Where

Esther Howland (South) Chamber

Watch the recording (opens in new tab) of this meeting on YouTube.

What was decided

The council adopted grants, donations, ordinances, and a contract authorization, and confirmed two appointments. It denied an order on signs about civil immigration enforcement and a motion to postpone the meeting. Many resident petitions on sidewalks, streets, and traffic were referred to committees or placed on file.

Decisions recorded

• Approved the minutes of the June 30, 2026 meeting, 8-0. p. 1page 1 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Granted Charter Communications permission for a conduit at 38-40 Southbridge St., 9-0.
• Granted National Grid permission for a conduit at Florence St., 9-0. Similar grants were made for Grafton St., Grove St., and a jointly owned pole on West Boylston St. p. 2page 2 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Set public hearings for September 8, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. on National Grid conduit and pole requests at Velander St., Washington Sq., and Christine St. p. 10page 10 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred requests to replace picnic tables and repair the tennis/pickleball court at Morgan Landing to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cemetery, 9-0. p. 3page 3 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the request to ban the sale of miniature alcohol bottles to the Public Health and Human Services Committee, 9-0. p. 3page 3 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred sidewalk, street, lighting, and sewer petitions (items 8d through 8z, except 8r) to the Public Works Committee, 9-0. p. 3page 3 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the request to convert Marmion Ave. from a private street to a public street to the Planning Board, 9-0. p. 5page 5 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred speed hump, stop sign, parking, and traffic petitions (items 9a through 9z, except 9h) to the Traffic and Parking Committee, 9-0. p. 6page 6 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred traffic study, speed hump, stop sign, and parking petitions (items 10a through 10r) to the Traffic and Parking Committee, 9-0. p. 8page 8 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred requests on spray park hours and Morgan Landing court lights to the Veterans' Memorials, Parks and Recreation Committee, 9-0. p. 10page 10 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the request to add Pickleball Court to the city website's park feature search to the City Manager, 9-0. p. 11page 11 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred three transportation communications, including the functional classification of streets and the Vision Zero Annual Report, to the Traffic and Parking Committee, 9-0. p. 13page 13 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted an order allowing the purchasing director to procure a contract with a four-year term, 9-0.
• Referred the Urban Center Housing Tax Increment Financing agreement for 16-32 Lakeside Avenue and 18-20 Garland Avenue to the Economic Development Committee, 9-0.
• Adopted as a group items 11.35A through 11.35V, 11.36A, and 11.37A through 11.37H, 9-0. These include a $900,000 state grant, a $5.5 million federal lead hazard grant, a $1.65 million MassWorks grant, and several donations. p. 16page 16 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted requests on transit priority, a culvert report, traffic signs, and school bus speeding, 9-0. p. 21page 21 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted an order asking for a review of Japanese knotweed overgrowth near 45 Marcy St., 9-0. p. 22page 22 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the order on speed camera hearings (Rosen) to the Traffic and Parking Committee, 8-0 with King abstaining. p. 23page 23 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted as amended an order asking for a report on public safety and cleanliness on the Worcester Common, 7-3. p. 25page 25 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Placed on file a request for a report on a July 24, 2026 sanitary sewer overflow near 23 Southwest Cutoff, 9-0. p. 25page 25 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Held under privilege a request for a public discussion on the closure of the Department of Justice investigation of the Worcester Police Department. p. 26page 26 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted as amended an order asking the City Manager to meet with CSX about railcar idling and odors near Canterbury St., including information on the August 14, 2026 derailment, 9-0. p. 26page 26 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted a request for a report on Department of Public Works staffing levels and open positions, 10-0. p. 28page 28 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted a request to authorize a three-year software license agreement with Renaissance Learning for the Worcester Public Schools, 9-0.
• Referred the zoning map amendment petition for 600 and 604 Lincoln St. to the Economic Development Committee, 9-0.
• Accepted the committee report on the WRTA winter weather plan and placed it on file, 9-0. p. 29page 29 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Accepted and adopted sidewalk and street resurfacing orders for items 18a through 18j, 9-0. p. 29page 29 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Accepted committee reports on items 18k through 18s, including petitions placed on file and requests granted leave to withdraw, 9-0. p. 30page 30 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Voted to advertise proposed ordinances for traffic and parking items 19a through 19v, 9-0. p. 31page 31 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Accepted and adopted traffic orders for items 19w through 19z, including a crosswalk at Southbridge St. at Washburn St., 9-0. p. 34page 34 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Accepted and adopted traffic orders for items 20a through 20h, including truck restrictions on Ararat St. and Mount Ave., 9-0. p. 35page 35 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Accepted committee reports on traffic items 20i through 20z, which placed those petitions on file, 9-0. p. 36page 36 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Accepted committee reports on traffic items 21a through 21g, which placed those items on file, 9-0. p. 38page 38 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Ordained items 22a through 22n, including permit parking on Lodi Street and two-way travel on a portion of Beaver Street, 9-0. p. 40page 40 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the annual survey and staffing process communications on the City Council Office to the Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee, 10-0. p. 41page 41 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Denied a motion to recommit the Worcester Redevelopment Authority appointment of Candice Mero-Carlson to the City Manager, 3-7. p. 42page 42 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Confirmed the appointment of Candice Mero-Carlson to the Worcester Redevelopment Authority, 7-3. p. 42page 42 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Confirmed the appointments of Jared Madison to the Trust Funds Commission and Che Anderson to the Civic Center Commission, 10-0. p. 42page 42 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Held under privilege a second time a municipal civilian review board report, 8-0. p. 42page 42 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted an order asking for quarterly reports on outreach and police activity with unhoused individuals in the Canal District, 10-0.
• Denied an order to install signage stating property may not be used for civil immigration enforcement, as amended, 5-5. p. 43page 43 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Denied an order requiring signage on civil immigration enforcement be listed in all appropriate languages, 5-5.
• Referred the City Clerk's communication on one support staff vacancy in the City Council Office to the Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee, 10-0. p. 44page 44 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Took no action on six tabled items, including a rent control legal opinion request and a COVID-19 vaccination equity resolution.
• Adopted the July 21, 2026 order asking for a report on efforts to enhance pedestrian safety near 137 Hope Ave., including lighting. p. 45page 45 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the July 21, 2026 order asking for a detailed report on the proposed zone change at 321 Greenwood St. p. 46page 46 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Denied a motion to postpone the August 18, 2026 meeting and move most items to September 8, 2026, 5-4.
• Denied a motion to reconsider the postponement motion, 5-5. p. 46page 46 of the minutes (opens in new tab)

The full text is in the city's PDF, linked below.

Minutes posted on the city website (PDF, 235 KB). Saved copy (opens in new tab), saved October 27, 2026.

Agenda

A copy of the agenda wasn't saved here. It is on the city website (opens in new tab).

Terms used here

ADA

Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal law on access for people with disabilities.

tabled

Set aside by a vote, to take up later. A tabled item comes back when the board votes to take it off the table.

TIF

Tax increment financing: a district where some of the new property tax from development is set aside, for public projects or for the development itself.

All the terms in the glossary

Source

This meeting on the City of Worcester calendar (opens in new tab). First recorded by Worcester Publick on October 27, 2026.