These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City of Somerville website.
Progress toward a new school
School Building Committee, 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday. Advancement of plans for a 925-student school that combines the Winter Hill Community Innovation School, which served 400 kids, and the Benjamin G. Brown School, a K-5 institution with 225 kids. The Winter Hill, at 115 Sycamore St., closed unexpectedly June 2, 2023, over safety concerns: It was discovered that a chunk of concrete had fallen from stairwell ceiling. The School Committee voted March 16 to combine the schools (which will reunite the Winter Hill’s prekindergarten-to-eighth-grade community after it was split between the Edgerly Education Center and Capuano Early Childhood Center). The Winter Hill and Brown are the city’s oldest schools, but the city got approval only for a new Winter Hill and an invitation to consider a project combining the two. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Two school improvement plans
School Committee, 7 to 9:30 p.m. Monday. Superintendent Rubén Carmona presents on improvement plans for the Albert F. Argenziano and John F. Kennedy pre-K to eighth grade schools in, respectively, Ward 2 and Spring Hill near Porter Square. The committee meets at 93 Highland Ave., Winter Hill, Somerville. Watchable online and by Zoom videoconferencing.
Police body camera funding
City Council Finance Committee, 6 p.m. Tuesday. This committee run by city councilor Ben Wheeler considers incoming state grants: $231,635 for a police body-worn camera program (and a separate $47,580 to allow for officer crisis intervention training) and $100,000 to start website redesign. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Library behavior and planning
Board of Library Trustees, 6 p.m. Wednesday. There’s a report on standards of library behavior and discussion of personnel and the upcoming budget. In-person at the Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Ave., Central Hill.
Education budget issues
School Committee Finance and Facilities Subcommittee, 6 p.m. Wednesday. This group led by Andre Green and Leiran Biton looks at budgeting issues for the current and next fiscal years. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Construction and homeless aid
Affordable Housing Trust, 5:15 p.m. Thursday. The group hears a funding request from the nonprofit developer Just A Start, likely for its six-story, 43-Unit affordable building at 24 Webster Ave., Union Square, replacing a vacant 1910 commercial building and expected to be ready for tenants in the fall of 2027. (The meeting agenda says “Webster Street.”) The Somerville Homeless Coalition seeks an emergency displacement prevention extension. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Elm-Beacon Connector project
Traffic Commission, 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Requests for changes to traffic and curb regulations come in for the Elm-Beacon Connector Project in Spring Hill, affecting 14 roadways that will see new bike lanes and creation of a neighborway – lowering vehicle volume and slowing vehicles with speed humps, narrow entrances, additional trees and two-way bike traffic. A two-block stretch of Broadway in the Tufts neighborhood near Davis Square would see changes to curb regulations for a quick-build bike lane.
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