One, two, three, four, close enough.

All right.

All right, we're calling this meeting to order.

Um, my name is Lance Davis.

Um you see him pronouns, Service Council President.

This is a meeting of the Somerville City Council.

Thursday, April 9th.

Um, please note that audio and video of this meeting is being recorded and may be shown live on local access government channels and on the city of Somerville Somerville website, and will be available for future review.

Would the clerk please call the roll?

This is roll call.

Counselor Ewan Campen.

Here.

Counselor Link.

Here.

Counselor Scott.

Present.

Counselor Klingon?

Present.

Counselor Street?

Here.

Counselor Sae?

Here.

Counselor Wheeler.

Here.

Counselor Hart.

Here.

Counselor McLaughlin?

Yeah.

Counselor Mbaugh.

Present.

Counselor Davis.

Here.

With all counselors present, we have quorum.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh, pursuant to our Rule 32.

Let it be known that this City Council salutes the flag of the United States of America and let us recall our oath to the 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 moment of silence.

Are there any counselors wishing to say a few words about members of our community tonight?

All right, seeing none.

Uh would everyone in the chamber please rise as you are able for a moment of silence.

Thank you.

All right, first item, Madam Clerk.

Item 1.3, approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of March 12th, 2026.

Seeing no discussion that items approved.

Next item.

Councilor Klingon.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Through you.

Um, as we often do, uh, have these special occasions of uh Summerville turning a hundred.

Um this evening I am really proud and um excited to honor and uh recognize Teresa Pyrot.

Uh I'm gonna read a little a bit about Teresa and then I'm gonna have Teresa's granddaughter Emily come up to accept the citation on her behalf as she is um in the assisted living uh situation.

So okay, so Teresa Pyrrho was born April 19th, 1926 in Cambridge.

In 1945, she and her husband Walter purchased the big yellow house at 392 Medford Street, where they raised their family, where she remained for over 75 years.

A devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Mrs.

Pyrrho is the proud matriarch of two children, five grandchildren, eleven great grandchildren.

And she was familiar with the familiar presence in her Winterhill neighborhood, a longtime parishioner of St.

Anne's, and worked for over 30 years as a telephone operator at Firm and Lumber.

Her son Walter Pierrot Jr.

went on to serve the city council for many years as the ward for alderman, serving in these very chambers and continuing the family's long-standing connection to community.

Now residing at an assisted living facility in Lower Mills, Dorchester for the last three years.

On this occasion of her 100th birthday, the city um I I proudly recognize Teresa for her remarkable this remarkable milestone and honor her lifetime of dedication to her family and to her community.

And um Yeah, so as was mentioned in the um the text, uh she lived right there on Medford Street.

I was able I met her a number of times before she parted from Somerville for an assisted living uh facility.

Um a very warm and welcoming person uh and and certainly well known in the community, and as uh was stated, you know, some of you may remember Walter, um her son who served on this body as a public servant.

Uh so Teresa is uh thriving and doing great in her assisted living community.

So I believe they're watching.

Hopefully, she's watching a stream right now.

Um with that, I'd like to present the citation to her granddaughter Emily Perone.

Uh Emily, if you want to come up to the podium and uh accept this on behalf of the city of Somerville I'll just read it.

Be it hereby known to all that the Somerville City Council and the mayor offer their sincerest commendations to Teresa M.

Pierrot, a longtime Somerville resident who is celebrating the auspicious occasion of her 100th birthday.

The counselors and the mayor extend their best wishes for good health and much happiness offered this ninth day of April 2026, uh signed by the entire council and the mayor.

So here you go.

Here you go, young lady.

You're welcome.

Uh just wanted to say thank you to Councillor Klingon and to the entire uh city council.

Really appreciate this.

My grandmother will be absolutely thrilled to receive this.

She's been in these chambers many times, especially when my dad was here as an alderman.

So again, sincerely appreciate it.

Um if she were here, she would tell you that her secret to a long life is to enjoy the little things and to have a bowl of ice cream every night.

So thank you.

Thank you.

All right, thank you very much.

Uh next item, Madam Clark.

Agenda item 3.1, a grant of location from Eversource, applying for a grant of location to install 318 feet of conduit in Kent Street and Somerville Avenue from existing manhole 14831 to point of pickup at 22 Kent Street, and additional additional conduit from Manhole 14831 to an existing manhole 8634.

All right, and now declare this public hearing to be open.

Is there anyone here to speak on the item?

Jackie Duffy online.

Hi, how are you tonight?

Well, thanks.

Welcome.

Thank you.

And we'd like to install 25 feet of conduit and Everett Street to provide electric service to 24 Webster Avenue.

Okay.

Anyone else here to speak on the item?

If you're online, please use the raise hand function.

Nope, seeing none.

All right, and now to declare the public hearing closed.

Is there any discussion?

Questions?

Councillor Scott.

Uh thank you, Ms.

President.

I hate to have to do it, but uh this is on Kent Street, and there is a poll at Somerville in Kent that is leaning at something like a 15-degree angle off the vertical.

Uh it's a hazard, it's been reported multiple times.

We still haven't gotten any action on it.

And uh I believe on tonight's agenda is a communication from one of my constituents.

That would be item 260633, uh documenting that and several others in that neighborhood.

So just like to send this one to license and permits so that we can get uh get some answers and some follow-up on that.

I believe there's also several items on the agenda tonight uh relating to that matter.

So if we could send this item to license permits.

Is the is the poll that you're talking about related to the grant of location?

Uh right down the street, sir.

Okay.

The reason I ask is because while that is a conversation that we've had in licensed premises before, if we're gonna have a larger discussion about poll polls, that's might be something that would be better sitting in what used to be public utilities and public works, which is now sustainability and infrastructure.

Because licensed departments, we're supposed to really supposed to talk about the license that's before us.

We certainly consented there.

I'm not objecting.

We're just having a conversation.

Um I I want to set up the other items uh uh put them in the best place to be to be addressed by uh who whomever might be able to attend the meeting.

Uh Mr.

President, we're familiar with my song and dance at this point.

I am attempting to use the very little power that we have as city councillors to bring the state utility to the table to discuss and remedy these problems.

Councilor Scott moves to send this item to uh licenses or to committee uh licenses and permits.

Any objection?

All right, seeing none we'll uh send that one to the right.

Um Webster Avenue.

I'm sorry, I didn't read the Kent one.

So that was my bad.

But I'm Kent one is gonna go to licensing, correct?

That's correct.

Okay, thank you.

All right, thank you.

All right, next item, Adam Clerk.

Agenda item 3.2, Ever Source applying for a grant of location to install 184 feet of conduit in Broadway from existing manhole 1969 to a point of pickup at 382 Broadway.

All right, and now declare the public hearing to be open.

Is there anyone here to speak on the item?

Jackie Duffy Eversource.

Uh, we'd like to install 184 feet of conduit in Broadway uh to provide electric service to 382 Broadway.

Okay, is there anyone uh anyone else here to speak on the item?

If you're online, you can use the raise hand function.

No, okay, seeing none, then I'll declare the public hearing closed.

Is there any discussion?

Any questions?

All right, seeing none, that item is approved.

Next item.

Ever source applying for a grant of location to install 25 feet of conduit in Everett Street from utility poll 118 over zero to a point of pickup at 24 Webster Avenue.

I'm having deja vu.

And I declare this public hearing to be open.

Is there anyone here to speak on the item?

Jackie Deffy MSOS would like to install 318 feet of conduit in Kent Street.

Oh my god.

Hold on.

I have the wrong thing now.

Sorry, my bad.

25 feet of quantum on Everett Street to provide electric service to 24 Webster Avenue.

Okay.

Is there anyone else here to speak on the item?

Alright, anyone online?

No, seeing none.

All right, I declare the public hearing to be closed.

Is there anyone any discussion?

Any questions?

No.

All right.

Then that item is approved.

Thank you, Ms.

Duffy.

All right.

Uh we have requests to take a few items out of order this evening.

Um the first will be the report of the committee on uh confirmation of appointments and personnel matters.

So we can uh do us some um some promotions that we have this evening, and then after that we'll take up items uh without if there's no objection, we'll take up item 4.2 and then 4.3.

Um then at that point we have a an executive session that we do have to go into, so the the council will uh move into uh executive session for a discussion.

We will come back take up item potentially take up items 7.4 and 7.5.

Sorry, the executive session is 7.2.

Uh and then after that, there's another executive session that we have to go into.

Uh that will be 7.1.

Um, and then uh after that we will take up 7.3 out of order.

And after all of that, we'll start the meeting.

So uh just so folks uh folks have a heads up.

Um so the first item will take out of order.

If there's no objection will be item 6a, Madam Clerk.

6A1, a report of the committee on confirmation of appointments and personnel matters meeting on March 30th, 2026.

Councillor Bott.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Appreciate the opportunity.

It was a brief meeting.

The confirmation of appointments, committee convene on April 30th with all members present and consider several personnel appointments.

We review and recommended approval of two police sergeants' promotions, Ashley Catato and Courtney Reese, both experienced detectives who emphasize community policing, professional development and building trust with residents.

Then the committee also recommended approval of James Blockin as municipal hearing officer, highlighting his extensive experience in commitment in fairness, particularly in handing handling unrepresented or anxious residents in his role.

Jessica Smith was approved for the public financing of campaigns committee, and finally James Leo Bidad and Christahov were approved to the rank choice voting committee.

All great community members.

Alright, any discussion on the committee report?

All right, seeing none, then items approved.

Council Bailey, you want to lead us through the uh promotions.

So uh Ashley and in Courtney Reath, if you guys so folks can step forward.

If there's anyone in the room that wants to take pictures, please plow right ahead.

Come right within the horseshoe, go up here, anywhere you want to be, tell us to move out of the way.

Don't hesitate to uh to get where you need to be to get some get some good shots.

All right.

Oh, yeah.

Hold on one sec, madam quick.

Let everybody get in the room here.

Don't want anybody to miss it.

Okay, we'll let them get in.

Hold on, we'll actually late as usual.

For the folks for the folks who just came in the room, I said a minute a minute ago.

If you want to take some pictures, please feel free to come in anywhere you like to be to get a good angle.

Don't hesitate, come right up on the inside or the outside, or you can stand next to me up here, whatever works.

All right.

After we'll shake your okay, perfect.

Good.

And after this, so you'll sign.

Perfect.

All right, I'll have your right hand.

Do you solemnly affirm that you'll faithfully perform the duties incumbent on you as a sergeant for the police department in the city of Somerville, Commonwealth, Massachusetts, under the pains and penalties of perjury.

Then you'll sign.

So that is gonna be right next to me.

And then I'm gonna sign as the witness to that.

Then you'll sign right next to where your name is printed.

There we go.

