* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] QUORUM. YEP. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. I WANTED TO CALL TODAY'S JANUARY 27TH, SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER. WE WERE A BIT DELAYED THIS MORNING, SO APOLOGIES. UM, FOR THOSE WHO ARE, UH, WAITING FOR US, UM, WE'RE BACK IN ACTION. AND [ROLL CALL] THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS A ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS PRESENT, PLEASE. COUNCILOR ZUBIE. PRESENT. PRESENT, VICE MAYOR ZI. VICE MAYOR ZI. HE'LL BE RIGHT BACK ABSENT. COUNCIL OF FLAHERTY ABSENT, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN. PRESENT, COUNCILOR NOLAN. PRESENT. PRESENT. COUNCILOR SIMMONS. PRESENT, COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER. PRESENT. PRESENT. COUNCILLOR ZUI. ABSENT. OH, SHE'S HERE. COUNCILOR ZUI IS LISTED AS PRESENT. MAYOR SIDIKI. PRESENT. PRESENT. YOU HAVE SEVEN MEMBERS RECORDED AS PRESENT, AND TWO RECORDED IS ABSENT BECAUSE THIS IS A SPECIAL MEETING. IF YOU'RE ABLE, PLEASE RISE IN DOING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND PAUSING FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE. PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE PUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. PER [AGENDA] CHAPTER TWO OF THE ACTS OF 2025, ADOPTED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL COURT AND APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO USE REMOTE PARTICIPATION AT MEETINGS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL. FOUND THE GAVEL. IN ADDITION TO HAVING MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL PARTICIPATE REMOTELY, WE'VE SET UP ZOOM TELECONFERENCE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. YOU CAN ALSO VIEW THE MEETING VIA THE CITY'S OPEN MEETING PORTAL OR ON THE CITY'S CABLE. CHANNEL 22 TO SPEAK DURING PUBLIC COMMENT. YOU HAVE TO SIGN UP AT WWW.CAMBRIDGEMA.GOV/PUBLIC COMMENT. YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL ANY OF YOUR WRITTEN COMMENTS FOR THE RECORD TO THE CLERK AT CITY CLERK@CAMBRIDGEMA.GOV. WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION AND YOU CAN SIGN UP, UM, UNTIL I THINK IT'S NINE 30, WE'LL EXTEND IT. UH, GIVEN THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDS THIS MEETING AND MAKES IT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR FUTURE VIEWING. IN ADDITION, THIRD PARTIES MAY ALSO BE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING THIS MEETING, SO WE'LL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT. PUBLIC COMMENT MAY BE MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL LAWS CHAPTER 38, SECTION 20 G, AND THE CITY COUNCIL RULES 20 3D AND 37. ONCE YOU FINISH SPEAKING, THE NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE CALLED, INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ALLOCATE THE REMAINDER OF THEIR TIME TO OTHER SPEAKERS. I ASK THAT YOU STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. GIVEN WE HAVE ABOUT THREE SPEAKERS, EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES, SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND CALL THE SPEAKERS. THE FIRST SPEAKER IS THERESA JACOBSON. UNMUTE HER. THERESA JACOBSON HAS NOT JOINED THE MEETING. THE NEXT SPEAKER IS PAMELA WINTERS. PAMELA IS NOT IN THE MEETING. THE NEXT SPEAKER IS HANNAN RHODES. HANNAN HAS NOT JOINED THE MEETING. ALL RIGHT, WELL, WE WILL KEEP PUBLIC COMMENT OPEN FOR NOW, BUT I WANNA THANK MY COLLEAGUES FOR BEING HERE TODAY. UM, I WILL MOVE TO YOU SHORTLY. UH, THIS, UH, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED, IS TO DISCUSS SOME GOAL SETTING FOR THE 2020, UH, 6 20 27 COUNCIL TERM, UM, AND THE CITY COUNCIL CITY STAFF WORK PROCESS IN YOUR MATERIALS. WE HAVE AN AGENDA THAT'S LAID OUT. UM, WE'RE GONNA DO A VERY BRIEF OPENING REMARKS FROM MYSELF AND CITY MANAGER, UH, AND THEN WE'LL GO FROM THERE. SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THIS IS ABOUT KICKING OFF A NEW TERM WITH A SHARED CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR VISION. UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE GOALS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, UH, WE'VE, THAT WERE APPROVED. UM, AND SO NOW WE'RE REVISITING THEM, UM, WHICH I THINK MANY OF YOU HAVE POINTED OUT THAT THEY'RE VERY HIGH LEVEL, AND THAT'S, THAT'S VERY TRUE. UH, AND THEY DON'T REALLY TRANSLATE INTO SPECIFIC PROGRAMS AND POLICIES, BUT THE IDEA IS TO [00:05:01] USE THEM AS A STARTING POINT, UH, KIND OF A SHARED FOUNDATION, AND THEN BUILD FROM THERE. UM, AND I THINK WE HAVE TIME TO THEN MORE THOUGHTFULLY WORK THROUGH WHAT PRIORITIES, ACTIONS, AND POLICIES FALL UNDER, UH, THOSE BROADER, UH, UMBRELLAS. I WANNA WELCOME GABRIELA, WHO WILL BE FACILITATING THIS MORNING. UM, MANY OF YOU HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH HER AHEAD OF TIME, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS. UH, THESE CONVERSATIONS HELPED SHAPE, UH, WHAT WE'LL BE WORKING ON THROUGH TODAY. UH, AND WE'LL HAVE STAFF WHO'S JOINING US A LITTLE LATER, UM, WHO WILL HELP US BEGIN THINKING ABOUT THE HOW AND, UM, WHAT THAT MIGHT LIKE LOOK LIKE THROUGH, UM, CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR DAY TODAY. AND I THINK REGARDLESS, IT MAY FEEL LIKE WE'RE, UM, KIND OF FEELING THAT IT'S, UH, UNFINISHED CONVERSATION, WHICH IT IS. UM, I THINK THERE'S ROOM TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE CONTINUE AND BUILD ON, UH, WHAT WE DISCUSSED TODAY. UH, AND SO I LOOK FORWARD TO TALKING ABOUT THAT. SO WITH THAT CITY MANAGER, WE'LL GO TO YOU, JULIE. WE'LL JUST CALL THE ROLE FOR VICE MAYOR, VICE MAYOR ZI, PRESENT, PRESENT VICE COUNCIL OF FLAHERTY, PRESENT CITY MANAGER. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH ALL. UM, THANK YOU MAYOR. UM, REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SPENDING TODAY WITH YOU ALL, UH, AND, UH, VERY EXCITED THAT WE ALL MADE IT. SO, UH, IT WAS, IT WAS A BIT OF AN EFFORT. UM, AND ALSO JUST WANTED TO, TO THANK ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN DOING WORK ACROSS THE CITY DURING, UH, DURING THE SNOWSTORM. UM, SO I KNOW THAT BOTH, UM, BOTH, UH, BOTH A LOT OF THE FOLKS ACROSS PUBLIC WORKS AND OPERATIONS HAVE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD, UH, TO GET US SET UP FOR BOTH THIS MEETING AND ALSO TO, TO CLEAR EVERYTHING AROUND CITY HALL. UH, AND THEN APPRECIATE JUST THE WORK IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, UH, IT DEPARTMENT. UH, A BIG THANK YOU TO COLIN, WHO WAS HERE LAST NIGHT, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING COULD, COULD HAPPEN AND THEN, UH, AND THEN HAS ALSO BEEN HELPING OUT TODAY. SO, UM, SO I THINK, I THINK MAYBE, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME INTRODUCTION IN CONTEXT SETTING FOR THE GOAL SETTING. I GUESS, GABRIELA, DO YOU WANT ME TO JUST MOVE INTO THAT OR DO YOU WANNA, DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF FIRST AND THEN WE CAN, WE CAN KIND OF MOVE INTO, INTO THE DISCUSSION? OH, GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS GABRIELA SALVATO. IT'S A PLEASURE TO SEE AND MEET SOME OF YOU AND SEE THOSE OF YOU THAT I KNOW OVER AGAIN. UM, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THAT I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH A NEW COUNCIL. UM, AND IT'S ALWAYS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESET, TO REVISIT AND TO REBOOT. AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY OUR FOCUS TODAY. UM, AS THE MAYOR MENTIONED, AND THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED, UM, I SPENT TIME WITH THE MAJORITY OF YOU IN ADVANCE, AND WHAT I'LL SAY IS THAT THE MAJORITY OF YOU HAD THE SAME FEEDBACK, WHICH WAS THESE SEEM LIKE GENERALLY THE RIGHT CATEGORIES AND THE RIGHT DIRECTION. SOME, YOU KNOW, TWEAKS HERE AND THERE, AND THE MAJOR CHALLENGES THAT THEY'RE NOT SPECIFIC ENOUGH, THEY'RE NOT, SOME PEOPLE USE THE LANGUAGE OF SMART GOALS. SOME PEOPLE USE THE LANGUAGE OF THEY NEED TO BE TRANSLATED INTO ACTIVITIES, TIMELINES, POLICY ORDERS THAT ARE MAPPED OUT THAT WE KNOW WHEN AND WHERE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN. IN SPEAKING WITH THE MAYOR AND THE CITY MANAGER, WE CAN'T GET THAT DONE IN TWO HOURS. AND SO WHAT WE REALLY WANNA TALK ABOUT IS HOW DO WE GET THAT DONE? HOW DO WE TAKE THESE DIRECTIONAL IDEAS AND TRANSLATE THEM INTO WORKING TOGETHER NORMS, BUT ALSO ACTIVITIES? SO THAT WOULD BE THE CONTEXT THAT I WOULD SET. CITY MANAGER, ANYTHING I LEFT OUT THAT YOU WOULD WANNA ADD? UH, NO, I THINK THAT'S RIGHT. I THINK, UM, I THINK IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL FOR THOSE WHO PROVIDED SOME THOUGHTS AND, UM, AND I THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT PLACE FOR US TO START THE CONVERSATION TO SAY, WHAT IS THE EXERCISE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO? AND WHAT'S THE OUTCOME THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO? UM, I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, AND I THINK THIS IS WHERE MAYBE SOME QUICK CONTEXT SETTING, UM, MIGHT BE HELPFUL. SO TWO YEARS AGO WHEN WE DID GOAL SETTING, UM, I THINK AT THAT POINT IN TIME, THE LAST TIME THE CITY COUNCIL HAD SET GOALS WAS 2017 WHEN THEY WERE PROVISIONALLY ADOPTED GOALS. AND THOSE HAD BEEN THE GOALS THAT HAD BEEN LISTED IN OUR BUDGETS THAT WE HAD CONTINUED TO USE, EXCEPT THAT SUBSEQUENT COUNCILS HADN'T REALLY REVISITED THEM, HADN'T TALKED ABOUT WHETHER THOSE FELT LIKE THE RIGHT HIGH LEVEL DIRECTIONS FOR US TO BE MOVING IN. UM, AND SO I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT, UM, THEN MAYOR SIMMONS DID, UH, TO HELP [00:10:01] ORGANIZE US. AND WE HAD STARTED THAT CONVERSATION IN ABOUT MID-FEBRUARY. UH, AND IT WAS A LOT OF WORK TO TAKE WHAT WAS, I THINK ACTUALLY LIKE NINE OR 10 GOALS, UH, FROM 2017 AND TRY AND FIND IN 2024 WHAT IT WAS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WANTED TO SAY. THESE ARE THE AREAS THAT WE REALLY CARE ABOUT THAT WE WANNA WORK ON OVER THE COURSE OF THE TERM. UM, WHERE WE LANDED, AND, AND I THINK YOU'VE ALL HAD TIME TO, TO REVIEW AT THIS POINT, AND MANY OF YOU WERE PART OF DEVELOPING THOSE GOALS. WHERE WE LANDED WAS VERY HIGH LEVEL. YOU KNOW, WE ENDED UP WITH GOALS THAT IN SOME WAYS REFLECTED A LOT OF WHERE WE HAVE PUT BUDGET RESOURCES WHERE CONVERSATIONS WITHIN THE COUNCIL HAVE FOCUSED, UM, BUT THEY DIDN'T NECESSARILY, UH, TALK ABOUT SPECIFIC PROGRAMS OR CONCRETE TRADE-OFFS THAT WE END UP, UH, WE END UP MAKING. UM, AND SO I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY WHERE TO START TO SAY, UH, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT CITY COUNCIL GOAL SETTING, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE AND, UH, AND ARE, ARE WE MORE OR LESS ALIGNED ON HOW WE WANNA, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY WANNA, WHAT THEY WANNA END UP BEING? UM, I THINK THE THOUGHT I MIGHT OFFER IS, UM, AT THAT HIGH LEVEL, WE'RE, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT FORCED THERE BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING FOR GOALS THAT REPRESENT WHAT THE FULL COUNCIL, UH, WANTS TO, WANTS TO PURSUE. AND WHEN WE START GETTING INTO MORE SPECIFICS, THAT'S WHERE, UH, OF COURSE THE CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTS A DIVERSE COMMUNITY. AND THERE ARE TRADE-OFFS WHERE WE MAY BE REPRESENTING SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CONSTITUENCIES AND, AND DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS OF AN ISSUE. AND SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOUSING OR WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BIKE LANES OR WE TALK ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THERE MAY BE DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE COUNCIL THAT MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO GET NINE COUNSELORS TO SAY, THIS IS AN ARTICULATION OF A GOAL THAT WE ALL AGREE ON. UM, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHERE, TO GABRIELA'S POINT, IT'LL BE DIFFICULT IF PART OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS PUT INTO WORDS THE, THE BROAD VIEW OF THE CITY COUNCIL. I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK IN GENERAL THAT OUR GOAL IS TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT WHERE FIVE OR SIX COUNSELORS THINK WE SHOULD BE GOING IN THE CONTEXT OF GOAL SETTING. I THINK THAT IS ACTUALLY MORE THE WORK THAT WE WANNA DO OVER THE COURSE OF THE TERM AND AROUND SPECIFIC POLICIES WHERE THERE'S ACTUALLY CONCRETE DECISIONS TO MAKE. UM, AND MAYBE THAT'S WHERE I, I WOULD, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS MORE IN THE NEXT SECTION IN TERMS OF HOW WE ACTUALLY WORK TOGETHER, BUT, UM, BUT I THINK MY, MY FEELING HAS BEEN THE COUNCIL IS VERY INTERESTED IN HOW DO WE ACTUALLY GET THINGS DONE. AND GOAL SETTING IS MORE THE VISION, BUT THE WORK OF GETTING THINGS DONE. I THINK OVER THE LAST TERM, HOUSING WAS AN AREA WHERE I FELT LIKE WE ACTUALLY WERE WORKING REALLY WELL TOGETHER. AND THAT'S AN AREA WHERE THERE WAS A BODY OF CITY COUNSELORS THAT WANTED TO MOVE ON HOUSING AND IN PARTICULAR ZONING AND, UH, AND WORKED WITHIN THE COUNCIL TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE WANT TO WORK ON. AND THEN WORKED WITH THE CITY TO SAY, HOW DO WE DO THAT TOGETHER? AND I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY THE TRICK BECAUSE WE BOTH NEED CITY COUNSELORS AS A BODY TO MOVE IN A DIRECTION, BUT WE ALSO NEED CITY STAFF TO WORK ON THOSE ISSUES. AND HOW WE ACTUALLY BRING THAT TOGETHER IS HOW WE GET THINGS DONE. AND, UM, I WAS PULLING UP SOME OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT, UH, THAT WE ACTUALLY DISCUSSED TOGETHER. AND, UM, AND I THINK WHAT WAS REALLY HEALTHY ABOUT THE CONVERSATION ON HOUSING WAS THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE WERE ACTUALLY WORKING ON RELATED TO ZONING. UM, AND IN MAY OF, UH, I THINK IN, IN JUNE OF 2024, AS IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THE CITY COUNCIL WANTED TO WORK ON HOUSING, IT WAS TRYING TO SAY, WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO DO A REALLY BIG PIECE OF WORK AROUND MULTIFAMILY HOUSING. SOME OF THE CONVERSATION THAT CAME BACK WAS, WE CAN'T DO ALL OF THIS AT ONCE. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE ON THE PLATES OF CDD, THE LAW DEPARTMENT THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT TO PRIORITIZE AND WE NEED TO WORK PLAN THIS OUT. AND SO WE ENDED UP HAVING A DISCUSSION AT THE CITY COUNCIL IN JUNE THAT SAID, WE HAVE ZONING PETITIONS ON MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, SHARED PARKING, CENTRAL SQUARE REZONING, CAMBRIDGE STREET REZONING, UM, AND SOME OTHER SMALL THINGS. HERE'S A PROPOSED REPRIORITIZATION OF THOSE INITIATIVES THAT THE COUNCIL HAS LARGELY EXPRESSED AND THAT WE'RE SAYING WE COULD ACTUALLY GET DONE TOGETHER. UM, AND THAT DID END UP REPRESENTING A CHANGE. THERE WAS SOME ZONING WORK THAT WE SAID, WE'RE GONNA PUSH THIS OFF AND DO THIS LATER BECAUSE WE COLLECTIVELY WANNA WORK ON, YOU KNOW, WANNA WORK ON MULTIFAMILY HOUSING FIRST. UM, AND, AND THAT'S A, THAT ENDED UP BECOMING A PRETTY ORGANIZED SET OF WORK THAT WE DID ON HOUSING. AND THEN A YEAR LATER IN MAY, WE ACTUALLY CAME BACK AND DID THE SAME THING ON [00:15:01] THE ZONING FRONT. AND SO AT THAT POINT WE LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS FLOOD PLAIN ZONING, THERE WAS, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL WORK ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY. WE WERE WORKING ON THE BIOMED PETITION, ZONING PETITION. THERE WAS A CANNABIS ZONING PETITION. UM, AND THEN WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT MASS AVE, CAMBRIDGE STREET, CENTRAL SQUARE, UH, WHICH OF THESE ARE WE GOING TO WORK ON? AND AGAIN, I THINK WE REALLY COLLABORATIVELY SAID, THIS IS A PROPOSED WORK PLAN AND THIS IS A TIMELINE, AND CONCRETELY HOW DO WE ACTUALLY GET SOME, GET TO A DECISION POINT? AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE CITY CAN NECESSARILY DO ON ITS OWN ULTIMATELY. AND, AND AS WE SORT OF SAW LAST NIGHT, IT'S UP TO THE COUNCIL TO DECIDE WHETHER TO MOVE FORWARD OR NOT, WHICH AMENDMENTS TO PUT FORWARD AND HOW TO MAKE CHANGES. UM, BUT I THINK I SAW THAT WHOLE PROCESS AS THE RIGHT KIND OF COLLABORATION ONCE WE'VE SET A GOAL TO THEN MAKE THE HARDER DECISIONS OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO IMPLEMENT. UM, AND I THINK, I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT I'D LOVE TO SEE IN THE COURSE OF THE TERM. WE DIDN'T END UP DOING THAT ON EVERY GOAL THAT WE SET. AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD CONVERSATION FOR US TO HAVE TOGETHER AS WE THINK ABOUT THE NEW TERM AND THE GOALS THAT WE SET. UM, BUT I THINK MAYBE THIS IS HELPFUL TO SAY, OKAY, WE'RE SETTING A HIGH LEVEL GOAL, BUT THEN WHAT HAPPENS TO IT? HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DO THE WORK? UM, AND, AND I WOULD OFFER THAT UP AS, AS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT MAYBE WORKED WELL. UM, AND I