City Council

A couple minutes past the hour. Sorry for the slight delay there. This is a meeting of the City Council. It is Thursday, May 28th. My name is Lance Davis, presiding. I use he, him pronouns. Please note that audio and video of this meeting is being recorded and may be shown live on local government access channels and on the City of Somerville website and will be available for future review. Would the clerk please call the roll?

Yes. Councilor Ewen-Campen?

Here.

Councilor Link? Here. Councilor Scott? Present. Councilor Clingan? Present. Councilor Strezo? Present. Councilor Sait?

Here.

Hardt, McLaughlin, Umbau, and Davis. We are at quorum.

All right. Thank you very much. Pursuant to our Rule 32, let it be known that the City Council salutes the flag of the United States of America, and let us recall our oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the Commonwealth to the best of our abilities and understanding. We begin our meetings with a moment of silence. Are there any members wishing to say a few words about members of our community tonight?

Councilor Bhat. Thank you, Mr. President. I would like us to remember Patricia Seal Silver. who recently passed away at the age of 96. Born and raised in Somerville, Patricia was remembered by her family and friends As someone who embraced life with joy, curiosity, and an independent spirit, known affectionately as Paddy, Patsy, Toots, Nana, and Mom, She was a beloved mother, aunt, sister, and friend who touched many lives through her warmth, kindness, and vibrant personality. Her family described her as someone who who was always fully present in every moment and unafraid to dance to her own beat. We extend our deepest condolences to her son, James Silver, Jr., her extended family, friends, and all who loved her. May I so rest in peace. Thank you.

Any others? All right, seeing none, would everyone in the chamber please rise as you're able for a moment of silence.

Thank you.

All right. First item on the agenda, Madam Clerk.

Yes. Item 26-0934, approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of April 23rd, 2026.

See no discussion. That item is approved. Next item.

Item number 260-0935, approval of the minutes of the special meeting of May 11th, 2026.

In no discussion, that item is approved. Next item.

We're moving into citations. Item number 26-0923 by Councilor McLaughlin and Councilor Ewen-Campen, commending Jerry Caduce and Metno Dawson for outstanding dedication, professionalism, and Service as crossing guards in one of the busiest and most heavily trafficked neighborhoods.

Councillor McLaughlin. Thank you Mr. President. We had a ceremony yesterday. It was very well appreciated.

Is there anybody here to deliver that? No, we did that yesterday. Oh, that was the ceremony.

I see.

Sorry, it took me a minute to catch up. I move to approve. Very well. All right, thank you.

Councilor Wheeler. Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanted to mention that there are a number of open positions. We are always looking for crossing guards, and there are active listings looking for crossing guards. Somerville needs crossing guards. Somerville values crossing guards. When cars hit pedestrians, it seldom makes the news, but it's one of the leading causes of injury and worse to people of all ages, including children. So anyone out there, if you want to serve our community, please take a look at our Crossing Guard job listings and apply. It's a union job in Somerville. The hours are not many. So not everybody finds that it fits into their schedule, but if it's right for you, we need you. Thanks. All right. Thank you.

Madam Clerk, could you please reflect that Councilor Sait has joined us? And amazingly, it looks like we have no public hearings tonight. Is that correct? Do my eyes deceive me? They do not. All right. Well, in that case, we have a few items that we want to take up out of order. I guess actually yeah so two items one is item 5.1 and then the other the second is item 10.2. Correct. Okay, so item 5.1. Would you read that, Madam Clerk, if I see no objection to taking those out of order? And 4.2. Do you want to just do that in order? Because it's going to be... We could jump ahead one spot, but all right, very good. All right, so Madam Clerk, would you read 5.1, please?

Yes. Mayor's Communication, item number 26-0742, proclaiming May 2026 to be Jewish American Heritage Month.

All right. I know that we have Mayor Wilson here to speak on this item. Mayor Wilson.

Thank you, Mr. President, Honorable Counsel, through the President. We find ourselves here in May. May is Jewish American Heritage Month. We are home in Somerville to a really amazing, vibrant Jewish community who have contributed so much to our city over the years. And it's really important to just call attention to how much we appreciate We have to note that this is happening at a time when there is a rising incidence nationally and even here locally of hate incidents and anti-Semitism. Quite unfortunately, our Jewish friends and neighbors and colleagues are being subjected to. So I want to call out a bright spot here and in a feel-good moment. Really hold up our Jewish community and make sure that they feel seen, feel safe and feel respected.

Thank you. Is there anyone here that you wish to recognize?

We're going to share the proclamation with a community group here who's not able to be here tonight. Okay, perfect. Any members wishing to speak on the item? Councilor Strazo?

Sure. Can you please read the proclamation in full?

Absolutely, Madam Clerk.

Whereas Jewish American Heritage Month was established in 2006 recognizing the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to the United States and the American colonies. And whereas during Jewish American Heritage Month, we celebrate the immeasurable impact of Jewish values, contributions, and culture on the US and Somerville's success and character. and whereas Jewish American suffragists, activists, and leaders marched for civil rights, women's rights, voting rights, racial equity, and LGBTQ plus rights, and whereas jewish americans are an integral part of our commonwealth in our city building our strength and vitality via their contributions as workers educators innovators leaders caretakers Entrepreneurs, Students, Advocates, Neighbors, and more. And whereas a disturbing rise of global antisemitism, including here in Somerville, has resulted in violence and dangerous rhetoric directed against the Jewish community.

And whereas the city of Somerville stands against all forms of hate, including anti-Semitism and is committed to standing with Jewish American residents of Somerville, the Commonwealth, and everywhere. And whereas the city of Somerville proudly recognize and celebrates Jewish Americans for their enduring resilience, and Wavering Advocacy for Justice and Steadfast Commitment to Uplifting Others and Strengthening the Fabric of Our City. Now, therefore, be it known to all those present that the Mayor of the City of Somerville respectfully proclaims May 2026 as Jewish American Heritage Month honoring the contributions of Jewish Americans. Proclaimed on this day, 14th of, well, the 28th of May, 2026 by Jake Wilson Mayer.

Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you for reading that loud. And I wanted to thank Mayor Wilson and the administration for putting this proclamation forward. It does matter, and it Our Jewish community, which I am a member of the tribe, has done a lot for Somerville and To this visibility matters and to remind all of us that we are strong together as a community and and really all of us pulled together especially in these tough times and we see you and Somerville is here for support and we do this together. Thank you.

All right, that item is placed on file. Next item out of order. So a little wrinkle on this one, because this is a supplemental item. In discussion earlier this week, we were able to anticipate it, but it wasn't ready to be So there's two tests in order to be able to discuss something tonight. And my understanding is that it's not timely such that we need to take action tonight. So therefore, following our rules, we won't deliberate on it. We'll lay this item on the table. However, the administration did ask if it would be appropriate for our labor council, Matt Serigou, to speak to some of the big picture scheduling. And I thought from a transparency standpoint, that would be good for the public to hear ahead of time. So again, this is purely in terms of no advocacy for the item. However, big picture scheduling that I thought would be helpful for the public to hear. We will then lay this item on the table without deliberation and take it up in due course in two weeks.

Attorney Sirigu. Thank you, Council President, through you. So the appropriation request tonight is for an appropriation of funds To fund the immediate cost items in a memorandum of understanding the executive has signed with the The Police Superior Officers Union. This contract includes amendments to the body worn camera policy and some other benefits amendments. the appropriation here is the three percent cola for the remaining four weeks of this fiscal year as is the custom here to ratify a contract on the city side we would appropriate funds For the cost items for the balance of the fiscal year and then come back for an appropriation for the retro cost of that contract. Also pending before this council separately is a grant acceptance. which if the council were to accept it on behalf of the city would fund the technology costs for a body-worn camera program.

Those funds would have to come from the state and would have to be used to purchase technology costs. Separately, if we were to implement a body-worn camera program, there are personal services costs associated with that that would not be funded through the grant and we would be seeking another appropriation at a future date, at a time. When the program were implemented, if that is the direction the city goes in. So there are three moving parts. The appropriation for immediate personal services costs from the MOA. A grant acceptance and an appropriation for additional personal services costs that would be associated with implementation of a body worn camera program were that to occur.

