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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Somerville City Council Housing Committee Meeting - July 2, 2026

Meeting Portal — Thursday, July 2, 2026

BodySomerville, Massachusetts

SessionMeeting Portal

DateThursday, July 2, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:08:03

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:02

Good evening.

0:04

This is the committee for housing community development and equity.

0:09

I am city councillor at large Kristen Strezzo, the chair of this committee.

0:13

It is Wednesday, July 1st, 2026.

0:16

It is 6.02 p.m.

0:19

We are broadcasting live from City Hall and also remote.

0:25

And I'd like to get this meeting started.

0:27

So pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025.

0:31

This meeting of the city council committee will be conducted via remote participation.

0:35

We will post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Summerville website and local cable access government channels.

0:50

Counselor Say.

0:52

Counselor Link.

0:53

Here.

0:54

Councillor Schrozen.

0:55

Here.

1:07

Approval of the minutes of the housing community development and equity committee meeting of April 15th, 2026.

1:13

Happy to lay that on the table for us to do a roll call or approval with the commencement of the meeting.

1:21

Next on the agenda is ordered.

1:31

She's here to speak on number three, too.

1:33

So yeah.

2:05

Commissioner Weissman.

2:08

Do you want to speak to my speaker?

2:10

And we have uh Director Shravatang here to speak from our recreation.

2:16

Not just recreation.

2:19

And thank you very much for being here in person.

2:22

Um I'd like to say it's maybe five degrees colder than outside.

2:27

Um so you have the floor.

2:29

Happy to talk about this.

2:31

So uh for the record Eric Wiseman, uh DPW commissioner.

2:35

Um I am going to talk about the status of the founder's rank operationally.

2:41

Uh and then I'm going to pass it off for programmatic considerations.

2:45

So hi.

2:48

Um so uh the rink hasn't had ice in it for several years now.

2:54

So uh we have a plan to uh install ice in it over the summer.

3:00

Uh we anticipate it would take about a month to get uh to get fully operational, and that would include um assessing and turning on the compressors, um conduct conducting any repairs of uh condensate lines or refrigerant lines that need repair um and then filling the bed uh with two to three inches of ice, um, and then uh smoothing the surface, having a contractor come in and paint the surface, reapplying uh a top coat of ice, um, more finishing, so a little bit of edging of the ice, uh, and then sort of at the same time doing a deep clean of the space, conducting any small repairs.

3:43

Um, and then so we anticipate it would take about a month for ice to be ready.

3:48

We are targeting starting that at the end of this month to have it ready for September first.

3:55

Oh exciting.

3:57

Um commissioner, when it is ready, uh, or whenever that is, hopefully aiming for September.

4:04

When it is, um, what uh what will look like after that?

4:10

Well we'll be immediately open to the public, or what do you where do you intend to go now?

4:15

So I I think I would hand it off to the recreation director, but um that would be the plan that would be ready for programming the album and I'm gonna

5:05

Yeah, Clark.

5:33

I said such awesome things, at least to me.

5:36

All right, fine.

5:37

All right.

5:37

We're but we're back live.

5:38

The owl is working.

5:40

Director, it's all yours, please.

5:42

We were talking about founders rate the start and and when September happens.

5:46

Um what happens from there and and what plans?

5:50

Absolutely.

5:50

So from there we we are in the process of a of conducting a RFD to have a um vendor come in and start the the process of putting our nonprofits and our um people and the schedule of the ice rink into place.

6:07

Um so hopefully we can get some expedited and that would be the intent to go forward with um after uh the vendor has the ice for that season I'm assuming from maybe September, October that area up until maybe February, late February, March.

6:24

Um recreation will then take well over and all the BW to clean up the ice and then that will be used for multi-purpose programming um looking to uh going back to our normal programs so street hockey also depends uh training uh summer training for our staff.

6:39

And then on top of that, we're looking to add into the hall and uh various as well, and some programming for the city staff, so we really can use the space throughout the entire year.

6:50

Really excited about this.

6:51

Um director and commissioner, thank you for all your work on this.

6:56

And additionally, um, do you have a Zamboni or this will be purchased that I believe we have one, but I don't know if it's up and running, but we uh through thank you, Chair, we do have a same body.

7:09

That's great.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation███████████████████████████████31%

Disability Rights█████████████████████21%

Technology and Innovation█████████████13%

Engineering And Infrastructure██████████10%

Procedural████████8%

Volunteer Management███████7%

Racial Equity██2%

Public Safety██2%

Transportation Safety██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Somerville City Council Housing, Community Development and Equity Committee Meeting - July 2, 2026

The Housing, Community Development and Equity Committee of the Somerville City Council met on July 2, 2026, at 6:02 PM and adjourned at 7:10 PM. Chair Kristen Strezo presided, with Councilor Jon Link present and Councilor Naima Sait absent. The meeting covered communication boards, playground updates, the Kensington Connector, Founders Rink, ADA coordination, web accessibility, and volunteer policies.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes (ID #26-0722): The minutes of the April 15, 2026, committee meeting were accepted unanimously by Councilors Link and Strezo. Councilor Sait was absent.