All right, calling this meeting back to order.

So the next item that we I would like to take out of order unless there's any objection is item 4.2.

Uh Madam Clerk.

Agenda item 4.2, a resolution by Councillor Saeed, Councillor Mbaugh, Councillor Link, Councillor Klingon, and Councillor Hart in support of the plant-based treaty.

Counselor Said.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

It was an honor to work with the plant-based treaty advocates and our policy analysts in drafting this resolution.

This resolution calls on the mayor to incorporate plant-based solutions into climate forward, implement plant-based purchasing practices for city events and use municipal communications channels to promote plant-based food and drink practices throughout the city.

Highlighting local restaurants offering plant-based options.

And a copy of this resolution will be forwarded to some of its sister cities and also to encourage them to endorse the plant-based treaty.

Supporting the plant-based treaty will build on Somerville's broader climate goals.

It will help raise awareness around environmental and health benefits of plant-based diets.

It will help reduce consumption-based emissions.

It will educate and encourage individuals to shift to plant-based options.

It will encourage businesses to offer more plant-based options and reduce dependence on high emission food sources.

This resolution puts that into action by including a number of ways for Somerville to take action in educating the community and promoting more sustainable and equitable food systems.

The speakers will be sponsoring, uh, they will speak to the work they're doing to get municipalities to support the plant-based treaty and what drives this important work.

I would like to sponsor Veronica Potter, Brendan Leo, and Rosa Diaz Rivera.

Councilor Said would like to sponsor the foreman individuals.

Any objection?

All right, seeing none, please step forward.

If you would just when you start to speak, just uh repeat your name for the uh clerk, get it on the record and go right ahead.

Good evening, counselors.

My name is Veronica Potter and I live at 665 Somerville Avenue.

As a plant-based eater who cares deeply about addressing the climate crisis, I wish to express my support for Somerville endorsing the plant-based treaty resolution resolution 260508.

The plant-based treaty is a global grass grassroots initiative addressing the environmental impacts of our food systems by working towards three main goals at the global level.

Redirect our animal agriculture-based food systems to plant-based ones, relinquish the use of additional land for animal agriculture, and restore ecosystems, promote biodiversity, and create natural carbon sinks.

One strategy we hope to help Somerville implement is serving plant-based foods as the default option at city events, which is shown to greatly increase the uptake of plant-based options, reducing the environmental impact of events without taking away the freedom to choose animal products.

I'd like to emphasize that endorsing the plant-based treaty and prioritizing policies like plant-based defaults will not take anything away, but instead increase access to an education about plant-based foods.

By endorsing the plant-based treaty, Somerville would join a global movement promoting a more equitable and sustainable world through plant-based eating.

Good evening, City Councillors.

My name is René Loa, and I live at one Watson Street.

A shift from industrial animal agriculture to plant-based food systems is urgently needed.

Animal agriculture is a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and is a major driver of deforestation, water pollution, and land degradation.

Somerville's own consumption-based inventory agrees.

With meat and dairy as the largest sources.

We can drastically reduce local emissions by making it easy for citizens to switch to plant-based foods.

This resolution calls upon the city to implement recommendations in Salmerville's own climate forward plan by promoting a Salmerville plant-based restaurant week, which highlights local restaurants offering plant-based options and by emphasizing plant-based foods for city procurements.

I urge you to vote for this resolution for the future of our planet.

Thank you.

Good evening, counselors.

My name is Rosa Diaz.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

As I can't to bridge in, I'm encouraged to see Somerville considering the bold step of becoming the second city in Massachusetts to endorse the plant-based treaty.

By joining neighboring Cambridge, Somerville Somerville can lead the way in promoting plant-based eating as a practical solution to climate change while also lowering food costs and improving public health inclusivity.

I like to share a statement from Sahar Ahmed, owner of Somerville's only 100% plant-based restaurant, Kashari Mama.

Quote Being a plant-based business owner is about more than serving food.

It's about honoring traditions that have always existed in our cultures.

Many of the dishes I grew up with were built on the from the land.

Beans, lentils, grains, were vegetables, herbs, and spices.

Plant-based cooking isn't new, it's ancestral.

These foods tell stories of resourcefulness and care for the community.

They are nourishing, deeply flavorful, and often the most affordable way to feed people well.

When we cook this way, we show that good food doesn't have to be exclusive.

It can be simple, generous, and shared by everyone.

Some end of quote.

Somerville has long been a leader in climate action, and it now has the opportunity to take decisive steps towards supporting local plant-based businesses to succeed and thrive.

I urge you to vote to endorse the plant-based treaty for the climate, for local businesses, and for a more inclusive food culture.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

Counselor Said, back to you.

Anything else?

Okay, I saw Councillor Strezzo, Counselor Camp would like to sign on, and then after Councillor Chelsea, we'll go to Counselor Hart.

Thank you.

Uh Ms.

President, uh, through you to uh Counselor Said and uh first I want to uh thanks for bringing this forward uh and some of the other counselors who did.

Uh through you, I I'd love to um have our speakers come back forward.

And I um I'm and if I may uh just ask some questions because I think this is great.

The dialogue is important, and we're talking about uh food right now because there's a lot going on coming forward.

Thank you.

Um to the podium, if you don't mind.

Thank you very much for for caring.

You clearly are very compassionate and caring.

So my question is really um just a couple of days ago, three days ago, um, Boston Globe uh issued an article saying that 40% of Massachusetts households are um reporting a um food insecurity.

So how can we share?

Do you have uh thoughts on like how we can share information on low-cost plant-based options and how um uh if you have suggestions, ideas and how we can implement that citywide and um with food banks and what the thoughts are on that and what uh products are um uh uh help address food insecurity with that.

Um I am with our sponsored speakers to ask the question.

Yeah, feel free to if you yeah.

Yeah, so there's a couple of things we can do.

So we know that some of the most affordable foods are whole plant-based foods, um, like beans and uh legumes and and rice and that kind of stuff.

So something we can do is put together like a public campaign uh of flyers and um different um tools that we can use to spread that um knowledge because not everybody knows that.

And and so that could be step one.

Um we can certainly work with um uh food banks to make sure that they have that in stock.

Um plant-based treaty has a has a team in the Boston area of very knowledgeable volunteers and staff that can definitely um work with the city to implement this.

Um to our speakers, uh great.

Yeah, that um I know that here in Somerville with like food for free with our um food insecurity and uh going on here in the city.

I know that um we have a lot of diverse pellets as well as we want to be culturally sensitive to those um who are receiving our food-for-free boxes, etc.

Um, so I just uh the dialogue is important and um open to hear more as well.

So thank you very much.

Counselor Hart and then Counselor Bach.

Thank you.

Who I had the pleasure of getting to talk to and who were uh really helpful in answering a lot of my questions on the treaty.

Um and I'm happy to support the this effort because even though I think that um cows and sheep and animal agriculture in the appropriate places and with the right management, like holistic management, can be an important part of restoring biodiversity, sequestering carbon, and creating a healthy food system.

Um the fact is that over the past few decades, animal agriculture in the U.S.

has become more and more concentrated and industrialized, um, with the goal uh and effect of producing profits for some of the largest multinational corporations in the world.

So this combined with the fact that the U.S.

is among the top countries in the world of per capita meat consumption, um, means that a key part of what we need to do to transition to more sustainable food production and greater food security is to consume less industrially industrially farmed meat and instead eat more plants.

So thank you all.

Appreciate it.

Thank you, Councillor Bach.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

You know, it's always hard to follow Councillor Hart, you know.

So I just want to thank you for the comments, and thank you, Councillor Said, for your leadership on this.

Thank you to our speakers as well.

Um I met with uh one of your colleagues, you know, Kimmy, for over an hour in Cambridge, and the first few minutes I just knew that this was like a no-brainer for something that I would like to support.

Because this resolution recognizes something we can no longer ignore.

The climate crisis is not just an energy problem, you know, it is also a food systems problem.

The sense is clear that we eat what we eat, you know, has a profound impact on greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water resources.

So supporting the plant-based treaty is about aligning our local actions with global urgency.

Some of you have already shown leadership through our climate forward, you know, plan and also our commitment to net zero emissions.

And this is a natural next step the way I see it.

By promoting plant-based options, we are not asking for perfection.

We are creating opportunities for residents, institutions, and businesses to make more sustainable choices that collectively have real impact.

Just as importantly, this is about equity, health, and community.

Expanding access to plant-based foods can improve public health outcomes, lower food costs over time, and ensure that sustainability is not a luxury but something accessible to everyone in our city.

Initiative like Somervi Plant-based restaurant week, not only support local businesses, but also celebrate innovation and cultural diversity in food.

This resolution is not about limiting choice, it is about expanding it in a way that reflects our values.

Supporting the plant-based treaty sends a message that some of it is ready to lead to partner with other cities and to make meaningful practical steps toward a more sustainable and just future.

Thank you.

Okay.

Any further discussion?

Councillor Strausel, back to you.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

One last question to our um speakers and also or possibly Councillor Saeed.

Um I assume we all know, but can you define exactly what plant-based foods are?

So I do want to stress that like plant-based doesn't mean sorry, can you hear me?

Um I do want to stress that like plant-based is not we are not asking people to forgo animal products completely.

We are not asking people to give up anything they love.

We are just saying perhaps highlight plants more.

Plant-based mainly means that like the majority of the food itself is from plants, um, and that we are stressing kind of that those ingredients are perhaps more sustainable, require less land, require less water, um, and are better for the planet.

So perhaps shifting away slightly from animal agriculture, but not imposing um specific restrictions on anyone.

Okay.

Thank you, and thank you all for answering those questions.

Appreciate it.

All right.

Uh seeing no further discussion, that item is approved.

Madam Clerk, next item.

Next item is 4.3, an ordinance by Councillor Ewan Campin, Counselor Link and Counselor Hart proposing an amendment to Section 26 of the Code of Ordinances, the welcoming communities ordinance to further enhance civil rights protections in Somerville.

Counselor Ewan Campan.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Um, I want to thank my colleagues, Councillor Link, Councillor Hart for working on this so collaboratively, as well as Mayor Wilson's staff who have been really helpful over the past few weeks, um, and the ACLU of Massachusetts, who have been really invaluable.

And in fact, we're joined here tonight by a lawyer from the ACLU, who I'll be sponsoring in a moment.

So I don't think anyone in Somerville needs to hear that we are living through a completely unprecedented time of federal assault on our constitutional rights.

Somerville had a resident abducted off the streets by disguised, masked federal agents that shoved her into the back of a van and incarcerated her, a far-off state away from her family and her friends for months for the stated reason that the president did not like an op-ed that she had written in her college newspaper about Israel.

We have seen local and state governments, local universities targeted and punished for exercising their constitutional rights.

