City Councillor Ira Novoselsky’s Public Works Committee met on Monday night with DPW Superintendent Don Goodwin and Mayor Tom Ambrosino to discuss a number of issues on the public works front.
•The city is preparing to come down on homeowners who have sump pumps hooked into the sewer system, a practice that is illegal and most common in the Ward 6 area.
Goodwin and the mayor said that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has presented a mandate to Revere and several surrounding communities to get rid of these illicit connections, or pay the price.
The city will begin conducting smoke tests soon that will reveal what homes have these connections. Once that has been determined, they will request entry into the homes for closer examination and, if confirmed, order homeowners to fix the problem. If homeowners refuse to allow city inspectors in, the city will shut off all utilities to the home.
“One requirement of the EPA order is that we get rid of sump pump hookups into the sewer by whatever means necessary,” said the mayor.
Said Goodwin, “The city, not the homeowner, will be held financially responsible if it doesn’t get rid of all these connections. So, it’s going to be incumbent on us to step up our enforcement efforts.”
The city has set aside $125,000 in the current budget proposal to begin this work.
•The major sewer break that occurred behind Necco under the commuter rail tracks has been completely fixed and at a price of $600,000. It will be paid for through the inflow and infiltration account, which is funded by developers and not taxpayers.
•Operation Clean Sweep ended on Monday, and with that, towing will come to an end. The regular street sweeping schedule will now commence and cars will now be ticketed rather than towed. However, residents are urged to move their cars on street sweeping day in order for the program to be effective.
•Catch basin and line cleaning will begin this summer in the neighborhoods of the Point of Pines, Riverside, Beachmont and Shirley Avenue. Broadway, Park Avenue and Malden Street will also be cleaned, as they need to be done annually.
•Park Avenue will have major work this summer as the city prepares to lay a new water main for the length of the street.
The work is being done in order to prepare for the $3 million complete reconstruction of the street, which is expected to begin either next fall or next summer.
“This year you will see a lot of work being done in advance of the larger project; this is the underground work,” said the mayor. “Once that street is done we don’t expect to dig it up for a long time.”
•The city’s yard waste program has been up and running for one month now and is successful so far. Yard waste is picked up curbside every other week (this week, May 14-18, is a pickup week) on trash day and residents should note that the pickup comes later in the day after the trash and recycling.
•Following the $1.5 million water main laid on the Boulevard this spring as an add-on to the Beach project, several areas of the Pines saw repercussions.
Goodwin said that seven major water breaks occurred in the Pines within 24 hours of the new main going into service. He said he didn’t expect any reimbursements to the city for those breaks.
“My opinion is that never should have happened,” he said, “but we have a very old system and there are a number of weak points.”
On the positive side, residents of the Pines should experience improved water pressure and more capacity.
•Illegal dumping on the city’s side streets is reaching near epic proportion and Goodwin said that the city needs to aggressively go after those who are caught.
As contractors from outside the city use Revere as a dump to save some money in disposal costs, residents are paying the price, as the city has to foot the bill to clean up the mess.
“It’s going to get worse rather than better,” he said. “We need to put up the mini-cameras and we need to prosecute to the fullest. That’s the only way we can send a message that Revere is not a dumping ground.”

By Rich Griffin

Former Chelsea High football coach James Atkins will be named the new football coach at Medford High School later this week, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Atkins will be introduced at a press conference in Mayor Michael McGlynn’s office later this week. Atkins, according to the source, was one of more than a dozen candidates who interviewed for the position. Atkins couldn’t be reached for comment.
Atkins’ contract wasn’t renewed by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Kingston in late March despite the Red Devils posting a 22-11 record during Atkins’ three years at the helm. Atkins threatened legal action against the school department as a result. Atkins is replacing Mike DeFelice, a Winthrop native who is currently the coach of the Bay State Warriors women’s professional football team. The Mustangs went 1-9 in 2006.
Atkins was wildly popular with his Chelsea High players. A sergeant on the Chelsea Police Department’s Gang Unit, Atkins brought a no-nonsense approach to a program that had been disbanded because of low player turnout and turned it into an instant contender. Approximately fifty of his players went to a recent Chelsea School Committee meeting and petitioned it to reinstate Atkins; Kingston, in a statement the next day, said he stood by his original decision.
In related news, Mike Stellato was introduced as the new Chelsea High football coach on Monday afternoon. Chelsea High Athletic Director Frank DePatto introduced Stellato to the football team in a meeting after school on Monday. Stellato coached at Danvers High School last season and led St. Mary’s of Lynn to a Super Bowl championship in 2005.