One moment. I've received a note that said, did we not read the item in? I thought we did. We did not. My mistake. Thank you for that preview. For the record, let's read the item in. and then we will place it on the table without deliberation.

Mayor's request item number 26-0915 requesting the appropriation of $15,015 from the salary contingency account to the police department personal services salary account to fund a collective bargaining agreement with the Somerville Police Superior Officers Association.

All right, very good. Thank you, Attorney Sirigu. So we will lay that item on the table. Mr. President, no. Councillor Scott, there's no deliberation. There's no discussion on this item. This item has been laid on the table. I understand there was a factual misstatement made.

then we can correct that factual mistake next week when it's uh when it's unless you want to as it relates to a matter of law there a technology impact report must be accepted before we can accept any grant material

Scott, you're not recognized. We're laying this item on the table. We can have those discussions in due course. Back to the beginning of the agenda. Thank you, Attorney Sierguth. Back to the beginning of the agenda. Madam Clerk. Yes. Regular order, I should say.

Okay, item number 26-0919 by Councilor Ewen-Campen proposing an amendment to section 2-6 of the Code of Ordinances, the Welcoming Communities Ordinance.

Ewen-Campen, do we want to lay this one on the table and take it up with the legislative matters report, or how do you prefer to handle this one? We should have talked about this ahead of time. My bad for not thinking of that.

No, Mr. President, I was hoping that we could do a very brief introduction and then take up the Legislative Matters Committee report and get this thing passed.

If there's no objection to that, I have none. All right, go ahead. So we're going to speak to this item first, and then we'll take the report out of order. Very well, go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. President. This is a clean revised version of our amended Welcoming Communities Ordinance which was passed unanimously out of legislative matters and I want to thank Chair Scott for prioritizing this item in that committee and to my colleagues on the committee for working so hard to get this over the finish line. I'm just going to very briefly introduce this because when we first brought it in, we all gave long, impassioned speeches about it. And then I'd ask that we take up the report so we can replace that item with this amended one. So just briefly on and the Substance. I am really proud that we are taking this up tonight. This was a really collaborative effort between Councilor Link, Councilor Hardt, myself, the administration and the ACLU of Massachusetts. And put briefly, these are amendments to our welcoming communities ordinance. which the city of Somerville passed in 2019 that's often referred to as our sanctuary city ordinance and that's the one where we say we're not going to

We're now living in a different reality where we have a federal government that Assaulting our constitutional rights across the board, not just in immigration, although certainly in that field as well. And we thought it was important to make it really clear to the public that the city of Somerville is never going to collaborate or participate in any of that federal overreach. Whether that is federal immigration, whether that is surveillance, whether that is identifying and seeking to punish people for any constitutionally protected activity. So that's what this is. It's relatively simple and straightforward. I'd encourage anyone to actually read the ordinance. And Mr. President, I'm thrilled that we're moving on this tonight. So thank you to my colleagues for all the work to get us here.

All right, so let's lay that item on the table. And then if we could take up out of order. I apologize, Madam Clerk, for not queuing this one up ahead of time. The Legislative Matters Committee Report, which is 6C, I believe. Yes. Item 6C, if there's no objection. Seeing none.

Yes. Item number 26-0927, reports of the Committee on Legislative Matters meeting on May 19th, 2026. Councilor Ewen-Campen.

Councilor Scott.

I'm sorry. Councilor Scott. I don't know if I was still in the doghouse. All right. The memory's not that long, Councilor Scott. All right. Thank you, President Davis. The Legislative Matters Committee met. on Tuesday, May 19th for about an hour and 50 minutes. We had two large substance vitamins before us, one of which was the amendment to the welcoming communities ordinance. We had an excellent presentation from Gideon Epstein from the ACLU, and also had some contributions from our very much appreciated director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Director Theresa Nagel. So it was a wonderful conversation. I encourage everybody to watch it. There were a few minor points that still needed to be ironed out. And rather than keep us all there all night working on it, I was happy to send this off to get a little bit of work. Very glad that we have the final version before us tonight.

That particular item was kept in committee, so it will be marked as work complete on a future agenda, so we don't have any duplication. There was also an item to discuss the ordainment of an amendment to establish a rental registry. That was something that many councilors have been pushing for Many years now. I think Councilor Mbah might have the record for how many years pushing on it longest. This was an ordinance that was submitted by the prior administration on their way out the door. The administration delivered the message that they are not prepared to move forward on this ordinance and are not prepared to discuss it, basically. So we had a discussion of it in committee, and there was a great deal of support expressed for the urgency of the matter. I think a general recognition that our job as a legislative body is to pass laws and it is the job of the executive to faithfully execute those laws.

So with that, that item was also kept in committee, and I would request that the committee report be submitted as accepted.

Any discussion on the committee report? All right, seeing none. Let me make sure I heard and remember correctly. The initial version of the amendment to the welcoming community ordinance was left in committee? Yeah, okay. So we don't have that before us now. Seen no discussion, the committee report is approved and we'll lay the first item off the table. Any discussion on the changes to the version To the new version of the amended welcoming community ordinance based on the discussion and committee that Councilor Ewen-Campen introduced a few moments ago. Seeing none, all right, then that item is approved. Do we have, for ordinance, we need to enroll and ordain? Yeah, let's do that, Madam Clerk. So we actually need three votes. I think we need three roll calls. One first for approval, next for enrollment, third for ordainment. Yes.

Very well.

Okay. Councilor Ewen-Campen?

Yes.

Link, yes, Councilor Scott, yes, Councilor Clingan, yes, Councilor Strezo, yes, Councilor Sait, yes, Councilor Wheeler, yes. Hardt, McLaughlin, Mbah, and Davis.

So that item is approved. Now on enrollment.

Ewing-Campen?

Yes.

Councilor Link?

Yes.

Councilor Scott?

Yes.

Councilor Clingan?

Yes.

Councilor Strezo? Yes. Councilor Sait? Yes. Councilor Wheeler?

Yes.

Hardt, McLaughlin, Mbah, Davis.

So that item is now ordained, I'm sorry, is enrolled. And then now finally on ordainment, Madam Clerk.

Ewen-Campen?

Yes.

Councilor Link?

Yes.

Councilor Scott?

Yes.

Councilor Clingan?

Yes.

Councilor Strezo? Yes. Councilor Sait? Yes. Wheeler, Hardt, McLaughlin, Mbah, and Davis.

So that item is now ordained. Very good. Thank you, folks. That takes us to our next item on the agenda. Madam Clerk? Yes.

So now we are back to 4.2 resolution item number 26-0921 by Councilor Ewen-Campen, Councilor Davis, Councilor Hardt, Councilor Link, Councilor Wheeler, and Councilor Sait. and support of a voluntary recognition for Somerville Workers United.

Councilor Ewen-Campen. Thank you Mr. President. Thank you for your collaboration and to all of the co-sponsors. This council has a long tradition of supporting unions, workers in the process of unionizing, when they reach out to us for support, whether that's by showing up at a rally, a picket line, or whether it is sponsoring a resolution here at City Hall. Today, we have the opportunity to show our support for a group of workers who are particularly close to our heart at the City of Somerville who are in the process of organizing a union right now. So amongst the workers who serve the city of Somerville, there are somewhere around 200 workers who are not currently unionized and over the last several years have been working to form Somerville Workers United. And when they reached out last week to ask for this council's support in their request to be voluntarily recognized, I was thrilled to do so and invite some of these folks to speak to us tonight. So I've been on this council for nine years. I have not seen layoffs.

And I know that this round of layoffs has just been incredibly difficult, obviously for the workers who lost their jobs and for their colleagues. It has brought a real sense of urgency to the work that they do and this organizing in particular. For members of the public, I encourage you to read the text of the resolution, which sheds a little bit of light on the history of these efforts. and articulate some of the specific reasons that they believe a union would be mutually beneficial for the workers and for the administration. and I would like to sponsor three speakers tonight, Luis Cuispe, Benjamin Weiner and Kate Bossingham in whatever order they wish to appear.

