Council to discuss health plans

The City Council will hold a special meeting Feb. 28 to discuss Mayor Ted Bettencourt’s proposal to adopt the municipal health care law. The 2011 act establishes a process in which cities and towns can modify health care plans or transfer employees to the state’s Group Insurance Commission system following expedited bargaining with unions. The council could vote on the request as early as the special meeting, the time of which has yet to be set. At a regular meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. that night, the council will hold a public hearing on a special permit application from O’Keefe Plumbing and Heating. The firm seeks to relocate from its current site in Danvers to 56 Pulaski St. in Peabody’s Water Way Industrial Park. The special permit would allow overnight parking at the Pulaski Street site, according to City Clerk Timothy Spanos. The council will also hold a public hearing on a special permit request from David P. Cole to operate a machine shop and an automotive facility in currently vacant space in a commercial building at 7F Webster St., according to Spanos. - John Laidler