City of Malden
Malden City Hall · 215 Pleasant Street · Malden, MA 02148
Meeting Minutes - Final · City Council
Council President Amanda Linehan · Councillor at Large Karen Colon Hayes · Councillor Paul Condon · Councillor Peg Crowe · Councillor at Large Michelle Luong · Councillor at Large Carey McDonald · Councillor Ryan O'Malley · Councillor Jadeane Sica · Councillor Chris Simonelli · Councillor Ari Taylor · Councillor Stephen Winslow
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 · 7:00 PM · City Council Chambers · 215 Pleasant Street · Malden, MA 02148 · Watch the meeting with Teams: https://tinyurl.com/9w5f5mcw
1. CALL TO ORDER
Council President Linehan called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE & MOMENT OF SILENCE IN HONOR OF SERVICE MEMBERS
3. ROLL CALL
Also in attendance was Prasanna Rajasekaran, Lisa Cagno, Maria Luise, Nelson Miller, Yem Lip, Alicia McNeil, and several members of the public.
Present - Councillors: 11 - Karen Colon Hayes, Paul Condon, Peg Crowe, Amanda Linehan, Carey McDonald, Ryan O'Malley, Jadeane Sica, Chris Simonelli, Ari Taylor, Stephen Winslow and Michelle Luong
4. GUESTS, CITIZEN ACHIEVEMENT, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mayor Christenson will appear before the Council to provide an update on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
Mayor Christenson provided the Council with a comprehensive update on the FY'27 budget, emphasizing the ongoing structural deficit of Chapter 70 school funding, and challenges posed by reduced state and federal aid. With the failure of the recent Proposition 2 1/2 ballot questions, the city must now look to budget cuts to help stabilize the budget. The Mayor briefly touched on the recently realized $1.6 mil reporting error on school employee health care costs. This mistake was blamed on human error and it was explained that the expense was reflected on the city side instead of the school side of the budget. The mis-reporting does not affect the bottom line of the overall deficit. The Mayor's goal is to submit the budget to the Council earlier than is normal to allow for more public meetings and collaboration. After completion of his written statement, Mayor Christenson left the Chamber without taking questions.
It was the general sense of the Council they would have liked if the Mayor stayed to take questions but it was acknowledged there would be time for questions in Finance Committee during the budget approval process. The majority of the Councillors stated they are interested in hearing more about how the $1.6 mil mistake was made, which staff were involved, what steps will be taken moving forward to eliminate something like this from happening again, and when the error was first discovered.
Councillor Simonelli expressed that now is the time for the Council, in conjunction with the Mayor's Office, to roll up their sleeves and help pull this budget cycle together with as few employee layoffs as possible.
Councillor Luong notified the Body that the Mayor did apply to have the State's DLS Management Audit and it is scheduled to begin in the fall. The city had wished to have it begin sooner than this but it was the first available time the State had available. Multiple Councillors spoke to the need to speak candidly about the reporting error as well as deficits during this budget cycle as a means of building trust with the residents of the city.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
One person in attendance, Mohammad Abutaha of 190 Mountain Avenue, spoke during Public Comment and one email, from Brian DeLacey of 1 Earl Street, was received. Both spoke on the subject of the city budget.
6. CONSENT AGENDA
Approval of the Consent Agenda
A motion was made by Councillor Sica, seconded by Councillor Winslow to approve the Consent Agenda.The motion carried by unanimous vote.
183-26
Minutes for the meeting of March 10, 2026
The Council Minutes were approved.
184-26
Minutes for the meeting of March 17, 2026
The Council Minutes were approved.
185-26
Minutes for the meeting of March 24, 2026
The Council Minutes were approved.
186-26
Petition: Amusement Machine: Kiddleton, Inc., 423 Main Street, Malden, 3 machines (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
187-26
Petition: Class II: John MacMillen dba MacMillen Automotive, 388 Eastern Avenue, Malden, 15 cars (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
188-26
Petition: Lodging House: Top Tier Properties, LLC dba Sir Carlton LLC, 33 Maple Street, Malden, 44 rooms (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
189-26
Petition: Outdoor Parking: Robert McNulty, 28 Cedar Street, Malden, 12 spaces (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
190-26
Petition: Pool Tables: Loyal Order of Moose, Lodge 1910, 562 Broadway, Malden, 2 tables (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
191-26
Petition: Pawnbroker: Gold & Diamonds etc. Inc, 27-29 Pleasant Street, Malden (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
192-26
Petition: Second-Hand Dealer: Gold & Diamonds etc. Inc, 27-29 Pleasant Street, Malden (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
193-26
Petition: Self-Service Gas Station: Gibbs Oil Company, LP, 728 Main Street, Malden (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
194-26
Petition: Self-Service Gas Station: Snap Mart, Inc., 245 Main Street, Malden (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
195-26
Petition: Taxi Driver: James Phelan, 5 Island Hill Avenue, Apt. 212, Malden (Renewal)
The Petition was referred to the License Committee.