City crews have begun putting up a traffic signal at the Showcase Cinemas entrance on Squire Road.
As part of the cinemas major remodelling project, they agreed to work with the city to put up a traffic signal at their entrance, which has become extremely dangerous over the years.
At least once a week an accident is logged at the intersection, which is pretty much a free-for-all at the moment.
The light will control traffic traversing the Squire, the Showcase and eastbound and westbound Squire Road.

You simply cannot go two blocks in Revere without running into - or at least seeing - a construction project.
Most infuriating are the projects that have to do with the roads - and there are no small number going on now in Revere.
On Park Avenue, Keyspan Gas Company is upgrading their piping and has had to detour the street for the past several days as they dig trenches and lay pipe. That has resulted in frustrated drivers spreading throughout the tight streets south of Park Avenue. Last Thursday, one resident on Barrett Street even got his truck sideswiped as detoured drivers tried to squeeze through parked cars.
Second to that - but even more inconvenient - is the construction project on the Boulevard. You cannot even go south on the Boulevard from Revere Street to Carey Circle, and you really don’t want to go north on the Boulevard unless you have to. The street is primitive and crews work very close to cars. The worst part of that project, however, is the mess that it’s created on North Shore Road (NSR) during the morning commute. All of the commuters who used to use the Boulevard to get to the T stations or to Boston now have to use NSR. Last week, for several days, traffic on NSR was backed up onto the Lynnway in Lynn and wasn’t moving.
That project is expected to last six months.
Last but not least is the Revere Street Bridge.
Yea, it’s nothing new, but it still stinks.
In case you have been in a hole for a year, the Revere Street Bridge project has cut off traffic eastbound on Revere Street since June 2006. Westbound traffic is still allowed, but it tends to really back up due to the construction work. All in all, it just contributes to a real inconvenient summer on the roads of Revere.

The School Department will have to fill the shoes of 21 veteran teachers next year and two well-known administrators as they are set to retire after this school year.
Superintendent Paul Dakin said they had expected more retirees this year, and had actually begun planning for massive retirement numbers a few years ago.
“Next year, across the state, is supposed to be the biggest number of teacher retirements in a long time,” he said. “We’re not sure where we will be next year, but we did expect more.”
The two well-known administrators are Ron Eydenberg, principal of the Lincoln School, and Ruth Davis, director of guidance and the student health center. Both have been fixtures in the district for many years and have much to do with the recent accolades enjoyed by the schools.
Incidentally (and off the subject), Eydenberg’s family was the first family to have a year-round home in the Point of Pines many years ago.
Dakin said that teacher retirements are not all that bad because it frees up large salaries and allows the district to hire new teachers. This results in lowering class size.
The flip side, he said, is that the district loses experienced teachers and excellent mentors.

One seventh-grader is facing charges for bringing a knife to school and making threats.
Officers charged the 13-year-old Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Middle School student with violating the city knife ordinance and school officials are considering expelling the student and disciplining three accomplices.
Students began talking at the SBA last Tuesday, May 1, about a male student who was making threats to use the knife – a large Swiss Army Knife – at an event outside of school.
“He made threats to use it – to do something to somebody at a Little League tryout,” said Superintendent Paul Dakin. “A lot of school officials don’t go after these things because the threat is outside of school. I can’t see us not sticking our noses in it.”
Apparently, the young man had brought the knife to school and was having three other students “hold” it for him in case police or school officials searched him. Officers found the knife on another student, but after some questioning of all four students involved, the plot unraveled.
School officials are seeking a legal opinion about potential expulsion of the student and the other three accomplices are facing long-term suspensions.