All right, Councilors Mbah and McLaughlin would like to sign on. Councilor Clingan and Scott would like to sign on. Councilor Strezo and the whole council would like to sign on. Thank you. Councilor Ewen-Campen would like to sponsor the three aforementioned speakers. Any objections? Seeing none. All right. Feel free to come on up. When you do come up to speak, just please state your name so we can get it in the record correctly. And you can, as counsel, whatever order, you don't have to wait for me to recognize you. Just go right ahead to the next speaker. So go ahead.

Thank you. My name is Luis Giesbip, and I was the former strategic planning and equity manager within the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. I was the first and last person to hold this position, having been laid off and having my position eliminated just a few weeks shy of my four-year work anniversary. Before I go further, I'd like to acknowledge and thank some of my fellow laid-off workers with whom I shared a meal in my home and who shared stories with me that inspired me to come here and speak with you all tonight. My fellow colleagues included people who worked with our most vulnerable residents before they were silenced, who worked directly in equity work before they were dismissed, and who were months away from retirement before they were disrespectfully fired. I'd like to thank the Council for giving me an opportunity to speak on this important issue of why recognizing and respecting the collective bargaining process is critical to the work of creating a Somerville where everyone belongs and can thrive.

We put all our faith and trust into the people we elect to carry out the vision and values tied to our electoral process. And so we also bear the responsibility of holding them accountable to that task. I served as the chair of the Anti-Displacement Task Force, a project that led the historic and unanimous vote through this City Council in support of a home rule petition for rent stabilization. During the community engagement phase for the drafting of the petition, we spoke to and heard from residents, advocacy groups, property owners, and people who were displaced from our city. To create a bold but realistic proposal to keep the threads of our community fabric from fraying. And we did it in less than half the time it took Boston. Months, not years. Additionally, this 50-member task force created just as many recommendations to reduce the rate of displacement in a collaborative and equity-centered way.

For many, this would have been the first time they were satisfied with a civic experience. At the conclusion of that task force, a member of our community reached out to the administration by email and spoke highly of me in ways that made the immigrant child displaced from his New York City apartment as a young adult swell with pride. The letter in part read. Thank you for the work you put into this project, for introducing us to each other, for the respect and openness you reflected on our working groups, and for your gentle nudges to get us to the finish line. It was a monumental project to manage. I suspect we all worked so hard for it because of course the work is important but also because we wanted to make you proud. That task force member went on to do great things for the city, including playing key roles as part of the mayor-elect Jake Wilson's transition team.

My position was created about five years ago. Some of you might remember its deliberation. Somerville was about one of four cities across the country to have a position like mine, including Boston. Those who created this position were not around to see me get hired. In fact, the very first thing I did on my first day was attend my hiring manager's farewell party as he went on to become Watertown's city manager. I greatly appreciate George Proakis' faith and trust in me to carry out the intent and purpose of why the strategic planning and equity manager position was created in the first place. I learned that the position had sat vacant for over a year before I eventually filled it. That the city was being patient in making sure that they found the right candidate for the job, acknowledging the importance and necessity of the work.

that I was labeled a unicorn during my interview panel discussions and that the city would be remiss, to put it lightly, in not seizing the opportunity to offer me the position. I'll repeat my former title to you because I always have to. It's not something that makes a lot of sense to most folks hearing it the first time. It's Strategic Planning and Equity Manager. I tell people I help our division within OSPCD move the city towards a future where everyone belongs. By working with them to build and maintain structures that promote principles of justice and democracy, I was and am committed to that work of building this future out. I joined a community of municipal practitioners focused on equity work and quickly got to work in learning and building upon this incredible body of knowledge.

At one point, I was entrusted to lead the statewide coalition of equity practitioners from over 50 municipalities across the state. Members of that coalition would also go on to do great things for this city, such as participating in the mayor-elect transition committee. I say all of this not to brag about what the city is missing out on in eliminating my position, but to illustrate why it's so important to have a structure in place that preserves what we as a community care deeply for. Why it's important for us as a community to have a way to make sure that our values are represented across all levels of government. We need a structure that empowers all people to carry on this work of building a more just and democratic future where we all belong and see ourselves reflected in the change around us. A union is that structure.

I was especially saddened to hear about layoffs happening in sectors of work that were directly charged and entrusted with carrying out the mission of work that challenged preexisting structures for the better. My position for example was meant to interrupt the status quo of the city's functioning. The charge of the position was to challenge our structures. to ensure that equity and justice and department priorities in all departmental programs, projects and policies, quote, were identifying, describing, and dismantling structures of oppression. That was the job, not bending the rules to help a few people out along the way while otherwise keeping the status quo in place. Our organizing for collective bargaining should have prevented the work we were doing for our most vulnerable residents from being unceremoniously strangled.

It should have provided a way for us to work collaboratively with the administration to ensure that our knowledge was being built upon, that our networks were expanded, and that the sparked embers of inspiration in our staff were nurtured. Instead, years of work were reduced to a five-minute meeting. Informing me that my position was eliminated during our attempt to collaboratively engage with the administration in good faith towards a formal reconciliation. We live in a community that is bold, progressive, and committed to fighting for one another, including our most vulnerable residents On the campaign trail, elected officials will tell you just as much and even paint a picture of Somerville in contrast to a federal administration that is presently waging war on justice and equity work. Health, and Medical Supportive Services, and more. But the reality on the ground, the reality in Somerville City Hall, doesn't always align with the narratives on that campaign trail.

I implore my fellow community members to interrogate and take note of how senior executives in the city structure these layoffs in their intent, in their purpose. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Mr. President. My name is Benjamin Weiner. I've worked for the City of Somerville for about four and a half years and currently serve as the Inclusionary Housing Program Manager within Somerville's Housing Division. My colleagues and I stand before you today not just as public servants but as fellow community members, many of whom are also constituents and voters who rely on Somerville's public services just as you do. We came together as a union because we believe in the work we do for this city. I personally joined this movement to organize because we need to ensure our work is sustainable. and that staff do not burn out trying to constantly do more with less.

I want to speak on behalf of Somerville Workers United and I also want to speak from the vantage point of a dedicated affordable housing professional. Last week, we as a city lost not only 13 full-time staff like Luis, but also 16 open positions. These layoffs sent a message to staff across the city, myself included, that we're on our own, that no help is coming. that we can be used as tools for political bargain and expect nothing in return. The Housing Division has recently championed some of our most involved and ambitious projects. To name some examples, Somerville's consolidated waitlist, which allows individuals and families to apply for multiple affordable rental opportunities with a single application.

Our revitalized home improvement program helps fund critical repairs to ensure the health and safety of income-eligible residents by keeping properties up to code. Not to mention various fully affordable projects that our staff ensure are funded and remain affordable. There are so many other projects that I don't have time to name. I cannot overstate how proud I am to be part of that work. I also cannot stress enough that projects of this caliber require a significant investment of staff time not just to implement but also to maintain. It's not a new or unknown issue that talented staff leave the city often citing low wages and unfair expectations. And when they leave, their responsibilities fall to those who remain.

In the last few years, Housing added an administrative assistant and a housing intake specialist, positions that directly assisted residents in navigating our housing programs. Despite those two positions, many staff were still overworked. And those two positions have since been removed. For nearly a year, I have experienced firsthand the impact of understaffing. When our previous staff liaison to the Condominium Review Board left last year, I took on their responsibilities. On top of my current workload, I now had to learn and perform the duties of what comprises about 75 to 80 percent of another role, often working over 50 hours a week. That meant sacrificing time with my family and my daughter.