We are seeing unconscionable attacks on people for privately seeking medical care for themselves, for their families.

And of course, we are just seeing an all-out attempt to terrorize immigrants, sending militarized federal agents into cities across the country.

Many residents in Somerville have been doing unbelievable organizing against these efforts in incredibly inspiring ways.

And many people have been reaching out to us and the local government asking whether the city is being bullied or co-opted or somehow our work is somehow being uh co-opted into being a tool for for these federal efforts to track people to investigate people for doing constitutionally protected activities.

So what we are introducing tonight, this is a series of amendments to make it very clear that the city of Somerville does not and is not going to participate in any of these federal attacks on constitutional rights.

Um I'm very glad whenever I get these questions from from members of the public to be able to say and to be on really firm ground to say that the answer to these questions is no, right?

Somerville does not do this.

Um I'm also very glad to say that Somerville has a really strong record on this topic.

In particular, everything we're proposing tonight is these are amendments to an existing piece of legislation called the Welcoming Communities Act, uh, which President Davis introduced in 2019 and which itself builds on a long history uh of work in Somerville to ensure that everyone here can safely use city services, can seek help from law enforcement without being worried that they're going to be interrogated on their immigration status.

And what these amendments do is they just lay out very clearly, enshrine into law that the city of Somerville is not going to participate in anything with the federal government or with any other out of state agency that we know is going to be used to penalize people for participating in constitutionally protected activities, speech, protest, helping people.

Um this will apply not only to you know direct city activities, but also to any agreements, task forces, uh accepting grants from the federal government, um uh uh agreements that this that the city participates in.

Um it feels insane that an ordinance like this is even relevant.

Um, that we're saying we need an ordinance that we're not gonna participate in um abuses of our constitutional rights.

But this is the times that we're living in, um, and we cannot pretend otherwise.

So I'm happy to say we're joined tonight by Gideon Epstein, um, who's a lawyer from the ACLU.

I'd like to sponsor him to address the council, please.

Councilor Ewan Camp would like to sponsor Gideon Epstein.

Seeing no objection, please step forward.

Uh, state your name for the record and uh go right ahead.

Hey, good evening, everyone.

My name is Gideon Epstein, and I'm a policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, and I'm here to today to speak in support of the proposed amendments to Somerville's welcoming community ordinance.

Um I want to thank the council and the sponsors of this resolution uh for protecting immigrant communities and having such a strong record on that, and also upholding Somerville residents' constitutionally protected rights.

The amendments before the council today uh strengthen Somerville's commitment to being a true welcoming city, uh, not just in name, but also in law.

And just to talk about what the amendments do, they close critical gaps.

Uh city employees, including the police department, are explicitly prohibited from assisting federal or out-of-state agencies conducting civil immigration enforcement except where required by federal law or by a court order.

Somerville taxpayer dollars should not be used as tools of federal immigration enforcement.

There's another key addition.

The amendments prohibit cooperation with any federal operation targeting people for First Amendment protected activity.

Assembly, speech, protest, and this matters now more than ever.

Um, because we see federal agents targeting activists, protesters, and organizers, including here in Somerville.

So our community must be clear that we will not be complicit in the chilling of free speech or the punishment of dissent.

One of the most practical additions through these amendments.

Before any city contract is awarded or renewed, the law department will have to review uh new agreements for compliance with the welcoming community ordinance.

Cities can unknowingly and often do enter data sharing and surveillance agreements with companies that contract with ICE or DHS that violate the spirit of this ordinance.

And this provision brings real accountability to procurement and ensures that our values are reflected in vendor uh acquisition and our relationships with those vendors.

And ultimately, these amendments are only as strong as their enforcement mechanisms.

The new language gives this ordinance teeth, um, meaning that violations constitute a legal injury, and residents are able to seek injunctive or declaratory relief in court.

And further, there are whistleblower protections um for any city employee to report uh potential violations to ensure that people can speak up without fear of retaliation.

So, in closing, Somerville has always led on immigrants' rights, and these amendments ensure uh that not only the way we speak about our values, but also city policies meet the moment.

We're living under a shared reality in which there's a limited number of things that municipalities can do to um prevent federal overreach.

And we should be clear the proposed policy changes before the council this evening are some of the most consequential actions we can take at the local level to protect immigrants and resident civil liberties.

So I urge the council to vote in favor of this when it goes to committee and eventually comes back to the full council.

Um and thank you for having me this evening.

Thank you.

Counselor and camp, anything further?

No.

Okay.

Um we'll go to Councillor Link and Councillor Hart first as his co-sponsors, and then we'll go.

Go ahead.

Uh thank you.

Um President Davis.

Um, and uh through you, thank you to uh Gideon and the ACLU for working on this.

I I was thrilled to work on this amendment.

Um I uh for me th this helps to make it clear that Somerville uh will not accept the um attacks from our federal uh bodies uh on our communities and uh that we are not gonna stand by while people's rights are suppressed.

Uh protecting free speech in our community for for me is one of the most important things, and it's one of the most essential jobs we have here.

You know, we every day that we we come into this this room, one of the first things we do is remember that um we're here to uphold the constitution.

Uh so um I think this was a fantastic team effort.

Uh and uh, you know, I I want to acknowledge that some of what we we've got in here is also some of what the city was already doing, um, and they were already doing some good work, but this makes it um more durable and uh puts it in in print, which is a huge thing.

Uh and you know, I'm hopeful that this is just one more push and one more ounce of pressure uh against uh a body of hate and antagonism um that you know uh have we've all been exposed to uh and one more uh you know just push back to keep us from uh falling into something really truly terrible.

Thank you.

Counselor Hart.

Thank you.

Um and I really appreciate the leadership um from my colleagues um on this amendment, and I appreciate being brought in on it.

And um for me um during this time that is so scary and sobering, um, one of the things that gives me a lot of hope and inspiration um is the way that we've seen uh at neighbors helping one another, um, looking out for one another and upholding the rule of law.

Um and we see this right here in Somerville with rapid response networks, mutual aid work, um, and the importance of people exercising their rights to free speech, assembly, protest.

Um and I know in Somerville that we are united in wanting to defend democracy and ensure that everyone's civil liberties are guarded and protected.

And we want a high degree of trust and public safety throughout our city.

Um so I think that this is another important step that we can take to ensure that that's the case.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Uh so I saw Councillor Scott and then Ba.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh of course, thanks to my colleagues for this.

I'd love to co-sponsor this.

Uh, and I also just wanted to highlight something that was included in here that is perhaps one of my favorite parts uh in 13B, uh, which is in addition to all of the directly immigration related things, it does prevent uh the assistance in any out-of-state or federal agency in apprehending uh or arresting anyone engaged in activities protected uh such as the provision of food, medicine, shelter, clothing, uh, to anybody who is come to Massachusetts for whatever reason to avail themselves of our freedoms as long as those activities are fully legal within the commonwealth.

So I think that's an important role uh as we not only protect our neighbors uh but protect our neighbors across the country who may be uh needing some place to go.

So thank you for that thoughtful inclusion.

Uh and uh thank you for all the work in making sure we live up to the values that we that we profess.

Uh Councillor Clinton would like to sign on.

Uh Councillor Ba.

Councillor State.

Yeah, thank you, Mr.

President.

Also to my colleagues, thank you, uh Councillor UN Campaign, Councillor Hard and Councillor Link.

I really appreciate your leadership.

I remember back in January, Councillor Link and I we attended like uh an hour long zoom meeting, you know, uh with some counselors in Cambridge to kind of like give this day.

I wasn't surprised when I heard that Council UN campaign was already like a mile ahead of this.

So I was like, okay, that is really great, you know.

Just and for me, I've read this almost like three times.

And one of also the things that I really love, you know, it is the fact that we just keep building, you know, on stuff just to kind of like put more meat.

One of the things that I see in this one is like it moves beyond again this symbolic sanctuary city, you know, language and establish enforceable rights, which is like really powerful, accountability mechanism and reporting requirement.

Also create avenues for residents to file complaints.

That's big, you know, and seek legal remedies and receive whistleblower protection.

That's like the my takeaway that it's like this is something why requiring regular public reporting on ice-related interaction.

That's uh I thought this is this is something worth emphasizing at the same time, it affirms public safety priorities by allowing limited police involvement, only for safety and order during federal operations, not enforcement.

And overall, you know, the update strengthens trust between immigrant communities and local govern local government, clarify legal boundaries for city staff, ensures that local resources remain focused on serving uh residents, and equally rather than supporting federal immigration officers.

And and one of the things that today again when I looked at it, I wasn't sure uh why.

I'm sure when it was drafted at first the reporting requirement, it says six months.

I just thought like with this heightened, this is just me like looking at it this evening again with this heightened uh environment, like I you know, will it be what maybe from the legal mind?

Will it be what you know us getting like a monthly reporting, you know, from like why six months?

I mean, it's just even if it's a month of activities, if there's nothing, at least we know there's nothing, but we can't wait six months to figure out like what has been going on.

So I'm wondering from the legal mind if it's what making a friendly amendment to have the reporting every month instead of every six months.

Uh Council Campbell, do you want to speak to that?

Um, Mr.

President, through you, thank you.

This is gonna go to committee.

So we will have a lot of time to talk about the details.

Yes, not asking you to vote on an ordinance uh at a at a council meeting.

I thought exactly that sounds like an excellent thing to raise in committee and we can uh we can talk about the uh thank you merits of the time frame there.

Uh okay, uh Councillor Saeed.

Um through you, Mr.

President.

Uh my deep gratitude to my colleagues for putting these amendments forward and for working with uh the SALU to really find a way to uh protect our neighbors.

Um Councillor Hart said, um, this is one of the things that makes our community so special uh is that we show up for each other, and I'm glad we have something like that that will protect um uh our neighbors when as they're doing that, as they continue to do that.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Thank you, the chair.

Uh thank you.

I'm really excited to see these proposals and I appreciate the hard work on them, the leadership of the ACLU on these measures uh on a uh larger and national scale and the values of Somerville in how clearly I think our community stands for making sure that our welcoming immigrants is substantial, real, and and backed up by all of our efforts uh together.

And I just want to say, as someone fairly new to reading and trying to analyze uh legal changes, there's a lot that's complicated to me as an early reader.

I look forward to learning more about this and also about the the you know the questions about the practicality of how it's applied.

And I'm just reminding myself those questions are for things that we deeply support, as well as for things that we might not.

Um this is something I'm I'm tremendously excited about, and I look forward to the discussion that will happen in legislative matters.

Thanks.

Any further discussion?

All right.

Uh seeing none, then that item is referred to legislative matters.

That brings us to the first of our executive sessions items, I believe, right?

So item seven dot two, Madame Clerk.