7. MOTIONS, ORDERS, AND RESOLUTIONS
196-26
Order: That the Finance Committee engage in discussions with the City’s Finance and Legal team as well as a representative from the insurance company to discuss the City’s current insurance policy.
Sponsors: Karen Colon Hayes
Councillor Colon Hayes stated that after speaking with CFO Ranaghan, she would now like to amend this order to include the city's financial team, Legal Department, and insurance representative in the conversation with the Finance Committee. There was no objection to this amendment.
The original language was stricken and replaced with the following: Order: That the Finance Committee engage in discussions with the City’s Finance and Legal team as well as a representative from the insurance company to discuss the City’s current insurance policy.
A motion was made by Councillor Colon Hayes, seconded by Councillor Sica, that the Order be amended. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
Councillor McDonald offered clarity that this paper isn't about Malden's self-insured status for employee health insurance. This is soon coming to an end beginning in July as employees are being moved into the state's Group Insurance Commission. What Councillor Colon Hayes is seeking to talk about is property, casualty, general liability, cyber security, etc. types of insurance.
Councillor Winslow indicated Mass Municipal Association has a program called Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA) that provides insurance services to municipalities throughout the state. This particular program is not appropriate for a city the size of Malden, it serves cities and towns under 60k in population. He stated there are options for purchasing one-off policy to cover individual issues but when seeking an all-in policy, cost and value and liability limits come into consideration. Purchasing insurance policies for a city as large as Malden can become complex but he is happy to engage with the city's insurance representative in committee.
A motion was made by Councillor Colon Hayes, seconded by Councillor Sica, that the Order be referred to the Finance Committee. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
197-26
Be it ordained by the Malden City Council that the Code of the City of Malden (MCC) 6.08.070 C(2) LICENSING OF MARIJUANA ESTABLISHMENTS is hereby amended by inserting ‘, provided that no fewer than five marijuana retailer licenses shall be made available.’ after ‘Mass. Gen. Laws ch 138 § 15’.
Sponsors: Karen Colon Hayes
The proposed added wording to this ordinance is to accommodate fluctuations to the amount of marijuana licenses the City may hold. It is currently written that marijuana licenses are based on the number of package store licenses that are active in the city. This ordinance is meant to create a minimum of marijuana licenses of at least five so that slight variations in the amount of package stores will not force the marijuana licenses to drop below minimum.
A motion was made by Councillor Colon Hayes, seconded by Councillor Sica, that the Ordinance be referred to the Rules & Ordinance Committee. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
198-26
Be it ordained by the Malden City Council that the Code of the City of Malden (MCC) 12.12.030 USE REGULATIONS is hereby amended as follows to update the existing Table of Use Regulations by:
Striking the “N” designation for Self-Storage Facilities in the Industrial 1 (I1) and Industrial 2 (I2) zoning districts and inserting in place thereof the “SP” designation.
This amendment shall restore the status of such use of Self-Storage Facilities to its state prior to the 2023 amendment as was ordained with Paper 198 Series of 2023 and shall take effect upon its passage following the completion of the public hearing process as required by M.G.L. Chapter 40A, Section 5.
Sponsors: Jadeane Sica and Peg Crowe
Councillor Sica explained the reason for this paper is that she has a storage facility in Ward 8 that is interested in expansion. They would like to build up but as written, MCC 12.12.030 does not allow for expansion, even by an existing business. She would like to see consideration for existing facilities to expand be offered on a case by case basis via the special permitting process.
Councillor Winslow is not in favor of this paper because he does not believe the city should be encouraging the expansion of self-storage facilities. Currently, the city is working on a master plan for future growth; that process should be allowed to move forward giving thought as to if these are the types of businesses the city wishes to support. He further feels Economic Development Committee is where this paper should be considered prior to bringing the Planning Board and/or Rules & Ordinance.
There was discussion wherein some Councillors do not support encouraging self-storage facilities to grow their businesses in Malden. There were others who felt as if they wouldn't support new storage facilities to start up in Malden but the expansion of current businesses is something that deserves discussion. It is important for Malden to retain the commercial base it currently has while working to expand business opportunities for future growth.
A motion was made by Councillor Sica, seconded by Councillor Simonelli, that the Ordinance be referred to the Rules & Ordinance Committee. The motion carried by an 8-3 vote.
Councillors Condon, Linehan, and Winslow dissenting.
8. COMMITTEE REPORTS
199-26
Committee Report: The Standing Committee on Finance to whom was referred Paper 160 Series of 2026, having considered the same make the following report: Committee recommends this paper out favorably to the Full Council.
A motion was made by Councillor McDonald, seconded by Councillor Taylor, that the Committee Report be received and filed. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.
