These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City of Somerville website.
Combining two public schools
New School Building Project School Building Committee, 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday. More work on construction of a 925-student complex at at 115 Sycamore St., Winter Hill, to meet the needs of the combined communities of the closed Winter Hill Community Innovation School and aging Benjamin G. Brown School. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Wage theft and equitable staff
City Council Confirmation of Appointments and Personnel Matters Committee, 6 p.m. Monday. This committee run by city councilor Wilfred Mbah makes a raft of appointments to the Climate Action Commission and a Wage Theft Advisory Committee, and votes on implementing hiring practices for positions in City Council and city clerk offices that show a commitment to equity and inclusion. The idea is to work toward representation by people of color by, for instance, making sure finalists for jobs or appointments include at least one qualified candidate of color. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Remaking 90 Washington St.
90 Washington Street Civic Advisory Committee, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Movement toward remaking Somerville’s 4 acres at 90 Washington St. in the Inner Belt. It’s land the city seized for $8.7 million in 2019 for a public safety building that led to a lawsuit and judgment that the city must pay much more. The city is trying to recoup a total $35.3 million by letting a company develop the land with dense, mixed-income housing and ground floor businesses. (We wrote about the design options here.) Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Body-worn cameras for police
City Council Finance Committee, 6 p.m. Tuesday. This committee run by city councilor Ben Wheeler grapples with the mayor’s request to accept a $231,635 state grant toward putting body-worn cameras on police officers. That amount is dwarfed quickly by costs the city must pay upon implementation, councilors note – nearly a half-million dollars annually. (We wrote about it here.) A June 25 memo by mayor Jake Wilson to councilors says he wants to buy the equipment “in anticipation of future phased implementation,” which has the agreement of the Somerville Police Superior Officer Association, including a pay increase, while negotiations continue with the Somerville Police Employees Association over its own agreement and member pay increase. The city’s $394 million budget for the year went into effect Wednesday after cuts and layoffs related to entering the season more than $5 million in the red. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Filling Arts Council leadership
Arts Council Board, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Members talk about hiring the next executive director, after longtime leader Greg Jenkins ended his tenure March 6, and related issues: the status of board recruitment, perceptions of the council and plans for a mayoral listening tour. Updates are also on the agenda for the 40-year-old ArtBeat festival. which comes to Davis Square on July 18; and tenant applications for the Armory, the city-owned arts building that’s had a rocky time getting organized. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
For those curious about CSOs
Draft updated combined sewer overflow control plan office hours, 5 to 7 p.m. July 13. A project team takes questions about a draft control plan to end the release of waste in public waterways when sewer and water systems get overwhelmed by rainfall. The plan about combined sewer overflows has been submitted to the federal Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Protection. There are five additional office hours planned, in-person and virtual, but this instance is online only. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
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