The position took several months to fill, a type of extended vacancy that has become increasingly more common as every vacant position now falls under scrutiny. Once the position was refilled, we found ourselves with yet another vacancy in the inclusionary housing team, and to my recollection, I have not taken a full hour-long lunch break in about six months. City staff have reached a breaking point. Many staff are having to justify choosing a healthy work-life balance. Knowing that choice means something else takes a backseat, and the community needs to know the repercussions of this. It may mean someone trying to resell their inclusionary unit is carrying two mortgages for longer. That a developer's units remain vacant for longer or they have to wait to build units on a vacant lot.

That a constituent applying for inclusionary housing can't give their landlord proper notice and now must turn down an affordable housing opportunity. What our division has capacity for right now does not reach level service and still we're being asked to do more all the time. We repeatedly hear from our elected officials that housing is a top priority, but we just lost two positions, which is about a 12% reduction in our capacity. What I personally find most disrespectful is that the staff who keep our programs running every day were never a part of any conversation. Whether it be a conversation about what we need to keep our programs going or which projects city leadership is willing to forfeit when they take away our staff capacity. The conditions I've described aren't limited to housing division, they span across departments.

We never want to be in this position again. That is why we are organizing. We know that the only way to have a seat at the table and some amount of agency in our work lives is to join together collectively. We want to have the ability to set boundaries that are respected. We want to be paid for the hours we work and be heard when we advocate for the help that we need. For myself and on behalf of my colleagues, I look forward to the response of our leadership to this call for recognition of the rights that we deserve as workers. Thank you.

Thank you to the Council for having us here tonight to speak. My name is Kate Bossingham. I work as the Environmental Policy Manager in the Office of Sustainability and Environment. I'm also a resident of Somerville. Before I came to Somerville, I was a federal employee at the Environmental Protection Agency for six and a half years. At EPA, I experienced what it felt like to work under an administration hostile to its own workforce. There were reorganizations and layoffs implemented without engagement from staff. Changes to flexible work policies that punish working families and outright union busting. This led to plummeting morale, distrust of management, staff turnover, an immense loss of institutional knowledge, and certainly worsening environmental protections for the American people. To put it mildly, it was not a great place to work by the time I left. I consider myself very fortunate to be doing work I find meaningful here in the city of Somerville.

But I immediately noticed some things were not right. Employees work evening and weekend events without a clear flex time policy. Staff leaving for municipalities like Cambridge and Boston leading to high turnover. concerningly vague information from management about wage and compensation policies. So I talked to my coworkers and I was excited but not surprised to find out that organizing was already underway. I saw organizing as an opportunity to improve our workplace and provide better service for the Somerville public. Mayor Wilson has gone out of his way to pledge his support for unionized labor. So when Somerville Workers United reached our card signing goal, we were optimistic when we contacted the mayor to request a meeting to discuss voluntary recognition of our union. We received no response to two separate inquiries sent earlier this month to the Mayor, his Chief of Staff, and his Labor Advisor.

Last Wednesday, the Mayor attended a Greater Boston Labor Council meeting right down the street at the Somerville Armory. He gave a speech in support of unions. That afternoon, he walked into layoff meetings with staff, most of which were within the Somerville Workers United proposed bargaining unit. Only two days later, after he emailed all staff, assuring us that layoffs were finished, did a member of his team respond to our emails agreeing to a meeting, which is for tomorrow. Is that the kind of disregard that passes for pro-labor leadership in the City of Somerville? All workers deserve dignity. All workers, including those who work in sustainability, communications, language access, racial and social justice, health, and grants deserve a union. When I was at EPA and management overlooked the expertise, experience, and dignity of staff, I was angry. I'm angry tonight, too.

I expected better in the City of Somerville. Fortunately, we do not have to depend on the goodwill of an administration who has not respected worker rights because we know our rights and we look forward to fighting for them. Thank you for your time.

Kemp, anything further on your end? No. Okay. Further discussion? No? All right. Well, the entire council signed on, so that item is approved. Absolutely. We can take a five-minute recess.

Councilor Mbah? Would you like to speak on the item?

Barr, are you requesting to take an item out of order?

Yes, just in line, sir. We don't have to deliver the points. Just in line. Okay.

Paul, Paul, Paul, Paul Seeing no objection, Madam Clerk, could you read items 4.4 and 4.5?

Yes. Item number 26-0916 by Councilor Mbah, that the administration share all the positions that were cut from the fiscal year 2027 budget and their departments and explain how they align with the mayor's equity agenda. and then item number 26-0918 by Councilor Mbah that the administration appear before the City Council to present its organizational restructuring.

I just want to thank the good councillor for putting this forward and thank you to Louise Ben and Kate for speaking you know today's actually I my my Resolutions were motivated by some of these changes. I myself, I was very anxious. You know, I got some calls, saw some emails, I was I kind of like was taken aback because I mean one of the greatest appreciation that I have from the previous administration was the focus on equity. Because I've always said that if a municipal government doesn't reflect the population itself, Then you don't use the word equity in your administration. And the first time I went out to lunch with Mayor Ballantyne, I told her I should be remembered for

Her effort to be able to put that into practice. Hearing this is really something that actually like really worries me and I really needed to know, you know, Why this is happening and providing a detailed accounting of eliminated positions as we've probably already heard. and affected department will help the council evaluate whether reductions disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, language access, Public Health, Housing Stability, which we've also heard, Youth Services or other equity center priorities. So I'm hoping that this resolution also seeks to ensure that budget decisions align With the administration publicly stated equity goals, which of course I've personally had a conversation with the mayor about that.

And that residents have transparency into how organizational and staffing changes may affect service delivery across the community. And also like when we talk about like a public presentation before the council, it actually helps promote transparency, improve communication between the council and the administration and allow councillors to ask I'm hoping that we have a robust conversation and this discussion will help us ensure that any restructuring advances the city's strategic priorities Preserve institutional knowledge and support equitable and effective government operation for residents across the community. So I just want to thank everybody that has really showed up here and we look forward to this conversation as you know in the next in a couple of weeks. So thank you for this opportunity.

Any discussion? All right, those two items are approved, and we will take a five-ish minute recess.

Thank you.

Thank you for watching!

Members, please return to their seats.

We need to get this meeting back in session.

Thank you.

You want to take a seat, Chris? You can join us. All right, I can see that we have a quorum in the room, so call this meeting back to order. Let's see, Madam Clerk, where does that bring us back to? Item 4.3, is that where you have us? That's correct. Very well. Please read the next item.

Item number 26-0917 by Councilor Mbah that the Director of Mobility, the Director of Engineering, the Director of Parking and the Chief of Police appear before the Traffic and Parking Committee to review traffic flows and enforcement practices around schools citywide during drop-off and pick-up as detailed within.

Pause a moment while Councilor Bayer returns to the room. We've just read in item 4.3, which is the order that you put into the director of mobility. Would you like to speak to that item?

Go right ahead. I think this is self-explanatory, but the main reason why this order came in was if you look across cool zones, it's bananas. You see, there's kind of, there are poster signs even within the streets that says do not enter within these hours. It's like sometimes people don't read that. So we have to, you know, and the crossing guard, I've actually seen a car almost run over a crossing guard just on North Street. Like North Street is perpendicular to like Powder House Boulevard. So I guess there's so many... You know, stuff that we need to like reassess and see how we can actually, you know, protect our most vulnerable residents, parents, crossing guards alike. Just that traffic flow around school zone at those peak hours.

Would you like to send that one to traffic and parking for discussion?

Yes, please. Councilor Hardt?

Thank you, Mr. President. I was just wondering if I would like to make an amendment or if the good councillor at large would be minimal to that.

You may guess.

I would like to propose adding in after traffic flows and enforcement practices and construction impacts as well. Unless someone sees a problem with that.

So it would be to review traffic flows and enforcement practices and construction impact?

Yes, this is just a big issue that I've noticed in the city that the construction impacts the traffic flow and the safety and pedestrians getting to the schools. And so I just thought this would be a good opportunity since it's very related. But I'm happy to withdraw it if you would not like to add it.

Any discussion on the proposed amendment? on the proposed amendment, Councilor Sait.

