf course would send the wrong message because the course is located within Green Hill Park. The city has a policy that prohibits the sale or consumption of alcohol in most of its parks. At that time, the Parks and Recreation Commission agreed not to take up the potential sale of alcohol at the golf course until the master-plan process for the course is completed. The master plan was approved by the Parks Commission Thursday night, and it will next go to the City Council for its review. Speaking of alcohol in the parks, the Parks and Recreation Commission Thursday night also reaffirmed its policy in that regard. As in the past, alcohol is prohibited pro·hib·it tr.v. pro·hib·it·ed, pro·hib·it·ing, pro·hib·its 1. To forbid by authority: Smoking is prohibited in most theaters. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. in all city parks, with the exception of the Common. The Parks Commission has the authority to permit the sale and consumption of alcohol in the Common, provided the petitioner receives a two-thirds majority vote from the commission. Also, permission would be limited to nonprofit organizations Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. that want to stage an event on the Common as a fundraiser. The use and sale of alcohol will also be permitted at the Green Hill Municipal Golf Course, upon a vote of the Parks Commission, provided the vendor also agrees to meet any and all conditions imposed by the city's License Commission. The Planning Board Noun 1. planning board - a board appointed to advise the chief administrator advisory board governance, governing body, organisation, administration, brass, establishment, organization - the persons (or committees or departments etc. last Wednesday night approved the plans for a proposed supermarket development on 3.68 acres off Southbridge Street, next to Sclamos Appliance and Furniture. Robert E. Longden, a lawyer representing the developer, said the site is a former scrap yard scrap yard n → depósito de chatarra; (for cars) → cementerio de coches scrap yard n → parc m à ferrailles; ( . He said plans call for building a 36,050-square-foot PriceRite Supermarket, a 14,418-square-foot building to house a pharmacy pharmacy, art of compounding and dispensing drugs and medication. The term is also applied to an establishment used for such purposes. Until modern times medication was prepared and dispensed by the physician himself. In the 18th cent. and a 7,646-square-foot building to house a branch bank. There will be 222 parking spaces for all three buildings, which exceeds the 194 that are required under the city's zoning ordinance A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a Municipal Corporation. An ordinance is a law passed by a municipal government. A municipality, such as a city, town, village, or borough, is a political subdivision of a state within which a municipal corporation has been , he said. "(The developer) is looking to provide much needed amenities to the South Worcester neighborhood," Mr. Longden said. District 4 City Councilor coun·cil·or also coun·cil·lor n. A member of a council, as one convened to advise a governor. See Usage Note at council. coun Barbara G. Haller Hal·ler , Albrecht von 1708-1777. Swiss physiologist whose investigations into the structure of nerves and the relationship of nerves to muscles form the basis of modern neurology. said the neighborhood supports the project, adding that it will improve what has been a long-neglected piece of property that has become an eyesore eye·sore n. Something, such as a distressed building, that is unpleasant or offensive to view. eyesore Noun something very ugly Noun 1. . NAME: WORCESTER CITY COUNCIL |
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