If these cuts are adopted, Pace said, civic associations will be asked to maintain the fields, and a seniors group will take charge of the senior center, which may have to begin charging "a fee to seniors to play pinochle." The local YMCA may also be asked to chip in, he said.
Residents also will have to start paying for their own trash pickup.
The services that may be cut "are things that are great to have and made Medford a great community," Pace said. "But there's no rule that says government has to fund it." Meanwhile, all of the other departments also are being asked to slim down.
In typical fashion, Council caucus had as many as 26 items on its agenda Tuesday night - most of them snooze-inducing resolutions, such as refunding individuals and companies for overpayments of taxes or fees and amending agreements with landlords.
Then, also typically, there were about 30 more walk-on resolutions, which can sometimes be little bundles of surprises.
After running through the 50-some resolutions came something new: The city Code Enforcement and Law departments asked Council to pass a resolution next week amending the city code regarding scrap-metal yards.
The amendment would demand a lot from scrap-metal dealers (and also the city). Code Enforcement Director Iraida Afanador said the new rules are needed "so we can control it better" - "it" being the problem of metal thieves destroying many of the city's light fixtures.
Here is a preview of what's in store for the four or five licensed scrap-metal dealers in the city if the amendment is approved. (There are dozens of smaller ones, but city officials say they are targeting the big ones because the small ones are "easy" to shut down.)
Anyone who wants to sell scrap metal must provide a driver's license, vehicle tags, and registration.
Dealers can't accept any metal that is imprinted with codes or registration information, often a sign that the metal has been stolen from a light post or other installation.
Every month, dealers must turn in a list to the city of every item they purchased and whom they purchased it from.
Code enforcement officials will make surprise inspections.
Metal sellers will be paid by check, not cash.
Does the city have the capacity to monitor all of this closely, including the line item checks every month?
Afanador told me after the meeting that she is taking this up as her personal project. There weren't any scrap-metal dealers at the meeting. I'll have to catch up with them later to see what they think of these proposed regulations. TBC. . . .
