Five Things You Missed at the March 19 Board of Aldermen Meeting

1. The Board of Aldermen offered a memorial resolution for Sam Glass, a well-known Democratic activist in Newton . Glass, who moved to the United States from Romania in 1931, served in World War II and was an active member of the Newton Democratic City Committee.

Many members of the community, including Glass' friends, family and former Mayor Tom Concannon, were on hand to witness the memorial resolution.

To view the full resolution, check out the .pdf to the right.

2. Following last week's approval from the Land Use Committee, the full board voted last night to approve a deed amendment that will allow  in Newton.

3. Finance Committee Chair Lenny Gentile set up a public hearing for April 9 that will consider the mayor's request to establish a Financial Information Systems Department. 

4. The full board approved of the appointments of James Mitchell and William McLaughlin to join the Zoning Board of Appeals for a term to expire on Feb. 1, 2013.

The board , due to the fact that he already serves on the Licensing Board of Commissioners. However, Zoning and Planning Committee Chair Alderman Marcia Johnson said Mitchell agreed to step down from the Licensing Board once another individual is found to take his place.  

5. The board voted to send an item back to the Finance Committee that would increase the fixed rates charged to property owners passed by new sewers. The new rates would more accurately represent the estimated average cost of installing the sewers.  

For more details on this change, check out the notes from the Feb. 27 Finance Committee meeting.

The item was approved last month by the Finance Committee as well as the Public Facilities Committee. The full board approved it at its March 5 meeting. 

According to Ward 5 Alderman-at-Large Brian Yates, who requested the item be sent back to committee, the city's Law Department said the ordinance change did not provide for those property owners on corner lots. The issue is a "small matter", he said, that can be cleaned up after going through the Finance Committee once again.