LYNN — In the final City Council meeting of the year, the panel voted to update its rules for the first time since 1925.
The City Council unanimously approved a new set of rules on Tuesday night, which hadn’t been updated in so long that nobody knew there were any rules to begin with, according to City Council President Darren Cyr.
One of the more notable changes is the City Council president will now vote last.
James Lamanna, the city’s attorney, said there’s a general feeling that there could have been a fear of voting against the council president in the past.
Another rule allows the council to remove a rowdy person in attendance if he or she is disrupting the meeting.
The council voted to approve a request from Justin Morley, of IronBound Marketplace, to hold a New Year’s Eve Block Party on Mount Vernon Street.
The “First Night” celebration would be the city’s first New Year’s Eve celebration since 2000, the same year President Bill Clinton named Lynn a millennium city.
The only person to speak in opposition was Michael Newberg, who owns a building on Mount Vernon Street. He said he couldn’t believe the city “would allow such a venue on a small, well-kept street” and was worried about vandalism to his property and public drinking.
Cyr said there was similar opposition to the 2000 celebration, but attributed it to fear of the unknown, as it was one of the more successful events in the city’s history.
The meeting was the last for Peter Capano as a city councilor. He will step down and be sworn into the state legislature next month. He was elected in November to represent West Lynn and Nahant.
Cyr called Capano an “exemplary” councilor who fights every day for his constituents.
“You don’t do this job unless you love this city,” Capano said. “The best interest of the city is what you have in mind.”