Yes, through you Mr. President and Councilor, I just have a question. Is this like city related construction or is it like on private properties just so that in the committee we know exactly what to discuss? Yes city construction.

All right, seeing no further discussion on the amendment, on the amendment, Councilor Bayh?

Thank you, Mr. President. First, I want to thank the good councilor. I'm assuming that the good councilor, you know, It's not just amending my policy. We can presume that she's also about to sign on to it before amending it because we didn't hear about it. Hardt.

I'm sure Councillor Hardt can speak for herself in terms of any willingness to sign on. I think you can read however you like into the amendment.

Thank you. I would like to sign on. Yes, please. And I appreciate Councilor Mbah.

Let's hold the sign on because we have a proposed amendment before us. Any further discussion on the amendment? Hardt. Seeing none, that amendment is approved. Now on the item before us as amended. Councilor Hardt, you'd like to sign on? Any other discussion on the item as amended? Seeing none, that is approved with a copy of traffic and parking. Very well. Good job, everybody. All right. Next item brings us down to 6A. That look right, Matt?

It's actually 4.6. Did I miss one?

4.6. Oh, there it is. Hiding in all of my scribbles here. Very well. 4.6. Thank you for keeping me on task.

Item number 26-0931 by Councilor Hardt and Councilor Link requesting Americans with Disability Act accessible pedestrian crossing infrastructure at the intersection of Route 16 and Woods Avenue.

Councilor Hardt.

Thank you so much. So this is a A dangerous intersection that a constituent raised a concern about. It's right outside of Dillboy Stadium and there is a Dunkin Donuts in a gas station across the street and so there's very frequent traffic. When there's events at Del Boy pedestrians crossing and and we know that Route 16 is notorious for being dangerous and speeding so We would like to see the administration work with our state delegation to rectify that.

Lake. Thank you, Mr. President. And with appreciation to the good counsel from Ward 1, Ward 1, Ward 7. Sorry for including me on this one. And I just, yeah, it's Route 16 is... One of those ones where it's there's a lot of like if you look at where accidents happen there's a lot of red and you know it's clearly a place that we need to pay more attention just as we're paying attention to you know we're mystic It's not meant to be a high speed road, but it is a high speed road and we need to do as much as we can to slow it down and make it safe for pedestrians.

Any further discussion, Councilor Mbah? Thank you to Councilor Link and Councilor Hardt. It's really nice when you're new on the City Council You know, to take things up that we've taken it, spoken about it for over a decade and then we've moved on. Luckily, some of us are going to address it at the state level. As I've said before, it never hurts to repeat a good request.

Any further discussion? All right, seeing none, that item is approved. Do you want to copy it to traffic and parking? So if you want to continue this discussion, as the good councilor at large noted, this is ultimately a state issue, but if that would be the venue, I would think, to have that discussion, if you want to continue it, or you can... I'm happy to follow through with the administration to see what the application they can do to the state independently. I'm happy to defer to how you'd prefer to.

Well, Councilor Link and I did not confer about that part before, but I'm happy to continue following up with the administration. But if he would like to have a discussion in committee, that's fine with me.

Bowe. Through you, Mr. President, I'm happy. As long as we're keeping the discussion going, it doesn't matter the venue to me.

Councilor Bowe, where do the discussions on this one stand from a city standpoint? I know you've been involved in some of these. Would it be helpful to have that? I mean, we just approved this. Harkin. All right, next item. Now I wanted to jump ahead to this one, and now we're finally here. Not that I have any particular interest in this. It's just at the bottom of my page and the one I can see. Go ahead, Madam Clerk. Next item.

Item number 26-0930, report of the Committee on Finance meeting on May 26, 2026.

Councillor Wheeler. Thank you, Mr. President. The Finance Committee met on Tuesday, May 26, via remote participation, with all members present. And with the help of Clerk Delaney Fisher-Cassiol and Legislative Liaison Yasmin Radassi, who has been a tremendous asset to the Finance Committee and will be sorely missed in June. We took up a 16-item agenda. We approved approximately $182,000 from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Stabilization Fund for the Health Care for the Homeless program, which supports unhoused residents struggling with substance use disorders. Staff described the program's focus on trust building, care coordination, health insurance access, and direct hospital referrals when needed. We approved $2,000 for the Arts Council for desks and chairs for staff workstations and a $4,000 Community Preservation Act transfer needed to fully fund this year's Historic Preservation Awards.

We recommended approval of a 60-month renewal of the City's solid waste disposal contract with Waste Management. Staff explained that the long contract time Gives us better pricing than shorter renewals would have. And noted that the contract structure allows the city to save money if composting efforts reduce the total trash tonnage. There was also discussion regarding labor conditions and union status at disposal facilities. We approved a time-only contract extension for improvements at Junction Park and an amendment to the Assembly Square District Improvement Financing Program to incorporate the new Assembly Fire Station and nearby intersection improvements. Several bond-related items were considered together. We recommended approximately $8 million from stabilization funds to pay down existing bond obligations for past street reconstruction work, Union Square Plaza improvements, and school building improvements. Paying this down will reduce the bond interest owed and save the city from paying interest.

We also approved two appropriations totaling approximately $1.1 million for new fire pumper vehicles. Fire Department staff explained that aging vehicles and pandemic-era supply chain disruptions have created long replacement timelines. With one truck finally arriving this week and another expected later this year. The committee also approved approximately $15,000 in state fire safety grants for school outreach, senior safety programs, and smoke detector installation. And finally, we approved an approximately $6,700 prior year invoice payment for police department fingerprinting software. The invoice had apparently been sent to an account of somebody who no longer worked for the police department and it was not found, but it was verified as authentic. Chair, I ask that this committee report be accepted as submitted.

In discussion on the committee report, Councilor Scott. Thank you, Mr. President. On the committee report, When we were discussing the tipping contract for waste innovation, we did inquire about the union status of the site. I had requested some follow-up information. The follow-up information that we got I believe from Liaison Redassi, which was very helpful, was that Wind Waste Saugus is not a union shop. However, the Commissioner Weisman also reached out to the other two dumping sites within 20 miles of DPW, which is the Melrose Transfer Station and the Pebede Lime Fill. And according to staff, neither of those sites are union shops either. So apparently we don't have the choice to shop union on this one, Mr. President, but I appreciate the information from staff. Thank you, Councillor Scott.

Any further discussion? All right. Seeing no further discussion, then that item is approved, and we have a whole bunch of roll calls. Get your voting voices ready. Madam Clerk, you ready? We see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight roll call votes.

Yes, we do. Okay for item number 26-0745 requesting approval of an amendment to the assembly square district improvement financing District Map and program to include the Assembly Square Fire Station, 45 Middlesex Avenue, and improvements to the intersection of Middlesex Avenue and Mystic Avenue. And for the roll call, Councilor Ewen-Campen?

Yes.

Councilor Link?

Yes.

Councilor Scott? Yes. Councilor Clingan? Yes. Councilor Strezo? Sait, Wheeler, Hardt, McLaughlin, Mbah, and Davis. The next roll call item is item number 26-0763, requesting approval to enter into a 60-month contract renewal term with Waste Management of Massachusetts Inc. for solid waste disposal. Yes, we have to do that. Oh, no, I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. You are correct.

Just one check. As I said, I don't want to have lied to everybody.

You are correct.

That one was approved with the approval of the committee report. Correct. Okay, very good. So let's go to the next roll call.

The next item, yes, would be item number 26-0803.

Point of order, Mr. President.

Mr. President, I would like to request that Madam Clerk reads the item number. It's just easier to... Oh, like the agenda item number?

Yeah, I mean... Before you read the item, the 6A9. Absolutely. Thanks very much.

So the next item on the agenda would be 6.8.9. Item number 26-0803, requesting approval to appropriate $182,469 from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Stabilization Fund for the Health Care for the Homeless Program. And the roll call for that one. Councillor Ewen-Campen.

Yes.

Link, Scott, Clingan, Strezo, Sait, Wheeler, Hardt, McLaughlin, Mbah, and Davis. Mr. President, I was told by our wonderful CAO that we could bundle the roll call and do it all together.