160-26
Order: That Three Hundred Ninety-Eight Thousand Six Hundred Seventy-Four Dollars and Twenty Five Cents ($398,674.25) is appropriated from available Water Sewer Enterprise Fund retained earnings to fund principal only debt payments due to the MWRA in May 2026.
Sponsors: Carey McDonald
Attachments: Final Paper 160-26 MWRA Appropriation
This appropriation is to pay a bill previously owed for loans and lines of credit issued from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority for standard water/lead pipe replacement work.
A motion was made by Councillor McDonald, seconded by Councillor Simonelli, that the Order be adopted. The motion carried by the following vote:
Yea: 11 - Colon Hayes, Condon, Crowe, Linehan, McDonald, O'Malley, Sica, Simonelli, Taylor, Winslow and Luong
9. EXECUTIVE SESSION
200-26
Order: That the City Council will vote whether to go into Executive Session with
legal counsel for the City for the purpose of Exemption Three Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A Section 21(a)(3) for the purpose of discussing strategy as to possible future litigation related to budgetary constraints, where such discussion in open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigation position of the City, if so declared by the chair.
And if so allowed by the Body, to admit Special Assistant to the Mayor Maria Luise, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Ronald Hogan, and the Honorable Mayor Gary Christenson.
(Roll Call Required)
Sponsors: Amanda Linehan
Attachments: Final Paper 200-26 Executive Session on Budgetary Constraints
Councillor Sica indicated she would like to table this paper while she obtains confirmation the wording of the paper is appropriate for the purpose of the Executive Session. It was explained that the wording and exemptions cited for this paper are exactly the same as was used three times since December for another issue that required confidentiality. When questioned, City Solicitor McNeil indicated the docketing of this paper was initiated by the Legal Department. The language has undergone review from her office and she does not have any concerns about the appropriateness in the way it was written.
Councillor Winslow asked if the city has received correspondence from an entity in regards to potential litigation. Councillor O'Malley stated he would like to know if this is about defending against or initiating litigation. Councillor McDonald observed, to learn about the need for confidentiality the Body must enter into Executive Session to hear the concerns of the Legal Department and only then will they know if confidentiality is justified but that can't be known until the Council enters Executive Session.
A motion was made by Councillor Sica, seconded by Councillor Colon Hayes, that the Order be tabled. The motion failed by the following vote:
Yea: 3 - Colon Hayes, Sica and Winslow
Nay: 8 - Condon, Crowe, Linehan, McDonald, O'Malley, Simonelli, Taylor and Luong
Council President Linehan declared that discussion of Paper 200-26 in open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the city's litigating position. The Body voted by 7-4 roll call vote to enter into Executive Session. Personal privilege was allowed before the Council adjourned to Executive Session and it was announced that they would not reconvene for any further business this evening.
A motion was made by Councillor Taylor, seconded by Councillor Luong, that the Order be adopted. The motion carried by the following vote:
Yea: 7 - Condon, Crowe, Linehan, McDonald, Simonelli, Taylor and Luong
Nay: 4 - Colon Hayes, O'Malley, Sica and Winslow
10. TABLED PAPERS
150-26
Petition: Massachusetts Electric Company dba National Grid Plan No. 31200905 -
National Grid to install underground facilities on Main Street. Customer to trench and install (6) 4” conduit from MH A/34 on Main Street to proposed switching module, approximately 55 feet on public right of way. 204 Main Street, Malden, MA. (Hearing Required)
Attachments: 204 Main Street Petition
Abutters 204 Main Street
Hearing Notice 204 Main Street
151-26
Petition: Massachusetts Electric Company dba National Grid Plan No. 31186713 -
National Grid to install underground facilities on Main Street. Trench and install (2) 4” concrete encased conduit from MH A/34 on Main Street to pad located on 213 Main Street approximately 220’. Malden, MA.
(Hearing Required)
Attachments: 213 Main Street Petition
Abutters 213 Main Street
Hearing Notice 213 Main Street
153-26
Petition: Massachusetts Electric Company dba National Grid Plan No. 31239416 -
National Grid to install underground facilities on Main Street. Trench and install (6) 4” concrete encased conduit from MH A/1 18 to switchgear located on 1100 Main Street approximately 60’ on public right of way. Malden, MA.
(Hearing Required)
Attachments: 1100 Main Street Petition
Abutters 1100 Main Street
Hearing Notice 1100 Main Street - Updated March 25, 2026
11. PERSONAL PRIVILEGE
12. ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Councillor Taylor, seconded by Councillor Luong, that this meeting be adjourned into Executive Session. The motion carried by the following vote:
Meeting adjourned at 8:54 PM and the Council did not reconvene in open session for any further business that evening.
Yea: 7 - Condon, Crowe, Linehan, McDonald, Simonelli, Taylor and Luong
Nay: 4 - Colon Hayes, O'Malley, Sica and Winslow
CAROL ANN DESIDERIO, CITY CLERK
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