Now is not the time to be talking trash during a pandemic, Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi said. At a second Committee of the Whole meeting, the council on Wednesday debated the proposed PAYT solid waste system for more than three hours and eventually voted to table it 7-4 with Morandi, Ward 4 Councilor Chris Connell, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, and Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio opposing. Morandi, Connell, and Maffuccio have vocalized their stance against the PAYT system in the past and, last week, Morandi and Connell requested that the Resource Recovery Committee send back a 2019 recycling education plan that was first drafted by the councilors in 2018.
The City Council voted 7-4 to cap meetings at four hours and to start an hour earlier. The votes followed about an hour of debate and a number of amendments. Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi, Ward 4 Councilor Chris Connell, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, and Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio voted against the time limit. Council President Peter Marchetti, Morandi, Connell, and Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon voted against starting meetings at 6 p.m. The four-hour limit will go into effect at the next meeting on Feb. 23 and 6 p.m. schedule will begin April 1 to give the public and council members time to prepare for the modification.