That's a good idea.

Why didn't I think of that?

Any objection to taking all of the roll calls together? Here I was excited to do all these different roll calls. We should be more efficient with the people's time. Any objection to take the remaining roll calls, so there's one, two, three, four, five, six, all together at once? If you want to discuss any of them in particular, the answer would be no. If you don't have any discussion, then we can do that. All right, so then let's take them all together, Madam Mayor. Perfect. Good idea.

Thank you. That's all, Kim. Councilor Ewen-Campen?

Yes.

Councilor Link?

Yes.

Councilor Scott? Yes. Sait, Wheeler, Hardt, McLaughlin, Mbah, Davis All right, unanimous vote.

All right, all of those are approved then. Thank you very much. All right, next item, Madam Clerk.

We are now at 6B, correct. 6.B.1, item number 26-0929. Ewen-Campen, report of the committee on land use meeting on May 21, 2026. Councilor Ewen-Campen.

Thank you, Mr. President. The land use had a discussion meeting. This was all focused on a series of four amendments proposed by our former colleague Bill White, basically all related to backyard cottages. For folks following this, I'm not going to go into a ton of detail, but basically there are four proposed amendments. One of them is to make the allowable size of backyard cottages smaller to match the statewide regulations. One of them is to make the backyard cottages legally an accessory to one of the other units with the stated purpose of it not being sold off as an independent condominium. but as a rental unit owned by one of the residents of the other units so those are the first two there's another one that is to require public hearings zoning board approval for a lot split Do you have a lot that's more than twice as big as a legal lot? Splitting it currently is, you own two legal lots, right?

So you can split it. That's an administrative process. The proposal is to require a neighborhood meeting about that. And the fourth is if there is a lot split that creates more than five units to apply our 20% inclusionary to it. We had, I think, a really helpful kind of question asking discussion around this I don't want to paint the you know all of that discussion with too broad a brush but I would say kind of big takeaways I think there is interest from both the administration and the council on looking at the dimensions of backyard cottages with the intention being Let's discuss in detail what is being built now. Does that actually align with what we intend? On the other ones, I will say there were a number of legal and practical questions that folks had. That I think we'll need to address at a future meeting. So for folks interested in that conversation, it was a very interesting conversation. Deliberation, I'd encourage you to watch that meeting.

And you're also welcome to just stay tuned because we are anticipating a submission from the mayor's office relevant to backyard cottages. And obviously, councilors are also encouraged to put in their own amendments if they wish. I ask that this be accepted.

Scott. Thank you, Mr. President. On the report, I just want to highlight the lot split and lot merger piece of this discussion. It's something that I put items in on for several years now. And the piece where a plain reader of the language could be forgiven for being taken by surprise is that A neighborhood meeting is already required in the zoning ordinance for a lot split or for a lot merger. They require site plan approval. However, It has been the determination of our permit granting authority, the planning board, to simply just Have that be administratively handed off to the planning department to handle it. Which means that the end result is that people who thought they knew what could be built near them

I am very grateful to my former colleague for bringing another solution because my Attempts to get an administrative solution over the last years have fallen short, so I am eager to see this perhaps codified more firmly to make sure that our neighbors are informed about just what can happen on the lots next to them. Thank you. Wheeler.

Thank you, President. I just wanted to say on that topic, I think there's a lot of discussion, of course, around housing policy with different kinds of procedures that sometimes slow things down or provide obstacles. I think sitting down and talking to people who live in the community is a reasonable thing to expect and it's a reasonable thing to ask. I think it can be part of a healthy process that doesn't mean that it's a veto point that makes things take forever and I've heard from numerous people in and around the city about incidents, cases where those conversations have been productive and have led to productive outcomes for all involved. Thanks.

Further discussion? All right, seeing none, then that item is approved. Thank you, Councillor Ewen-Campen. Next item, Madam Clerk.

Yes, we are now at 6D, School Building Facilities and Maintenance Committee. Item number 226-0928, report of the Committee of School Building Facilities and Maintenance meeting on May 21st, 2027. Six.

Councilor Link. It's been a bit since we got to hear from you on this one. I almost forgot.

Go right ahead. Thank you, Mr. President. So the school building and facilities maintenance committee met. We met for about an hour and a half. on just a couple days ago actually on the Was it a couple days ago? On the 21st. I think this was almost a week ago. Okay, anyway, so we had a lively discussion about snow. and hopefully it's the last one for a little while. We talked for more than you could think about playgrounds and snow and ultimately What we came to as a group was that there's actually not a whole lot of room to change the way that we're doing what we're doing. What we did learn in that process though was that

There is a certain amount of the playgrounds that are built to be shoveled, so we're hoping that Maybe if there's some sort of plan that DPW and the districts can work out together to kind of Sait had a really great suggestion of you know trying to figure out how to actually Make the situation fun, right? Like, you can play in the snow. So, you know, how can we make it so that the snow is actually not... Instead of being an obstacle is... is something that we can look forward to and also how we can do that equitably through making sure that all the kids have proper snow gear. Another thing that we discussed was air quality in the Kennedy School.

There was no process in place for handling air quality issues. Concerns specifically around mold or potential mold. So there is now a process in place that happens first on the school side and then can get escalated to DPW. In this case, they did an examination of the Kennedy School and they found no molds present. They did find some staining from past leaky pipes, but nothing to be concerned about in terms of air quality. We also spoke very briefly about the MSBA updates for the Brown School, not the Brown School, for the Winter Hill School, and learned that They're about to begin boring on the site. It should start I believe on Monday. So that is going to give them an idea of what is under the ground there. They're assuming that there's going to be some surprises.

as well as whether or not they can do geothermal. And I will note that this boring unlike our friends over at MassDOT will happen during the daytime hours in consideration of our neighbors. So that they're not up in the middle of the night. And finally, we talked about the Argenziano School and the updates that are going to be made there so that we can welcome the AIM students and make sure that all the kids are safe. some of these updates are you know I would say the updates are brought on specifically because of bringing the AIM program in, but they're actually improvements for the safety of the kids all around. Specifically, there's a bunch of changes that are going to be made. to make sure that the playground is more enclosed which I am an Argenziano parent and I have one of the first things that I discovered was that it's the most porous playground that you could ever imagine and your kids will take off if you're not careful. So I think it's a good one.

I ask that this be accepted.

Thank you. Thank you to Councillor Seat for that suggestion to make the snow fun. I look forward to our first City Council versus kids snowball fight next summer, next winter. Any discussion on the report?

All right seeing none that item is approved next item we are now on section 6e of the agenda item number 26-0926 report of the committee on traffic and parking meeting on may 18

Thank you, Mr. President. The Traffic and Parking Committee met with all three members present. We took up the items related to parking on Oak, Bolton, and Prospect Streets. We kept these items in committee because we needed to hear from ISD and SPD. We had Inspector LaRusso from ISD who spoke to the efforts made to address the issues in this area. We had a really good discussion and basically I made the request that ISD meets with the developers and also that

ISD, SPD, and the parking department meet on a regular basis to discuss traffic enforcement and ways to address them. And everyone agreed to Meeting and trying to make sure everyone is on the same page and making sure enforcement is happening. and Lieutenant Holland committed to, one, he committed to flagging this area for his staff. So when the phone call, S.P.D. receives a phone call by this area. Staff member is sent immediately. And another one is also... Go into the contractors who keep, you know, because it's the same contractors.

who are parking multiple cars in front of driveways, in front of fire hydrants, making sure to have that one-on-one conversation with them. We felt pretty proud of that achievement and we will follow up with everyone and especially with the neighbors to make sure these These solutions are being implemented. Regarding the accessibility and updates, Webster Ave and Prospect Street Director Rawson shared that these locations are part of a streetscape design and there is a significant amount of work left. More information can be found online. The estimated design budget is about $1.2 million.