Discussion Items

Playground Communication Boards (Order #26-0082): Chair Strezo explained that communication boards assist nonverbal children at playgrounds. Director of Public Safety and Urban Forestry Luisa Oliveira reported that the boards are now standard for all playgrounds, and repairs can be requested via 311. The item was marked work completed.
Kensington Connector Update (Order #26-0059): Director Oliveira provided an update on the underpass connecting to Assembly Square. The city has applied for a $1.3 million “One Stop for Growth” grant for infrastructure and construction. The space runs under 12 lanes of highway, making lighting and water challenging. MassDOT added signals that improved safety. A skate park was deemed infeasible due to space constraints. The item was marked work completed.
Founders Rink Future Use (Order #26-0052): Commissioner of Public Works Eric Weisman outlined a plan to install ice over a month, targeting a September 1 opening. The ice has not been used for several years. Director of Recreation Ohemeng Kyeremateng said an RFP is underway to engage a vendor for nonprofit programming through February, after which Recreation will run children’s programs and off-ice activities. A Zamboni is available. An extra week of maintenance time is built in. The item was marked work completed.
Inclusive Playground Accessibility (Order #26-0051): Director Oliveira reported on the Kennedy Playground redesign. Phase 1 (parking lot and stormwater) is underway; the playground build-out is planned for next summer. To increase the schoolyard by 30%, 12–16 parking spaces were removed. Ongoing discussions about reserved parking for teachers are occurring with the Traffic and Parking Department. The item was marked work completed.
ADA Coordinator Role (Mayor's Communication #26-1033): Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Amanda Nagim-Williams stated that Human Resources has moved to phone screens for the vacant ADA Coordinator position. Complaints are routed to the Chief Administrative Officer for triage. The item was kept in committee pending further updates.
Web Accessibility Compliance (Officer's Communication #26-0973): Director of Communications and Public Engagement Denise Taylor reported that the city has achieved 92% Level A and 92.4% Level AA compliance with WCAG 2.1 guidelines. The federal deadline was extended to April 2027. The city installed a tool (Doc Access) to convert PDFs to accessible HTML. The school district is conducting its own website overhaul. The item was marked work completed.
Volunteer Policy Consistency (Resolution #26-1077): Chair Strezo noted inconsistent volunteer requirements across departments. Director Nagim-Williams stated the administration hopes to share a standardized process in the fall. The item was kept in committee.
Cost Barriers for Low-Income Youth at Rink (Order #26-1078): Chair Strezo raised equity concerns after reports that children were turned away from public skate due to cost. Director Kyeremateng said the RFP for Founders Rink will prioritize free resources for youth, though it is not yet a requirement. Director Taylor committed to working with schools and Recreation to promote access. The item was marked work completed.

Key Outcomes

Unanimous approval of minutes (Roll call: Link and Strezo yes, Sait absent).
Items 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 were recommended to be marked work completed.
Items 6 and 8 were kept in committee for future reports.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 PM.

Note: Although the supplied source materials indicate the meeting occurred on July 1, 2026, this summary uses the date provided by the user (July 2, 2026) as instructed.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. This is the committee for housing community development and equity. I am city councillor at large Kristen Strezzo, the chair of this committee. It is Wednesday, July 1st, 2026. It is 6.02 p.m. We are broadcasting live from City Hall and also remote. And I'd like to get this meeting started. So pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025. This meeting of the city council committee will be conducted via remote participation. We will post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Summerville website and local cable access government channels. Counselor Say. Counselor Link. Here. Councillor Schrozen. Here. Approval of the minutes of the housing community development and equity committee meeting of April 15th, 2026. Happy to lay that on the table for us to do a roll call or approval with the commencement of the meeting. Next on the agenda is ordered. She's here to speak on number three, too. So yeah. Commissioner Weissman. Do you want to speak to my speaker? And we have uh Director Shravatang here to speak from our recreation. Not just recreation. And thank you very much for being here in person. Um I'd like to say it's maybe five degrees colder than outside. Um so you have the floor. Happy to talk about this. So uh for the record Eric Wiseman, uh DPW commissioner. Um I am going to talk about the status of the founder's rank operationally. Uh and then I'm going to pass it off for programmatic considerations. So hi. Um so uh the rink hasn't had ice in it for several years now. So uh we have a plan to uh install ice in it over the summer. Uh we anticipate it would take about a month to get uh to get fully operational, and that would include um assessing and turning on the compressors, um conduct conducting any repairs of uh condensate lines or refrigerant lines that need repair um and then filling the bed uh with two to three inches of ice, um, and then uh smoothing the surface, having a contractor come in and paint the surface, reapplying uh a top coat of ice, um, more finishing, so a little bit of edging of the ice, uh, and then sort of at the same time doing a deep clean of the space, conducting any small repairs. Um, and then so we anticipate it would take about a month for ice to be ready. We are targeting starting that at the end of this month to have it ready for September first. Oh exciting. Um commissioner, when it is ready, uh, or whenever that is, hopefully aiming for September. When it is, um, what uh what will look like after that? Well we'll be immediately open to the public, or what do you where do you intend to go now? So I I think I would hand it off to the recreation director, but um that would be the plan that would be ready for programming the album and I'm gonna Yeah, Clark. I said such awesome things, at least to me. All right, fine. All right. We're but we're back live. The owl is working. Director, it's all yours, please. We were talking about founders rate the start and and when September happens.

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