Yes, agenda item seven point two, a request of the mayor requesting that this council convene in an executive session to discuss the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property located at one twenty two Assembly Park Drive.

Councilor Link.

Councillor Scott?

Yes.

Councilor Clayton?

Yes.

Councillor Shrezo?

Yes.

Councillor Said?

Yes.

Councillor Wheeler?

Yes.

Councillor Hart?

Yes.

Councillor McLaughlin?

Yes.

Councillor Mbaugh?

Yes, please.

Councillor Davis.

Yes.

All right, very well.

Um we will return to open session when we uh come out of executive session.

Whenever that might be here,

All right, I'll call this meeting back to order.

Um I can see that we have a quorum.

Uh there were no me and no votes taken in executive session, other than the vote to leave executive session.

Um Madam Clerk, next item, which is seven dot three for the I'm sorry, you're right.

Seven dot four and then seven dot seven.

Do we want to take those up together?

Where's we have to work on both.

Do we want to take the seven dot four and seven dot seven to get together for discussion?

I see we'll have to do a roll call.

I'll have to do a roll call to come back.

Uh hey, I know.

Let's do a roll call to come back out of executive session, even though I can see there's eleven of us here.

Roll call to return from executive session, Councillor Ewan Campen.

Yes.

Counselor Link.

Yes.

Counselor Scott.

Yes.

Counselor Klingon.

President.

Counselor Shell.

Counselor Say.

Here.

Counselor Wheeler.

Yes.

Counselor Hart.

Yes.

Counselor McLaughlin.

Yes.

Counselor Mbaugh.

Yes.

Counselor Davis.

Here.

All counselors present.

We have four.

Okay.

So now that I've got my head screwed back on straight.

Uh we'll the next two items we'll take out of order seven seven dot four and seven dot seven.

Um, unless uh an objection, we'll take those up together for discussion.

Um, if we decide to move forward, those each would require a roll call vote.

Um so we can do that vote separately.

But uh for purposes of discussion, we can uh talk together.

So would you read those two items into the record?

Agenda seven point four, request of the mayor requesting authorization to execute a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of one twenty-two Assembly Park Drive unit 45 and agenda item 7.7, a request of the mayor requesting authorization to borrow seven million in a bond to appropriate the same amount for the purpose of procuring the fire station condominium unit at one twenty-two Assembly Park Drive.

Somebody from the administration wanna explain to the public what we're talking about.

Yes, we are here to uh Galligani.

We all know who you are, but I'm some folks watching at home might not, so Tommy Galligani, I'm the executive director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development.

Thank you.

Um this evening we are asking for authorization to uh move forward on a acquisition, a seven million dollar acquisition of a condominium commercial condominium unit that currently houses our Assembly Square fire station.

Uh we went through a bidding process over the last couple of months and were the successful highest bidder.

And so now we're we're seeking authorization for two things to enter into a person's sale and with the intention of acquiring this site, this condominium and also seeking authorization to borrow uh seven million dollars in order to um to pay for this acquisition.

Happy to answer any questions you might just for context for folks, why don't we currently own our fire station?

We rent this fire station and we went through a competitive bidding process back in two thousand twenty-one, and uh we were seeking um opportunities to either require or to lease um uh uh a site for a fire station.

And the uh successful bidder, the only bidder, was uh the uh entity owned by biomed Realty.

And uh so we have moved forward back in 2021 and have invested uh somewhere in the neighborhood of eight to ten million dollars in addition to that to fit out that commercial condominium unit into a full-fledged uh fire station for the city.

And we have operated that station for the last uh six months it's been open, although we've been paying uh rent for 18 months.

And um great opportunity opened up as a result of the transmetics deal.

Uh Transmedics is leasing an entire building and assembly, and that is uh spurred that property owner to decide to liquidate basically uh the uh the parking garage of which this commercial convenium is a small portion.

And so they've offered it up for sale, they made us aware of this uh opportunity back in late January, and we and we've been uh going through the process of positioning ourselves to acquire the space that we currently rent.

And as a result, over the long term, it will save us about a million dollars overall over the next 28 years.

So it seems like a uh logical and uh and prudent move for the city.

Okay, thank you.

Any questions, Council Uncamping?

Uh I I don't have a question.

I was gonna say why I support it, but if others have questions, I'll just give questions?

Uh thank you.

Uh Mr.

President.

So uh it my understanding is tonight the administration is seeking immediate consideration and approval of these two items.

All right.

Well, I uh yes.

Through the president, the answer is yes.

All right.

I I apologize to my colleagues.

Uh there has been an innovation known as a committee, normally these things go to.

Uh so I I hate to drag this out by having to ask a few questions here.

But um uh when it comes to the the cost of this, this is the this is a 10,000 square foot facility uh that we are purchasing uh at a cost of roughly $700 a square foot, correct?

Correct.

All right.

Like I said, uh it's cheaper than a condo in Union Square.

Um we are as part of this condo association, uh, what percentage of the the condo association would the city's ownership constitute?

Through the through the president, five percent ownership.

All right.

And how many square footage is the entire building?

Great question through the chair, to the president.

Um I don't have that square footage figure.

It's a parked commercial park and garage.

It has approximately $1,250, $1,247 spaces in the garage.

Oh okay, sir.

I I ask because it's a pretty straightforward calculation, and if we have I mean, unless this is a 200,000 square foot parking garage, uh 5% seems a little bit high.

Um do we know how that was calculated and negotiated?

Uh we did not form through the through the president.

We did not create the commercial condominium.

The current owner created it.

Okay.

Uh all right.

And in terms of uh the taxes, so currently we lease uh we lease this space, and uh that means we're in the unusual position as a city of having to pay ourselves uh real estate tax because uh while we are renting the facility, it is owned by a private entity, and the way triple net leases work is the tenant has to pay the taxes on the space.

Um so are we currently paying five percent of the real estate taxes for that building?

Through the president, uh I don't believe we pay five percent.

We pay what the that portion of the real estate is valued by our assessors.

Uh so you're saying the the assessor makes a separate valuation for the space that we are renting.

I'm speaking uh out of my league for sure.

That's a question that could be best answered by um our assessors or or our tax collector or our chief financial officer.

That's a great question.

I see Director being approaching.

Director Bean care to feel that question.

Mr.

President, to uh counselor Scott.

Um the lease calls for an equitable share of the taxes of the billing.

That's uh a debatable point with the biomed at this point.

The assessor, we have a uh bill that's been given to us, but the lease calls for uh they have an appraiser and of course the assessor here, so we uh we don't agree with the number that was given to us.

So I'm gonna the assessor is not here tonight.

We're going to have a discussion with them uh in terms of the proper allocation of those taxes.

Uh all right.

Thank through you, Mr.

President.

Generally, uh the equitable share of like common area maintenance or uh real estate taxes is calculated on a per square foot basis in commercial leases.

Are you saying that's not the arrangement we have here?

Again, this is a little bit out of my league, too.

I think the assessor has to this it's going to be based on valuation.

So and uh I I'm I I this is a question for the assessor really to answer on this one.

Okay.

Um part of this is I'm just trying to understand our all-in costs here, right?

Because back when this was presented in 2021, uh there were projected costs of this over the long term, and I want to make sure I understand.

Uh, for example, there was a the core build out and uh core and shell build out, and then there was the interior fit, the tenant improvements.

Um the tenant improvements are complete.

The fire station is complete at this point, yes.

Yes, sir.

All right.

And uh through you, Mr.

President, as part of our acquisition, acquiring this condo, uh, all of those fixtures would then return, they would uh retain with the city.

We wouldn't have to be purchasing that uh okay, great.

Good to know.

Just want to check.

Uh as part of that original lease, if memory serves, um there was four point two million dollars in community benefits money that the biomed Realty had originally committed to providing to the city of Somerville, uh, and that we gave back to them uh as part of that lease agreement we signed.

So um not for nothing.

Is that is that money gone or is that uh baked into our acquisition or do they credit that back as part of our $7 million acquisition?

Through the President, um we made that $4 million, $4.2 million investment in order to buy down the cost of the lease.

And that basically cut the lease cost in half.

The net result is that that reduced the value of the property.

Another way to think about it is that we invested $4.2 million that has now grown to over $12 million in benefit.

So actually that $4.2 million was a goal mine.

Okay.

So uh through you, Mr.

President, if I'm understanding this correctly, you're saying that uh by giving them the the out on $4.2 million of front money that they otherwise would have had to give to the city, that the lease terms were negotiated such that they were lower, and therefore our acquisition price based on those lease terms return over 30 years uh is correspondingly lowered.

Exactly.

We were very aggressive in negotiating a lower rate and using that money in a smart way so that uh and again we did not foresee that we would be buying this commercial, it would be a commercial condo unit that be would be sold to us.

Uh but as it turns out, um by reducing that lease cost um reduce the overall value of this real estate asset, and uh that's benefiting us right now.

Certainly, right?

Because any uh third-party purchaser would be acquiring this as a revenue stream, and so they'd be looking at what their income and they've got a locked-in tenant at a very low rate.

Uh I everybody knows landlords hate tenants that pay low rates.

Uh all right.

So um I appreciate that.

Mr.

Mr.

President, I want to be very clear.

I am not critical of this acquisition.

Uh those of us who are old enough to remember that uh remember how uh critical I was of the lease because I felt like we should be purchasing and actually investing the the taxayers' money in a sustainable way.

So I want to applaud the director and the mayor for bringing this forward.

Um I do though feel uh maybe a responsibility or just the uh the spirit of Bill White sitting on my shoulder saying that we have to ask these hard dollars and since questions are our constituents expected of us.

So um uh I I just want to make sure that I'm clear when we talk about I'm still just a little bit hung up on this condo.

Uh so we'll have to pay a condo fee, presumably as part of this uh ownership of a commercial condo, yes?

What's the is that established in any of these documents we have of course tonight, sir?

Uh through the chair, the condo has been established, and uh our expectation is that we're going to be I don't have it in front of me actually, but uh be paying Mr.

Steam on Ed.

Oh, yes.

Uh the initial um yearly condo fee is six thousand four hundred and forty-four dollars.

We would anticipate that that would go up with the cost with the rate of inflation over time.

And we factor that into our analysis in terms of the overall cost savings over 28 years for this purchase versus the lease.

All right.

And that that condo agreement is an I because I don't see it in I I don't see a purchase and sale agreement attached to this item.

Do we have a purchase and sale uh agreement before us?

We do not.

It's being drafted right now.

All right.

So we're uh the administration is requesting authorization to execute a purchase and sale agreement site unseen this evening.

We have um an offer letter that's quite detailed, and that's been accepted, and this will be the base that has become the basis of the purchase and sale agreement, which is being worked on by the city attorney and their attorneys.

All right.

Uh but as a city council, we have to vote to approve that item.

Um I hate to say it, Mr.