Patrick Wiswall 

An upsurge in housebreaks has police on the lookout for suspects.
Since late March, Revere has logged 62 housebreaks or attempted housebreaks throughout the city, which is a bit higher than normal. This past week alone, there were 10 breaks. Nevertheless, Revere’s breaks are low as compared other cities such as Boston, which logged 64 breaks just within the last week.
Police said the upward trend does have them more vigilant.
“In regards to housebreaks, there has been a spike recently,” said Capt. Dennis Collyer. “We arrested one man a few weeks back and the trend seemed to slow down temporarily. He is back out on bail now.”
Collyer said that they have identified two men for a break in Beachmont and are seeking their arrest.
Already, police arrested one of the men, Eric Cuppernell, 19, of Medford, last week. The other man, Patrick Wiswall, of Chelsea, is still being sought.
“We obtained warrants for their arrest for a break in Beachmont and one other city also obtained warrants for the same two men for a break in their jurisdiction,” said Collyer.
Wiswall is well known to authorities.
A few years back he led Revere Police and State Police on a high-speed chase in the Broadway area, eventually abandoning his vehicle and escaping. A few days later he surfaced in Foxboro, where he fled from police there as well. At one point, he ran across Interstate 95 and caused a very serious accident when drivers tried to avoid hitting him.
He was, however, arrested.
Now, police are seeking him and any other individuals who may be responsible for the spike in breaks. Neighbors are asked to be vigilant in locking their doors and in reporting suspicious persons to police.
Chief Terence Reardon said the problem is a cyclical one that tends to revolve around drug use.
“I don’t think breaks are so much on the rise, but it’s just how they play out,” he said. “What usually happens is addicts get out of jail or rehab and they begin breaking into houses. It takes us a while to identify them an put a stop to it, but in the mean time they tend to be pretty active.”
He said he is confident that the number of breaks will soon decline as police identify all the perpetrators. In Revere, the average number of breaks per week is around five.

The Beachmont parish in exile will hold a vigil for the Feast of the Pentecost on May 26th at 4 p.m. in the Our Lady of Lourdes Park on Endicott Avenue.
The vigil will include a Mass conducted by priests from other parishes. Those who attend are urged to bring their own chairs this time.
The parish is still appealing the closure of their parish by the Archdiocese of Boston in 2004. Their appeal is in the Vatican before the Signatoria.
John Verrengia, who has led the fight with City Councillor Doug Goodwin, said he is expecting a decision from Rome within the next eight to 10 weeks.
“Our advocate in Rome feels we could hear something by early summer,” he said. “If not then, it probably won’t be until next year. Everything seems to be positive though and we might win. All the questions asked of us are the ones we need to hear.”
Of the 100 cases before the Signatoria, 10 percent of them are against the Archdiocese of Boston, Verrengia said.

Mayor Tom Ambrosino said on Friday that the City Budget would be out on Monday and it is expected to be up around 5 percent - even though it contains no new spending.
Ambrosino said to expect a very lean budget with no new jobs or no new programs, but with a substantial increase. The increase is attributed to inflationary increases in Group Health insurance and the Employee Pension Fund.
The city got no increase in funding from state local aid this year, instead getting level funded and, after taking into account state charges to the city, a resulting small decrease in state aid.
The City Council will address the budget on May 21, as there is no Council meeting this Monday, May 14th.

The Squire Road McDonald’s may make a move across the street after more than 40 years at the current location.
The restaurant is one of the oldest locations in the region and scores of residents remember it as a destination during their youth. Older residents remember it as the centerpiece of an ongoing fight between homeowners and highway businesses in the late 1970s.
Last week, the owners of Northgate Mall put in a petition to locate a McDonald’s on their property in place of the Pearle Vision building. The Pearle building would move behind Taco Bell.
Sara Teck, owner of the Revere McDonald’s, and Kevin Feeney, area real estate manager for McDonald’s Boston, confirmed that they are in negotiations to move the old McDonald’s across the street into Northgate.
“This McDonald’s is about 35 years old,” said Feeney. “We try to do the right things by our customers and we try to update our restaurants whenever we can with added conveniences and décor…If you look at this McDonald’s and a newly renovated McDonald’s, you will see that in 35 years, there’s been a lot of new advances.”
He said they would be building a new 3,900 sq. ft. building without a Playplace. There would be 45 parking spaces and 75 seats, with a drive-thru.
An application for the change has been submitted by the Northgate owners and will be before the City Council for a public hearing on May 21. Mayor Tom Ambrosino has indicated that he does support the plan. However, given the rocky relationship with Northgate over the years, Ward 6 Councillor Mark Casella indicated he may not be in support of the plan unless Northgate owners became more responsive to his concerns.
As for the current location, Feeney said they do own the property and aren’t sure what they will do with it as of yet.
“We haven’t made any decisions on what we would do with the property,” he said. “There’s a number of internal and external approvals we still need. This is still very early in the process.”