A committee, with both a current and former city councilor and the mayor, will gather and evaluate suggestions for honoring longtime Haverhill City Councilor William J. Macek.
Macek, a 26-year veteran of the Council as well as chairman of the Downtown Parking Commission and, most recently, deputy chief of staff to Mayor James J. Fiorentini passed away unexpectedly two weeks ago. Since then, councilors have been discussing ideas for publicly recognizing his contributions to the City of Haverhill. One of those suggestions, made by Councilor Joseph J. Bevilacqua, is to name the soon-to-be-replaced Rosemont Street Bridge after the late councilor.
Haverhill City Councilor Thomas J. Sullivan. (WHAV News file photograph.)
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Council voted to consider the idea and pass it on to a committee formed by the mayor. Councilor Thomas J. Sullivan, a member of that committee, explained what happens next.
“I am a member of the mayor’s committee. It is myself and Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O’Brien and what we have decided is to take this suggestion under advisement as well as a couple of other options which we will be discussing,” he said.
Sullivan went on to say the committee believes Macek’s wife, Maria, and his two boys, Dan and Nick, should be part of any decision to be made.
City Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O’Brien. (WHAV News file photograph.)
“We want them to be involved and we want them to decide what they would like based on the options that are presented to them. Any final decision should be Maria’s and the family’s and we want to respect that,” he said.
Sullivan said, for now, the mayor and the committee wish to respect the family’s privacy as they grieve. At the appropriate time, he said, Fiorentini will contact the family and set up a meeting with all parties to discuss the options.