In her campaign for a seat on the City Council, now-Councilor-at-Large Katy Rogers noticed that several residences in Everett did not have house numbers on them.
To address that situation, Rogers has reached out to the Everett Fire Department to allocate funds from its grant program to assists seniors in need of house numbers on their properties.
“During the campaign season, I learned that many house numbers are missing on various buildings in Everett,” Rogers said at Monday’s Council meeting. “I had discussions with some of our safety officials who agreed that it is a safety hazard because it does make it difficult for all departments in safety to identify addresses.”
Rogers said that under Massachusetts law it is a requirement that residences must be able to be identified by house numbers.
“In lieu of emphasizing enforcement on something so small, it would be preferable to collaborate with existing departments in the city to ensure that some of our most vulnerable residents have access to house numbers,” said Rogers, adding that seniors or residents with disabilities should be able to call 311 for assistance in the placement on house numbers on buildings.
Rogers said she has corresponded with [Deputy Fire Chief] Will Hurley and [Director of Constituent Services/311] Chad Luongo, “who agreed that it would be a pretty simple process in setting something up” for the installation of house numbers.
Council President Robert Van Campen praised Rogers’ motion, calling it “a great proposal.”
The Council voted unanimously to refer the proposal to Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s administration for further action and eventual implementation of the house-numbers program.