Where

Esther Howland (South) Chamber

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

What was decided

The council adopted a resolution opposing Statewide Ballot Question 8, with five members abstaining. It also adopted orders on an Amazon drone delivery community forum, street signs, and potholes, and denied an order on drone launch site zoning. Many traffic and sidewalk requests were referred to committees.

Decisions recorded

• Approved the minutes of the October 6, 2026 City Council meeting. p. 2page 2 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the request to trim a city tree at 42 Agate Ave. to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cemetery. p. 2page 2 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the sidewalk and streetlight requests on Beeching St., Coburn Ave. and Shrewsbury St. to the Public Works Committee. p. 2page 2 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred 17 traffic and parking requests, including speed humps, signage and traffic studies, to the Traffic and Parking Committee. p. 3page 3 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking the Commissioner of Transportation and Mobility for a report on why pedestrian hybrid beacons were ruled out at Fremont St., Canterbury St. and Cambridge St. p. 16page 16 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Set public hearings for November 10, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. on conduit location requests from Charter Communications and National Grid. p. 4page 4 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the request to review the Union Station pickup and drop-off area to the City Manager. p. 4page 4 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted five chairman's orders, including reports on concrete survey markers and spray park hours, and a six-month update on wildlife measures at Salisbury Pond Dam. p. 5page 5 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cemetery to review and repair the basketball court driveway on Coburn Ave. (Bilotta). p. 5page 5 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted as amended the order asking the City Manager to identify funding for toilet seats in the new Institute Park bathrooms and report on best practices (Rosen). p. 6page 6 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the order on a streets and sidewalks resurfacing review process (Economou) to the Public Works Committee. p. 7page 7 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking the City Manager to find a faster process for posting and awarding bids for street and sidewalk resurfacing (Economou).
• Denied Councilor Rosen's motion to place on file the order on escalating fees for vacant lots (Bilotta), 2 Yeas and 9 Nays. p. 9page 9 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the order on escalating fees and fines for blighted properties to the Economic Development Committee as amended, 9 Yeas and 2 Nays. p. 9page 9 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking the Police Chief for increased speed and traffic enforcement on Goddard Memorial Dr. near Beatrice Dr. (Rivera). p. 10page 10 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Placed on file the order on requiring contractors to plant one tree per property in resurfacing and curb contracts (Rivera). p. 10page 10 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking the City Manager to arrange a community forum on Amazon Prime Air drone delivery, 10 Yeas and 1 Nay. p. 10page 10 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Denied Councilor King's motion to reconsider the drone forum order, 0 Yeas and 11 Nays. p. 10page 10 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Denied the order asking the City Solicitor for a report on zoning changes to control drone launch sites, 5 Yeas and 6 Nays. p. 11page 11 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking the Public Works Commissioner for a report on an annual pothole repair program and a similar sidewalk review (Mitra). p. 11page 11 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted as amended the order for a citywide survey and replacement of damaged or illegible street and traffic signs, with an added report on reporting missing street signs (Mitra, Bergman). p. 11page 11 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the resolution opposing Statewide Ballot Question 8 and urging residents to vote no on November 3, 2026, 6 Yeas and 0 Nays, with five members abstaining. p. 12page 12 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the motion asking the Mayor to consider an informational statement on the pros and cons of Question 8 (Toomey). p. 17page 17 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the resolution affirming support for workers' rights and solidarity with working people, 11 Yeas and 0 Nays. p. 12page 12 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Accepted and adopted committee reports on the honorary street name Ruth Rodriguez-Fay Way for Oread St. and on resurfacing requests for Marland Rd., Neptune Rd., Boyden St. and Pine View Ave. p. 12page 12 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Accepted reports giving petitioners leave to withdraw the Mower St. sidewalk resurfacing request and the Puritan Ave. street resurfacing request. p. 13page 13 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the Bilotta request for curb cuts at the Laurel St. and Everett Gaylord Blvd. crosswalk to the Traffic and Parking Committee. p. 13page 13 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking that city spray park hours for the 2027 season be extended by one hour for one day a week (Foley petition). p. 13page 13 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Accepted reports placing on file communications on Purple Heart and Gold Star Memorials and the summer 2026 aquatic program, and petitions on Morgan Landing court lights and European Starlings. p. 14page 14 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• No action taken on the tabled order on a legal opinion about residential rent control (Lukes). p. 14page 14 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• No action taken on the tabled resolution supporting SD 699 HD 1283, An Act effectuating equity in COVID-19 Vaccination (King). p. 14page 14 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• No action taken on the tabled order to establish an Office of Housing Stability (Haxhiaj and Nguyen). p. 14page 14 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• No action taken on the tabled petition asking the Standing Committee on Public Safety to investigate systemic racism (Davis). p. 15page 15 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• No action taken on the tabled order for an equity audit of all city departments every five years (King). p. 15page 15 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Voted 9 Yeas and 1 Nay to take off the table the communication on the U.S. Department of Justice report on the Worcester Police Department. p. 15page 15 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Denied Councilor King's motion to table the item on the U.S. Department of Justice report, 2 Yeas and 8 Nays. p. 15page 15 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Placed on file the communication on the U.S. Department of Justice report on the Worcester Police Department, 8 Yeas and 2 Nays. p. 15page 15 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Denied Councilor Bergman's motion to reconsider the item, 10 Yeas and 0 Nays. p. 15page 15 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking the Commissioner of Transportation and Mobility to coordinate student notice of pedestrian safety measures near schools, 11 Yeas and 0 Nays. p. 16page 16 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order requesting a copy of the Safe Routes to School Taskforce strategic plan, 11 Yeas and 0 Nays. p. 16page 16 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking the Commissioner of Transportation and Mobility to consider a hybrid beacon system near Chandler Elementary Community School, 11 Yeas and 0 Nays. p. 16page 16 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order for a parking report at Roosevelt Elementary School and Rice Square Elementary School (Petty), 11 Yeas and 0 Nays. p. 16page 16 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Referred the order to review Rule Five of the City Council rules on calling special meetings to the Municipal and Legislative Operations Committee, 8 Yeas and 3 Nays. p. 16page 16 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the order asking the Commissioner of Transportation and Mobility for a report on hybrid beacons at Fremont St., Canterbury St. and Cambridge St. (King). p. 16page 16 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the motion asking the Mayor to consider an informational statement on Question 8 (Toomey). p. 17page 17 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the motion asking the City Manager for example ordinances on escalating fines for blighted properties (King). p. 17page 17 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Adopted the motion asking the City Solicitor for a report on federal and state rules for drone launch sites on public land (King). p. 17page 17 of the minutes (opens in new tab)
• Held the motion asking the Police Chief for an update on the U.S. Department of Justice report under privilege (King). p. 17page 17 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, 164 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

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.

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.