Council refers McCormick Ave. land sale to committee

City Council · Meeting of October 27, 2026

Medford City Council sent a proposal to sell two McCormick Avenue parcels to a Committee of the Whole after a resident said he learned of the plan only hours before the meeting. Resident Kevin Duffy told the council "the residents of McCormick Ave have been paying taxes for decades," questioning why only his street's parcels keep coming up for sale. Councilor Anna Callahan said "selling public land is rarely smart for a city" and asked for a full inventory of unused city properties before any vote.

The council also cut $297,553.44 from the law department's budget request after no administration representative appeared to address a long-delayed independent legal audit, approved $45,470 for firefighter turnout gear and $200,000 for soil remediation at 448 High Street, and voted 6-1 to send a letter urging a stronger Mystic River sewage-overflow control plan despite one advisory board member's warning that a stricter standard could cost $3.4 billion versus $1.29 billion for the current proposal.

In the full story:

• Sanctuary UCC closure resolution
• Administration and Finance referrals: vacation time and Comcast petition
• Tufts resident assistants union resolution
• Black plastic takeout container ordinance
• Veterans Department vacancy
• Pavement Coffeehouse common victualer license
• Linkage fee ordinance update
• Tort claim settlements
• Fire department turnout gear and 448 High Street soil remediation
• Brooks Elementary feasibility study reappropriation
• City charter implementation update
• McCormick Avenue parcel sale
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,785 words

Source: the City Council meeting of October 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.