The City has secured a grant of about $800,000 and is looking for more funding sources to begin construction designs. There are many financial components that are still left to be addressed. If funds can be obtained, the earlier construction could start on those trees in the spring of 2028. We also discussed the 2026 Safe Streets Ordinance Annual Report. Director Rawson shared that the ordinance was adopted in 2024 to improve public information sharing in Safe Streets. and the cities required to publish an annual report by March 1st and this submission was the second one since the ordinance was adopted. Senior Planner Schreiber spoke to the status of road repairs and some are not prioritized due to the requirements from the state.

and the city made the decision to focus on other projects that could be more reasonably completed without the need for state support. Director Rawson also spoke to resource limitations in finance and staffing needs that have prevented mobility from moving at a faster pace. The director discussed in depth all the components and considerations that go into the design plans for safe streets, bike lanes, and paving. Wheeler asked how the height of speed humps is decided throughout the city. Director Rossin pointed back to the slides in his response and said, The first generation of speed humps are larger than the most recent ones installed. Over time, there's been improved quality control from the city and the contractors will be creating more consistent sizes, in case you were wondering.

We also received an update from Director Ross regarding piloting the installation of dedicated bicycle youth signals. to operate during the walk cycle at several intersections throughout the city including Washington Street and Somerville Ave, Prospect Street and Somerville Ave Director Rodson stated the city follows federal guidelines that currently prohibit the city from signing off on this signal pattern at this time. City staff from engineering and mobility are looking at other avenues to address mobility at intersections. The last item asking the Director of Mobility to evaluate opportunities for improved pedestrian safety at the intersection of Broadway and Main Street. Director Rosson addressed the concerns at this intersection and shared that they're due to the higher volume of cars and speed.

The director shared that small-scale traffic tweaks and upgrades have been implemented to reduce wait times at signals. Engineering and mobility were able to upgrade equipment to change the signal pattern and reduce some congestion in the short term. There's an appetite for longer-term intersection redesign. The director mentioned this location is part of the five-year sidewalk plan, but specifics have not been determined on a timeline for construction. With that, I ask that this committee report be approved and submitted.

All right, thank you.

Any discussion on the committee report? Thank you, Mr. President. As always, appreciate the work of the Traffic and Parking Committee on this. And just wanted to say while some of these items have been marked were completed, it is my anticipation once we get through budget season. to be moving for a public hearing where some of these items can be discussed before the council. Thank you. Further discussion?

All right, seeing none, that item is approved. Next item, Madam Clerk.

Yes, we are now on the section of communications of the mayor. Item number 26-0882, requesting ordainment of an amendment to chapter 7 and section... 1-11B of the Code of Ordinances to require property owners provide a notice of building sale to tenants.

The item is referred to legislative matters.

Wheeler.

Thank you so much Mr. President and pardon my just pulling up the comment I was going to make. I move to waive the readings of items 7.2 to 7.20 and refer them to the Finance Committee. See no objection.

Those items will be referred to the Committee on Finance. So that takes us to 7.21, I believe. Madam Clerk? Yes.

Item number 26-0870, requesting approval of the 2026-2027 Housing and Urban Development One Year Action Plan for the Community Development Block Grant. Home Investment Partnership, and Emergency Solutions Grant Programs.

That item will be referred to Housing, Community Development, and Equity.

Next item. Just wanted to say well done, Mr. President, on that. Yeah, go ahead. Well, just well done on getting that name correct.

They wrote it down here for me so I wouldn't screw it up this time. Thank you for giving me credit. I would love to take the credit, but credit where credit is due to the clerk's office for helping me out on that one. Next item, Madam Clerk, 7.22.

Yes, item number 26-0880, conveying the appointment of Stephen Tolman to the Wage Theft Advisory Committee.

That item will be placed on file and I'll note that I do have a list of recommended appointments for City Council's appointments on that that I'm reviewing and if anyone has input on and I guess we could probably communicate that. I'll work on making sure that we can communicate that list to the counselors. I want folks to have a chance to provide input, but I anticipate submitting that as soon as we can. So that item is placed on file. Next item.

Next item is 26-0866, proclaiming May 2026 to be Older Americans Month.

Is there anything we want to place on file? Are we holding this for a comment from the administration? I don't want to take away the opportunity if there's an intent there.

Thank you, Mr. President. No need to read it out or anything. We actually presented it already at an event.

Perfect. It shall be so proclaimed. Councillor Schuzza.

We send this to HCDE.

We can send that proclamation to HCDE if it's... Thank you. All right. So that will be placed on file with a copy to Housing Community Development and Equity. Next item is 8.1.

Yes. Item number 26-0873, Condominium Review Board conveying the fiscal year 2025 annual report pursuant to section 7-70 of the Code of Ordinance.

That item is placed on file.

Um, Mr. President, um, I'd be, yep, you send a copy of that to HCDE as well.

For 8.1? 8.1.

8.1.

So that is a place to file with a copy to Housing Community Development and Equity.

Thank you.

Item 8.2.

Yes. Item number 26-0925, fleet manager conveying an annual report pursuant to section 12-122E of the code of ordinances.

Scott. Oh, Mr. President, I'm so excited. Y'all, this is the very first fleet manager report The position of fleet manager goes back and forth a long time, but as far as I can find in my search, this is the first time we've gotten a report on the enforcement of the side guard ordinance that I believe you, President Davis, led the charge on. Very first ordinance. I think we got one at one point.

We at least had one conversation on sort of a report-ish type thing. But I will trust your research, Councilor Scott.

Yeah, picture it didn't happen, sir. No, I believe... From here here to having one now. Here's to having one now. I just want to give my congratulations to city staff for pulling this together. Couldn't be more proud.

It seems like just yesterday it was in preschool. Any further discussion on that one? Seeing none, that item is placed on file. Next item, 8.3.

Yes. Item number 26-0924, City Clerk Conveying Block Party Licenses Issued.

Y'all know how much I love block parties and how much I miss the reading off of the block party list. So I encourage all the members of the public to take a look at this item 26-0924, find out if your street or street near you is on it, and if not, ask why. and contact the clerk's office and find out how you can have a block party in your very own block because it's very easy and very fun and it's a great way in the year of the neighbor to meet some neighbors and have a good time here here for block parties that item is placed on file

We are now under, yes, new business. Item number 26-0886, renewing drain layers.

Thank you Mr. President. I would like to move to waive the readings of 9.1 to 9.16 and approve them this evening.

I have in my notes that 9.8 may be an outlier. Is that consistent with your understanding? Scott. So let's do this. Let's weigh the ratings of 9.1 through 9.7 and 9.9 through 9.16, unless there's any objection to that. And approve those tonight, Councillor Hardt? Yes, please. Unless there's any objection, we'll approve those tonight. And then, Madam Clerk, could you read item 9.8?

Yes. item number 26-0894 new extended operating hours license ever fitness at 14 McGrath highway opening 24 7 for in-store.

Councilor Scott. I seem to recall those tend to require public hearings. Does that one not require a public hearing?

Not that I'm aware of, but I will defer to the clerk's office if they have other information. Yes, please.

Madam Chief Administrative Officer and or former clerk or however it is your, the one with the wisdom on this item. The holder of institutional knowledge. Whatever role it is you play please share with us.

Thank you, Mr. President. Through you, Kimberly Wells, Chief Administrative Officer, this is an item that actually there is some nuance here. It is at the discretion of the council. whether the public hearing is to be held so if anyone is so inclined as to require a public hearing you are welcome to send it to committee if the council feels comfortable approving this item it is not a legal requirement by either mgl or ordinance to hold a public hearing

Well, take your word for it. Great. Thank you, Councillor. Mr. President, I must have been remembering past practice. I don't have a requirement.

Or perhaps remembering an item where there was a wish for some reason to have a public hearing. It could be. Oh, there's been several of those. This one I don't think rises to that. Well, I remember. All right, very well then. Seeing no call for public hearing, Councilor Hardt, we've read this one, so you wish to move to approve this item then? Yes, please. Okay, very well. Any discussion? See no objection, then that item is approved. Thank you. That brings us to 9.17. Madam Clerk?