President.

Generally, I I require more than trust me, bro, is source material on what we're signing up for here.

Uh and I do, I do, of course, implicitly trust the director here, but it makes me nervous to vote on something that I can't look at.

Um likewise the the condo, you said the condo was created, and I will admit uh I had a hard time uh finding some of this because the original Assembly Square fire station lease uh was for I believe five Middlesex, and the documents that we have, or the document or the request we have in front of us tonight lists an address of uh well not that where is that address?

Maybe you can remember.

Oh, 122 Assembly Park Drive Unit 45.

So is the condo agreement on file with the Middlesex Registry of Deeds under that address?

That is correct.

I'm not sure it is registered under the Middlesex County Deeds.

I don't know under what address specifically, but that is the legal um name of that condo association of that condo united.

All right.

Um, you know, um Mr.

President, I I think I need to go do some research with the Mass Land Records and Middlesex Registry of Deeds before I can ask the next series of questions.

So I want to yield the floor to my colleagues who might have other questions and uh asked to come back.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

So as I understand it, we rent the fire station.

It's not a good situation to rent a fire station.

Uh now that it's being sold, it would definitely not have been a good situation for us to be renting from some new unknown random landlord.

Much better for us to buy it.

As I understand it, we'll be saving a million dollars.

A little over that, over thirty years.

Not a huge deal, but it's better that we own it.

I wish we had owned it from the beginning.

Totally support this.

Thank you.

Other discussion.

Council Wheeler.

Uh thank you, Chair.

And uh just to clarify, I can imagine anybody watching at home might be saying, man, seven million dollars in a time when we're short.

That that's tricky.

Uh just to clarify, uh my understanding is that in situations like this, and and there is one of these items uh is about taking out a bond.

Uh we borrow the money through a bond and we pay that back on you know at a certain rate.

And uh it sounds as though, without having the precise numbers in front of me, that the amount that we would be paying per year in paying that bond back is comparable and maybe a little bit lower than the amount that we would be paying in rent.

That is certainly true, and our CFO certainly has those details if you need the details.

But yes.

Yeah, Director Bank, you just confirmed that that's the correct understanding.

I think that that's what I believe I heard you say earlier uh here.

I just want to make sure that we're gonna be able to do that.

Mr.

President, yes.

Um I would be looking to borrow this on a short-term basis, at least the first year, given um uh budget next year.

So if we were borrowing short term at 2.5 percent, the debt would be first year 175,000, whereas the rental payment is 363,699.

And um we will save uh uh uh uh at least for the first two years.

Uh we will be in the negative for another three, but the the uh for almost 20 or 20 25 years, close to 22 years will be in the positive every year.

Thank you.

And can I just ask maybe Director Galligani or the mayor or anyone who can answer?

Um how long have our other fire stations that we own been in use?

How long our fire stations are longer than longer than 28 years?

The answer is yes.

Thank you.

I make the point because we won't have to be paying rent beyond that period.

So other discussion.

Uh Council Scott, back to you.

All right, thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh so just uh uh I apologize.

I'm only 12 pages into the 41-page uh master deed for the condo association.

I'm moving as quick as I can here.

Uh but just on a due diligence standpoint here, uh the the three different this is just the parking garage itself that's being condoed out.

Uh the two different uh phase one and phase two parking units are each roughly about two hundred thousand square feet, which dwarf uh our our ten thousand square feet.

Um, but it does make me wonder why our share of the condo fees would be set at five percent when we actually would only be occupying uh around two percent of the structure, two and a half percent of the structure.

Uh those questions are completely valid, and and unfortunately they're irrelevant because they created the condo association in January, and they have sold this unit based on their terms.

All right, and that's uh certainly not something that we could modify because we would be the vast minority uh occupant in there.

Well uh yeah, I uh again, this is uh in the large strokes, this is I think where we should have been all along.

Uh I do appreciate that in the long term the cost, I believe uh Director B say 12 million dollars uh total with condo fees and and uh and the financing.

I'm sorry, I just want to try to listen out of one ear and read with the other Mr.

President, the uh the debt would be 12.1 million.

Um the uh lease payments, if we would carry that out would be 13.4 million.

And the condo fee.

Okay, so we're talking about a uh 12.4 uh all right.

Uh so I I guess I'm curious the present value 30-year lease from the presentation that was given to the Finance Committee on October 26, 2021, listed a present value on that lease of 10 million dollars.

True.

Uh uh.

So I'm I'm not sure I'm understanding where the discrepancy is there.

We're buying it for $7 million.

It's $3 million less.

Uh right, but there's a financing piece of it, right?

Which is going to end up.

You think uh Vladimir Putin.

Yeah, invasion of Ukraine drove interest rates up, and when interest rates go up, the value of that cash flow goes down.

So we probably saved $2.5 million as a result of interest rate hikes that have really doubled right before we uh right after we signed this lease, actually, a couple months later.

That's when everything shot up.

All right.

Well, uh, you know, uh trying to do trying to do right by our constituents to exercise the financial due diligence.

I I will say, Mr.

President, it does make me very nervous to vote on something that I can't read.

Uh and that's what the uh purchase and sale agreement we're being asked to authorize tonight is.

So uh but that said, in theory, I approve this and uh perhaps it's just time for us to take a leap of faith.

I appreciate the good faith efforts made by Director Bean and Director Galligani, uh, not only to negotiate on the city's behalf uh but to uh answer my questions uh this evening.

Uh I will say that you know I I undertake this in the spirit of uh just double checking the columns, and I'd probably undertake that job uh a lot less seriously if I hadn't caught once or twice, a really good one.

So uh I uh you know apologize for the time taken, appreciate my colleagues' forbearance, and uh I think I'm all set.

All right, thank you, Councillor White Scott.

Um I I but you had a question in there in your early statement that um did you want uh to pose a question to the city attorney to confirm that the requirement that the council approve a document uh can be given that approval can be given for a document that is still in negotiation?

I think that's a great question, Mr.

President.

The City Attorney please uh approach and advise us as to uh what what we're allowed to do?

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Thank you for hearing us.

Um the purchase and sale is going to be.

Attorney Amara, just since this first time you're speaking on this item, if you wouldn't mind just introducing yourself or folks in the public know.

We all know who you are, but I'm Cindy Amara, I am the city attorney, formerly known as the city solicitor.

Um we have been working on this.

The terms of the purchase and sale are outlined in detail in the offer that was accepted, and the purchase and sale must comply, and that's what my office will verify to the terms of the author that offer that was accepted.

So you're authorizing the approval of a purchase and sale according to the terms that you know, subject to our review that there's nothing onerous or different or that it can't exceed the cost because you are only authorizing the appropriation for that amount of money.

Okay.

So in your opinion, if if the council were to move forward with approval of uh the authorization of the purchase and sale based on what we have there, that that would be within our authority to do so.

Yes.

Okay.

The authorization for the borrowing and authorizing the purchase for that amount of money is really the required vote to go forward on this project.

So uh Mr.

Chair, Mr.

President, I I guess my concern is just the things that we don't know because we haven't read, for example, that offer letter, at least I haven't.

I'm sorry if it was provided in email to the council in advance.

I wouldn't have done that.

I don't know, but we have the offer letter.

The terms have been outlined by Director Galagani.

It's basically the seven million, and I believe there are I'll let Tom speak to some of the other terms.

It's basically the time period within which they're going to do our due diligence and close.

And that's a that's a fine signal.

Yeah.

Oh, that is true too.

Yeah.

We're we're uh putting in an o um a deposit of uh uh three hundred and fifty thousand.

That's in the offer letter, yeah.

And that would be the earnest money on the offer.

Thank you.

Yes, this is my uh but are there any other uh terms or give backs or forbearances, for example, another 4.2 million dollars in community benefits funds that is being forgiven as part of this.

I mean, the parcel next door was just acquired in a transaction.

Are any special terms being given towards the uh building rights or uh exclusion from uh previously negotiated master land development agreements or any other I mean are there any of those terms in this acquisition?

No, it's pretty straightforward.

Again, you know, that 4.2 million dollars, because we're buying it, it basically turned into 12.2 million dollars for us, and that's locked in because we're buying it for such a low price.

That's great.

It's straightforward in terms of um we're buying it, we're putting down earnest money.

That will lead to once we go through the state due diligence of notifying uh the world that we're going through unique acquisition.

That's for that's four straight weeks of publishing in the goods and uh in the central register, and that expires in um early May, then we'll be ready to sign a purchase and sale agreement.

We can't do that until that due diligence period or that state notification deadline is is passed us.

Staff is working already to finalize the terms of I think is a very straightforward purchase and sale agreement.

Um the only other items I'm thinking, oh, I mean typical due diligence.

So assuming we get a vote tonight, tomorrow we start the process of ordering an appraisal, ordering uh uh an environmental site assessment, getting our folks at uh capital projects into this not only our space, we know our space, we have access to our space.

We're operating as a as a fire station, but allow us to go through the parking garage, because as anyone knows who's bought a commercial or bought a condominium into condominium, you need to know the status and the um the yeah, the status and the long-term future in the plan for uh maintaining that asset so that you're not surprised.

You know what you're dealing with.

And so that process will begin.

We have staff who do that all day on our own assets.

Um, and this will be a little different.

We're just making sure and babysitting to make sure that the commercial the the condo association will be operating um in a way that makes sense for the city and to protect our interests.

And again, that condo association is formed, it hasn't been organized.

Um there haven't been any meetings.

Of course, we wouldn't be participating in meetings until we close on the property, but that is all ahead of us.

But we have uh uh easily a month to six weeks of uh necessary due diligence.

We're in the building, we know the building.

There's a lot of data that we already have because we permitted this project, and you know, we we we have access to all the um environmental side assessments.

Um we don't think there will be any surprises, especially since we're just buying um a concrete box that sits in at the base of this uh parking garage that is just opened up six months ago, eighteen months ago for the entire parking garage.

And by the way, the parking garage is barely used, it can't be used until they actually have some tenants next door.

So there's not a lot of wear wear and tear.

It still has that new car smell.

All right.

Well uh Mr.

President, um I I think it would have a no-car smell.

Anyway, uh my apologies for the dead joke.

Uh the hours late.

Uh I will say uh so the offer letter that was made is something that can be sent to me for review.

Absolutely.

All right.

Well then, Mr.

President, what I would advise, uh given given this explanation, again, I just like to read the fine print to make sure there's not a sweetener that we might be missing.

Um so if I could get that sent to me tonight, uh I'd be happy to vote in favor of this, uh, with the understanding that while there may be a month and a half of due diligence uh before the city, as a city council to do our due diligence, we have tonight, or in this case, uh I would guess 48 hours in which I can move for reconsideration uh if I find something in that uh letter that raises raises alarm.

