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City Council President Stanley Troisi says the council last week approved a request from City Manager Jay Ash to purchase a piece of land on Marginal Street, currently owned by an out-of-state oil company. Although there is no final agreement yet, Troisi said the land is valued at $4.1 million but the city may be able to purchase it for $2.7 million. Voting against that authorization was councilor Mike MeKonnen Tsegaye, stating that the city should tighten its belt rather than get into more debt. The council followed that with a second vote, authorizing the city to bond $2.7 million over a 10-year period, Troisi said. Both MeKonnen Tsegaye and councilor Roseann Bongiovanni voted against that request. Uses for the land, which has some contamination issues, may include building a new Department of Public Works city yard to replace the weathered building on Beacham Street, or leasing it for about 10 years to pay off the bond, then using it for waterfront redevelopment, Troisi said.
HICKEY NAMED VETERANS DIRECTOR - Bowing to the wishes of constituents, Mayor Carlo DeMaria has tapped local resident Joseph Hickey to be the city’s new Veterans Services director. Hickey, a Ward 4 common councilor, resigned his seat on the board Monday night. After a three-month search that included interviews with 18 candidates, DeMaria announced his decision Tuesday. “I was impressed by a couple of candidates that resided outside of Everett who have experience in benefits administration,” DeMaria said in a news release. “Ultimately, I decided to honor the wishes of the Everett veterans that I spoke to about this position, who all advised me that it was important to them that the director be a resident of the city.” In addition to Hickey, Millie Cardello a common councilor from Ward 1, and Ward 4’s John McKinnon also applied for the position. DeMaria said Hickey’s combat experience as a two-tour Vietnam veteran was one of the key factors in getting the job. State ethics law requires that no councilors shall be eligible for a local appointment while a member of the council or for six months after leaving office. Erin Deveney, DeMaria’s chief of staff, said that before the mayor made his final selection, he required Hickey to get an opinion from the state ethics board on whether the appointment violated rules. Hickey said the board cleared the appointment, according to Devaney. “We obviously take Mr. Hickey at his word that he has done it,” Deveney said. “If it became an issue, we can request the councilor to request a written opinion and he can disclose that publicly.” Hickey’s pay for the full-time job is $53,106. - Kay Lazar

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