Speaker 3: And as she comes up, Madam Clerk, would you please read docket 1025.1025?
Speaker 4: Councilor O'Malley are for the following resolution in recognition of the achievements of former Mayor Thomas Menino in the city of Boston.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Madam Clerk. Council value of the floor.
Speaker 3: Thank you very much, Madam Chair. You know, while I have great memories of Councilor Flynn's dad, Mayor Flynn, as mayor, the first mayor I really remember following and I know many of you agree, was Mayor Tom Menino. He was elected when I was 12 or 13. I just turned 13. And it's really when my sort of burgeoning interest in politics and government began. I began interning for a former colleague of Clerk Feeney's, who was often at odds with Mayor Menino. To put it mildly. And I remember seeing him in the elevator once, and he knew me and he said, I know you. You're the wise guy. And I was so excited. No cell phones in the day. I called my dad and I said, the mayor knows who I am. And he called me a wise guy. And then 15 years after that, 11 years ago next month, he came in to swear me in as a member of this body. And, you know, it was it was a story. We didn't expect him to come in. Alex, I don't know if you remember this, but Rosaria Salerno was the clerk. She was out with health issues. So Alex was slated to square me in. And I love Alex. He's my second favorite Greek, I guess my third favorite Greek now. But I was kind of but Mayor Menino could make it because he had some health issues at the time. But I remember vividly being in here. Maureen was a councilor at the time, and Angela Menino came in first and then in came team in to get to work with him as a counselor for three years before he retired was a true honor. I learned so much from that man and I know so many of you have so many fond memories and perhaps some not so fond memories as well. But he was just a remarkable leader for this city. He did so much for so long. He really helped transform Boston. You look at sort of how. Before the pandemic, how Boston was so strong fiscally. And just that really was because of his leadership and for so many other reasons. As my time on this body wraps up, I really wanted to acknowledge and recognize his great work and also the work of Alice Hennessy. All of us know that we are only as good as the people with whom we work, meaning our staffs. And Alice was a central staff director here. She was came from this amazing family in West Roxbury. She was so far to the West Roxbury friends of Rosie's place. She was transformative on libraries. Her husband, Bill, who actually was in here, we acknowledge him before he passed away. And Alice several years ago had done so much. Alice was central staff director. May or may not be as council president becomes acting mayor. Taps Alice. And she was just she was the general. She would do these things. She was the sweetest. She had the countenance of just it's very nice and she was very nice, but she was tough. Tough in a good way. And Mayor Menino and Alice literally transformed a landfill in my district, a landfill. I remember it as a literal dump growing up into a absolutely remarkable public park, Millennium Park, in West Roxbury. It's 100 acres. There's a new lounge. There's a number of football fields. It's just an amazing, amazing place. Cap the landfill. This was a feat of modern engineering that that other cities have now done, but it happened because of Mayor Menino and Alice Hennessy. So I want to acknowledge that work. It's not it's named after it's named Millennium Park because it was opened in December of the year 2000. And I think it's high time that we rename it Mayor Thomas Menino PARC and that we acknowledge the new playground that I was very lucky to work with Mayor Walsh to get funding for and is now being refurbished the Alice Hennessy playground to acknowledge those two public servants who have done so much for our city. And just a simple way is something that I'm proud and truly honored to advance before us today. So I don't know how familiar everyone is in the renaming process. It's quite it's quite an ordeal. And what we're doing now is just the first step. So I'm going to ask for suspension of the rules and passage of this resolution, naming Millennium Park, Thomas Menino Park, Mayor Thomas Menino Park and naming the playground at this kind of sea playground. And I will say that we've got great support from Senator Rush, Representative Coppinger, Lord Mayor Richard Gormley, who we know is the most politically important person in West Roxbury to get on board. And he has so many great, great neighborhood folks. And then we will go through the process working with the Parks Commission. There'll be a community meeting and, you know, we will hope to have a hearing. But I really think that this is important to acknowledge the good work of a guy who was such a profoundly important leader in our city. And also equally important, Alice Hennessy, the incredible long time serving aide to Mayor Menino and just an incredible leader in her own right. So I thank you for letting me go a little bit off script and off topic a little bit. But I will ask all of you to please indulge me and suspend the rules and pass this today. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Counsel O'Malley. Councilor Baker, you have the floor.
Speaker 7: Thank you, Madam Chair. So you're going to make me take a vote on the guy that put me out of work? But I sign on to it, and that's just a joke. He actually did me. Probably the biggest failure of my life. Because I'm here now, because he put me out of work. But I agree with your words. We're in the fiscal health we are now because a lot of the decisions that Tom Menino made and Mayor Ray Flynn made also before and continue through the last administration and hopefully into the next administration, that the finance is the most important thing. We can't do programing and take care of the things that we have unless we have the finances. So I'd like to sign on an absolutely good job, Matt. It was transformative over there. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilor Baker. Anyone else wishing to speak on this matter? Madam Clerk, if you could add Counselor Baker. Anyone else want to add their name? Counselor Arroyo. Counselor but Counselor Braedon. Counselor Edwards. Counselor. Savi George. Counselor Flaherty. Counselor Flynn. Councilman here. Counselor as well as the chair. The sponsor is seeking suspension of the rules and passage of whatever docket this is. 1025. All those in favor of path and say I. Any opposing. The ayes have it. You could call the roll man, Kirk. Thank you.
Speaker 4: With pleasure. Do I get 1025 Council Arroyo. Yes. Councilor Arroyo. Yes. Councilor Baker. Councilor Baker. Council. Bach. Councilor Bach. Councilor Brayden. Councilor Brayden. High Councilor Campbell. Yes. Councilor Kimball. Yes. Councilor Edwards. Councilor Edwards yes. Councilor A. Savvy George. Councilor Savvy George has council clarity. Council Clarity of council Flynn. Council Flynn. Yes. Council me here. Here? Yes. Councilor O'Malley. Yes. O'Malley. Yes. And Council Councilor? Yes. Mr. President. Docket number 1025 has been adopted. Julian's.
Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Madam Clerk, would you now please read docket 1026 Docket 1026.
Resolution in recognition of the achievements of former Mayor Thomas M. Menino in the City of Boston.
On motion of Councilor O'Malley, the rules were suspended; the resolution was adopted yeas 12.