So uh I would uh with with your forbearance here, I will go ahead and uh request that uh that copy of that letter get sent over to me as soon as possible, and I'm happy to move for approval for these two items Councillor Scott was for approval of these two items.

Any discussion on the motion if you have further questions?

That's the motion before us, so you can still ask them.

Councilor Wheeler.

I just have a small comment.

I just want to point out um we have a tendency, of course, to uh consider the merits of every financial matter that comes in in front of us.

Uh for something like this, that's about we're talking about three percent of our annual budget.

Now that would be spread out, but we're making the decision now.

I appreciate us crossing our T's and dot in our I's Thanksgiving.

All right, so you know for the discussion.

Uh we need a separate roll call vote on each of these.

Madam Clerk, we just we'll start with uh seven to four agenda item seven four requesting authorization to execute a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of one twenty-two Assembly Park Drive unit 45.

Counselor Ewan Campen.

Yes.

Counselor Link?

Yes.

Counselor Scott?

Yes.

Counselor Klingon?

Yes.

Counselor Streso?

Yes.

Counselor Sae?

Yes.

Counselor Wheeler.

Yes.

Counselor Hart?

Yes.

Counselor McGofflin.

Yes.

Counselor Mbaugh.

Yes.

Counselor Davis.

Yes.

With all counselors in favor, the item is approved.

All right.

And the next item.

Agenda item 77 requesting authorization to borrow seven million in a bond and to appropriate the same amount for the purpose of procuring the fire station condominium unit at 122 Assembly Park Drive.

Counselor Ewen Campen.

Yes.

Counselor Link.

Yes.

Counselor Scott?

Yes.

Counselor Clingen.

Yes.

Counselor Strozo.

Yes.

Counselor Said.

Yes.

Counselor Wheeler.

Yes.

Counselor Hart.

Yes.

Counselor McGaughlin.

Yes.

Counselor Mbaugh.

Yes.

Counselor Davis.

Yes.

With all counselors in favor, the item is approved.

All right.

Very well.

Thank you.

Um we have two more items to take out of order.

Uh the first is for better or worse, another executive session.

Um so that's item 7.1.

If there's no objection, uh Madam Clerk, would you read 7.1?

Agenda item 7.1.

A request of the mayor requesting that this city council convene an executive session to receive an update on collective bargaining negotiations.

Attorney Mark, can you confirm that this item is appropriate for executive sess session?

Yes, this is appropriate for session.

I hear the attorney saying yes, this is appropriate for executive session.

Mr.

President Scott.

Uh what collective bargaining are we discussing?

Is it can we say what unit we are discussing the collective bargaining with?

I'm looking towards our labor council.

SPA.

Could could you would you would you mind approaching just so I I can't hear you, so I'm sure folks at home can't.

It's the police union S P E A.

All right.

Only SPEA, not S B S OA.

Yes.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Very good.

All right.

Uh roll call to go into executive session.

Roll call to enter executive session.

Counselor Ewan Campen?

Yes.

Counselor Link.

Yes.

Counselor Scott?

Yes.

Counselor Clank?

Yes.

Counselor Streso?

Yes.

Counselor Saeed?

Yes.

Counselor Wheeler?

Yes.

Counselor Hart?

Yes.

Counselor McGaughlin?

Yes.

Counselor Mbaugh?

Yes.

Counselor Davis.

Yes.

All right.

That item passes.

We will return to open session when we exit executive session.

This is roll call to return from executive session.

Counselor Ewan Campen.

Yes.

Counselor Link.

Yep.

Counselor Scott.

Yes.

Here.

Counselor Klingon.

Present.

Counselor Shrezo.

Counselor Say.

Here.

Counselor Wheeler.

Here.

Counselor Hart.

Here.

Counselor McLaughlin.

Counselor Mbapp.

Counselor Davis.

Here.

All counselors present.

We have Quorum.

Thank you.

Uh, no votes were taken in executive session other than the vote to um adjourn from executive session.

And I want to correct the record before we went into executive session.

There was a apparently a bit of miscommunication or misunderstanding.

So the discussion was in terms of which um which bargaining units we were discussing.

So it was both the police superior officers union and the patrol officers union that we discussed in executive session.

Um so we're gonna take up the finance committee report uh out of order unless there's any objection.

Um seeing none, Madam Clerk.

6B1 report of the Committee on Finance meeting on April 7th, 2026.

Council Wheeler.

Through the chair.

The finance committee met on Tuesday, April 9th, 2026, via remote participation with all members present after an initial technical hiccup and with the help of Clerk Madeline Latelier.

We took up a seven-item agenda.

At the outset, the committee postponed the body warn camera item to our April 21st meeting as the administration and police department continue assembling documentation and clarifying proposed policy.

We approved an approximately 104,000 street resurfacing grant from EverSource covering work on West Broadway and Holyoke Street, where Eversource will be digging trenches that need to be covered up.

Staff explained that this payment, instead of EverSource doing the work themselves, is the city's preference.

Rather than EverSource just patching the road in these spotty sections, the city can use the money to do the whole roadway the way we want.

We recommended approval of a $15,000 fire department vehicle gift from the town of Medway, which will provide a lighting and pump support unit for the auxiliary fire department.

These vehicles have been crucial in the past in situations, including, but not limited to water pipe breaks.

The vehicle has been inspected and is in good working condition, so it seems like this donation is a clear net gain for the city.

We recommended approval of a 100,000 dollar website redesign grant from the Mass Department of Revenue for phase one of a long-needed overhaul of the city's website, which currently includes tens of thousands of pages and documents and has not been substantially updated in over a decade.

We discussed the patchwork of websites written at different times with different code and the improvements if various city department sites can be brought under the same system.

Staff noted that a webmaster position has recently been posted to support this work, and that we'll try to use the opportunity of this consultant work to build the in-house expertise of our staff.

We also recommended approval of an approximately 48,000 dollar grant from the Mass Department of Mental Health for police training and crisis intervention.

This will support certification and recertification training for officers, including de-escalation, behavioral health response, and coordination with community resources.

Finally, we recommended approval of an amendment to a $365,000 Community Preservation Act grant to the Somerville Community Land Trust.

This amendment trades in the current historical preservation restrictions around the SCLT's 12 Pleasant Av building for a new more flexible approach that the Community Preservation Committee is trying, where preservation restrictions are time limited rather than indefinite.

The committee discussed how this approach balances long-term affordability gains with historic preservation and the practical realities of project financing.

Clerk uh chair, I ask that this committee report be accepted as submitted.

Any discussion on the committee report?

Seeing none, there's a fire truck in there too.

Truck was in there.

All right, excellent.

Hallelujah.

Fantastic.

All right, then uh seeing no discussion, that item is approved.

We get our fire truck.

Thank you.

All right.

Um Mr.

President, pump pump, pump, pump it up.

Pump it up indeed.

Very good.

Um the hour is so late that I literally thought for a moment that we had a volunteer fire department, which of course I know we don't.

It's just I'm yeah.

Okay.

All right.

We still have one more item to take out of order because why not?

Um, Madam Clerk, item 7.3 if there's no objection.

Agenda item seven.

Wait.

Right?

Did I write that down wrong?

HRP.

And I didn't wait.

Oh, sorry, so yeah, seeing no objection.

Go right ahead.

Thank you.

Um agenda item 7.3 request of the mayor requesting approval of a home rule petition to authorize the appointment of special police officers.

Attorney Sirigu, would you introduce yourself for the record?

Please.

Good evening, Council President through you, Matt Surgo, uh City Labor Council.

Uh so this special act is uh designed to create another mechanism to appoint special police officers, which in the past has been used to provide police powers to Somerville Housing Authority officers and other officers around the city who serve in a limited capacity.

Uh the former charter had a provision for appointment of special police officers, which is the mechanism through which we used to uh provide police powers to housing authority officers.

The new charter does not include that language, so we are pursuing this special act so that the housing authority to support our partners in the housing authority to provide a new mechanism where the city can uh grant police powers to their employees.

Liaison Radazi, something to add.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh, for the record, Yasmin Rodasi legislative liaison with IGA.

Um, I just wanted to add that we are hoping to seek immediate consideration tonight uh because our state delegation has informed us that we are getting very or are very or passed the reasonable deadline to make sure that this would pass during this session.

Um so that is our hope.

Um so just wanted to add that context.

Thank you.

Councilor Scott.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

As chairs legislative matters, this was flagged to me uh on Friday, and I think I got the text Monday or Tuesday on it for review.

Uh so I have been reviewing this uh and I really want to thank uh solicitor uh deputy solicitor Siriu for uh working with me on this.

There it did raise a lot of questions, um, some of which have been addressed, uh, some of which have not.

Uh functionally, this is different than the situation that some of you by at least six of you on this council uh will remember uh from the appointment of special officers, which was undertaken uh in uh the Curtitone administration, I want to say, um, where uh some appointments as special police officers were placed before the council and then withdrawn uh with the statement from the solicitor at the time saying that they don't need our permission to do this anyway.

Um there are concerns that I have uh relating to uh the duration or extent of the service that these special officers would have.

Um my concerns also extend to the exceptions in mass general law that are laid out.

Um I will say at the at the end of this, uh the home rule petition, for example, exempt any of these appointments from civil service, which to a certain extent makes sense, right?

We are trying to deputize existing members of the suburb housing authority, so taking through a civil service process doesn't necessarily make sense.

Um it also removes any of these special officers being appointed from collective bargaining uh and does not allow them to participate in any collective bargaining, uh, which is uh uh for me uh uh uh a question that I have.

It's uh certainly a concern.

Um there are also uh uh uh uh questions about uh we have not in fact accepted the chapter 147 sections 11 through 13 C definitions of reserve police officers that can be appointed, which would allow the city to appoint up to, I believe, 20 reserve under uh officers.

But instead, that text is being implicitly referenced as a definition of what the duties and limitations on a special officer appointed under this home rule petition would be.

But that's not explicitly put in the definitions of it.

So uh rather I know the hours late.

I don't want to go into too much detail here.

Um perhaps I ask you to trust me when I say that there are a lot of issues still here, and I think this is a good faith effort by the administration to craft language that would allow bringing the Somerville Housing Authority police officers, which have been a sore point for this council for at least the entirety of the time that I've been on it, uh, under more direct supervision and control of the chief of police of the Summerville Police Department.

My concern is to ensure that in so doing, we do not create a loophole large enough to drive a truck through that would allow a future administration with perhaps less noble aims to circumvent both the civil service hiring process and um a certain degree of council oversight.

So I think there's a lot good here.

Um if the if the if it is the council's desire here at 1038 p.m.

to dive into the questions, uh uh assistant solicitor Sirigu has stayed uh behind to answer questions.