Yes. Number 26-0908. Eleven individuals, including nine residents, submitting comments regarding item number 26-0257. requesting a zoning map amendment to change the zoning district of 2 and 9 Union Square, 286, 290, and 298 Somerville Avenue from Commercial Core 5, CC 5 to Mid-Rise 6, MR 6.

That item is placed on foul. Councilor Ewen-Campen, do you want a copy of that to committee? Sure. All right. Let's send a copy of that to land use just so folks can read the comments when we have that conversation. Next item.

Item number 26-0909, 27 residents submitting comments regarding items 26-0330, 26-0329, 26-0328, 26-0329, zoning text amendments related to backyard cottages and affordable dwelling units.

That item is going to be placed on file. Copy that to committee. Councilor Ewen-Campen. All right, let's get a copy of that to land use, please. Next item is 919. Yes.

Item number 26-0910, Diane Covino submitting comments regarding item 26-0750, Hardt, a grant of location to install 10 feet of conduit next to 135 Hudson Street.

Councilor Hardt?

If you could send that, a copy of that to licenses and permits, please.

Okay. Any further discussion? See none, so we'll place on a file with a copy to licenses and permits. Next item, 9.2.

Item number 26-0911, Jonah Abrams submitting comments regarding Davis Square.

That item is placed on file. Next item.

Item number 26-0912, Courtney Foster and Molly Frost Wiley submitting comments regarding police presence in schools.

That item is placed on file. Next item.

Next item is 26-0913 Blair reads submitting comments regarding item number 26-0287 a zoning text amendment to amend section 3.1 8C, 3.1.9C, 3.110C, 3.1.13K, 3.1.131, 3.2.121, and 3.2.12M.

I wonder if those ones are supposed to be L's in the one, three, one. Oh, are they? One, two, one. They don't look like. I could tell you on the page it looks exactly the same.

It does look like a one.

Just for the record, so no one goes chasing after 3.1.131. I think it's 3.1.13L. and 3.2.12L. Very confusing. But it struck me that there probably wasn't 131 subsections. That's the only reason I thought about it. Anyways, now that we've got that clear. That's right. Give Councillor Scott a few minutes. All right. We'll place that item in file. Councillor Ewen-Campen, you want to copy that one? That one's still in discussion? Okay. Let's send a copy of that one to land use as well. Okay. Next item, 9.23.

Yes. Item number 26-0914, Christopher Rozal, submitting comments regarding off-leash dogs.

See no discussion.

That item is placed on file.

Sorry?

Can you please send that to Public Health and Public Safety?

Councillor Strezo would like to send a copy. So placed on file with a copy to Public Health and Public Safety.

All right. Next item.

We are now in supplemental items. Item number 26-0937 by Councilor Wheeler in his capacity as Chair of the Finance Committee conveying information on the fiscal year 2027 public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget on Wednesday, June 10th.

All right. A note on just sort of clarification for those following along in my rigid application of the open meeting laws. Because of some reasons, we got the date sorted out after the actual deadline for the regular agenda. Given that the whole point of this is to give notice to the public, I felt it was necessary and timely, so it meets the exceptions. Williams. Do you want to speak to this?

Yes, please, Mr. President. Briefly, thank you for clarifying. I apologize for the supplemental nature of the item. There was some scheduling confusion, which was my fault. There will be a public budget hearing on Wednesday, June 10th at 6pm online. Everyone in the public, Everyone who calls Somerville home of any age or any background is invited to give us your questions and your comments about what is in the budget, what is not in the budget, how departments are spending the public's money. Questions can be submitted in two ways. One, by emailing publiccomments, that is plural, at somervillema.gov. or by attending this public budget hearing on June 10th virtually and making comments there or both.

The link to this Zoom meeting can be found on the Somerville budget website and on the Legistar website that has links to every City Council online meeting. Thank you.

We welcome your comments and your questions.

Next item is 26-0938 Maninder Singh submitting comment regarding water and sewer rates.

All right that item is placed as so public comments we move them forward when we receive them so that item will be placed on file. Next item, Madam Clerk. No further items? No further items. All right. Are there any late items? Sorry?

Scott. Thank you, Mr. President. I did submit a late item today. My apologies. I do not believe it could have been reasonably anticipated as it pertains to some police activity this morning in Union Square. I did provide this text to the clerk, but I'd be happy to read the text of the order. The title of the order is that the Chief of Police provide documentation in writing regarding the circumstances surrounding cyclist traffic enforcement in Union Square on the morning of May 28th. The text of the order says an SPD officer was observed by residents issuing warnings or citations to cyclists at the intersection of Washington and Webster on the morning of May 28, 2026, causing a degree of public concern. This council requests the following information in writing so that a discussion of the incident can be had to inform the public as to department policy and procedure. First, how the officer was dispatched to that intersection on the morning of May 28th and at whose direction.

Number two, the reason an officer was dispatched to that intersection on the morning of May 28th? Three, whether this was part of an overtime shift or regular patrol shift. Four, if it was part of a regular patrol shift, what the patrol area for that officer would have otherwise been on the morning of May 28th. Fifth, how many warnings and or citations were issued on the morning of May 28 by that officer? Six, how many stops and public interactions the officer conducted during that enforcement activity assignment? And seventh, Whether any part of this activity was related to the Massachusetts EOPSS Municipal Road Safety Program or any associated grants such as Council Item 25-1801.

Scott. You got me on the very last point. I don't hear any particular time sensitivity, so I'm inclined to lay this one on the table. Is there any specific timing on the grant that we should be aware of that would impact the timing?

No, sir. That was a grant that was accepted, I believe, under the assurances of the police department that there would be no enforcement. So I don't believe it is time sensitive. I'm happy to either send it to committee or if you'd like to leave it on the table.

Let's lay this one on the table. I think the thorough nature of the item is a... One might say a clever way of addressing the issue later, but it does get all the information out to the public, which is what we're trying to accomplish here. So let's lay this item on the table, and we'll have a full deliberation at the next meeting.

Does that sound OK? Appreciate that, Mr. President. Mr. President, if I may, one more late item. Also, given the time sensitivity of it, since I believe we received notification of this today, I would like to propose... that this council recognize and thank legislative liaison Yasmine Radassi for her service to the city as her

At the risk of speaking from the president's podium up here, hear, hear, couldn't agree more, and she will be tremendously missed and very, very, very grateful for all the work, especially when she was doing the work of literally three people at one time.

That is correct, sir. I hope that my weekly meetings with the liaison have not been part of the reason for her departure.

Scott, we all know they probably were.

They probably were. Let's just say that over my time on the council, we've had a great number of legislative liaisons. some of whom were very nice people and at least one of whom was a real stinker but uh i really love and i'm not naming names mr president I just want to express my great appreciation to all of us. I know on the Council have appreciated Liaison Radice's work, so thank you.

Hear, hear. Hear, hear indeed. Councillor Mbah, I know you have a light item.

Thank you, Mr. President, just to echo Chairman Scott's sentiment. You pulled a fast one on me, I had two. You've been an A player in this city and we thank you for your work and the great service you've done to this community. and am I in order for my next light item? You got to tell me what the light item is. Thank you. In my capacity as the Vice President of the City Council, I want to congratulate Matt McLaughlin for his graduation today from Harvard University. I'm not done yet and in my capacity as Vice President I want to confer five seconds of my VP hat on him and then I'll take it back.

Somebody take a picture quick. Councillor McLaughlin. Thank you, Mr. President. This could be unforeseen because I didn't tell anybody that I was graduating. Councillor McLaughlin, my ruling on this one is that it's probably not all that controversial an issue, so I think we're safe in going forward. I just encourage everyone here to look into the Kennedy School. Councilor Barr graduated there. I graduated there. We get it in the mailbox every year to apply. And I never thought it was for me. And it's been a great experience. So I would encourage all of you to check it out. Very well. Congratulations.

Anyone else have a late item? All right, seeing none, good work, everyone. Thank you. Councilor Ewen-Campen moves to adjourn, and we are adjourned.