However, it would be my inclination uh to lay this item on the table, given that the next meeting of the legislative matters uh committee does not happen until April 28th, and then uh subsequently on May 5th.

Uh and then um we we do have some crowded agendas there.

I'm happy to take it into that committee if there are outstanding questions, but I would encourage my colleagues to read the submission here tonight.

Uh feel free to call me with your questions.

Uh, feel free to also call attorney Syrigu uh uh because this is uh something that I think really does uh really would benefit from the reading from a perspective of again proofreading as opposed to trying to catch somebody out on a sneaky maneuver.

Mostly this is about future proofing what we pass here tonight or pass here at some point in the future.

Um I I know I've discussed this with you, Ms.

President.

Um rather than send it to committee and then be forced to discharge it later.

My inclination would be to lay this item on the table this evening so that we can take it up again at our next council uh uh meeting in two weeks if everybody's concerns have been addressed and if there are revisions that address the concerns that the council has.

Um if there are questions from my colleagues about what's in this tonight, I'd be happy to answer to the best of my ability to understand.

And I know that attorney Sierra Guru is here to do the same.

Um I'll leave it there for now.

Thank you.

Just to be clear, so you're you're not making a motion to lay it on the table at this point.

You're uh inviting discussion, and that would be a the item is before us right now, so it is open for discussion.

Right.

Um that being a privileged motion, I want to make sure that you're not making it, because then we'd have to discuss only my intention would be to make the motion after discussion.

After discussion, very well.

Uh uh for the discussion, I think council campaign, did I see your hand?

No, I imagined it.

Okay.

Council Wheeler.

Uh through the chair.

Um I hear my colleague from Word 2's concerns.

Um I never want to make a decision under uh time duress uh different than we'd make otherwise.

I do want to point out the next council meeting after the next Legend Matters meeting is in five weeks.

Um I do want to take the time uh sensitivity that our legislative liaison mentioned seriously.

Uh and also uh, you know, with a ton of understanding about wanting to future proof our decisions for you know future administrations.

There is some time before the next administration.

Um we could come back.

I it would correct me if I'm wrong.

Um we could come back and revisit aspects of this later uh at some later date.

Maybe not, no.

I guess since it's uh home rule petition is a home rule petition, so that would be what goes up.

Home rule petitions really only get considered so often.

Uh although I will say we know that maybe if we just put a provision in here that requires us to submit uh photo proof of our identity, maybe we could get the uh mass state house to consider it in about 48 hours.

Council we anything further.

Councilor Ewan Campin.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

I I don't have strong feelings about this one way or the other.

I heard obliquely about it from former Chief Feminot who now works for the Housing Authority.

Uh the idea though passing a home rule petition relating to police that I haven't read at 1030 at night.

It just doesn't seem wise.

I'm obvious I'm sensitive to the time sensitivity here too, but I don't think that I'm compelled to like vote yes without fully understanding what we're talking about.

And I I'm not in a headspace to fully understand what we're talking about.

That that's where I'm at.

Council Clean.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I I agree with the word counselor for uh counsel from Ward 3, although it isn't that long of a document.

But and and I certainly appreciate the the effort here as somebody who you know has been uh working on reforming, uh especially with regards to the housing police and bringing them under some sort of supervision and uh control intervise since we essentially allow them to go out into the into the streets uh armed.

Um but uh yeah, I'm not really I I'm still trying to wrap my head around.

I'm I'm wondering, you know, JT is talking about the council Scott's talking about this, and I'm like, okay, so this is new.

This isn't like because we've had special police for a long time.

So this is just this is a homework petition to codify sort of like what yeah, I I I I would like to probably have a little more time with this.

Uh not you know, I don't want to muck it up so much that it, you know, that we end up sticking our little council fingers all over it to the point.

But I would like to at least, you know, you know, consider it, have have a little more consideration over it uh uh before just voting on it tonight.

It does seem pretty straightforward, like I said it's pretty short, but but I I uh I would prefer to uh to deliberate on it a little bit.

Thanks.

As a point of information that, Mr.

President.

The other special officers that we have in the city were authorized by a separate home rule petition special act of the State House many, many years ago that specifically restricts it to retired officers that could only be recalled for details.

And so there's a this is just a much broader scope.

President, sorry, and last point on that, especially since I don't know that we've fully decided what we're doing with constables as special police, whether or not they're gonna fall under the state's new system, or if we're gonna continue to um empower them as special police as a council.

Um so I don't know if that's been considered in this conversation at all.

Um but certainly think it should be.

Further discussion.

Liaison, you're hovering over the microphone.

Do you wish to add anything?

Are you just there available?

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I just wanted to say that the administration isn't amenable to laying the item on the table until the council meeting on the 23rd.

We just really ask that you submit your questions between now and then so that when we take it up on the 23rd, folks are ready to take action on it.

Thank you.

Seeing nothing that looks like an objection to that approach from the body, um, that certainly feels better to me.

I first really dug into this yesterday and have questions as well that I won't speak to because I'm standing up here.

But um uh so counselor Scott moves to lay this one on the table.

And so seeing no objection, we'll lay this on the table.

All right.

Shall we start the meeting?

Back to the like that for we're literally going back to the top now.

Now we start a regular order of business.

Madam Clark, next item.

Mr.

President, that brings us back to the order of business.

Agenda item 4.1, a resolution by Councillor Say, that the Commissioner of Public Works address the radiator dysfunction in one of the Kennedy School classrooms.

Counselor Said.

Uh Mr.

President, I would like to send this to a school uh building facilities and maintenance.

The classroom is at 90 degrees, and he appreciated that DPW tried to fix it, but it's not yet fixed, so that we can keep track of it.

That seems too warm.

All right, that item is approved for the copy to school building facilities and maintenance.

Next item.

Agenda item 4.4, a resolution by Councilor Link that the director of mobility at the intersection of Durham and Hanson Street to the list of crosswalks that require daylighting improvements to enhance visibility and pedestrian safety.

Counselor Link.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

This was something that um a constituent um the neighbor reached out about and uh yeah.

Um I'm happy with it going to uh uh um traffic and parking.

I'm so tired at this point.

Counselor Scott on the item.

Uh on the item, I do want to thank Councilor Link for filing it.

I would like to co-sponsor it, and I would like to acknowledge that he did in fact email me about this two weeks ago, and it is in fact six pages down my inbox, and I just missed it.

So uh thank you for taking it up and getting it on the agenda.

Further discussion?

All right, so that item is approved with a copy to traffic and parking or public safety.

Yeah, I saw I was wondering infrastructure, whether it's uh sustainable infrastructure or TMP.

Counselor Clingen, what do you have in in TNP that would be do you have other things that would group well liaison or dazi as a you standing up looking again like you'd like to share your wisdom with us?

Please feel free to do so.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I think the director of mobility is more used to going to the traffic and parking committee meeting, so that would be our preference.

Thank you.

Okay.

So that is approved of the copy of traffic apartment.

Oh, wait, sustainability.

You said he's more likely to go to sustainability than to traffic and parking.

Okay.

It's yeah.

I need another Red Bull.

All right.

Uh so that's approved with a copy to traffic and parking, as I said.

Next item.

Agenda item 4.5, a resolution by Councillor Link and Councillor Davis that the director of mobility evaluate and implement appropriate traffic calming measures on Herbert Street between the city parking lot and Davis Square Plaza, with particular attention to enhancing pedestrian safety during the Somerville Farmers Market.

Counselor Link.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh it's uh I mean that this pretty much covers it.

Uh there's uh the we want to make sure that people are safe as they're crossing through the plaza um into the farmers market as farmers market season approaches indeed.

Yes, it does.

All right.

Uh do we want to send that to uh for discussion, or you want to just follow up?

We can you and I could follow up directly.

Okay.

So that item is approved.

Next item.

Agenda item 4.6, a resolution by Councillor Link and Councillor Mbaugh in support of House Bill 4015 and Senate Bill 475, an act promoting housing stability for older adults across the Commonwealth.

Counselor Link.

All right.

Uh so our bridge program, as many of you know, uh helps our uh low-income older adults who face severe housing insecurity um and potentially homelessness.

Um so you know we talk a lot about aging in place, but without programs like this, um aging in place is not only improbable, but it's more likely that some seniors would become homeless.

So this resolution um calls on the council to support the state legislation.

Um it's H 4015 and S475.

Uh and it would expand Somerville's successful by um uh if you ask anyone from housing stability, uh it's a very successful pilot.

So uh we want to expand it statewide.

Um and uh it also provides so this provides uh temporary rental assistance to lower income adults who are waiting for uh long-term subsidized housing uh and helps them stay in a house rather than um becoming homeless or being sent to an emergency cell truth shelter.

Uh and uh I just the last thing I'll say about it is that uh the the pilot's been recognized as not only like more humane um more compassionate but also cost effective and it's a replicable model um and uh it would be um in this in our state's best interest to to move forward with this.

Okay.

Uh counselors Klingon, Wheeler, and Hart would like to sign on, I'll sign on as well.

Counselor Ba.

Counselor McLaughlin would like to sign on, Council, Sae everyone like to sign on.

Nice.

Thank you, Mr.

President, to you to Councilor Ling.

Thank you.

You know, um for your leadership on this and uh for including me on it, you know.

I just wanted to go on record that this council expressed the appreciation to Director Ellen Shatter, you know, for helping initiate you know and advance this impactful effort in Somerville.

So let it be on that, you know, our favorite city director is the champion behind this that will be taken statewide.

Thank you.

That item is approved.

Mr.

President, wave the reading of item 4.8 and send to infrastructure uh uh sustainability infrastructure, please.

See no objection that item is approved the copy to sustainability infrastructure.

Next item.

And so 4.9.

Uh uh, Mr.

President.

I was just gonna ask if we could do take 4.9 and 410 together.

See no objection.

Madam Clerk to read those two items.

Agenda item 4.9, a resolution by Councillor Hart and Counselor Scott that the Commissioner of Public Works and the Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management appear before this council to discuss the process of monitoring progress on addressing double poles and abandoned wires with the goal of eliminating the potential hazards, tree damage, and nuances associated with both.

And agenda item 410, a resolution by Councillor Hart and Counselor Scott that representatives from Eversource, National Grid, Comcast, Xfinity, Astound, and Verizon appear before this council just to discuss plans for addressing double poles and abandoned wires with the goal of eliminating the potential hazards, tree damage, and nuances associated with both.

Thank you.

So these uh resolutions, I want to thank Councilor Scott.

Um the in licenses and permits, we have been discussing um and trying to address double polls and hanging wires on an ad hoc basis.

But um really in order to make progress on this, we need to address it systematically across the city.

So these resolutions are an effort to do that.

Um I also wanted to ask, and when we send it to committee, is it possible to also and if it makes sense to include um public communication, which is item 10.4 on the agenda, which uh resident, you know, took the time to assemble um a lot of um evidence and documentation of these issues, and I just thought it would make sense to include that along with these agenda items when it goes to committee.

I would uh would see an objection.

Would you read in 10.4?

We'll take those three together.

Agenda item 10.4 public communication from Chris Chris Duan.

So any comments regarding utility double polls.

Okay, thank you.

So I think because as you noted, licensing permits is sort of an ad hoc conversation, this systemically probably would be better, be a better fit in sustainability infrastructure to have that conversation.

Um I see the administration nodding their head.

Okay.

Um Councillor Scotty, do you want to speak to this item?

Oh, you betcha.

Mr.

President, I can talk about double polls.

I can't wait.

No, first I want to give a shout out to my colleague from Ward 7 who has just been absolutely kicking it in the license departments committee.

I do turf a lot of things there.

Uh and uh she has been just uh uh in some ways drinking from the fire hose, but absolutely eating it up.

Uh so I I appreciate these, the effort to draft these.

I just want to point out that there's really two pieces to this.

One of these is about bringing the external parties to the table to ensure that they do the things that we need done that are actually required by state law.

Um and the other piece is internally focused to say how do we make this not just a one-off?

How do we make this not just something where the Ward II counselor has to be a jerk again and hold up somebody's permit?

How do we make this something that we do as a city proactively and ensure that we clean up the scourge and increase the safety for our residents?

I I never want to see another leaning poll that's been leaning like that for five years, end up on top of somebody's car again.

So uh I really thank the chair of license and permits for bringing this and working with me on these and going very deep down the rabbit hole in utility world.

And I also thank my colleague uh from the infrastructure for bringing this up and uh hopefully uh that'll be a really good conversation, sir.

Thank you.

Very good.

Council Hart, one another point.

I just wanted to make one more um communication to anyone who's interested.

So at the last council meeting, we just we reported back about um engines, which I don't know what the letters are, but um it's the database where they track whose responsibility it is um so I do now have access to that, and I believe you can too.

So communicate with uh the city clerk's office.

Um so we're in and it anyway.

So wanted to share that.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Hart.

All right, uh see no further discussion.

That item those uh three items are um what the first two items are approved with a copy to sustainability infrastructure, and uh item 104 is placed on file with a copy to sustainability infrastructure.

Next item.

The next item is 6C1, a report of the committee on land use meeting on April 2nd, 2026.

Council Ewan Campett.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

The land use uh met.

We had one item on the agenda, which was working on uh proposed amendment series to the affordable housing overlay.

Um there was a very clear presentation from staff, and we had a good discussion for folks following along.

Uh the video and the attachments are very useful.

That'll come up at our next meeting.

I ask that this be accepted.

All right, any discussion on the report?

Seeing none, that is accepted as submitted.

Next item.

61, a report of the committee on licenses and permits meeting on April 8th, 2026.

Counselor Hart.

Okay, we had a brief meeting um considering a new used car dealer class two license.

And this was on the site of um an existing um car rental.

Um sorry, my words are leaving me.

Um car rental business.

So they're expanding to also um sell used cars.

And so questions were asked about the history of that business and um ensuring that this would not require any on street parking.

And um the committee was satisfied and recommended this to be approved.

And I would like that report to be accepted.

All right, very well.

Uh any discussion on the report?

All right, seeing none, that is accepted as submitted.

Next item.

Agenda item 7.5.

And um uh chair, I move to waive the readings of items 7.5, 7.6, and 7.8 through 7.21, and refer them to the finance committee.

All right.

Any discussion?

Any objection?

Seeing none, those items uh we did the reading we waved and the items are referred to finance.

Agenda item 7.22, a request of the mayor requesting confirmation of the appointment of Aidan Slattery to the position of police officer.

Council Bot.

Mr.

President, I move to approve.

Council Ba moves to approve.

Any discussion?

All right, seeing none that item is approved.

Agenda item 7.23, a request of the mayor requesting confirmation of the appointment of Logan Brill to the Conservation Commission.

Item is a referred to confirmation of movements.

Next item.

Agenda item 7.24, a request of the mayor requesting confirmation of the appointment of Valerie Locker to the Conservation Commission.

The items referred to confirmation of appointments, agenda item 8.1, an officer's communication.

Retirement board notifying this city council of a vote at the May 21st, 2026 meeting regarding a 2026 cost of living adjustment for eligible retirees.

Any discussion?

All right, seeing none that item is placed on file.

Agenda item 8.2, an officer's communication from the city clerk conveying block party license issued.

Block parties.

If you if your street isn't on this list and you haven't had your block party recently, reach out to the clerk's office and they'll tell you how to do a block party because block parties are awesome.

And we want as many of them as possible.

I say that every time because I really like block parties.

The Calvin Street block party is on this list.

It is an annual absolute banger, and I invite everybody down there on May 16th.

Everyone to Calvin Street.

All right, seeing no further discussion, that item is placed on file.

Agenda item.

Counselor Hart.

Yes, ms.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I would like I would move to waive the readings of 9.1 to 9.63 and approve them this evening.

9.1 to 9.63.

I will say that anyone who has been working on licenses, and maybe it things didn't move as quickly as they might have.

So thank you to everyone who's been putting in yeoman's work to get these things moving forward.

And I know that you're all working to get all the others moving forward as quickly as possible as well.

Um seeing no objection, though the reading is waived, and those items are all approved.

That might be the most we've ever approved.

Did I see a hand?

No, that might be the most we've ever approved in one fell so check to check the records.

Triple digits.

Ugh all right, next week.

Next item.

Agenda item 9.65, a public event from the Somerville Museum applying for a public event license for Somerville Patriots Day Colonial Fair 2026 on April 20th from 8 a.m.

to 1 p.m.

Any discussion?

That item is approved.

Agenda item 9.66, a public event from the Somerville Museum applying for a public event license for trolley tour, revolutionary line on April 25th from 8 a.m.

to 6 p.m.

rain day April 26th.

Sounds like fun.

Any discussion?

Item approved.

Agenda item 9.67, a public event from Veterans Services Department applying for a public event license for salute to service parade on May 16th from 8 a.m.

to 4 p.m.

That's gonna be fun.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, item approved.

Agenda item 9.68, a public event from Bow Market applying for a public event license for annual curated vintage market on May 31st from 8 a.m.

to 9 p.m.

rain date June 27th.

Seeing no objection, that item is approved.

Agenda item 9.69, a public event from the Arts Council applying for a public event license for Summer Streets Carnival on June 7th from 1130 a.m.

to 8 p.m.

rain date June 14th.

See no discussion, that item is approved.

Agenda item 9.70, a public event from the Arts Council applying for a public event license for big gay dance party on June 27th from 2.30 p.m.

to 9 30 p.m.

rain date June 28th.

See no discussion that item is approved.

Agenda item 9.71, a public event from the Arts Council applying for a public event license for fireworks celebration on June 30th from 2 p.m.

to 12 a.m.

rain date July 1st.

See no discussion that item is approved.

Agenda item 9.72.

A public communication from Tamara Gratzi and Emma Rybeck submitting comments for item 26-0485 surveillance technology impact report for crime tracer.

That item is placed on file.

Do you want a copy to um legislative matters?

Placed on file with a copy of legislative matters.

Next item.

Agenda item 9.73, a public communication from five individuals, including two residents submitting comments about 26-0204, amending the zoning ordinances for affordable housing projects.

That item is placed on file.

Council Union Camp, and you want a copy of those ones to land use?

All right, copy to land use.

Next item.

Agenda item 9.74, a public communication from three individuals, including two residents submitting comments about agenda item 26-0234, amending the zoning ordinances for accessory dwelling units.

That item is placed on file with a copy to land use.

Next item.

Agenda item 10.1, a resolution by Councilor Mbaugh that the director of parks and recreation, the commissioner of public works coordinate with local stakeholders, including the Somerville Garden Club and other community volunteers to evaluate the feasibility of transforming the currently unused lawn space located at the small white church across from the West Branch Library into a community gardening space.

So we can lay that one on the table or send it to sustainability infrastructure.

Which would you prefer?

Sustainability infrastructure.

So we'll send that to sustainability infrastructure because it's a supplemental item.

It will be uh duly posted uh duly noticed um before that discussion, so the members of the public can participate.

Next item.

Agenda item 10.2, a public event from Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville applying for a public event license for Mama's free store on April 11th from 7 a.m.

to 4 p.m.

rain day, April 25th.

Seeing no discussion, that item is approved.

Next item.

Agenda item 10.3, a public communication from Jenny Rapasso and Danny Recendez submitting comments about items 26-0327, 26-0328, 26-0329, and 26-0330.

Amending the zoning ordinances regarding zoning board of appeals, board rules, affordable dwelling units, and backyard cottage.

See no discussion.

That item is placed on file with a copy to land use.

Next item.

Agenda item 10.5, a public communication from 64 residents submitting comments about parking on Oak Houghton Bolton and Prospect Streets.

Councilor Sate.

Councillor Scott.

Yes, and on that, uh, y'all, if you haven't been down to Oak Bolton and Houghton lately, it is.

Wow.

Something to be beheld.

Uh it is part of the consequence of upzoning to you are and there's four or five uh apartment building projects happening at once, and it really impacts the neighborhood.

So uh this is just another plea uh amongst a very long list of them to say maybe we need to revisit the way we do construction permits.

Uh and the only reason we haven't gotten an exact same letter from Alan Linden and Maryam is just they haven't finished their petition yet.

So I look forward to the conversation and committee.

And I encourage all to read the letter.

Thank you.

Very good.

So that item is placed on file with a copy to traffic and parking.

Next items, Mr.

President.

Council Bott.

Yeah, one to counselor item one point one.

I think we should just lay it out on the table instead of sending it to sustainability so that we can actually approve it to the next you know city council meeting before sending it to uh councilbau would like to move for reconsideration of item 10.1.

See no objection, that item is now before us, and we will lay that item on the table.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Thank you.

Uh next item.

Agenda item 10.6, a public communication from Alexandra Thorne and Daniel Wong submitting comments about item number 26-0378 grant for body worn camera program.

Counselor Wheeler.

Chair, could we have a copy of that sent to the finance committee, please?

Okay.

See no further discussion.

That item is placed on file with a copy to finance.

Next item.

Agenda item 10.7, a public communication from Jake Grossman submitting comments about item numbers 26-0257, requesting a zoning map amendment for 2 and 9 Union Square 286, 290, and 298 Somerville Avenue.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, that item is uh placed on file with a copy to land use.

There are no further items before the ball.

Any late items?

No.

Okay.

Brings us to the end of our agenda.

And with that, Councillor Scott and his twin six six shooters move to adjourn.

And we are adjourned.

Thank you, everyone.

Good work.