THINK WE CAN HAVE MORE DISCUSSION. UM, BUT MAYBE I'LL TURN IT OVER BACK TO YOU GABRIELA, AND, UH, AND INTERESTED IN, IN, MAYBE FIRST WE, WE SCOPE THIS OUT AND SAY, AND, AND MAYOR, I THINK THIS IS KIND OF THE CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING. UM, LET'S, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY HAS A CHANCE TO SPEAK ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE IN THE GOALS AND WHETHER WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE, AND THEN WE CAN ACTUALLY GET INTO THE SPECIFIC GOALS AND THE LANGUAGE AND, AND SEE HOW FAR WE GET TODAY. YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT CONTEXT. AND FOR THE EXAMPLE, UM, FROM LAST TERM, WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO TODAY IS WORDSMITH THE GOALS BECAUSE THAT IS BETTER DONE OFFLINE, UM, WHICH WE DID ACTUALLY LAST TERM. SO SOME OF YOU WILL REMEMBER, UM, THAT A COUPLE OF PEOPLE TOOK A COUPLE OF GOALS AND REALLY WORKED ON THEM, UM, AND BROUGHT THEM BACK TO THE COUNCIL. SO WE DON'T WANNA DO, YOU KNOW, THIS SHOULD BE A COMMA, THAT SHOULD BE AN, AND WE, WE DON'T WANNA DO THAT BECAUSE IT'S REALLY HARD TO DO THAT WITH NINE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM. SO WITH THAT AS A CAVEAT, UM, CAN I HEAR FROM YOU REACTIONS TO THE MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER'S CONTEXT SETTING FOR THE DAY OR FOR THIS SECTION OF THE CONVERSATION? REACTIONS, THOUGHTS, PUSHBACK? YEAH, THANKS. UM, WE CAN TALK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT. I GUESS I WANNA TRY TO LAY OUT, EXCUSE ME, IN THE SPIRIT OF, UH, COLLABORATION, WHAT I HOPE ARE, YOU KNOW, SOME CONSTRUCTIVE CRITIQUES OF THE CITY COUNCIL GOALS IN THE PROCESS. I TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE LAST TERM WHEN WE DID THE CITY COUNCIL PROCESS, UH, OVER AT 3 44 BROADWAY. AND I JUST WANNA TRY TO ELABORATE, UM, AND BE A LITTLE MORE CLEAR NOW. UH, I THINK OUR CITY COUNCIL GOAL PROCESS CURRENTLY, IT'S AT BEST TOO VAGUE TO REALLY BE USEFUL. I THINK IT CAN BE, YOU KNOW, CONFUSING FOR RESIDENTS, FOR CITY STAFF OR THE COUNCIL ITSELF. AND AT, AT WORST, I THINK IT CAN BE SORT OF MISLEADING. UM, AND I, I HOPE WE CAN IMPROVE IT OR, OR JUST MOVE AWAY FROM IT. UM, I THINK NONE OF THE, AND WHEN I SAY MOVE AWAY FROM IT, I, UH, SO I, YOU KNOW, I HAD A CONVER GREAT CONVERSATION WITH, WITH GABRIELLE BEFORE THIS, YOU KNOW, TAKE, UH, APPRECIATE REACHING OUT. AND, AND THEN SHE HAD RAISED THE POINT OF, YOU KNOW, DOESN'T EVERYBODY NEED TO DO GOALS TO REALLY BE USEFUL? DON'T WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, ALL HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN AGREE ON TO HEAD IN THE SAME DIRECTION? HOW DO WE DO ANYTHING WITHOUT GOALS? AND I RAISED THE FACT THAT, UH, BOSTON CITY COUNCIL DOES NOT DO CITY COUNCIL GOALS. SOMERVILLE CITY COUNCIL DOES NOT DO CITY COUNCIL GOALS. UH, MEDFORD DOES WHAT THEY CALL A GOVERNING AGENDA. UM, BUT IT'S TOTALLY DIFFERENT. IT'S A 34 PAGE DOCUMENT THAT HAS SPECIFIC GOALS AND TIMELINES FOR IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH E EACH OF THOSE SPECIFIC POLICIES THAT CAN, CAN PULL IT UP AND, AND SHOW IT TO FOLKS IF THEY WANT. IT'S JUST, IT'S VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE. AND SO MOST PLACES DON'T ACTUALLY DO CITY COUNCIL GOALS. THAT'S, THAT'S NOT A THING THEY DO. AND, YOU KNOW, BOSTON, SOMERVILLE, THEY'RE ALSO DOING GREAT WORK IN GOVERNMENT. UM, SO I THINK THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL GOALS CURRENTLY ARE JUST TOO BROAD TO BE USEFUL, AND THEY END UP PAPERING WHAT ARE OVER, WHAT I THINK ARE REALLY CRITICAL DISAGREEMENTS. UM, TO GIVE ONE EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE, THE CITY COUNCIL CURRENT TRANSPORTATION GOAL. IT SAYS, TRANSPORTATION, IMPROVE THE SAFETY, EFFICIENCY, ACCESS AND SUSTAINABILITY OF TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS FOR ALL, AND ADVOCATE FOR KEY TRANSIT PRIORITIES WITH THE MBTA AND OTHER STATE AND REGIONAL PARTNERS. UM, WE ADOPTED THAT GOAL UNANIMOUSLY, YOU KNOW, AS A RESIDENT, YOU MIGHT THINK THAT MEANS THE CITY COUNCIL WAS REALLY IN AGREEMENT TO LAST TERM ABOUT TRANSPORTATION ISSUES. UM, BUT THAT WOULD BE MISLEADING BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS THAT SOME OF OUR STRONGEST DISAGREEMENTS LAST TERM WERE ON TRANSPORTATION ISSUES. WE HAD A BUNCH OF FIVE FOUR VOTES ABOUT BUS LANES AND BIKE LANES. A LOT OF CONFLICTING OPINIONS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION FUNDING. AND THAT'S NOT A BAD THING. I WANNA BE CLEAR, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ELECTED TO REPRESENT CONSTITUENTS WITH DIFFERENT VIEWS. UM, BUT EVERY, [00:20:01] UH, COUNCIL COUNSELOR COULD SAY THAT ALL OF THEIR VOTES WERE IN LINE WITH THAT GOAL, EVEN AS WE WERE HAVING THOSE, THOSE STRONG DISAGREEMENTS. AND IT'S SO VAGUE THAT BASICALLY ANY TRANSPORTATION POLICY COULD, COULD FALL UNDER THAT GOAL AND PROVE THE SAFETY EFFICIENCY ACCESS. IT'S HARD TO, FOR ME TO THINK OF A REALLY, OF ANY TRANSPORTATION POLICY THAT WOULDN'T FALL INTO THAT. UM, I THINK IT'S THROUGH THE DISAGREEMENTS, DOING THAT IN PUBLIC, BEING CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THOSE DISAGREEMENTS ARE, HAVING AMENDMENTS, HAVING DIALOGUE THAT WE DO THE WORK OF GOVERNING AND CREATE GOOD PUBLIC POLICY. I DON'T THINK WE DO THAT BY, YOU KNOW, DOING VERY SHORT GOALS THAT HAVE TO BE REALLY VAGUE, JUST SO WE CAN GET TO, TO UNANIMITY. UM, TO GIVE ONE OTHER EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, IS THE COUNCIL GOAL ON, UH, GOVERNMENT AND COUNCIL PERFORMANCE, UH, FROM LAST TERM IT SAYS, QUOTE, THE CITY COUNCIL IS COMMITTED TO EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING THROUGH CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH EACH OTHER AND THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO COMMUNICATE TRANSPARENTLY AND TO DEEPEN ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY. YOU KNOW, AND THEN, UM, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT ONE OF THE DISAGREEMENTS, YOU KNOW, ON THE, THE TOPIC OF ENGAGEMENT WITH, WITH THE COMMUNITY. AND, AND NOT TO PICK ON ANYONE, BUT LAST TERM, ONE OF MY FELLOW COUNSELORS SAID THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IN OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES, WE WERE CANCELING EDUCATED WHITE RESIDENTS WHEN IT COMES TO OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING PROCESS. I DISAGREE, YOU KNOW, PRETTY CLEARLY WITH THAT THEN I DISAGREE WITH THAT NOW AND SAYING, WE ADOPTED THAT GOAL ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT UNANIMOUSLY PAPER'S OVER WHAT I THINK IS A PRETTY IMPORTANT DISAGREEMENT FOR RESIDENTS TO KNOW ABOUT. UM, AND JUST ONE LAST EXAMPLE, I'LL TRY TO WRAP UP. WHEN WE DID THIS PROCESS TWO YEARS AGO, I THINK, UH, A NUMBER OF US, YOU KNOW, UH, TALKED ABOUT ME BEING MORE SPECIFIC, THEN, UM, I THINK WE, WE GOT SOME OF THE SAME FEEDBACK. WE, WE COULDN'T WORDSMITH, WE, THIS WASN'T TO BE REALLY IN DEPTH FOR IT. ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT AT THAT MEETING AND MENTIONED MULTIPLE TIMES WAS, WAS AFTER SCHOOL AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE A GOAL OF GETTING TO UNIVERSAL AFTER AFTERSCHOOL. AND WE'RE WE'RE TOLD THEN THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS TOO SPECIFIC. WE, WE COULDN'T LAY OUT THINGS LIKE THAT. UM, EVERYBODY UNDERSTOOD, YOU KNOW, THE CITY STAFFS, CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC SHOULD UNDERSTAND AFTERSCHOOL WAS SOMETHING WE CARED ABOUT. WE DIDN'T NEED TO CALL IT OUT SPECIFICALLY IN THAT. AND THEN LATER IN THAT SAME TERM, WE HAD A MEETING, UH, ON HUMAN SERVICES AND AFTERSCHOOL. AND THEN ONE OF, ONE OF US SAID, ONE OF THE COUNSELORS SAID, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN VICE MAYOR, GOVERNOR, YOU KNOW, AFTERSCHOOL IS A GOAL OF THE COUNCIL UNI UNIVERSAL AFTERSCHOOL IS, IS A GOAL THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO. AND ONE OF THE DEPARTMENT HEADS JUMPED IN AND SAID, YOU KNOW, SORRY, NOT TO TO CORRECT YOU, BUT ACTUALLY ON THE CITY COUNCIL GOALS, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT AFTERSCHOOL ON THERE. AND WE SAID, YOU'RE RIGHT. WE DON'T, AND, AND WE WERE TOLD WE DIDN'T NEED TO. AND AS A RESIDENT WOULD BE REALLY MIS I CAN SEE THAT BEING REALLY CONFUSING. I CAN SEE THAT BEING REALLY MISLEADING, WHICH JUST LEADS ME TO, TO BELIEVE LIKE WHAT IS, IS IS THE GOAL PROCESS HELPFUL OR IS IT ACTUALLY CONFUSING, MISLEADING, NOT HELPFUL FOR RESIDENTS? AND IT, IN THAT CASE, IT REALLY SEEMS LIKE THE LATTER IF WE'RE SAYING, HEY, YOU DIDN'T PUT, WE'RE TOLD BY A DEPARTMENT HEAD, YOU DIDN'T PUT AFTER SCHOOL IN THE GOALS. AND, AND YOU'RE RIGHT. RIGHT. UM, SO I'M HAPPY TO, TO DO A MORE IN DEPTH PROCESS LIKE MEDFORD. I THINK IT WILL ALSO TAKE MORE STRUCTURE AND TIME, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE BEST OUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PLENTY OF WORK TALKING THROUGH GOALS. WE HAD A HAD A COUNCIL MEETING LONG LAST NIGHT AND WE HAD A BUNCH OF DIALOGUE AND, AND WORK. AND THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD GOVERNING TOO. SO I'M ALSO HAPPY TO GO THE WAY OF SOMERVILLE AND BOSTON AND JUST, UH, FOCUS ON THE WORK OF GOVERNING RATHER THAN, THAN PUTTING TOGETHER CITY COUNCIL GOALS THAT, THAT ARE SORT OF BROAD AND, AND NOT, UH, HELPFUL. UM, THAT'S SORT OF MY, MY FEEDBACK. THANK YOU. SO LET'S HEAR SOME REACTIONS TO THE IDEA OF DOING NO GOALS, VICE MAYOR. UM, SO I, I WOULD FRAME IT A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY, UH, THAN, UH, YOUR SUMMARY OF VIN'S COMMENTS. I WOULD JUST ADD THREE PIECES. UM, ONE THING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT OUR CITY VERSUS THOSE ANALOGOUS ONES IS REALLY THE CITY MANAGER SYSTEM. AND I THINK THAT I FIND THAT TO BE REALLY INTERESTING OF LIKE, WHAT CAN WE TELL STAFF AS LIKE A PRIORITY IN THAT, YOU KNOW, IN BOSTON, MICHELLE, WE'LL SET IT IN A SOMERVILLE, JAKE WILL JUST SET THE PRIORITIES. AND I THINK THAT THAT ADMINISTRATIVE PIECE I THINK IS VERY INTERESTING. UM, AND YOU KNOW, IT LINKS IN WITH OUR POLICY WORK BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH STAFF CAPACITY. AND SO TO DO BIG POLICY CHANGES, EVEN WE DO REQUIRE STAFF SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING PRIORITIZATION, ESPECIALLY AT THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT AND THINGS LIKE THAT CAN BE REALLY HELPFUL. UM, I WOULD SAY SECONDLY, I MEAN THIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN GOALS, BUT LIKE THE PROCESS PIECE WAS WHAT I FOUND REALLY HELPFUL IN MY FIRST TERM WHEN WE INTRODUCED TWO DIFFERENT AMENDMENTS. ONE WAS JUST CITY COUNCIL WROTE AND INTRODUCED IT. A SECOND ONE WAS SENT TO COMMITTEE AND BACK. AND PEOPLE WERE VERY FRUSTRATED IN GENERAL ABOUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE ONLY FOUR OUT OF THE NINE OF US CAN KNOW ABOUT SOMETHING BEFORE IT'S INTRODUCED, LIKE WHAT THE RIGHT PROCESS FOR CHANGES IS. AND LAST TIME WE DISCUSSED LIKE, HEY, I WOULD REALLY LIKE YOU TO DO A COMMITTEE MEETING IN THIS STYLE AND THEN FORWARD IT IN THIS WAY AND HASH IT OUT IN THIS WAY BEFORE YOU MOVE SOMETHING FORWARD. AND I FOUND THAT TO BE REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE IT SETS CLEAR EXPECTATIONS. I OFTEN FIND MYSELF IN A PLACE WHERE WE'RE LIKE, OH, THIS NEEDS MORE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. AND I'M LIKE, AT WHAT POINT, LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND LIKE FLESHING OUT SOME OF THOSE DETAILS CAN BE REALLY HELPFUL SUCH THAT WE CAN SAY LIKE, THIS THING GOT ENOUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, OR LIKE, THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS. RIGHT? I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, COUNCILOR NOLAN HAS MESSAGE LIKE MENTIONED BEFORE, LIKE, SENDING EVERYONE A POSTCARD OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. LIKE WHATEVER IT IS. LIKE, I THINK THOSE TANGIBLE DETAILS ARE HELPFUL. [00:25:01] UM, AND THEN LASTLY, I WOULD SAY THAT I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN FIGURING OUT LIKE WHAT THE COUNCIL CARES ABOUT. UM, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I THINK THAT DURING ELECTION SEASONS, BESIDES, UM, IF I WAS GONNA BE BLUNT HOUSING AND BIKE LANES, WE DON'T REALLY FLESH OUT THE FULL REST OF THE AGENDA. AND SO, YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK THAT THERE'S AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION ABOUT THE BUDGET AND THAT BOTH, I THINK WE HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT WHETHER WE SHOULD BE SPENDING MORE OR LESS, BUT ALSO, UM, I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN THE PROCESS. IT FEELS LIKE AT THE END OF IT, YOU KNOW, ALL NINE CITY COUNSELORS FEEL TO SOME EXTENT LIKE, HEY, THERE WAS THIS CUT WE DIDN'T EXPECT AND IT JUST CAME TO US. THERE WAS THIS EXTRA FUNDING MEASURE THAT WE THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA GET IN AND WOULD MAKE SENSE. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF PUSHBACK. AND SO EVEN THE BUDGETARY PROCESS AND HOW THAT SHOULD WORK, LIKE I FEEL LIKE HAS BEEN A CONVERSATION FOR MY ENTIRE TERM ON CITY COUNCIL. AND WE'VE NEVER REALLY FIGURED OUT LIKE, WHAT DOES GOOD COUNCIL INPUT INTO THE BUDGET LOOK LIKE? AND SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE LESS BIG GOAL ORIENTED IN A WAY THAT I AGREE WITH COUNCILOR SABRINA, UH, WHEELER. BUT I STILL DO THINK THAT THERE'S STILL SOME PIECES OF LIKE, PROCESS BUDGET. WHAT ARE OTHER GOALS THAT COUNSELORS CARE ABOUT BESIDES THE BIG TWO CONTROVERSIAL ONES THAT, UM, I WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTED IN DELVING INTO ME. JUST CLARIFY FOR ONE SECOND THAT THE BUDGET QUESTION IS HAPPENING OUTSIDE OF TODAY'S MEETING. RIGHT? SO I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR RAISING IT, BUT I JUST WANNA BE, I DON'T WANT US TO GO DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE OF HOW DOES THE COUNCIL AND THE CITY STAFF WORK TOGETHER ON THE BUDGET THAT IS GETTING ADDRESSED ELSEWHERE? IS THAT RIGHT? CITY MANAGER, UH, THROUGH MAYOR. I THINK THAT'S RIGHT. I MEAN, I'M HAPPY FOR US TO BLEED IN A LITTLE BIT. UM, AND THEN, UH, I KNOW WE'VE GOT A FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING NEXT WEEK WHERE WE'RE GONNA BOTH REVIEW WHERE WE ARE ECONOMICALLY, BUT ACTUALLY TALK THROUGH THE WHOLE TIMELINE OF THE BUDGET PROCESS. AND I THINK THAT'LL ACTUALLY BE WHERE WE INTEND TO HAVE SOME OF THAT MORE ROBUST DISCUSSION TO SAY, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS BUDGET PROCESS, LET'S ACTUALLY HAVE A CONVERSATION AT THE BEGINNING. UH, OR, BUT WE'RE NOT EXACTLY AT THE BEGINNING. BUT, UH, BUT WITH ENOUGH TIME THAT, UH, WE CAN HAVE THE COUNCIL, UM, HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INPUT BEFORE WE'VE SUBMITTED SOMETHING. I DID WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THOUGH, THAT IT FEELS RELATED IN THAT, UM, HOW DO WE ACCOMPLISH THINGS? AND SOMETIMES THAT IS THROUGH THE BUDGET, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, I THINK WHILE WE'RE, IT'S NOT GONNA BE FULLY INGRAINED, I THINK THERE ARE AREAS WHERE INHERENTLY IT'LL COME UP. AND I THINK THAT'S FINE. AND I WANNA JUST, AND, AND, UM, COUNSELOR SUZI, I KNOW YOU HAD YOUR HAND UP, SO I PROMISE WE'RE GONNA GET TO YOU. I JUST WANNA ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IN THE CONVERSATIONS LEADING UP TO TODAY, THE BUDGET PROCESS IS OF CONCERN. THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS. THERE IS A LOT OF, IS THE, AND THESE ARE MY WORDS, NOT ANYBODY ELSE'S. IS THE COUNCIL JUST A RUBBER STAMP ON THE BUDGET AND IT'S ACTUALLY PURELY CITY STAFF WHO DOES IT, AND IS THAT APPROPRIATE OR INAPPROPRIATE? AND SO I HOPE THAT IN YOUR BUDGET PROCESS, IN YOUR FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING, YOU CAN TALK THROUGH SOME OF THAT AS WELL. 'CAUSE IT'S THERE. YEAH. MAYOR, AND I JUST DIDN'T WANNA, I WANTED TO LIFT UP ANOTHER POINT, UM, WHICH WAS THAT THE, THE BUDGET HISTORICALLY, UM, IS THE BUDGET TEAMS LIKE BUILDS THE NARRATIVE AROUND OUR GOALS, RIGHT? AND SO THAT'S WHY IT ALSO FEELS INTERTWINED. UM, SO WE HAVE TO DEFINITELY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. OKAY. UM, COUNCILLOR SUZI. YEAH. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I WANTED TO MAKE THE POINT THAT, UM, OUR MAYOR JUST MADE. SO I THINK THE GOALS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO ESTABLISH. I'M A GREAT BELIEVER IN STRATEGIC PLANNING. UM, WHEN I WAS THE CHIEF CURATOR OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, THE SOCIETY HAD GOALS AND THEN EACH DEPARTMENT HAD HAD GOALS AND WE WERE ALL EVALUATED BY OUR GOALS. SO I THINK WITHOUT GOALS AND THEN OBJECTIVES, YOU WITHOUT A ROADMAP, YOU NEVER GET TO WHERE YOU WANNA GO. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE BOTH GOALS AND SOME SORT OF OBJECTIVES. AND I REALIZE THAT, UM, COMING UP WITH SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES MAY BE CHALLENGING FOR A DIVERSE GROUP OF, OF COUNSELORS, BUT I STILL THINK IT'S, IT'S GOOD THAT WE COME UP WITH AN OVERALL PLAN FOR WHAT WE ASPIRE TO ACCOMPLISH FOR THE GOOD OF THE CITY. AND, UM, SO I THINK, I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO COME UP WITH TWO LAYERS OF THINGS. AND IF WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT OBJECTIVES TODAY, OR THE MORE SPECIFIC THINGS THAT WE HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH, WHEN WILL WE DISCUSS THOSE THINGS? BECAUSE I THINK IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT WE DO OTHERWISE. WE'RE, UH, HOW WILL CITY STAFF KNOW HOW TO ALLOCATE THEIR TIME? UM, BEST. THANK YOU. [00:30:01] THANKS. WE'RE GENERALLY DISCUSSING THE PROCESS, RIGHT? UM, SO I THINK IT IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION THAT COUNCILOR ER WHEELER RAISED WHETHER TO DO GOALS, AND I AGREE. ARE THEY VAGUE? SO THAT ALMOST ANYTHING WE DO CAN FIT INTO IT. YES. HOWEVER, DOES THAT MEAN WE SHOULDN'T, IT'S, I VIEW IT ALMOST LIKE AS A MISSION STATEMENT ABOUT HERE'S HOW WE'RE SETTING UP TO SAY THIS IS WHAT WE CARE ABOUT. AND I THINK THAT IS USEFUL FOR THE PUBLIC. HOWEVER, I ALSO, AS I SHARED WITH GABRIELA BEFORE, IN THAT THE PROVERBIAL RUBBER HITS THE ROAD WHEN WE ACTUALLY HAVE SMART GOALS AND WE UNDERSTAND WHAT EACH OF THOSE GOALS MEANS. AND WE, I CAN'T IMAGINE WE WOULD GET TO TODAY SMART GOALS FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE. BUT, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THOSE OVERARCHING GOALS. AND YET THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LEAD TO ANY SPECIFIC ACTION IN AND OF THEMSELVES IF WE DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC MEASURABLE, YOU KNOW, ACHIEVABLE, RELEVANT TIME-BASED GOALS, THE SMART GOALS. UM, I, I THINK THE REAL QUESTION THAT HAPPENS, OR THE REAL WORK THAT HAPPENS AND IT HAS TO HAPPEN IS PART OF WHAT WAS ALLUDED TO EARLIER, WHICH IS PRIORITIZATION THAT WE CAN PASS LOTS OF DIFFERENT IDEAS AND WE CAN WORK ON IT. AND THEN IN ORDER TO GET THINGS DONE, I THINK IT'S INCUMBENT ON US, BUT ALSO THE CITY TO COME TOGETHER AND SAY, FOR INSTANCE, HERE'S, HERE'S SOME OF THE GOALS. HERE'S SOME OF THE, WE KNOW FOR THE ZONING PETITIONS, THERE WERE ABOUT SEVEN LINED UP AND THEY HAD TO BE PRIORITIZED. 'CAUSE WE CANNOT DO THEM ALL AT ONCE. UM, SO I THINK PART OF THE WORK FOR US WILL BE IN WILLING TO BALANCE THE URGENCY WE ALL FEEL, 'CAUSE WE'RE ALL SITTING HERE, WE ALL WANNA DO NEW THINGS AND, AND HAS OFTEN BEEN SAID IS WE HAVE THIS PHENOMENAL CITY THAT IS DELIVERING SERVICES. AND YET OUR JOB IN A WAY IS ONCE WE PASS SOMETHING, OKAY, NOW ON TO THE NEXT. AND THE CITY STAFF IS FEELING LIKE, WAIT A SECOND, WE'RE STILL IMPLEMENTING THINGS WE TWO YEARS AGO AND WE'RE PLANNING OUT THINGS THAT WE'RE A YEAR AGO AND, AND YET YOU'RE NOW THROWING EVEN MORE ON OUR PLATE. I THINK THAT'S THE TENSION THAT PRESUMABLY WE'LL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT, UM, LATER TODAY. I, I BELIEVE WE CAN GET THERE IF WE ARE, UH, RESPECTFUL MUTUALLY, UM, KIND TO EACH OTHER SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE CITY STAFF'S, UM, NEEDS AND ALSO THEIR CAPACITY, WHICH CAN BE OVERWHELMED PRETTY EASILY. AND THEN YOU THROW ON TOP OF IT, FOUR YEARS AGO, YOU KNOW, THE COVID CRISIS OR ONE YEAR AGO, THAT ECONOMIC MELTDOWN THAT IS HAPPENING WITH OUR, THE, THE TWO MAJOR INDUSTRIES IN THE CITY BEING HIGHER EDUCATION AND BIOTECH, BOTH OF WHICH ARE UNDER DIRECT, CONSISTENT, PERSISTENT, AND NONSTOP ASSAULT, WHICH IS GONNA AFFECT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO. SO, UM, AND I ALSO WANT TO BUILD ON THAT, THAT PART OF WHAT WE ALSO HAVE TO REMEMBER IS AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, 80% OF THE CITY IS JUST REGULAR CITY OPERATIONS THAT WE NEVER REALLY TALK ABOUT IN GOALS. THEY DON'T REALLY SHOW UP A LITTLE BIT IN OUR GOALS. BUT THE REALITY IS JUST LIKE TODAY, THE, THE, SO MUCH OF OUR CITY IS THAT PHENOMENAL DPW STAFF OUT THERE SHOVELING OUR ROADS. AND YES, WE'VE GOTTEN SOME EMAILS FROM PEOPLE SAYING THEIR STREET WASN'T PLOWED. BUT THE, THE REALITY IS SO MUCH OF OUR CITY OPERATIONS ARE NEVER SUBJECT TO WORK IN THE COUNCIL BECAUSE WE JUST TAKE IT AS A GIVEN THAT IT'S HAPPENING. UM, AND I KNOW WE APPRECIATE THE STAFF. WE PROBABLY DON'T, UH, ASSERT THAT ENOUGH. AND YET I ALSO THINK THAT SHOULD BE INCORPORATED INTO OUR UNDERSTANDING BOTH OF OUR ROLE AND ALSO THE CITY ROLE. AND SPECIFICALLY ON THE GOALS. I WILL SAY ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD LOVE US TO FOCUS A LITTLE BIT MORE ON AND BE A LITTLE MORE SMART ABOUT, 'CAUSE IT'S EASY TO SAY, AND THIS COUNCIL HASN'T DONE AS MUCH AS WE COULD OF, IS THAT EXISTENTIAL CRISIS. WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT NOT JUST HOUSING, BUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS. THAT WHATEVER ROLE WE HAVE IN IT, WE SEEM TO, IT SEEMS TO FALL THE BEHIND SO MANY OTHER THINGS WE DO. AND I, I JUST WANNA ASSERT THAT I HOPE THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE LET FALL BEHIND AGAIN THIS TERM SO THAT WE CAN REALLY MAKE PROGRESS. 'CAUSE WE'VE MADE VERY LITTLE PROGRESS ON MANY OF THOSE GOALS IN THOSE AREAS OTHER THAN OUR OWN CITY OPERATIONS, WHICH HAVE BEEN PHENOMENAL AND HOPEFULLY A ROLE MODEL FOR OTHERS. SO THAT'S JUST A BUNDLE OF THINGS I WANT TO SAY IN RESPONSE. OH, YES, , THANK YOU. UM, YEAH, THIS IS ALWAYS THE, YOU, THIS IS ALWAYS ONE OF THE DISCUSSIONS WE GET INTO WHEN WE DO THIS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS TO LOOK AT GOALS, RIGHT? YOU CAN HAVE THE MORE BROAD GOALS SO THAT A LOT OF THINGS CAN FIT UNDER THOSE GOALS, WHICH FEELS LIKE YOU HAVE NO DIRECTION, BUT THEN IF YOU GET TOO SPECIFIC, YOU'RE INEVITABLY GOING TO LEAVE CERTAIN THINGS OUT THAT ARE GONNA BE IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, TO SOMEBODY, RIGHT? UM, AND THEN WHAT, HOW DOES THE COUNCIL RESPOND TO THAT? WHERE IF WE SAY, YOU KNOW, THE AFTERSCHOOL EXAMPLE, IF, IF AFTER, IF WE SAY WE WANT REALLY SPECIFIC GOALS, WE WANT, YOU KNOW, [00:35:01] A LOT OF DIRECTION, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA WORK ON THIS TERM, AND AFTER SCHOOL'S NOT ON THERE, AND THEN I WANT TO BRING IN A, A POLICY ORDER, BUT AFTER SCHOOL, UM, WHAT'S THE RESPONSE? WELL, THAT'S NOT ONE OF OUR GOALS. WE'RE NOT GONNA DO IT. SO THAT MEANS WE'RE NOT GONNA WORK ON AFTER SCHOOL, RIGHT? SO IT, IT, I I THINK GETTING TOO SPECIFIC CAN BE A CHALLENGE ALSO. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF GOALS IS NECESS EVEN NECESSARILY THE RIGHT TERM TO USE. MAYBE THAT'S A SETUP IN AND OF ITSELF, YOU KNOW, AS OPPOSED TO GUIDING PRINCIPLES OR I WAS GONNA SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT A MISSION STATEMENT OF THE COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, SO, UH, SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. UM, IN TERMS OF, JUST REAL QUICKLY ON THE FINANCE BUDGET PIECE AND HOW IT RELATES TO GOALS, I MEAN, THAT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE HAVE TALKED, SOME OF US HAVE TALKED ABOUT, AND I WOULD THINK THERE'D BE A LOT OF AGREEMENT. UM, WE LOOK AT UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL, RIGHT? WE, WE, WE TALKED ABOUT IS THERE A WAY TO LOWER THE AGE TO ALLOW MORE, OR ALLOW CHILDREN TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT EARLIER, IF WE HAD HAD THAT DISCUSSION TWO YEARS AGO WHEN FINANCES WERE DIFFERENT, WE MIGHT HAVE SAID, THAT'S THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. IT'S A GREAT USE OF OUR MONEY. I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT HAPPENS MOVING FORWARD UNDER THESE CURRENT BUDGET, UM, CONDITIONS. AND SO THERE IS OBVIOUSLY THAT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, OUR LAUNDRY LIST OF THINGS WE WOULD LOVE TO ACCOMPLISH BECAUSE THERE'S LOTS OF GREAT THINGS WE WANT TO DO WITH THE REALITY OF WE'RE NOT IN THE SAME FINANCIAL SITUATION AS WE WERE TWO YEARS AGO. UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT WAS I GONNA SAY? UH, ONE WAY TO SORT OF, TO THINK ABOUT IT IS IF WE DO TRY TO FIND SOME SORT OF MIDDLE GROUND WHERE MAYBE IF YOU THINK OF ZONING, YOU KNOW, IF WE, IF IF ALL WE DO IN TERMS OF ZONING THIS NEXT, THIS CURRENT TERM IS GET MASS AVE DONE AND MAYBE ONE OTHER THING DONE THAT'S PRETTY CENTRAL, SORRY. UM, WELL, IT'S STILL MASS. IT'S MY, IT'S MY END OF MASS HALF. SORRY. UM, YOU KNOW, IF, UH, THAT'S PRETTY SIGNIFICANT, RIGHT? AND, AND, YOU KNOW, NOT TO FIND OURSELVES IN A SITUATION LIKE WE WERE LAST NIGHT WHERE LAST NIGHT WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE UP AGAINST THE EXPIRATION, PEOPLE ARE SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT THIS. THERE ALMOST NEEDS TO BE A COUPLE ROUNDS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE, SOME PEOPLE ARE REALLY IN TUNE AND THEY'RE FOLLOWING, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE THERE AT THE BEGINNING AND THEY'RE INTO IT. SOME PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT LATER AND SOME PEOPLE DON'T HEAR ABOUT IT UNTIL YOU'RE READY TO TAKE A VOTE. UM, SO IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO, TO GET SOMETHING LIKE THAT DONE. AND I THINK SOMETIMES WE FIND OURSELVES, YOU KNOW, RUSHING, YOU KNOW, A, A A AGAINST THE DEADLINE. SO EVEN IF WE SAID, YOU KNOW, ONE THING, ONE OR TWO THINGS IN THAT AREA IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON, UM, THAT, THAT WOULD BE A PRETTY GOOD ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR, FOR US THIS TERM. YOU KNOW? SO I DON'T WANT TO BE TOO, IIII, I, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND, AND, UM, AND I DO AGREE WITH COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER, THAT THEY'RE SO BROAD THAT ANYTHING CAN FALL UNDER THESE GOALS, RIGHT? THEY, THEY'RE REALLY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT A ROADMAP. THEY, THEY'RE NOT SAYING, OKAY, THE, THIS IS THE LIST OF THE THINGS WE'RE GONNA TRY TO TALK ABOUT. THEY'RE JUST, THEY'RE BROAD. UM, AND THERE'S SOME ADVANTAGES TO THAT. SO I DON'T, I, YOU KNOW, I WISH I HAD A GREAT ANSWER. I COULD PROBABLY MAKE AN ARGUMENT EITHER WAY. UM, BUT, UM, WE DO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IF, IF WE'RE GONNA GO WITH SPECIFIC GOALS, WE ALSO HAVE TO DEAL WITH WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING THAT'S OUTSIDE OF THOSE GOALS. AND ARE WE JUST GONNA TELL THOSE CONSTITUENTS, SORRY, WE DECIDED NOT TO DO THAT. YOU ARE GONNA HAVE TO WAIT TWO YEARS AND WE'LL BRING IT UP AGAIN. UM, AND IF WE'RE GONNA DO THAT, WE ALL BETTER BE COMMITTED TO DOING THAT. BECAUSE ALL IT TAKES IS ONE OF US TO SAY, WELL, NO, I'LL BE THE ONE, YOU KNOW, THAT THE WHOLE DAM BREAKS. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE WON'T GET INTO MORE, MORE OF THAT TODAY, BUT JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. SO I'M HEARING A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE IS THE WORD GOALS IS A ROADBLOCK CHALLENGING AND IN OUR WAY. AND SO THERE'S SOME DIFFERENT SUGGESTIONS, MISSION STATEMENT OR GUIDING PRINCIPLES. BUT THAT TO TAKE OUR MINDSET AWAY FROM THESE ARE SPECIFIC GOALS, UM, TO A BROADER UNDERSTANDING OF THEM AS A COMPASS OR A GUIDING SET OF PRINCIPLES, UM, THAT DOES NOT SHUT DOWN TO USE COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN'S EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT COMES ALONG MIDTERM, UM, THAT YOU WANNA RAISE. SO IS THERE ANYONE AROUND THE TABLE WHO, YES, GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. JUST AN OUT AN OUTSIDER'S VIEW AS A NEW MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL. [00:40:01] UM, TO EVERYONE'S POINT ABOUT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT. AND I THINK MAYBE USING THE WORD GOALS, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO WORDSMITH ANYTHING, UM, ALMOST SETS THE COUNCIL UP FOR FAILURE BECAUSE GOALS, UH, INDICATES THAT THIS IS NOT ONLY SOMETHING ACHIEVABLE, BUT SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN, UM, SET TO BE ACHIEVED. MAYBE, UH, SYLLABUS IS A BETTER EXAMPLE. UM, FOR THIS SEMESTER, WHAT ARE WE GONNA WORK ON? WHAT ARE WE GONNA COVER? WHAT ARE WE GONNA TRY AND ACCOMPLISH? AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE LIVE IN A CITY OF 115,000, 120,000 PEOPLE, 70,000 REGISTERED VOTERS, AND ONLY 23,000 VOTE IN THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES WERE KNOCKING ON DOORS DURING THIS LAST, LAST ELECTION CYCLE, BUT MINE WAS THAT MANY OF THOSE RESIDENTS WHO WERE IDENTIFIED AS GOOD MUNICIPAL VOTERS WEREN'T FULLY INFORMED OR NOT INFORMED AT ALL ABOUT, UM, THE ZONING THAT WAS, THAT WAS, HAD BEEN PASSED AND DID THEN EXIST. SO I THINK, I THINK PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IS A MAJOR, UH, ISSUE THAT WE SHOULD BE ADDRESSING IN THIS TERM. AND, UM, AS FAR AS GOALS GO, I MEAN, I, I, I AGREE WITH COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER, THAT IT'S, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT, UH, IN A CITY, AS DIVERSE AS IT IS TO SET GOALS WITH EXPECTATIONS THAT THIS IS WHAT'S GOING TO BE ACCOMPLISHED DURING THIS, UH, TERM. UM, THAT'S JUST AN OUTSIDER'S VIEW. AN INSIDER OUTSIDER WHO'S, UH, I GUESS, WHAT DO THEY CALL IT? THE IVORY TOWER. SO I, I GUESS I'M ENTERING THE IVORY TOWER, BUT I'M TAKING A LOOK FROM THE OUTSIDE IN. AND COUNCILOR SIMMONS, JUST SPEAKING TO THE MIC 'CAUSE OF THE AUDIO NEXT TIME. THANKS COUNCILOR ZUBIE, DO YOU, I KNOW THAT YOU'RE IN TRANSIT, UM, DUE TO SOME UNFORESEEN, UH, CHALLENGES. DO YOU WANNA SPEAK IF YOU CAN? YEAH. CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YES. YEAH, JUST A FEW QUICK THOUGHTS IS ALSO SOMEONE WHO IS NEW TO THE TERM. I THINK I'M HOLDING A FEW QUESTIONS. ONE IS ON JUST UNDERSTANDING WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS BEING SET WHEN WE DO THESE GOALS WITH CITY STAFF AND ADMINISTRATION. IF COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER IS BRINGING UP A MOMENT WHERE THAT WAS KIND OF USED TO STIFLE CONVERSATION AROUND UNIVERSAL CHILDCARE, I THINK ANOTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS AROUND, WELL, IF THE GOALS NEED TO BE AMBIGUOUS, CAN WE AT LEAST DISCUSS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES? I THINK THERE AT LEAST CAN BE A WAY TO GET SHARED AGREEMENTS ON WHAT WE CARE ABOUT AS INDIVIDUAL BEINGS DOING THIS WORK. BECAUSE I DO AGREE, UM, AGAIN, WITH WHAT COUNCILOR SABRINA WILLARD SAID THAT THIS COULD LEAVE A RESIDENTS FEELING CONFUSED ON REALLY WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONVERSATION WAS AND NOT TO BRING UP THE BUDGET. AGAIN, DOES THE BUDGET TEAM USE THE GOALS TO BUILD THE NARRATIVE OR ACTUALLY DISCUSS SPECIFIC OUTCOMES AND HOW WE CAN SET PRIORITIES FOR THE TERM. BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT FEELS LIKE THE FORMER, AND I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE INTENTIONAL IF AT LEAST COMING OUT OF THIS, THAT WE CAN INCORPORATE IT INTO, UM, A LOT MORE THOUGHTFUL WORK ON THE FINANCE SIDE OF, OF THIS. OKAY. ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO BE HEARD BEFORE WE SUMMARIZE AND TRY TO YEAH. PUT A POINT ON THIS SENTENCE. THANKS. I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON SOMETHING, UH, COUNCILLOR ZE HAD SAID, 'CAUSE I THOUGHT ABOUT BRINGING IT UP MYSELF, AND THAT WAS, UH, SORT OF THINKING ABOUT WHY, WHY WE DO GOALS, WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS PROCESS? AND, YOU KNOW, BOSTON AND, AND SOMERVILLE DON'T DO THAT. UH, THEY DON'T HAVE A CITY MANAGER SYSTEM LIKE WE DO, WHICH IS A A POINT I WAS THINKING OF BRINGING UP, BUT I I DIDN'T WANNA MAKE IT SEEM LIKE A POLITICAL POINT AND I WAS TRYING TO HAVE A POLITICAL AGENDA WITH THIS, BUT I DO THINK IT'S RIGHT. I THINK THAT IS THE, THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ON THIS. BOSTON AND SOMERVILLE HAVE AN ELECTED MAYOR. UH, IT IS, IS CLEAR WHEN THAT PERSON'S ELECTED, WHAT THEIR GOALS ARE. THEY, THEY, THEY CONTROL THE CITY STAFF, THEY PROJECT THE BUDGET, IT'S CLEAR WHAT THEIR GOALS ARE. WE DON'T HAVE AN ELECTED MAYOR. AND SO WE HAVE TO PROVIDE SOME DIRECTION TO THE STAFF. AND THAT'S SORT OF THE, THE HISTORY OF, OF THIS EXERCISE, A HISTORY OF WHY WE'RE DOING GOALS. UM, I JUST, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT THAT MEANS IT'S, IT'S WORTHWHILE JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE A DIFFERENT SYSTEM. I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, OUR CITY COUNCIL IN TERMS OF OUR POWERS, OUR STRUCTURE IS ACTUALLY REALLY SIMILAR TO THIS CITY COUNCIL IN SOMERVILLE AND IN BOSTON. UH, SAME POWER, SAME STRUCTURE. [00:45:01] THEY DON'T DO THIS EXERCISE. THEY COULD, THEY COULD, IT COULD FIT TO DO IT. BUT I THINK THE THING IT'S WORTH THINKING ABOUT WHY THEY DON'T, AND I THINK IT'S, IT IS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A REALLY DIVERSE RANGE OF VIEWS, RIGHT? FROM BOSTON AND THEY HAVE RUTH LI, RUTH LEE LAJEUNE, ALL THE WAY TO AARON MURPHY. IT HAS A, A BIG CONFLICTING, UH, ARRAY OF VIEWS. AND TO TRY TO HAVE, UH, COUNCIL GOALS IS SORT OF, YOU KNOW, PUTTING A, A ROUND PEG INTO A SQUARE HOLE. YOU CAN DO IT, BUT IT REQUIRES SANDING DOWN A LOT OF THE IMPORTANT STUFF. REALLY. YOU'RE LIKE GETTING IT IN THERE AND TAKING OUT SOME OF THE IMPORTANT IN DIFFERENCES. I HAVE SOME FOLKS MENTIONED THE ZONING PETITIONS AND THE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE DIFFERENT PETITIONS AND WE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE THEM, RIGHT? THERE ARE HOUSING PETITIONS, THERE ARE OUR FLOOD, UH, FLOOD ZONE PETITIONS. THE CHALLENGES THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT THE GOALS FROM LAST TERM, ONE OF THEM WAS HOUSING, ONE OF THEM WAS SUSTAINABILITY. DOES THAT HELP US PICK FLOODPLAIN VERSUS, YOU KNOW, CORRIDORS? I DON'T THINK SO. RIGHT? LIKE WHAT, WHAT DIRECTION DOES THAT PROVIDE STAFF THAT WE STILL HAVE TO, TO DO THE EXERCISE TO COUNCIL? IT DOESN'T ACTUALLY SAVE US ANY TIME. UM, I, I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF CHANGING THE NAME. I THINK THAT COULD BE HELPFUL IF, IF WE'RE GONNA DO THIS. UM, I THINK THAT IS A, IS A GREAT SORT OF, UH, COMPROMISE. LET'S FIGURE OUT A DIFFERENT NAME RATHER THAN THE GOALS, WHICH I THINK IS CONFUSING. UH, GUIDING PRINCIPLES IS INTERESTING. I THINK, YOU KNOW, GUIDING PRINCIPLES IS MAYBE A, A SORT OF DIFFERENT THING. IT'S EQUITY, IT'S JUSTICE, IT'S, IT'S NOT POLICY AREAS. WE, WE COULD DO THAT. COUNCILOR ZUBIE SUGGESTED SORT OF DOING THAT. I'M, I'M DOWN TO DO THAT. I JUST THINK IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT EXERCISE, BUT VERY MUCH OPEN TO IT. UM, I WOULD SUGGEST MAYBE LIKE SELECTED COUNCIL AREAS OF INTEREST AS THE TOPIC FOR THIS. THEY ARE OUR TOPIC AREAS WE'RE INTERESTED IN. THEY'RE NOT GOALS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO, THERE'S NOT A SPECIFIC THING IN ANY OF THEM, BUT THESE ARE OUR TOPICS WE CARE ABOUT. WE COULD COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT THAT WOULD BE, UH, ONE SUGGESTION I ADD. THANKS. I JUST WANNA PICK UP ON A COUPLE THINGS THAT'S BEEN MENTIONED PRETTY MUCH THROUGH EVERY CONVERSATION WE HAVE IN THE CHAMBER AND POLICY DECISIONS. SOMEONE MENTIONS WHAT'S THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHO KNEW ABOUT THIS, WHO DIDN'T. AND AS CONOR ZIM SAID, I HAVE BEEN MANY TIMES ASKING HOW IS IT THAT OUR COMMUNICATION IS NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS IT COULD BE? AND I THINK THAT GETS TO HOPEFULLY SOMETHING WE'LL ADDRESS, WHICH IS, I THINK THERE IS A DISCONNECT BETWEEN CITY STAFF. THERE'S LIKE SEVEN PEOPLE IN COMMUNICATION AND THEN THERE'S A CITY COUNCIL. AND SOMETIMES I'VE ASKED IT, CAN YOU PUT THIS IN THE, IN THE DAILY WHATEVER? IT'S LIKE, NO, THAT'S A COUNCIL THING. IT'S NOT A CITY THING. IT'S LIKE WE ARE ONE CITY. WE ARE ALL LEADERS. AND AND I UNDERSTAND THOUGH THAT THERE CAN BE SOME TENSION AROUND THAT. I DO THINK WE NEED TO ADDRESS IT BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVE THREE MAILINGS, EVERY SINGLE PERSON GETS FOR PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING, WHICH IS A MILLION DOLLARS IN OUR BUDGET, AND NOT A SINGLE PERSON IN THE CITY GOT A POSTCARD WHEN WE FIRST PASSED THE CYCLING SAFETY ORDINANCE TO SAY, HEY, WE'VE PASSED THIS. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE MAYBE BEFORE WE PASSED IT. BUT EVEN ONCE IT WAS PASSED FIVE YEARS AGO, HERE'S ALL THE ROADS IN THE CITY THAT ARE EVENTUALLY GOING TO HAVE WITHIN FIVE YEARS, UH, BIKE LANES. YES, A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD'VE THROWN IT OUT. THEY WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN IT, BUT AT LEAST WE COULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SAY, WE SENT THIS TO YOU. SAME THING AS COUNCILOR FLAHERTY MENTIONED WITH THE ZONING. WE KIND OF SENT SOMETHING OUT, BUT IT WASN'T AS EXPLICIT AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN. SO I THINK THAT IS THE SOURCE OF SOME OF THE, THE ALSO DISCONNECT WE HAVE WITH RESIDENTS FEELING LIKE EITHER THE COUNCIL'S NOT LISTENING OR WE DON'T EVEN KNOW. AND AGAIN, WE'LL NEVER GET TO WHERE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS. AND WE HAVE TREMENDOUS SATISFACTION BASED ON OUR YEARLY SURVEY OF PEOPLE BEING REALLY HAPPY WITH THE CITY. AND YET WE ALSO KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ACROSS THE CITY, FRANKLY FROM A RANGE OF BACKGROUNDS, EDUCATION LEVELS, RACE, LENGTH OF TIME IN THE CITY WHO FEEL LIKE WE, THE COUNCIL BECAUSE WE GET BLAMED FOR IT. THE CITY STAFF DOESN'T, FOR NOT COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY. SO MAYBE THE CI WELL MAYBE THE CITY STAFF GETS BLAMED TOO, BUT DEFINITELY THE COUNCIL HEARS IT ALL THE TIME. SO I WANNA PUT THAT OUT THERE THAT I'M NOT EVEN SURE THAT COULD BE A GOAL, ALTHOUGH IT'S EMBEDDED IN ONE OF OUR GOALS ABOUT HOW WE WILL, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATE AND MAKE EVERYBODY FEEL WELCOME AND COMMUNICATE. BUT I, I DO THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE KEEP TALKING AROUND AND HAVEN'T YET MANAGED TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT IS THAT WE'RE GONNA ENSURE THAT THAT COMMUNICATION IS EFFECTIVE AND HAPPENS. 'CAUSE I THINK IT'LL MAKE ALL OF OUR JOBS EASIER IF PEOPLE DO FEEL LIKE WE'VE AT LEAST INFORMED THEM AND THEN THEY CAN HAVE A WAY TO, 'CAUSE RIGHT NOW, AND, AND I KNOW ON, ON CLIMATE, LIKE IF THE ADVOCACY GROUPS HEAR ABOUT SOMETHING WE'RE PUTTING IN, THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES WHO SHOW UP THAT DOESN'T, UM, AND THAT'S TRUE ON A RANGE OF ISSUES. SO I I I HOPE THAT WE CAN GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE ARE WORKING ON THAT MUCH, UH, MORE INTENTIONALLY. SO I'M GONNA JUMP IN HERE. YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT I'M HEARING IS A FEW MIX OF THINGS, BUT THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT WILL NOT GET TO THE TODAY, BUT I THINK IT SEEMS THAT THERE IS SOME VALUE TO MY COLLEAGUES IN CHANGING KIND OF THE WORD, UM, FROM GOALS TO SOMETHING ELSE, WHICH I'M, I, I DON'T DISAGREE WITH THAT. I, AS I THINK THROUGH HOW WE ACTUALLY GET WORK DONE, UM, AND WE'LL HAVE MORE OF A SECTION ON THIS LATER, BUT I THINK [00:50:02] I CAN PROBABLY FORECAST KIND OF BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WITH ALL OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY, THE THINGS THAT YOU ALL ARE INTERESTED IN AND THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH. YES, THERE'S OVERLAP AND SOMETIMES THERE'S NOT BECAUSE SOME OF ALL, EACH OF YOU IS YOUR OWN PERSON AND HAS THESE NICHE THINGS YOU WANNA WORK ON, WHICH I THINK IS FINE, BUT WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT COLLECTIVELY WE CAN WORK ON TO COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER'S POINT, WE'RE NOT GONNA AGREE ON EVERYTHING LIKE WE DID LAST TIME, AND THAT'S OKAY. I THINK WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT, THAT THAT IS OKAY, BUT HOW DO WE ACTUALLY MOVE KIND OF BIG POLICY FORWARD IS THE CONUNDRUM. AND SO I DO THINK COMMITTEES IS WHERE I THINK WORKING THROUGH THE, WITH THE CHAIRS, UH, THINKING ABOUT DIFFERENT PRIORITIES WITHIN THOSE IS HOW WE WILL ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH SOME OF THE WORK. UH, AND THEN THERE'S OTHER WORK THAT'S BROADER THAT I THINK THE MANAGER PROBABLY WOULD LIKE US TO CHOOSE LIKE WE DID LAST TIME. UH, BUT I DO THINK AS A NEXT STEP, WHAT DO WE CALL THESE IF WE'RE NOT CALLING THEM GOALS? AND THEN, AND THERE'S SOME IDEAS THAT HAVE BEEN THROWN OUT. AND THEN ARE WE OKAY WITH THAT? GABRIELA HAD LAID OUT, I THINK FIVE THINGS HERE ABOUT ASKING US WHAT'S BEEN ACHIEVED AND WHAT SHOULD COME OFF THE LIST AND WHAT SHOULD BE MODIFIED. I THINK WE CAN, I'M HAPPY TO HAVE NAOMI PULL UP THOSE GOALS. WE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE, WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT. UM, BUT I THINK THE BIG OVERARCHING THEME I'M HEARING IS LET'S JUST CHANGE, LET'S JUST CHANGE THE TITLE, UM, AND NOT CALL THEM GOALS. SO LET'S DO THAT. YEAH, I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND I ALSO AM NOT SURE BASED ON THE CONVERSATIONS THAT I HAD WITH PEOPLE, UM, IN ADVANCE, THAT THERE ARE BIG THINGS THAT PEOPLE WOULD ADD, EDIT, OR CHANGE TO THE LIST, UM, WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN OF AROUND THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PIECE, WHICH I THINK MAYBE FEELS UNDERREPRESENTED AS GIVEN BY YOUR EXAMPLE. UM, IS THAT FAIR? I I, NOT NECESSARILY, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S UNDER, I WAS USING THAT JUST AS AN EXAMPLE OF, YOU KNOW, IF, AGAIN, IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE SPECIFIC GOALS. GOT IT. YOU'RE GONNA LEAVE SOME THINGS OFF AND THEN WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU WANT TO WORK, RAISE THEM IF YOU STILL WANTED TO DO THOSE THINGS. RIGHT. AND ARE WE GONNA BE TIED IN SPECIFIC TO ONLY WORKING ON THE THINGS THAT ARE ON THAT LIST? YEP. YEP. OKAY. SO WE, YO OH, I'M SORRY. CD MANAGER. UM, NO, I THANK YOU. UM, I ACTUALLY REALLY APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION. YOU KNOW, I THINK WE ARE, UH, WE'RE LIKE REALLY NOT WITHSTANDING THE PLANT-BASED TREATY, WE ARE CHEWING ON THE MEAT OF THE CONVERSATION . UM, THAT, THAT I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY WORKING THROUGH. UM, AND, AND MAYBE MY THOUGHT WOULD BE, AND I AGREE WITH THE MAYOR, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT IS A REAL CHALLENGE TO SET THESE HIGH LEVEL GOALS THAT NINE CITY COUNCILORS CAN ALL AGREE WITH, AGREE WITH. AND I THINK COUNCILLOR, SABRINA WHEELER, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT TO GET THERE, WE SAND OFF ALL THE EDGES THAT MATTER. UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO HAVE ALL OF US AGREE AND, YOU KNOW, OUR TIME COLLECTIVELY IS QUITE VALUABLE. SO MAYBE THIS KIND OF AN EXERCISE IS NOT THAT USEFUL. I THINK WE HAVE LARGELY SEEN IT AS SOMETHING TO SIGNAL, YOU KNOW, THAT WE BELIEVE IN THESE THINGS, BUT EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT WE BELIEVE IN THEM. SO, UM, SO I THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE COUNCIL TO THINK ABOUT IS IT IMPORTANT ENOUGH THAT WE END UP WITH SOMETHING AT THAT HIGH LEVEL OR IS IT OKAY THAT WE JUST TRUST THAT EVERYBODY ACTUALLY DOES KNOW WHAT THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE STANDS FOR. UM, I THINK IF I WERE TO DIG A LITTLE BIT DEEPER, I WOULD SAY, UM, AND I'M TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT WORDS, BUT I THINK COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER, PART OF WHAT YOU WERE PUSHING FOR IS HOW CAN WE BE MORE CLEAR WHAT OUR AGENDA IS? WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY WORKING ON? AND, AND I THINK YOU'RE A LITTLE BIT RIGHT? I MEAN, I, I LOOKED AT LIKE THE MEDFORD CITY COUNCIL GOVERNING AGENDA. I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH OF THAT GOVERNING AGENDA ACTUALLY GOT ACCOMPLISHED. UH, AND YOU KNOW, YEAH, YEAH. AND IT ENDED UP ENDED UP BEING LIKE QUITE A LARGE DOCUMENT OF EVERYTHING. AND I THINK, I THINK THAT'S ALSO THE DANGER, THE DANGER OF TRYING TO END UP WITH AN AGENDA IS IF WE PUT EVERYTHING ON IT. AND, AND, AND IT AGAIN ENDS UP BEING BOTH SPECIFIC, BUT UNP PRIORITIZED AND I THINK, UH, COUNCILLOR NOLAN, YOU WERE EXACTLY RIGHT. LIKE THIS IS KIND OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE THAT WE FACE, WHICH IS THERE IS IN GENERAL MORE WORK THAT NINE CITY COUNSELORS, MORE IDEAS THAT NINE CITY COUNSELORS CAN GENERATE, THEN, THEN WE EITHER HAVE STAFF [00:55:01] TIME TO EXECUTE ON, OR OVERALL BUDGET TO DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS. UM, I'M PRETTY OPEN TO THAT CONVERSATION IF WE WANT TO BE MORE CONCRETE ABOUT AN AGENDA, EVEN RECOGNIZING, AND I THINK COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN, YOUR POINT IS CORRECT. I DON'T THINK WE INTEND FOR US TO, TO EXCLUDE THINGS THAT MAY COME UP. UM, AND I THINK THERE'S GONNA HAVE TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF GIVE AND TAKE OF A LITTLE BIT OF FLEXIBILITY ON THE FRONT. IF THE ORIGINAL GOVERNING AGENDA OR, OR, OR, OR SORT OF SET OF THINGS WE WANNA WORK ON IS SO OPEN THAT ANYTHING CAN BE ADDED ANY TIME, THEN IT'S NOT ACTUALLY USEFUL. BUT OBVIOUSLY THINGS ARE GONNA CHANGE OVER THE COURSE OF SIX MONTHS, ONE YEAR, TWO YEARS, WE MAY SHIFT OUR PRIORITIES AT SOME LEVEL AND THAT'S ALSO OKAY. SO I THINK I'M OKAY ACTUALLY HOLDING ONTO A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH. BUT THE HARD PART, AND I THINK THIS IS WHERE I, I WOULD MAYBE DRILL IN AND, AND WE CAN BE THINKING ABOUT TOGETHER, THE HARDEST PART ABOUT AN AGENDA IS THAT TRADE OFF. ARE WE ACTUALLY ABLE TO SAY EVEN THESE ARE THE AREAS WE'RE GONNA WORK ON, IF NOT EVERYBODY AGREES AND ARE WE GOING TO BE, IS THE COUNCIL, ARE YOU EACH COMFORTABLE WITH, FOR INSTANCE, SOMETHING NOT MAKING IT ON? AND, AND THAT'S THE HARDER PART. YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK AS WE, AS WE COMMUNICATE MORE CLEARLY THOSE TRADE OFFS, THAT'S WHERE I JUST WANNA RECOGNIZE WE ACTUALLY HAVE, AND DESPITE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES OF SAYING, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING IN THIS CHAMBER AND NOT EVERYBODY WANTS TO WATCH A FIVE HOUR MEETING ON MONDAY NIGHT. WE HAVE ONE OF THE MOST ENGAGED COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTS WHO ARE CONTACTING CITY COUNSELORS. WE'RE SORT OF, AND, AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS NEXT MONDAY, UH, IN THE, IN THE 2025 RESIDENT SURVEY. BUT WE ARE CONSISTENTLY IN THE TOP THREE OR FOUR COMMUNITIES OUT OF LIKE 300 COMMUNITIES IN TERMS OF THE PERCENT OF RESIDENTS IN A RANDOM SAMPLE WHO HAVE CONTACTED A CITY COUNSELOR. SO I JUST WANT TO CALL IT OUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT ACTUALLY IS HELPFUL FOR US TO BE MORE CLEAR TO SAY, THIS IS THE AGENDA OF BIG THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE. UM, BUT THEN ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SAY THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT AREN'T MAKING IT ON THAT LIST. UM, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN. UM, THANKS. UM, YEAH, ANOTHER THING WE HAVEN'T REALLY BROUGHT INTO THIS IS, IS THE CHALLENGE OF A TWO YEAR TERM. RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE ALL, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE KNOCKING ON DOORS, WE ALL GET THE QUESTION, WELL, WHAT, WHAT'S GONNA BE YOUR PRIORITY NEXT TERM? WELL, MY PRIOR, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, MY ANSWER IS MY PRIORITIES HAVEN'T REALLY CHANGED. WE HAVEN'T, IT'S BEEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOUSING. WE'RE NOT GONNA SOLVE THAT IN A TWO YEAR TERM. SO THE OTHER PIECE OF THIS IS THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT CAN WE REALISTICALLY DO IF WE'RE GONNA GET, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE GONNA GET VERY SPECIFIC, AND MAYBE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, THIS IS THE, THIS IS THE 20 26, 20 27 AGENDA, YOU KNOW, IS KIND OF, I MEAN THAT IS, THAT DOES SOUND SORT OF APPEALING, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, EVEN THE AFTERSCHOOL AS AN EXAMPLE, WE KNEW WE WEREN'T GONNA SOLVE THAT IN, IN ONE OR TWO YEARS BECAUSE WE HAD TO GROW THE PROGRAM, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT JUST, I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT CHALLENGE IN INTO THE ROOM. UM, THESE THINGS, A LOT OF THESE THINGS TAKE TIME, ESPECIALLY IF WE WANT TO DO ALL THE COMMUNITY PROCESS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND ALL THE, YOU KNOW, THE OUTREACH WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT, IT TAKES TIME. AND OFTENTIMES WE DON'T HAVE TIME AND WE FEEL PRESSURE TO GET THINGS DONE BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE GONNA BE HERE IN TWO YEARS. AND SO, UM, THAT'S JUST ANOTHER PIECE OF THIS PUZZLE THAT I THINK COMPLICATES THINGS FOR RAISING THAT, UM, COUNCILLOR ZI, DID YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? Y YES. I JUST, I, I LIKE THE IDEA OF COMING UP WITH AN AGENDA AND I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION AT THE MASS MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION MEETING, I ALSO ATTENDED A MEETING ABOUT STRATEGIC PLANNING, WHICH IS BECOMING, UM, MORE COMMON THING FOR CITIES AND TOWNS TO DO. SO I WONDER IF IT WOULD BE, ANYWAY, I, GABRIELA YOU ARE OUR LEADER, UH, SO WE COULD FOLLOW YOUR AGENDA, BUT I WOULD ALSO BE CURIOUS TO KNOW IF WE JUST SPIT OUT LIKE WHAT OUR PRIORITIES ARE, IF WE CAME UP A LIST OF WHAT WE THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR US TO ACCOMPLISH DURING THIS NEXT TWO YEARS, UM, OVER THE NEXT 10, 15 MINUTES. IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT WOULD EMERGE AND THEN TO HAVE THE DISCUSSION OF TRADE-OFFS BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, AND THEN THAT WOULD HELP TO INFORM THE BUDGET OR, YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE A LONGER CONVERSATION, BUT I FEEL AS THOUGH THAT CONVERSATION OF TRADE-OFFS IS ONE WE DON'T HAVE IN THE CHAMBER AND IT'S ONE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE. AND, UM, I AGREE WITH COUNCILOR NOLAN. I I THINK THAT COMMUNITY, UH, ENGAGEMENT AND PROCESS IS VERY IMPORTANT. UM, I KNOW WE WANNA DO THE CENTRAL SQUARE ZONING OR WE NEED TO AGREE THAT THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR US COMING, GOING FORWARD. I KNOW FOR ME, BROADER TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IS [01:00:01] A PRIORITY, BUT I, I JUST THINK MAYBE IT WOULD BE A PRODUCTIVE, UM, EXERCISE TO HAVE PEOPLE SHARE WHAT THEIR LIKE TOP THREE OR FIVE PRIORITIES WOULD BE. AND WE COULD SEE IF WE CAN COME TO SOME AGREEMENT AND THEN PRIORITIZE THE PRIOR PRIORITIES, COME TO CON SOME CONSENSUS ABOUT WHAT THOSE PRIORITIES ARE. WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK? GABRIELA, I DID WANNA GO TO COUNSELOR ZUBIE WHO HAD A QUESTION. OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY ASK LIKE, OH, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. YES. I JUST WANTED TO ALSO QUICKLY NOTE ON THE AGENDA PIECE IN THE SETTING THAT POTENTIALLY PART OF US PUTTING OUR PRIORITIES OUT AND TRYING TO TALK THROUGH THEM COULD STIFLE PART OF THE GOVERNING PROCESS THAT WE NATURALLY DO OVER THE TWO YEARS. SO I GUESS I'M CURIOUS ABOUT MAYBE THE IMPACTS OF NAVIGATING SOMETHING LIKE THAT MAYBE OVER THE COURSE OF THIS MEETING OR EVEN A FUTURE MEETING ON HOW WE YEAH. HOW WE NAVIGATE ISSUES MOVING FORWARD. UM, JUST TO CLARIFY, 'CAUSE I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTOOD. GO AHEAD. CITY MANAGER. GO AHEAD. CITY MANAGER, UM, AND COUNSELOR. LGB. DO YOU WANT, IS YOUR QUESTION LIKE HOW DO WE ACTUALLY SET THAT AGENDA THEN? YEAH, ESSENTIALLY HOW DO WE SET THE AGENDA? BECAUSE PART OF MY CURIOSITY WOULD BE NOT WANTING TO STIFLE THE GOVERNING PROCESS AND BEING ABLE TO EITHER PUBLICLY DELIBERATE WITH RESIDENTS OR GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT OR RESIDENTS TO JUST ENGAGE. SO WOULD JUST BE CURIOUS ABOUT THE PROCESS IF WE WERE TO ENTER THAT CONVERSATION, UM, THROUGH YOU. MAYOR, I THINK THAT THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S THE PERFECT QUESTION. I MEAN, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY IT IS THE BEAUTY AND THE MESSINESS OF THE WAY THAT WE HAVE STRUCTURED LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN CAMBRIDGE. AND SO, UM, IT IS DIFFERENT FROM WHEN YOU LOOK AT A BOSTON WHERE YOU REALLY JUST NEED THE MAYOR TO SAY, WHAT IS THE AGENDA? AND THEN THAT'S BASICALLY WHERE THE CITY IS GOING TO GO BECAUSE THE POWER IS SO CONCENTRATED. UM, IN CAMBRIDGE, THE BEAUTY IS WE HAVE NINE CITY COUNSELORS WHO ALL HAVE A REALLY RELEVANT VOICE IN THAT CONVERSATION IN SO COUNCILLOR ZUBIE, I THINK, I THINK THE ANSWER A LITTLE BIT OR THE STARTING POINT FOR WHAT IS THE AGENDA IS WHERE DOES THE COUNCIL AS A BODY WANT TO PRIORITIZE? AND, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE ARE HAVING PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS. I THINK THE POLICY ORDERS END UP BECOMING A REALLY IMPORTANT STARTING POINT. UM, THE CHALLENGE IS WHEN THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS THAT ARE GETTING NINE VOTES. AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S SORT OF WHERE THINGS GET A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT IN TERMS OF THE PRIORITIZATION PROCESS. UM, BUT I'D SAY THE FIRST STEP IS WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THE COUNCIL AS A BODY WANTS TO GO. UM, I THINK THE SECOND STEP, AND THIS IS WHERE THERE'S TENSION, AND I KNOW THIS IS SORT OF, THIS IS PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE ALWAYS HAVING. ONCE THE CITY COUNCIL SAYS, WE ALL AGREE THAT WE SHOULD DO THIS OR EXPLORE THIS OR PUT SOME TIME AND EFFORT, UM, THERE'S THEN THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN BETWEEN THE DESIRE OF THE CITY COUNCIL TO MOVE ON AN ISSUE AND THE CITY STAFF WHO NEED TO WORK WITH THE COUNCIL TO SCOPE THAT OUT AND ALSO TO IMPLEMENT IT AND TO WORK IT INTO THE BUDGET. AND, AND THAT'S ACTUALLY WHERE MY HOPE IS. WE GET BETTER AND BETTER AT THAT. YOU KNOW, I, I SORT OF REFLECT BACK TO WHEN I STARTED WHERE IT, IT REALLY FELT LIKE A BROKEN PROCESS. THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD PASS A LOT OF IDEAS, NINE ZERO, AND THEN CITY STAFF WOULD LOOK AT THEM AND NOT REALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO. AND I THINK A LOT OF WHAT WAS BROKEN WAS WE WEREN'T HAVING ENOUGH BACK AND FORTH ABOUT ACTUALLY WHAT THOSE IDEAS MEANT AND HOW WE MIGHT IMPLEMENT THEM. AND, AND I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THE CONVERSATION WE WERE EVEN HAVING LAST NIGHT ABOUT THE POLICY ORDER ON CITY HALL AND CONCERNS ABOUT SECURITY OR SAFETY IS A GREAT EXAMPLE WHERE, WHERE I ACTUALLY FEEL A LITTLE BIT LIKE I KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT THE COUNCIL IS ASKING FOR, BUT, BUT I THINK THAT ACTUALLY NEEDS TO BE BETTER SCOPED. AND, YOU KNOW, THE CHALLENGES OF SECURITY CAN BE DEFINED IN MANY WAYS. AND THE SOLUTIONS ARE THEN VERY, VERY DIFFERENT. AND, AND WHERE I THINK WE END UP IN, IN MORE CHALLENGING CONVERSATIONS ARE ONE, WHEN THE SCOPE ISN'T CLEAR AND THE CITY THEN DISAPPEARS, DOESN'T REALLY TALK TO THE COUNCIL, COMES BACK WITH AN ANSWER AFTER DOING A LOT OF WORK, THAT ACTUALLY KIND OF MISSES THE MARK. [01:05:01] UM, THAT'S VERY FRUSTRATING. OR I WOULD SAY THE SECOND SCENARIO THAT CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT IS WHEN THE COUNCIL AS A BODY JUST DISAGREES WITH THE CITY. AND SO IF IT, IF THERE'S SORT OF AN ISSUE WHERE THE CITY COUNCIL SAYS, WE WANNA DO THIS AND WE THINK IT'S PERFECTLY FEASIBLE AND WE SHOULD DO IT, AND YOU HAVE CITY STAFF SAYING, WELL, WE THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE A LOT MORE WORK, IT'S GONNA TAKE MORE TIME AND MORE MONEY. THAT'S ALSO WHERE WE, UM, WHERE WE HAVE CHALLENGES. UM, AND SO I THINK AS WE START TO, YOU KNOW, TEASE OUT THAT INTERACTION, I THINK THAT'S ACTUALLY, UM, THAT'S ACTUALLY HOW WE BOTH SET AN AGENDA TO SAY, WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY WORK ON THIS AND HOW WE WORK IT INTO SOMETHING THAT CAN ACTUALLY BE ACTED ON, GET IT INTO THE BUDGET AND THEN IMPLEMENT IT. I HOPE THAT'S, DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION A LITTLE? COUNCILOR ZUBY? YES. COUNCILOR ZI. UH, THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR. UM, SO I KNOW THAT WE ONLY HAVE AN HOUR AND A HALF FOR THIS GOAL SECTION BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AND WE'RE AN HOUR THROUGH. MY THOUGHT BASED ON THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE HAD SO FAR IS THAT, UH, AND OF COURSE THIS IS JUST THROWING SOMETHING OUT THERE TANGIBLE, BUT I ACTUALLY WAS A BIG FAN OF WHAT COUNCILOR ZUI SAID. MY THOUGHT IS THAT MAYBE RATHER THAN HAVING A GOAL, 'CAUSE THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT OPINIONS, IT'S LIKE GOVERNING, NOT AGENDA, BUT AGENDAS. I THINK IT'S JUST HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT'S ON THE MINDS OF OTHER COUNSELORS AS PRIORITIES FOR THEM THIS TERM. AND I ACTUALLY THINK THAT THESE FIVE HEADINGS ARE REALLY HELPFUL AS KIND OF BUCKETS OF WORK AND JUST KNOWING WHAT IT IS. SO LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, ON HOUSING, I THINK THAT BOTH, THERE'S A NUMBER OF OUTSTANDING AMENDMENTS FROM THE FIRST FLOOR RETAIL TO, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, FROM LAST TERM ABOUT LIKE LARGE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND MULTIFAMILY HOUSING AMENDMENTS TO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, UM, COUNCILLOR SIMMONS HAS MENTIONED TO ME THE IMPORTANCE OF DOING CENTRAL SQUARE AND THEN LIKE WE HAVE THIS KIND OF OPEN CONVERSATION OR LIKE OPEN STUDY THAT'S GONNA COME BACK WITH INCLUSIONARY ZONING. AND I THINK THAT DOING WORK SUCH THAT WE'RE NOT PUT FORTH WITH TWO DIFFICULT OPTIONS OF JUST DOING NOTHING AND NOTHING PENCILING, BUT ALSO DOING SOMETHING THAT NEGATIVELY LOWERS IT. LIKE I THINK THAT THOSE SEEM LIKE THREE BUCKETS OF WORK IN HOUSING AND WE COULD GO DOWN THE LIST AND JUST KIND OF SEE WHAT'S ON PEOPLE'S MIND. LIKE I FEEL LIKE THAT'S A LOW STAKES, EASY WAY TO BEGIN AND JUST SEE WHAT ARE ALL OF IT. AND THEN MAYBE ORGANICALLY IT TURNS OUT ACTUALLY A HUGE MAJORITY OF US HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON THAT WE WANNA WORK ON AND, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT HELP FILTER SOME OF THE STUFF THAT WAY. YEAH, I, I AGREE. I THINK THAT'S A VERY USEFUL PLACE TO START AS OPPOSED TO KIND OF FREE FORMING FROM A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER AND STARTING OVER, LET'S TAKE WHAT WE'VE BUILT AND ASK WHAT'S MISSING OR WHAT IS, UM, NEEDS TO BE ADDED. YES, MAYOR, I WILL JUST ADD, I I THINK THAT'S TOTALLY REASONABLE AND I DO THINK I WANNA, IF, IF IT'S OKAY WITH EVERYONE LAND KIND OF THIS PIECE AROUND WHAT WE CALL THIS, UM, I THINK IS, IS IT, YOU KNOW, UM, GUIDING AREAS IF PEOPLE HAVE IDEAS, LIKE LET'S DO THAT. ARE THERE MORE THAT PEOPLE WOULD WANNA PUT ON THE LIST THAT'S UP HERE ALREADY SELECTED TOPICS GUIDING PRINCIPLES GOVERNING AGENDA? SOME YES, PATTY, I, I AGREE WE SHOULD LEARN THIS, BUT I AS IF WE HAVE OVERARCHING THEN IT'S NOT GONNA BE AN AGENDA. I THINK WHAT YOU CAN DO IS HAVE GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND THEN UNDER EACH OF THEM WE WILL HAVE AN AGENDA. AND, AND I, I AGREE WITH COUNCILLOR SUZI'S SUGGESTION THAT, UM, VICE MAYOR ISIM ENDORSED, WHICH IS LET'S JUST MAYBE GET OUT LIKE OUR TOP THREE AND SEE IT SEE OR THREE TO FIVE OR, OR ONE UNDER EACH ONE. I'M READY TO DO THAT. AND GABRIELA, JUST TO ADD, I THINK WHERE I AM TORN ON THIS IS WE HAVE THIS, BUT THEN WE DO HAVE ALL OF THESE COMMITTEES, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE ORDINANCE, FINANCE, GOVERNMENT OPS, HOUSING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UNIVERSITY RELATIONS, HUMAN SERVICES, VETERANS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT NEIGHBOR AND LONG LONGTERM PLANNING, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC UTILITIES, CIVIC UNITY, PUBLIC SAFETY, A LOT OF KIND OF THE PRIORITIES CAN'T DO FIT UNDER EACH OF THESE COMMITTEES. AND SO I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO LIKE HOW, AND LIKE HOW DO WE TALK ABOUT IT, I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL AS COUNSELOR AS VICE MAYOR AZI SAID, CENTRAL SQUARE REZONING CAN GO INTO HOUSING, CAN GO INTO NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING, THERE CAN BE JOINT MEETINGS, BUT THAT'S MORE NITTY GRITTY. I DON'T THINK WE CAN DO THAT TODAY, BUT I'M FINE WITH US KIND OF TALKING ABOUT GOING AROUND. I MEAN, I'VE ALREADY KIND OF DONE THIS, RIGHT? LIKE TO, AND I'VE TALKED TO A FEW OF YOU ABOUT IT. LIKE HERE'S WHAT I THINK BELONGS IN EACH COMMITTEE. UM, IT'S NOT THE FULL LIST BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S, THERE'S GONNA STILL BE WORK HAPPENING THAT'S [01:10:01] KIND OF COUNCIL ADJACENT, WHICH IS THE HARD THING. THERE'S ALSO THE FACT THAT THERE'S TA, YOU KNOW, EACH MAYOR ERROR OFTEN HAS THEIR TASK FORCE. THEY'RE KIND OF WHERE YOU DIG DEEPER AND THERE'S AL ALREADY BEEN SOME INTEREST IN DOING SOME TASK FORCE AND DOING THESE THINGS. SO I WANNA ALSO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT, OKAY, THOSE ARE SOME ISSUES THAT THE COUNCIL'S ALSO INTERESTED IN. IS EVERYONE INTERESTED IN IT? I'M NOT SURE, BUT LET'S TEASE IT OUT. UH, AND SO THAT WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO I KNOW THAT'S A LOT, BUT I DO THINK WE SHOULD HAVE THAT IN AN ORGANIZED FASHION. AGREED. UM, SO ARE YOU SUGGESTING THEN, JUST TO BE CLEAR, CLEAR, UM, THAT WE DO, UH, ROUND ROBIN OF WHAT EVERYBODY'S TOP THREE IS? I THINK THAT'S FINE. AND THEN ALSO LET'S THINK ABOUT NOT CALLING THIS CITY COUNCIL GOALS. YEAH. YEAH. SO, UM, SO THERE'S THREE SUGGESTIONS. CAN WE, IS THERE ANYBODY FEELING VERY STRONGLY ABOUT ONE VERSUS THE OTHER? I'VE HEARD GUIDING PRINCIPLES REPEATED MULTIPLE TIMES. IS THERE ANYBODY WHO WOULD OBJECT TO GUIDING PRINCIPLES? YES. REALLY LIKE GOVERNING AGENDA. 'CAUSE I THINK WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS SETTING PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS AND UH, I THINK THAT'S AN AGENDA. I MEAN, WE CAN HAVE GUIDING PRINCIPLES, BUT THOSE ARE LIKE PEACE, LOVE, AND, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYBODY, RIGHT? SO I THINK WE ALL PROBABLY AGREE. I FEEL LIKE THAT WE PROBABLY HAVE THAT ALREADY. I, BUT IF WE CAN FOCUS ON THE GOVERNING AGENDA TODAY, UH, I JUST THINK THAT WOULD BE A VERY PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATION. VICE MAYOR. UM, AT THE END OF THE DAY, I'LL BE FINE WITH WHATEVER MY 2 CENTS IS. THAT AGENDA SOUNDS A LITTLE STRONG IF WE'RE ON DIFFERENT TOPICS AND PRINCIPLES. I AGREE WITH, UH, COMMENT, UH, COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER MADE EARLIER WHERE IT SEEMS MORE VALUES. I WOULD JUST STICK WITH CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES PERSONALLY, BUT HAPPY WITH WHATEVER PEOPLE DECIDE. COUNCILOR MCGOVERN AND THEN COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER. THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR. UM, I LIKED, UM, PRIORITIES. UM, BUT DO, DO WE ALSO IN, IN TERMS OF THIS EXERCISE THAT WE SOUND LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA ENGAGE IN, UM, HAVE WE DECIDED, I MEAN THE OTHER CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING OF, ARE THESE GOALS ARE, ARE THESE PRIORITIES WHENEVER WE DECIDE ON GOING TO BE SORT OF MORE BROAD OR ARE THEY GONNA BE MORE SPECIFIC? RIGHT. BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE'VE LANDED THAT PLANE EITHER. I THINK THE GENERAL CONSENSUS HAS BEEN THAT THEY'LL BE MORE BROAD TO ALLOW FOR SPECIFIC THINGS TO BE RAISED ACROSS THE TERM. UM, AND THAT WHAT WE'RE SAYING IN THE WAY THAT YOU DESCRIBED MADAM MAYOR IS THAT THERE MAY BE THINGS THAT CROSS, THERE MAY BE TOPICS THAT CROSS CATEGORIES, UM, OR CROSS PRIORITIES. AND THEN THOSE COMMITTEES WOULD COME TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT THEM. DID I REFRAME THAT ACCURATELY? I THINK SO. I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S TOO BROAD FOR A GOVERNING AGENDA WHAT'S BEFORE US, IN MY VIEW. UM, SO THAT'S THE POINT ON THE GOVERNING AGENDA, THE CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES AS WELL. I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE WORD PRIORITIES 'CAUSE IT'S, SO THAT'S WHERE I'M, I'M STILL KIND OF GOING BACK. I FEEL LIKE IT'S MORE OF A, WE HAVE THAT VALUE STATEMENT AND THEN UNDERNEATH WE HAVE KIND OF A VISION AROUND WAYS AND AREAS WE WANNA ACCOMPLISH CITY WORK. UM, THAT'S HOW I'M VIEWING IT. SO I'M OPEN TO OTHER IDEAS. COUNSELOR SABRINA WHEELER. THANKS. YEAH, I WAS GONNA AGREE. I THINK GOVERNING AGENDA IS, IS UH, IS TOO BROAD TO REALLY HAVE THAT. UM, YEAH, I WAS UH, I COULD LIVE WITH PRIORITIES. IT'S, UM, IN MY MIND SORT OF SIMILAR TO GOALS AND IF WE'RE TRYING TO SHIFT AWAY FROM THAT, BASICALLY THE SAME THINGS MAYBE UH, ISSUE AREAS OR MAYBE PRIORITY AREAS IS A SPLITTING THE DIFFERENCE. THESE ARE ARE THINGS WE CARE ABOUT. THEY'RE PRIORITY AREAS. THEY'RE NOT THE SPECIFIC PRIORITIES, BUT THEY'RE TOPICS WE CARE ABOUT. I LIKE THAT PERSONALLY. WHAT DO OTHER FOLKS THINK? COUNSELOR ZZI. I THINK IT SOUNDS GOOD. I JUST, I THINK, UM, I THINK WE SHOULD DO WHAT SOMEONE'S USED TO. WE SHOULD DO A BRAIN DUMP. I THINK WE SHOULD JUST START COMING UP WITH IDEAS AND AS WE SHARE OUR IDEAS IT'LL BE COME MORE CLEAR WHAT WE SHOULD CALL THIS. SO I THINK I'D SAY LET'S CALL THIS FOR NOW PRIORITY AREAS AND FROM CITY COUNCIL GOALS. AND THEN I THINK WHEN [01:15:01] WE DO A BRAIN DUMP, I THINK THAT'S A KIND OF A, MAYBE A SEPARATE DOC IN A WAY. UM, BUT WE CAN, UH, TO YOUR POINT LET'S, YOU KNOW WE'RE DOING THIS KIND OF TOGETHER. UM, SO WE CAN, WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR? WE CAN, UH, WE'RE FINE FURTHER CAN, I DON'T THINK WE CAN HEAR YOU. I TURNED IT ON. YEAH. FUNNY HOW THAT WORKS. UM, SO COUNSELOR ZUBIE AT HOME, IF YOU COULD JUST GRAB A PIECE OF PAPER AND A PEN OR PENCIL, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. FOR THOSE OF YOU SITTING IN THE CHAMBER, YOU HAVE LITTLE, UH, STICKY NOTES. I WANT YOU TO USE THOSE, UM, TO DO YOUR, WRITE YOUR TOP THREE THINGS. SO THIS IS NOT TO LIMIT YOU, BUT IT IS TO GUIDE YOU AND TO BE CONSCIOUS OF WHAT WE CAN ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WE HAVE. SO TOP THREE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD PUT ON AS PRIORITY AREAS FOR THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS. REALLY BROAD. REALLY BROAD ON THREE SEPARATE ONES AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO IT. SORRY, QUICK QUESTION OF CLARIFICATION. ARE WE DOING THREE WITHIN EACH BUCKET OR JUST THREE OVERALL? WE ARE DOING THREE OVERALL. SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO NARROW IN ON WHAT THEY COULD BE. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SECONDS. I'M GONNA TAKE SILENCE AS YES. OKAY. TAKE ONE AND A HALF, TWO MORE MINUTES TO FINISH THIS UP. AND THEN I'M GONNA ASK YOU, WE'RE GONNA GO RIGHT AROUND THE CIRCLE. SO VICE MAYOR WILL START US. IF SOMEONE HAS SAID YOUR PRIORITY, DON'T SAY IT AGAIN. I'M GONNA SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME. IF SOMEONE HAS ALREADY SAID YOUR PRIORITY, DON'T SAY IT AGAIN. SO THIS IS NOT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNSELOR. NOLAN'S SHAKING YOUR HEAD AT ME. GO AHEAD COUNSELOR. NOLAN, JUST SPEAKING OF THE MIC, I ACTUALLY THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. WE SAY THAT WAS OUR PRIORITY. I MEAN, IT HAS TO BE REPEATED SO THAT WE KNOW BECAUSE OTHERWISE IT'S NOT. OKAY. THANK YOU. A LEGITIMATE REASON FOR ALL OF OUR VOICES TO BE IN THE ROOM EQUALLY. FAIR ENOUGH. THEN CAN I ASK, CAN WE NOT EXPOUND ON EVERY SINGLE PRIORITY BECAUSE WE WILL NOT GET THROUGH IT. WE HAVE NINE OF US. NINE OF YOU IN THIS ROOM. THAT WOULD BE GREAT. YEAH. UM, COUNCILOR NOLAN SAID, CAN YOU JUST READ WHAT'S ON YOUR STICKY NOTE? AND I AGREE THAT WOULD BE GREAT. OKAY. VICE MAYOR. UM, I KEPT HOUSING AND ZONING. I THINK WE UNDERSTAND. UM, WE HAVE BUDGET MANAGEMENT. I ALSO, I PUT FULLY BUDGET MANAGEMENT AND GROWTH. I THINK THAT TAX-BASED GROWTH IS UNDEREXPLORED. AND THEN I PUT, UM, GOVERNMENT EFFECTIVENESS AS A BIG BUCKET. UM, AND TWO EXAMPLES, WHICH IS LIKE PERMITTING REFORM, REVIEWING OLD ORDINANCES. UM, I WASN'T CHEATING , THE VICE MAYOR, UM, LOOKED OVER. I I I LOOKED OVER BEFORE WE STARTED WRITING, BUT, UM, HOUSING ZONING, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND EQUITY. GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND FINANCE. WHAT'S THE LAST ONE? GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND FINANCE. BUDGET [01:20:01] RELATED. I WAS TRYING TO BE BROAD AND WHOLE LOT OF THINGS. UM, BUT GOVERNMENT, I MEAN GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY COULD AGAIN MEAN A LOT OF THINGS LIKE MANAGING THE BUDGET. BUT I'M GONNA MAKE THEM SEPARATE. I'M GONNA PUT THE FINANCE SEPARATE FROM GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY. 'CAUSE WE HAVE GOVERNMENT FOUR NOW. DO I HAVE TO LOSE ONE? ALL RIGHT, LET'S JUST GO WITH GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY. OKAY. SO TELL ME YOUR THREE HOUSING. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND EQUITY. AND GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY. OKAY. I MUTED MORE SPECIFIC THINGS. I SAID UH, FIGURE OUT HOW TO BUILD WORKFORCE HOUSING. UH, CENTRAL SQUARE REZONING AND UH, AMENDMENTS TO THESE OTHER PROPOSALS WE'VE WRITTEN WHERE THE CITY STAFF HAS WRITTEN IN BROADER TRANSPORTATION PLANNING. I TOOK THIS AS AGENDA. SO I HAVE THREE FREE, FREQUENT RELIABLE CITYWIDE SHUTTLE COMBINING ALL EXISTING AND WORKING WITH THE MBTA IS ONE FREE OR HIGHLY SUBSIDIZED IF SLIDING SCALE PRESCHOOL CHILDCARE FOR ALL TWO AND THREE YEAR OLDS AND MEANINGFUL RESIDENTIAL EMISSION POLLUTION REDUCTION, MEANINGFUL RESIDENTIAL EMISSION POLLUTION REDUCTION. OKAY, JUMP. ARE WE, ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE BROAD OR MORE SPECIFIC? 'CAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE I DID IT RIGHT BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE WE DID REALLY BROAD, YOU GUYS DID REALLY SPECIFIC THINGS. SO WE SHOULD BE CLEAR ON YEAH, I THINK THAT WASN'T CLEAR WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. WE, WE HAD SAID BROAD IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION, UM, PREVIOUSLY AND THEN YOU GUYS WENT SPECIFIC. SO I'M GONNA TAKE THE LIBERTIES OF DUMPING YOUR SPECIFICS INTO THE BROADER CATEGORIES. NO GUESS COUNCILOR NOLAN. YEAH, I THOUGHT WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE COMMITTING TO AN AGENDA. SO I DIDN'T SO THESE ARE PRIORITY AREAS, NOT AN AGENDA PRIORITY AREAS. SO THEY'RE MORE BROAD THAN THEY ARE SPECIFIC. THAT WAS THE DECISION THAT THE GROUP MADE. NOW DO WE NEED TO REVISIT THAT DECISION? I JUST UNDERSTOOD IT AS WE WERE GONNA DO OUR, AS COUNCILOR SUZI SAID, OUR TOP THREE PRIORITIES IN THESE WOULD BE MY TOP THREE PRIORITIES. AND WE DECIDED, UH, AGAINST PRIORITIES AS THE WORD AND OPTED FOR PRIORITY AREAS, WHICH I KNOW SEEMS LIKE A VERY SLIM DIFFERENCE, BUT ACTUALLY IS DISTINGUISHED. UM, RIGHT. SO PRIORITIES ARE MORE LIKE GOALS OR OUTCOMES AND PRIORITY AREAS ARE MORE LIKE PLACES WE'RE GONNA PUT OUR ATTENTION AND FOCUS. DOES THAT SEEM RIGHT? I THINK THERE WAS SOME CONFUSION AND I'LL OWN IT. UM, I THINK, I THINK THERE'S INTEREST IN DOING MORE OF THE SPECIFICS TOO UNDER THIS. AND SO I'M, I'M FINE IF COUNSELORS WANNA JUST GET IT ON ON PAPER AND THEN, OR OR JUST VERBALLY AND THEN WE CAN THINK ABOUT NEXT STEPS ON HOW TO ACTUALLY LIKE OPERATIONALIZE IT. WHETHER THAT'S A VOTE, WHETHER THAT'S, UM, ANOTHER SESSION. BUT I THINK IT, IT'S FINE. UM, BECAUSE VICE ZE STARTED WITH, HE HAD THOSE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES UNDER GOVERNANCE, WHICH I HAVE HEARD BEFORE. THE PERMITTING, YOU KNOW, REVIEW TASK FORCE, THE ORDINANCE REVIEW. UM, AGAIN, HOW THAT HAPPENS AND WHERE THAT HAPPENS, UM, IS I THINK ANOTHER THING WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT. BUT I DO THINK IT'S MAKES SENSE TO BE SPECIFIC. COUNCILLOR SINA WHEELER. YEAH, I'D SAY MY THREE ARE, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY AND GOVERNANCE. STRUCTURE AND COLLABORATION. COUNCILOR FLAHERTY FIXED ZONING. AND TO BE SPECIFIC MULTIFAMILY HOUSING. I THOUGHT WE WERE JUST GONNA BE GENERAL . LET'S, LET'S POINT IT, LET'S PRIORITIZE YOUTH INVESTMENT AND DEAL WITH OUR TRANSPORTATION CHAOS. COUNCILOR ZUBIE. YEAH, I WOULD SAY HOUSING JUSTICE, LIKE TENANTS RIGHTS AND SOCIAL HOUSING. DIGNIFIED SPENDING OF OUR BUDGET AND DEMOCRATIZING OUR GOVERNMENT. [01:25:05] DID YOU GET THAT? I GOT HOUSING JUSTICE DIGNIFIED SPENDING OF BUDGET AND DEMOCRATIZE OUR GOVERNMENT. YEP. I'M NOT SURE WHAT SORRY, GO AHEAD. COUNCIL ZUBY. I WAS JUST SAYING YEP, SURE. I'LL GO. AND THEN I'M NOT SURE WHERE COUNCILOR SIMMONS IS 'CAUSE I DO WANNA MAKE SURE SHE GETS HEARD ON THIS. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE VISION FOR CAMBRIDGE, UM, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, CAMBRIDGE IS A PLACE THAT'S AFFORDABLE, LIVABLE, AND SUSTAINABLE. UM, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY I THINK HOUSING IS A PRIORITY. UM, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY IS A PRIORITY TO ME. UM, AND THEN KIND OF THE CLIMATE SUSTAINABILITY PIECE IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT KIND OF GOES THROUGH A LOT OF, UM, PIECES OF WORK. I THINK I'LL JUST MAKE A QUICK POINT. I THINK, UM, THE COMMITTEES SHOULD KINDA OUTLINE GOVERNING AGENDAS IN WHEN I THINK THROUGH THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE. UM, BUT FOR THE, FOR PURPOSES OF KIND OF THIS SECTION, I THINK IT'S GOOD THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM MOST OF YOU ON WHERE THERE'S, THERE'S SOME AREAS THAT WE DEFINITELY WILL FOCUS ON KIND OF BROAD. YOU KNOW, IF WE THINK OF PRI PRIORITY AREAS, UM, NOT EVERYTHING WILL BE COVERED IN THE PRIORITY AREAS, WHICH IS I THINK SOMETHING THE CITY MANAGER, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU AND YOUR TEAM, THERE'S A LOT OF LIKE WORK THAT HAPPENS SEPARATELY THAT MAY NOT FIT, BUT IT ALSO KIND OF MAY BE TANGENTIALLY RELATED TO WORK THAT THE COUNCIL IS INTERESTED IN. SO, UM, THAT'S SEPARATE. BUT ANYWAY, THOSE ARE KIND OF MY THOUGHTS ON THAT. OKAY, GREAT. SO WE HAVE A LIST HERE. UM, IT'S A PRETTY DIVERSE LIST. IT'S DEFINITELY MORE THAN THREE TO FIVE. UM, AND SO THE QUESTION IS, DO YOU WANT TO SPEND TIME NOW WE HAVE ABOUT 10 MINUTES. UM, TRYING TO NARROW THIS LIST DOWN, THAT FEELS LIKE IT WOULD BE VERY HARD TO DO, BUT IT IS SOMETHING WE COULD TRY. UM, OR ARE THERE THINGS THAT YOU HEARD THAT YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY FUNDAMENTALLY AGAINST THAT YOU THINK SHOULD COME OFF THE LIST? THIS WOULD BE A USEFUL TIME TO TALK ABOUT THAT SO THAT WE CAN WALK OUT OF THIS ROOM WITH A CONSOLIDATED LIST. COUNCILLOR NOLAN? YEAH, I JUST HAVE A QUESTION. IT SEEMS TO ME EVERY SINGLE THING THAT WAS MENTIONED FITS INTO THESE FIVE GROUPS WE HAVE ON THE LIST. SO, SO HEY, THAT'S A GREAT THING TO KNOW. THERE'S SPECIFICS, THERE'S SPECIFICS THAT MAY BE THEN IF WE GO TO THE AGENDA PART, BUT ALL OF THE TOPIC AREAS ACTUALLY DID FIT IN. IT SEEMED LIKE ONE OF THESE FIVE BUCKETS, ALTHOUGH MORE SPECIFICITY AROUND GOVERNMENT AND COUNCIL PERFORMANCE MIGHT BE MORE DEMOCRATIZED IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. THAT'S WHAT IT SEEMED TO ME. COUNCILOR AZI, UM, SORRY, VICE MAYOR AND THEN COUNCIL MCGOVERN. UM, YEAH, I JUST WANTED A PLUS ONE. WHAT, UH, COUNCILOR NOLAN SAID. BUT THEN DID I JUST WANNA ADD LIKE, I AGREE THAT GOVERNMENT AND COUNCIL PERFORMANCE MIGHT NEED, YOU KNOW, NOT THAT WE HAVE TO DO IT NOW, BUT JUST AN ADDITIONAL SENTENCE OR TWO. UH, THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR. UM, YEAH, I, I I THINK , WE DID SUCH A GOOD JOB OF MAKING THESE GOALS SO BROAD LAST TIME. , UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY, YES. SO THESE ARE, I MEAN, WHAT WHAT WOULD WE TAKE OFF OF THIS, OF, OF, OF THIS LIST? AND THEY'RE SO BROAD THAT THEY, I MEAN, HOUSING AND ZONING CAN BE EVERYTHING FROM ON OUR UNHOUSED POPULATION TO INCLU, INCLUSIONARY ZONING TO VOUCHERS, TO, YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE SPECIFICS. UM, SO I MEAN, AND REALLY TO COME FULL CIRCLE, IF WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT JUST THE OVERLYING HEADINGS, THE FIVE WE HAVE ARE, ARE, ARE GOOD ENOUGH. I THINK COUNCILOR SIMMONS, WHEN YOU WERE OUT OF THE ROOM, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, WHAT WERE YOUR, WHAT WAS EACH COUNSELOR'S TOP THREE AREA OF PRIORITY FOR THE CITY FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS? IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN READ YOU THE LIST WE HAVE AND THEN YOU CAN LET US KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT, THOSE, THOSE ARE, [01:30:01] THOSE ARE GOOD FOR YOU. I WANT IT WARMER IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER. . SO I CAN THINK DULY NOTED, DULY NOTED. I, I AM SO COLD. I CANNOT THINK, UH, I WOULD SAY ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND EQUITY AND GOVERNMENT AND COUNCIL PERFORMANCE. I THINK HOW WELL WE WORK TOGETHER IS GOING TO DRIVE WHAT WE GET DONE. AND IF WE CANNOT, YOU KNOW, THE BETTER WE COLLABORATE, EVEN IF WE DISAGREE, THE BETTER, MORE EFFECTIVE WE ARE. AND THEN FOR ME, YOU KNOW, EQUITY AND I'VE SAT THROUGH THIS MORE TIMES THAN I WANNA SAY I SHOULD HAVE T-SHIRTS, BUT WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT EQUITY, BUT WE JUST DON'T, WE CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT. IT ALWAYS ENDS UP AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST. A FEW TIMES IT WAS PUT ON THE LIST 'CAUSE IT DIDN'T MAKE IT TO THE LIST. AND IF WE'RE GOING TO BE A CITY THAT BELIEVES IN WORKING WITH AND FOR ALL FOLKS, THEN EQUITY SHOULDN'T BE A GOAL. IT SHOULD BE THE CANVAS ON WHICH WE PAINT ALL THESE OTHER THINGS. SO IF I, IF I, THE TRUTH IS IT'S EQUITY, EQUITY, EQUITY. AND I KNOW WE ARE IN A PLACE THAT, IN A CLIMATE WHERE YOU DON'T WANNA SAY THAT 'CAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA DRAW PEOPLE'S EYE. IT DOESN'T CHANGE HOW PEOPLE ARE TREATED AND WHO PEOPLE WHAT, WHO, WHO AND WHY FOLKS ARE STRUGGLING. SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO STAND UP FOR THE VALUES THAT WE SAY WE WANT. WE SAY WE WANT FAIRNESS. WE CAN'T SHY AWAY FROM JUST BECAUSE THERE'S A PERSON IN A PLACE WHO WILL WE NOT, WE WILL NOT NAME ACTING LIKE A TOTAL, I'M NOT GONNA SAY THAT EITHER. UM, WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS THAT WE EXERCISE AND STAND UP FOR OUR VALUES. AND SO I, IF I CAN'T HAVE EQUITY, I, I'M NOT INTERESTED IN DOING ANYTHING ELSE. THANK YOU. I YIELD, SO I'LL JUST SAY THAT GIVEN THE, GIVEN THE, THAT'S A UNIQUE, UH, IT'S A DUCK. YEAH. MUST BE FOR THE QUACK . I KNOW. HE WAS JUST QUACKING, HE WAS EXCITED ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING. WELL THIS IS, THIS IS ANOTHER PART OF, EVEN I'VE NOT SEEN , SO I THINK DR. QUACK CHECKING IN ON US. OH YEAH. WHAT'S HE SAYING? HOW ARE WE DOING? SO WE ONLY HAVE A FEW, LIKE LITTLE, FEW MINUTES LEFT, SO I'LL, I'LL TOSS IT BACK TO YOU. BUT I THINK WHAT WE'VE JUST DONE IS I THINK THERE'S, IS THERE AGREEMENT THAT WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THIS FROM CITY COUNCIL GOALS TO PRIORITY AREAS? AND IT SEEMS FROM WHAT EVERYONE HAS SAID, THESE ARE THE PRIORITY AREAS THAT WE DO WANT. UM, WE COULD AT SOME POINT IF FOLKS WANT TO UPDATE SOME OF THE LANGUAGE, WE COULD FIGURE OUT HOW WE WANNA DO THAT. UM, IT CAN COME THROUGH COMMUNICATION FROM OTHER CITY OFFICERS. WE CAN, YOU KNOW, VOTE IT ON THAT WAY. BUT I THINK THAT'S KIND OF, I THINK WE, WE KIND OF FINISHED THIS PART, BUT THEN THE BIGGER THING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO REALLY FIGURE OUT IS WHAT ARE ACTUALLY GOVERNING AGENDAS. AND I THINK COMMITTEE WORK, UNDER COMMITTEE WORK IS WHERE EACH COMMITTEE CAN SET ITS OWN GOVERNING AGENDA AND WE'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW, WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE. YES. COUNCILOR MCGOVERN, UH, THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR. UM, MAYBE ONE OF, MAYBE THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS. I MEAN IF YOU LOOK AT, IF YOU LOOK AT THESE FIVE AREAS, THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY THEY READ, THEY DO CONNECT WITH CERTAIN COMMITTEES, MAYBE THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS FOR THESE COMMITTEES, WHICH SHOULD BE TO COME UP WITH TWO OR THREE SPECIFIC THINGS TO FIT INTO THE OVERALL GOALS AND THEN BRING THOSE BACK RATHER THAN A COMMUNICATION FROM NINE COMMUNICATIONS FROM OTHER CITY OFFICERS, YOU KNOW, UH, COUNSELOR, UH, ZUBIE. AND I CAN TAKE ON, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE MORE HUMAN RESOURCES STUFF AND, AND WHERE THAT FITS IN. AND, UM, I AGREE GOVERNMENT OPS AND, AND THE MEETINGS COULDN'T, THE COMMITTEES COULD DO THAT WORK. AND YEAH, AS, AS CHAIR, I CAN WORK WITH THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE COMMITTEES AND CHAIRS OF COMMITTEES TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE OPERATE, OPERATIONALIZE THAT, AND THEN ALSO HAVE CITY STAFF KIND OF WEIGH IN ON HOW WE'RE DOING THAT. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YEAH. 'CAUSE WE ALSO DON'T WANT, YOU KNOW, IF WE GO OFF BY OURSELVES AND SAY WE SHOULD DO THESE THREE THINGS, AND THE CITY STAFF IS LIKE, WELL, I THINK WE'RE ALREADY EXACTLY. WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING THESE OTHER THINGS. RIGHT. SO HAVING THEM AS PART OF THAT CONVERSATION. EXACTLY. AND IF I MAY MADE A FOLLOW UP ON WHAT COUNCILOR MCGOVERN IS SAYING, THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. I MEAN, I APPRECIATE THE, THE EXERCISE, BUT IT HAS TO BE ONE BAND, ONE SOUND, AND IF THE STAFF IS NOT IN LINE OR THEY'VE GOT THEIR OWN, UH, DIRECTIONS FROM TWO, THREE YEARS AGO THAT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO COMPLETE, NOW WE'RE LAYING ON SOMETHING ELSE. SO WE HAVE TO GET SOME, SOME BETTER SYNERGY BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATION THAN THE, UH, [01:35:01] ADMINISTRATION PART OF, OF THE CITY AND THE LEGISLATIVE. WE, WE DON'T SEEM TO ALWAYS BE IN LOCKSTEP, AND I THINK THAT'S PROBLEMATIC. YES. COUNCILOR ZUZI. OH YEAH, SUZI, THERE'S THE ONLY ONE. YEAH. SUI, NOT ZUI. UH, YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, THIS MAKES ME FEEL REALLY HOPEFUL BECAUSE YOU KNOW, ANYONE THAT WAS AT THE, ANYONE THAT WAS AT THE MEETING LAST NIGHT WOULD KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES OF OPINION ON THE COUNCIL. BUT I THINK ACTUALLY THIS IS A GREAT, THESE ARE GREAT PRIORITY AREAS. IF WE ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO ADVANCE THINGS IN EACH OF THESE PRIORITY AREAS, I WOULD FEEL SO GOOD. COLLECTIVELY, WE WILL HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT AS A COUNCIL. SO I, I FEEL LIKE THIS HAS BEEN A VERY PRODUCTIVE EXERCISE. THANK YOU. GOOD. SO IT IS, UM, 10 58. ANY LAST WORDS, JUST TO SUMMARIZE WHERE WE ARE? UM, WE HAVE A LIST OF PRIORITY AREAS. WE HAVE CAPTURED ALL OF THEM. GOD BLESS YOU. UM, WE HAVE AGREEMENT THAT EACH OF THE COMMITTEES ARE GOING TO, WITH THE MAYOR'S SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE, GO BACK AND DEFINE, UM, HOW THEIR SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES RELATE TO THESE FIVE CATEGORIES AND MAKE SURE THAT CITY STAFF IS INVOLVED WITH THAT CONVERSATION SO THAT IT IS ALIGNED. UM, THERE ARE SOME FOLKS WHO HAVE SOME DESIRE TO CHANGE, PARTICULARLY NUMBER FIVE ON THIS LIST, THE LANGUAGE. AND SO THAT WILL HAPPEN OFFLINE AND THEY'LL COME BACK WITH A SUGGESTION, UM, AROUND WHAT, WHAT LANGUAGE WOULD BE BETTER. UM, I THINK THAT'S EVERYTHING. YEAH. AND I'LL JUST ADD, JUST MORE SPECIFICALLY, WE'LL UPDATE ONLINE AND CHANGE IT TO PRIORITY AREAS, TAKE OUT CITY COUNCIL GOALS, AND THEN TO COUNCIL MCGOVERN'S POINT. AND WHAT I'VE HEARD IS, AND WHAT WE'LL DO IS EACH COMMITTEE WILL SET KIND OF ITS GOVERNING AGENDA. UM, AND WE'LL WORK WITH CITY STAFF ON THAT. UM, WE ALREADY HAVE SOME IDEA WHAT THINGS WE'LL BE WORKING ON. UM, SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE, THE NEXT BIG STEPS. ANY OTHER CLOSING THOUGHTS? UM, I THINK THIS IS GREAT. REALLY APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION. UM, AND I THINK ENCOURAGE MAYBE COMMITTEE CHAIRS TO THEN JUST REACH OUT TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. AND WE'LL ALSO, UM, I THINK IT'LL BE HELPFUL TO PLUG INTO SOME OF THAT CONVERSATION JUST BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S BOTH, UH, A LOT OF ALIGNMENT IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE INITIAL SHARING OF PRIORITIES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING ON WITHIN THOSE AREAS. UM, BUT ALSO, THANK YOU. I THANK YOU AS WELL TO THE COUNSELORS THAT ARE JUST ACKNOWLEDGING THERE'S A LOT OF WORK ALREADY IN PROCESS. UM, AND SO I DON'T THINK WE'RE REALLY STARTING FROM SCRATCH IN MANY WAYS. WE'RE CONTINUING TO DEEPEN AND, AND GET BETTER ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE ADMINISTRATION. UM, AND, AND LET'S JUST KEEP THAT CONVERSATION CHANNEL VERY OPEN. THANK YOU. SO WE, WE ARE GOOD FOR THIS PART. UM, THANK YOU FOR THE BROAD RANGING CONVERSATION AND THE SPECIFIC CONVERSATION. GET THE JOKE. UM, AND NOW WE HAVE 15 MINUTES OF BREAK. THERE IS FOOD IN THE MAYOR'S CHAMBER, UM, AND AT 1115, PLEASE BE BACK HERE PROMPTLY BECAUSE MEMBERS OF THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE WILL BE JOINING US. UM, AND WE WILL BE HAVING A CO MORE DETAILED CONVERSATION ABOUT THE HOW OF HOW WE DO ALL OF THIS. UM, THIS WILL STILL BE PART OF THE OPEN MEETING, THE PUBLIC MEETING. ANY QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS OR REACTIONS? I'M JUST GONNA TAKE A VOTE TO CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT ON A MOTION BY VICE MAYOR AZIM. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND DO A ROLL CALL ON CLOSING PUBLIC COMMENT. COUNCILOR ZUBI. COUNCILOR ZUBI? YES. YES. VICE MAYOR ZE? YES. YES. COUNCILOR FLAHERTY? YES. YES. COUNCILOR MCGOVERN? YES. YES. COUNCILOR NOLAN? YES. YES. COUNCILLOR SIMMONS? YES. YES. COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER. YES. YES. COUNCILLOR ZUI. YES. YES. MAYOR SIDIKI. YES. YES. AND YOU HAVE NINE MEMBERS RECORDED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. [01:40:01] SO 15 MINUTE BREAK. I THINK WE'LL JUST DO A VOTE TO RECESS FOR 15 MINUTES ON A MOTION BY VICE MAYOR COUNCILOR ZUBIE? YES. YES. VICE MAYOR Z. YES. YES. COUNCILOR FLAHERTY. YES. COUNCILOR MCGOVERN? YES. YES. COUNCILOR NOLAN? YES. YES. COUNCILLOR SIMMONS? YES. YES. COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER. YES. YES. COUNCILOR EY. YES. MAYOR SIDIKI? YES. YES. AND YOU HAVE NINE MEMBERS RECORDED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. SEE YOU SOON. OKAY. WELCOME EVERYBODY. WE ARE BACK. WE'RE BACK. WE'RE GONNA TAKE A QUICK ROLL CALL TO, TO GO BACK INTO THE, THE MEETING. CLERK, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE COUNCILOR ZUBE? YES. PRESENT VICE MAYOR ZI? YES. PRESENT. COUNCILOR FLAHERTY. PRESENT. COUNCILOR MCGOVERN. PRESENT. PRESENT. COUNCILOR NOLAN. COUNCILOR NOLAN IS PRESENT. COUNCILOR SIMMONS. COUNCILOR SIMMONS IS ABSENT. COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER. PRESENT. PRESENT. COUNCILLOR EY. PRESENT. PRESENT. MAYOR SIDIKI. PRESENT. PRESENT. YOU HAVE EIGHT MEMBERS RECORDED AS PRESENT, AND ONE RECORDED AS ABSENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CLERK. APPRECIATE IT. UM, SO HI, FOR THOSE OF YOU, I DON'T KNOW, MY NAME IS GABRIELA. I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY FOR, UH, THIS IS MY THIRD TERM, BEING PART OF THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY STAFF CONVERSATION. UM, WE HAD A WONDERFUL MORNING, UH, FULL OF DIALOGUE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING THAT. WE THOUGHT, BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME NEW PEOPLE AROUND THE TABLE, WE WOULD JUST VERY QUICKLY, UM, GO AROUND, IF YOU COULD JUST SAY YOUR NAME AND YOUR TITLE, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL. JUST SO WE MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS WHO EVERYBODY IS. UM, PLEASE DO USE THE MICS BECAUSE WE STILL ARE IN AN OPEN MEETING, UM, WITH PUBLIC PARTICIPATING AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY CAN HEAR US. UM, ALSO FOR THOSE WHO JUST JOINED, UM, COUNSELOR ZUBIE IS ONLINE. UM, SNOW, WHAT CAN YOU DO? SHE'LL BE HERE PHYSICALLY VERY SHORTLY. OH, WONDERFUL. DIDN'T KNOW THAT. OKAY, GREAT. OKAY, SO CITY MANAGER, CAN WE START WITH YOU? HI, I'M IAN. I'M THE CITY MANAGER. I'M MATT NELSON, DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION OPERATIONS. IN THE MANAGER'S OFFICE. I'M PETE ERMAN, UH, CHIEF OF STAFF, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. UH, GOOD MORNING LEGION. EDDIE COMMUNICATIONS, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. GOOD MORNING, DEIDRE. TRAVIS BROWN, CHIEF OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION. GOOD MORNING. UH, JOHN AONE, COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS. MORNING, CLAIRE SPINNER, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, FISCAL. GOOD MORNING, I'M RAY CATCHINGS, CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER. HI EVERYONE. SAMBLE MAYOR. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. JOSEPH KINI, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AT DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICE PROGRAMS. DONE. TIM FLAHERTY, UH, JOE AID, CITY COUNSELOR CHIEF AND SABRINA WHEELER, CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNSELOR. CHRISTINE ELO, POLICE COMMISSIONER PATTY NOLAN, CITY COUNCIL. MELISSA PETERS, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. KATHY ZUI, CITY COUNCIL. MARK. EXCUSE ME. MARK MCGOVERN, CITY COUNCIL. HANZI VICE MAYOR. HI, KATHY WATKINS, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. GOOD MORNING. MEGAN BAYER, CITY SOLICITOR. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT'S WONDERFUL TO AT LEAST FOR ME TO SEE SOME NEW FACES AND, UM, WELCOME ALL OF YOU AROUND THE TABLE. SO THE SESSION THAT WE WANNA EMBARK ON NOW IS REALLY FOCUSED ON HOW THE COUNCIL AND THE CITY STAFF WORK TOGETHER. AND WE WANNA GET A LITTLE BIT DOWN TO BRASS TACKS ON THE HOW OF THE HOW. UM, AND SO WE THOUGHT WE WOULD START THIS CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY MANAGER GIVING A BIT OF AN UPDATE, UM, ON THINGS THAT HAD ARISEN, AROSE, AROSE, ARISEN, AROSE, I DUNNO. CAME UP. CAME UP, THANK YOU. KATHY CAME UP, UM, CAME UP LAST TERM, UM, AS PLACES WHERE THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF STICKINESS, [01:45:01] UM, AND THERE WAS NOT AS MUCH EASE OF COLLABORATION AS WE WANTED. AND THOSE THREE THINGS ARE POLICY ORDERS, AWAI AND AWAITING REPORTS, USE OF COMMITTEES AND CONSTITUENT SERVICES. SO THE CITY MANAGER IS GONNA GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE ON WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE ON THOSE THREE AREAS. AND THEN WE'RE GONNA FOCUS THE CONVERSATION ON UM, WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED ON, ON THOSE THREE TOPICS AND OTHERS. YES, MAYOR, SORRY, I DID WANNA HAVE NAOMI INTRODUCE HERSELF. OH, THANK YOU. HI, NAOMI CORNER. I'M NAOMI STEFAN, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY COUNCIL, AND PAULA CRANE AND COLE IRWIN, GREAT DUO. AND THEN ALSO MY CHIEF OF STAFF, BENJI, JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE HER AS WELL. THANKS YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MAYOR. SORRY FOR THOSE THAT I MISSED. NO, UH, NO SNUB INTENDED. JUST BAD FORM. UM, SO CITY MANAGER, WOULD YOU MIND, UM, STARTING US OFF? UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH GABRIELA. THANK YOU ALL AND, UH, APPRECIATED JUST THE REALLY THE REALLY RICH CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING EARLIER THIS MORNING. UH, AND NOW WE'RE IN THE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN THE CONCRETE, LIKE HOW DO WE ACTUALLY WORK TOGETHER? WHAT DO WE DO AND, AND HOW DO WE MAKE DECISIONS? UM, I THINK JUST TO OPEN, UM, WHAT REALLY EXCITES ME ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION IN THE NEW TERM IS IT REALLY IS A CHANCE FOR US TO SIT BACK AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE WORK TOGETHER. AND, UH, I THOUGHT THESE WERE THE THREE, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING WITH THE MAYOR, LIKE THESE ARE SORT OF THE THREE, UM, CONCRETE AREAS THAT THE CITY AND THE COUNCIL ARE WORKING TOGETHER, HOW WE'RE INTERACTING. AND THAT'S ACTUALLY HOW WE DO A LOT OF OUR WORK TOGETHER. SO IT REALLY IS THE ACT OF PASSING POLICY ORDERS IN THE CITY, PROVIDING AWAITING REPORTS, UH, OR REPORTING BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, THE USE OF THE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE AND THEN THIRD CONSTITUENT SERVICES THAT WE ARE ALL DOING EVERY DAY. UM, I THINK IN TERMS OF JUST OPENING THIS UP, UM, WE'LL WORK THROUGH EACH OF THESE. SO MAYBE WE'LL END UP SPENDING ABOUT 30 MINUTES ON EACH ONE AND WE CAN TALK THROUGH BOTH OVERALL, LIKE WHAT HAS THE PROCESS BEEN, UH, WHAT'S WORKING WELL AND WHAT COULD BE, WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED. AND SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT DISCUSSION, BUT I WANTED TO ALSO JUST HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE REALLY CHANGED OVER THE LAST TERM. UM, AND THAT'S MAYBE THE OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE BECAUSE I THINK WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE THINKING ABOUT BOTH, UM, THE STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES OF HOW WE DO THIS WORK AND HOW THEY CAN IMPROVE. UM, SO ON POLICY ORDERS AND AWAITING REPORTS, UH, I THINK WE HANDED OUT JUST A QUICK TABLE, AND I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS WHERE WE MADE THE BIGGEST CHANGES AT THE BEGINNING OF LAST TERM. AND SO, UM, I JUST RAN SORT OF THE NUMBERS, UH, BOTH FOR THE LAST TWO CITY COUNCIL TERMS, 2020 TO 20 21, 20 22 TO 2023. AND THEN THIS LAST TERM THAT WE JUST COMPLETED, 2024 TO 2025. AND COMING OUT OF, UM, MY FIRST TERM, IT, IT WAS A REALLY TOUGH ENVIRONMENT WHERE I THINK NOBODY WAS HAPPY. THE CITY COUNCIL WAS PASSING POLICY ORDERS AND UH, AND NOT GETTING RESPONSES. YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT SORT OF THE AVERAGE PRETTY CONSISTENTLY ACROSS THOSE TWO TERMS, ONLY TWO OUT OF THREE POLICY ORDERS EVER GOT A RESPONSE. AND A LOT OF THE COMPLAINTS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL SIDE WAS JUST NOT KNOWING, NOT HAVING ANY IDEA EITHER WHEN SOMETHING WAS GONNA COME BACK OR WHETHER IT WAS GONNA COME BACK. AND ON THE CITY SIDE, THERE WAS A PILE OF AWAITING REPORTS. WHEN I STARTED, THERE WERE 90 AWAITING REPORTS SITTING THAT HADN'T BEEN RESPONDED TO, AND WE DIDN'T KNOW WHICH ONES WERE REALLY IMPORTANT. AND SOME OF THEM WE HAD REAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SCOPE AND WHAT WAS REALLY BEING REQUESTED, AND IT WAS HARD TO KNOW HOW WE WERE GOING TO CATCH UP. AND THEN EVERY WEEK THERE WAS ANOTHER NEW SET OF POLICY ORDERS IN THE PILE. AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATED AT THE START OF LAST TERM THAT WE SAID, LET'S JUST CLEAR THE DECKS AND TRY AND BUILD SOME TRUST AND SAY, IF THE CITY COUNCIL CAN PRIORITIZE, THEN WE'LL WE WILL COMMIT TO RESPONDING TO EVERY SINGLE POLICY ORDER. AND ON TOP OF THAT, I THINK THERE WAS ALWAYS THIS INTERACTION IN TERMS OF LIKE, IF THE CITY SAYS NO, IS THAT OKAY? AND, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE WORKED ON AND I REALLY FELT LIKE OVER THIS LAST TERM WE GOT TO A MUCH, MUCH BETTER PLACE. AND SO WE WENT FROM THE CITY COUNCIL PASSING OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS, ABOUT 170 TO 180 POLICY ORDERS AND ONLY TWO OUT OF EVERY THREE EVER GETTING A RESPONSE TO, IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, 140. SO A REALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF POLICY ORDERS. AND WE RESPONDED TO ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE. AND SO WE CARRIED OVER, THERE WERE SIX POLICY ORDERS THAT WE DIDN'T GET A RESPONSE TO. FIVE OF THEM GOT CARRIED OVER AND I THINK WE'RE COMMITTED TO GETTING A RESPONSE BACK [01:50:01] ON, ON THOSE FIVE. UH, AND MOST OF THOSE WERE PASSED PRETTY LATE IN THE YEAR, BUT I THINK THIS WAS AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE IT TOOK BOTH A STRUCTURAL CHANGE, LIKE WE ACTUALLY HAD TO CLEAR THE DECKS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE JUST COULDN'T, WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THE 90 THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN PASSED. AND IT TOOK A LOT OF TRUST BUILDING ON BOTH SIDES, UH, WHERE WE BOTH NEEDED THE CITY TO BE WILLING TO, TO PUT FORWARD A RESPONSE ON EVERYTHING. AND FOR THE COUNCIL TO BOTH ACCEPT THOSE RESPONSES, UM, AND, AND BE WILLING TO HEAR, WELL, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE CITY DOESN'T AGREE, BUT ALSO TO, TO PRIORITIZE. AND, AND I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT, THAT SORT OF IMPROVEMENT. UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DISCUSSION ABOUT, ABOUT HOW THAT MIGHT IMPROVE, UH, GOING FORWARD. UM, IN TERMS OF THE COMMITTEES, AND MAYBE I'LL JUST WALK THROUGH ALL OF THEM, BUT, UM, I THINK THE LAST TERM ALSO SAW THE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE GET USED A LOT MORE. AND SO WHEN I, WHEN I CAME, I ACTUALLY FELT LIKE WE WERE MOSTLY JUST HAVING ALL OF OUR CONVERSATION ON MONDAY NIGHTS. WE WOULD HAVE POLICY ORDERS, THERE'D BE REALLY SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSION ABOUT SOME IMPORTANT ISSUE. AND IT WAS A LITTLE CONFUSING TO ME WHAT THE COMMITTEES WERE FOR, BECAUSE FOR THE MOST PART WE HAD ORDINANCE AND FINANCE COMMITTEES WITH CLEAR STRUCTURE, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE QUITE AS MUCH WORK FLOWING INTO THE COMMITTEES. AND I THINK THAT ACTUALLY, UM, HAPPENED TO A CLEARER DEGREE IN THIS LAST TERM WHERE WE SAID, OKAY, SOMETHING'S GONNA COME THROUGH AS A POLICY ORDER, IT GETS PASSED, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA DO THAT WORK IN THE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE BETWEEN CITY STAFF AND THE CITY COUNCIL. UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT DID WORK BETTER THAN BEFORE. UM, I'D ALSO SAY WE'VE DONE SOME AMOUNT OF WORK TO IMPROVE THE SCHEDULING OF COMMITTEES, TO COORDINATE MORE CLOSELY WITH THE CITY COUNCILORS, UH, AND THE CHAIRS TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S A CLEAR AGENDA THAT WE HAVE, UM, PEOPLE LINED UP. UM, I ALSO APPRECIATE GREATLY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE IS THERE WAS A TIME WHEN ALL THE COMMITTEES WERE HAPPENING IN THE EVENING AND WE HAD CITY STAFF WHO WERE ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, HERE LATE ON MONDAY HERE, LATE ON TUESDAY DOING A BOARD AND COMMISSION ON WEDNESDAY. UM, AND, AND I THINK ACTUALLY MOVING MORE OF THE COMMITTEES INTO THE WORKDAY HAS BEEN REALLY BENEFICIAL. UM, I THINK THERE ARE STILL SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN HOW WE COORDINATE THE COMMITTEES AND, AND I THINK, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE THE CLERK'S OFFICE. WE'VE BEEN COORDINATING VERY CLOSELY ON THE SCHEDULING PROCESS. UM, I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY PUT IN A LITTLE MORE STRUCTURE ON SAYING, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE AGENDA IN ADVANCE, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT NEED TO BE THERE, THAT THE CO-CHAIRS CHECK IN AND, AND WE SORT OF HAVE A STRUCTURED MEETING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE HAPPENS TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE, UM, ABOUT THE AGENDA. UM, BUT I THINK I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO THAT DISCUSSION AS WELL. AND ON CONSTITUENT SERVICES, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY THE AREA WHERE WE'VE DONE THE LEAST STRUCTURALLY, BUT OVERALL MY SENSE HAS BEEN IT'S BEEN WORKING OKAY. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF EMAILS THAT COME THROUGH. COUNSELORS WILL FORWARD THOSE TO THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT HEAD AND CC AT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. AND I THINK WE'VE BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE AT, AT MANAGING THOSE. UM, BUT THAT'LL ACTUALLY BE A GOOD CONVERSATION BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S THE AREA WE'VE PROBABLY WORKED ON THE LEAST IN TERMS OF CREATING A STRONGER STRUCTURE PROCESS. UM, SO I THINK JUST TO OPEN, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY I FEEL LIKE, AND, AND I'M, I'M INTERESTED IN HEARING BOTH, UH, YOU KNOW, PAIN POINTS FROM THE CITY SIDE AND PAIN POINTS FROM THE COUNCIL SIDE AND, AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW TERM AND WAYS THAT WE CAN, UH, WE CAN WORK BETTER TOGETHER. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. SO, UM, WITH THAT, THIS IS REALLY INTENDED TO BE A VERY OPEN DISCUSSION AND I REFLECT BACK ON THE FIRST TIME I WORKED WITH, UM, THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE, ALTHOUGH THERE WERE SOME OF YOU WHO WEREN'T HERE AND SOME OF YOU WHO WERE. UM, AND ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF INTO THE CONVERSATION, THE THEN VICE MAYOR SAID, IT'S KIND OF STRANGE, SHE SAID IT OUT LOUD BY THE WAY, IT'S KIND OF STRANGE. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO ARE TALKING ARE ELECTED OFFICIALS. AND I WAS VERY NAIVE. I DIDN'T KNOW WHO WAS WHO FROM BECAUSE IT WAS MY FIRST PASS THROUGH. UM, NOW I KNOW, BUT THEN I DIDN'T. UM, BUT I SAY THIS AS AN OPENING TO REALLY ENCOURAGE THAT THIS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL OF US TO VOICE OUR THOUGHTS. UM, IT IS NOT A ONE-WAY CITY RECEIVE THE CONCERNS OF THE COUNCIL. IT IS A TWO-WAY DIALOGUE AROUND WHAT DOES THE CITY NEED FROM THE COUNCIL TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE AND WHAT DOES THE COUNCIL NEED FROM THE CITY TO BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO ITS CONSTITUENTS? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? UM, IN THE EARLIER PART OF THIS MORNING, ONE PERSON SAID, WE ARE ONE CITY. AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY [01:55:01] THE GOAL OF THIS CONVERSATION IS HOW DO WE ACT AS ONE CITY, UM, AS AN INTEGRATED BODY AND AN INTEGRATED GROUP OF PEOPLE AND INDIVIDUALS. SO WITH THAT, I WILL BE QUIET AND INVITE YOU ALL TO CONVERSE THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS. NOW, WITHSTANDING YOUR POINT ABOUT ELECTED OFFICIALS HUGGING, I'LL TRY, TRY TO BE BRIEF. UM, THE, UM, UH, I JUST TO TO SPEAK TO THE UPDATES YOU, YOU HAD THERE. THE, UH, I THINK OF THE POLICY ORDERS AWAITING REPORTS. I, I DO AGREE WITH THE OVERVIEW OF THE CITY MANAGER ABOUT THE AWAITING REPORT STATUS UPDATE, THE THING THAT'S ON EVERY COUNCIL AGENDA BEING QUITE QUITE HELPFUL. UH, IN MY FIRST TERM WE WOULD PASS POLICY ORDERS AND THEN IT WAS A MYSTERY IF, UH, WHEN WE WOULD HEAR BACK ABOUT THEM, IF WE WOULD EVER HEAR BACK FROM THEM, JUST SORT OF THROWN OUT INTO THE, THE ETHER. AND, AND CONSTITUENTS WOULD ASK US WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT THING YOU PASSED? AND I'D SAY, I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, HONESTLY, I CAN CAN FOLLOW UP, ASK ABOUT IT AND ASK, BUT, UH, IT WAS JUST UNCLEAR WHEN WE WOULD WE GET A REPORT BACK ON IT THAT IS AN IMPROVEMENT. UM, AND IT, I THINK IT'S OKAY WHEN, WHEN THE ANSWER IS, IS NO, I DID A POLICY ORDER LAST TERM ABOUT BIKE PODS HAVING MORE OUTDOOR BIKE STORAGE AND, AND DID SOME WORK AHEAD OF TIME. YOU KNOW, HAD SOME EXAMPLES, TALKED TO CITY STAFF, PUT IT IN, GOT A RESPONSE BACK A FEW MONTHS LATER THAT SAID, LOOK, LOOK, WE JUST DON'T THINK THIS IS REALLY FEASIBLE TO MANAGE, MANAGE THIS RIGHT NOW AND RESPECT THAT. YOU KNOW, I, I WAS DISAPPOINTED BUT UH, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T THE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY AND I I JUST APPRECIATED HAVING THE REPORT BACK. UM, THE, UM, THINGS THAT, THAT I THINK DO NEED TO BE, IM IMPROVED, FIGURED OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE, AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, IS WHEN WE GET THE REPORT BACK AND THE REPORT BACK IS, WE'RE GONNA WORK ON THIS, IT DISAPPEARS FROM THE WAITING REPORT LIST, BUT IT, THE WORK ISN'T DONE. AND THEN WE'RE STUCK BACK AT THAT PROBLEM OF, SORRY, WE WERE LIKE, WHERE ARE WE AT THIS? WHEN CONSTITUENTS ASK WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT NO IDEA. THE EXAMPLE I HAVE BROUGHT UP IS THE, UM, CURB CUTS. THE COUNCIL PASSED A POLICY ORDER SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT THE COUNCIL TO BE THE, THE FINAL AUTHORITY ON THIS ANYMORE. WE GOT A REPORT BACK SAYING WE WILL WORK ON THIS. UH, AND THEN WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING OUT SINCE THEN. I, I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S AT. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S COMING UP TWO WEEKS FROM NOW OR, OR SIX MONTHS FROM NOW, OR IF IT'S STILL BEING WORKED ON. I THINK WE NEED SOMETHING ELSE TO, TO TRACK ONGOING POLICY THINGS, UH, LIKE THAT. UM, THE OTHER EXAMPLE I HAD WAS DONE ON, UM, THERE ARE LIKE ZONING PIECES ON, ON THAT. UM, THE MAXIMUM UNIT SIZE IS SOMETHING I I BROUGHT UP DURING THE MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING CONVERSATION LAST YEAR THAT WE PASSED THESE ZONING CHANGES TO CREATE MORE HOUSING. ONE THING I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT AND AND OTHER COUNSELORS WORK, 'CAUSE WE WE PASSED THIS POLICY ORDER WAS, UH, WE DON'T WANT THE ZONING CHANGES TO JUST LEAD TO MASSIVE LARGER SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. HAVING A, A SMALL SINGLE FAMILY HOME TORN DOWN AND REPLACED BY AN 8,000 FOOT MCMANSION, THERE'S NOTHING IN THE ZONING THAT PREVENTS THAT RIGHT NOW. WE PASSED THIS POLICY ORDER, GOT A HELPFUL REPORT BACK FROM CDD SAYING, YOU KNOW, HERE'S SOME OPTIONS I THINK TO THE USE OF THE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE. WE EVEN SENT THAT TO COMMITTEE AND THEN WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT THOSE DIFFERENT OPTIONS WOULD BE. AND, AND THERE WERE, WERE REALLY HELPFUL DIFFERENT SORT OF POLICY OPTIONS OF WHAT IT COULD BE. AND WE LANDED ON THIS SORT OF MIX OF, OF INCENTIVES APPROACH AND WE SAID, YES, GO WITH THAT ONE. AND, AND THEN, UH, AND, AND WE SAID, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA TURN THAT INTO ZONING LANGUAGE. AND I JUST DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT'S AT. AND WE, TO THIS QUESTION ABOUT ZONING PRIORITIES, WE HAVE A BUNCH OF ZONING PRIORITIES. WE'RE HAVING THEM, WE TALKED ABOUT ONE LAST NIGHT. I, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT ONE IS AT. THAT ONE IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME. UH, I WAS OKAY, NOT INCLUDING IT IN THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PETITION, UH, TO PUT IT OFF, BUT IT IS A, A REAL THING. AND I HAD A CONSTITUENT REACH OUT RECENTLY. THERE IS A, A SMALL SINGLE FAMILY HOME RIGHT BY RAYMOND PARK THAT'S TORN DOWN AND BEING REPLACED BY THIS LIKE MASSIVE $4 MILLION SINGLE FAMILY HOME. THAT'S THE THING THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THAT. I WOULD, I WISH THAT WERE A TRIPLE DECKER OR SOMETHING ELSE. I PUT IN THE POLICY ORDER FOR THAT AND I, I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S AT IN THE PROCESS. WE NEED SOME SOMETHING TO UPDATE THE COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHERE THOSE THINGS ARE. UM, SO THAT IS JUST A COUPLE POINTS THERE. SO THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE A SENSE OF THE, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE AWAITING REPORTS THAT GET RESPONSES AND THOSE, AS THE COUNSELOR WAS SAYING THAT DON'T YEAH, YOU MADE IT. UM, YES. YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK COUNCILLOR BRER WHEELER, UM, I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS ACTUALLY VERY GOOD FEEDBACK AND I THINK WE ARE, I THINK WE'RE PRETTY INTERESTED IN FIGURING OUT IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IS THERE ANOTHER TRACKER OF SOME SORT THAT WE CAN USE TO BETTER COMMUNICATE WHERE THINGS ARE IN PROCESS. UM, I THINK ONE OF THE PIECES THAT I'M STILL PROBABLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, I THINK THE AWAITING REPORT TRACKER IS VERY CLEAR. IT'S LIKE THERE'S A POLICY ORDER AND THERE'S A RESPONSE. UM, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT THAT AFTER THE RESPONSE COMES IN, IT SOMETIMES BECOMES A LITTLE BIT LESS CLEAR WHAT THAT NEXT STEP IS. SOMETIMES IT'S REALLY CLEAR IN WHICH CASE I ACTUALLY THINK I WOULD LOVE TO JUST GET IT ON A TRACKER AND SAY, FOR INSTANCE, IF IN THE AWAITING REPORT WE SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, DEPARTMENT'S GOING TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN AND BRING IT BACK, THEN INSTEAD OF HAVING IT STAY ON THE AWAITING REPORTS TRACKER, IT MOVES INTO SOME [02:00:01] OTHER CATEGORY. UM, I THINK THAT MAKES SENSE. SOMETIMES IT BECOMES MORE AMBIGUOUS WHAT THE NEXT STEP IS. AND I THINK, I THINK IN TERMS OF, UM, THE MAXIMUM UNIT SIZE, THAT PROBABLY IS A GREAT EXAMPLE WHERE IT WAS A LITTLE LESS CLEAR BOTH WHERE WE WERE LEGALLY, AND I DON'T WANNA GET INTO A DEBATE ABOUT IT HERE, BUT I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S BOTH A QUESTION OF HOW WE PROCEED AND THERE'S A PRIORITIZATION QUESTION IN TERMS OF ALL THE OTHER ZONING THAT'S HAPPENING. SO, UM, I THINK POINT VERY MUCH TAKEN AND, AND I THINK WE SHOULD TRY AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE MORE CRISPLY COMMUNICATE THAT BACK TO PEOPLE. AND, AND ALSO, UM, IF THERE IS SOMETHING OBVIOUS THAT WE ARE MEANT TO DELIVER, I THINK THAT'S WHERE THERE'S DEFINITELY A COMMITMENT TO SAY WE SHOULD GET THAT ON A TRACKER. AND WE SHOULD JUST HAVE THAT, HAVE THAT THERE. THAT'LL HELP US, IT'LL HELP THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY. THANKS CITY MANAGER. UM, AND JUST TO FOLLOW UP, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE, I, I ALSO THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY GREAT FEEDBACK DURING THE MANAGER'S REVIEW. UM, AND IT'S A PROBLEM THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO SOLVE AND AT LEAST AS OF NOW WE HAVE AN INTERNAL TRACKER. UM, SO I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, THESE AREN'T GOING TO THE ETHER. AND IN ADDITION TO AWAITING REPORTS THAT ARE CONTINUING TO BE WORKED ON, WE ALSO ARE PLANNING TO PUT POLICY ORDERS THAT AREN'T AWAITING REPORTS THAT ARE RE REQUESTING WORK. SO, UM, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S, THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF ASKS FROM THE COUNCIL. ONE IS THE AWAITING REPORT, WHICH IS ASKING FOR A FORMAL REPORT BACK IN THE CHAMBER. AND THE OTHER ONE COULD BE A POLICY ORDER THAT IS LOOKING FOR SOME SORT OF ANSWER BUT MIGHT NOT NEED TO HAPPEN HERE IN THE CHAMBER. AND SO WE'LL BE TRACKING BOTH OF THOSE AS WELL. GO AHEAD, COUNCILOR. GABRIELA, I THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER TO JUST HAVE SOME NORMS. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK GUIDING QUESTIONS SHOULD BE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT AND THEN WE SHOULD ALTERNATE BETWEEN COUNSELOR AND STAFF. COUNSELOR AND STAFF. SO I THINK, I THINK THAT WOULD BE MAKE IT FAIR. SO I SAW SOLICITORS' HAND UP AND THEN WE CAN GO TO COUNCILOR GO. GREAT, THANK YOU. UM, SO I JUST HAD A COMMENT OF SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS WORKING WELL, UM, IS THAT I'VE HAD MORE TIMES WHEN COUNSELORS HAVE REACHED OUT BEFORE PUTTING IN A POLICY ORDER TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE THINKING, UM, WHAT THE SCOPE OF THE POLICY ORDER MAY BE TO SORT OF RUN IT BY STAFF TO GET OUR FEEDBACK BEFORE IT COMES TO THE COUNCIL. AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL. UM, SO IT'S NOT SO MUCH THAT WE'RE EACH WORKING ON PARALLEL PATHS, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER AND IT HELPS US GIVE YOU FEEDBACK BEFORE YOU PUT IT IN. UM, BUT ALSO THEN ANTICIPATE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AND WE CAN START WORKING ON IT. AND, UH, I JUST THINK IT'S BEEN REALLY EFFECTIVE. I'LL YIELD COUNCILOR ZIM. UM, I WANTED TO SAY, UM, UH, I'M PRETTY HAPPY WITH HOW THE POLICY ORDERS HAVE GOTTEN SO FAR. I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I KNOW IS PROBABLY MORE PAINFUL FOR STAFF, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY IT'S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL FROM MY COUNCIL SIDE IS HAVING MORE OF THAT FEEDBACK DURING COUNCIL MEETINGS ITSELF. I KNOW THAT MAKES MEETINGS LONGER FOR YOU GUYS, BUT HOPEFULLY IT HELPS IN THE LONGER RUN OF LIKE MAKING POLICY ORDERS, UH, MEET EXPECTATIONS IN THE MOMENT WHEN WE'RE ACTUALLY TRYING TO PASS THEM. AND NOT JUST IN PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS, BUT TO HAVE THAT PUBLIC DIALOGUE MAKES THINGS A LOT EASIER. AND JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, I KNOW IT'S A LITTLE, THOSE NIGHTS CAN BE LONG, BUT UM, YOU KNOW, I FIND IT VERY VALUABLE AND I'LL HELP FACILITATE. I KNOW YOU'RE TAKING NOTES. CITY STAFF. YES. COMMISSIONER. YEAH. UH, THANK YOU. I WOULD JUST ECHO WHAT MEGAN SAID. I THINK IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ON A POLICY ORDER FROM A PUBLIC WORK STANDPOINT. I'D SAY, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE NOW AND A LOT OF TIMES WE AVOIDED THINGS LIKE AWAITING REPORTS AND POLICY ORDERS WHEN IT CAME TO REALLY MINOR THINGS. SO, YOU KNOW, AS AN EXAMPLE, SOMEBODY MAY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH A SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE. IT'S EASY ENOUGH FOR SOMEBODY FROM PUBLIC WORKS TO COME OUT AND MEET A COUNSELOR, MEET THAT RESIDENT OUT IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE, TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT SPECIFIC PROBLEM IS. I THINK WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS IS WE'LL GET A POLICY AUDIT THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, NOBODY REACHES OUT TO US. WE GET A POLICY AUDIT THAT SAYS, WHAT IS THE CITY DOING ABOUT FIXING ALL THE SIDEWALKS IN THE CITY? THAT BECOMES A MUCH BIGGER, IT, IT'S A MUCH BIGGER ASK FOR THE DEPARTMENTS AND I KNOW THAT THAT MAY BE VERY SPECIFIC TO PUBLIC WORKS, BUT I THINK WE CAN AVOID SOME ISSUES, UM, BY [02:05:01] JUST REALLY TALKING TO ONE ANOTHER, REACHING OUT TO US AND HAVING, YOU KNOW, THESE ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS WITH RESIDENTS AND WITH COUNSELORS RIGHT WHERE THEY LIVE, UM, TO TRY TO AVOID SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING. AND COUNCILOR NOLAN, THANKS. AND I WILL SAY THIS REPORT ON THE WAITING REPORTS IS REALLY HELPFUL AND IT'S GREAT. UM, AND IT'S, I THINK IT'S HELPFUL TO US AND HELPFUL TO THE STAFF TOO TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE AT. I LOVE THE IDEA OF SOME KIND OF TRACKER FOR OTHERS IS ITEMS BECAUSE, UM, AS COUNCILOR, SO SABRINA WHEELER SAID THERE'S A BUNCH OF THINGS THAT, THAT THE REPORT SAYS, OKAY, HERE IT IS AND THIS IS THE NEXT STEP. AND THEN WE DUNNO WHERE IT GOES. IT HAPPENED WITH SHORT-TERM RENTALS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS LIKE TWO YEARS AGO WE HAD, OH, WE'RE GONNA WORK ON IT, WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU. AND THEN IT NEVER DID. AND I KNOW IT'S PARTLY OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO FOLLOW UP, BUT I THINK THE MORE WE CAN HAVE THAT AS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, WHAT THE TIMING IS, THAT IS GOOD. AND YOU KNOW, I CAN HAVE MY OWN TRACKER, BUT IT'LL PROBABLY BE JUST FOR THE ONES THAT I PUT IN. WHEREAS LET, LET, LET'S WORK ON SOME KIND OF, OF WAY TO UNDERSTAND THAT. AND RELATED TO THAT, THERE'S A NUMBER OF ORDINANCES THAT SAY THERE SHOULD BE A REPORT AND FRANKLY THEY'RE PROBABLY ONEROUS AND MAYBE WE SHOULD TAKE THEM OUTTA THE ORDINANCE, BUT THEY ARE IN THE ORDINANCE AND SOMEBODY WILL SAY, OH, BY THE WAY, WE AREN'T FOLLOWING OUR OWN ORDINANCE 'CAUSE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GET IN ANY REPORT ON THIS AND WE HAVEN'T HAD ONE FOR FIVE YEARS. SO I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER AREA OF, AGAIN, JOINTLY SHARED RESPONSIBILITY THAT, UM, THAT WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THE CADENCE OF THOSE REPORTS, WHEN SHOULD THEY COME ABOUT? I KNOW WHEN I WAS ON SCHOOL COMMITTEE AT ONE POINT WE SAID, HERE'S THE SCHEDULE FOR THE YEAR. LIKE IN JANUARY YOU'RE GETTING THIS REPORT IN FEBRUARY, YOU'RE GETTING THIS REPORT IN MARCH, YOU'RE GETTING THIS REPORT. I THINK THAT'D BE HELPFUL FOR ALL OF US. AND I ALSO THINK I'M CERTAINLY OPEN AND I WOULD THINK MY, UM, I THINK THE COUNCIL WOULD BE IS THERE MAY BE SOME REPORTS THAT ARE TOO ONEROUS OR ARE DUPLICATIVE OR WE CAN TAKE OFF THE EITHER ORDINANCE OR SOME OTHER LIST. SO, SO I'M HAPPY TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. BUT I DO THINK THERE'S A LOT OF THAT KIND OF INTERNAL TRACKING THAT THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER OF INSTANCES WHEN I'LL REVIEW A REPORT AND SAY, OH, WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS? I DON'T WANNA BE A NAG. BUT THEN WHEN I SAY, HEY, I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA GET THIS TO US SIX MONTHS AGO, WHERE IS IT? AND YET YOU'RE ALL OVERWHELMED. AND I GET THAT, BUT I, BUT IT, IT PUTS ALL OF US IN A POSITION OF, I'M PROBABLY PERCEIVED OF AS WHY ARE YOU HOUNDING US ABOUT THIS? BUT I ALSO FEEL LIKE, WELL YOU WERE THE ONES WHO SAID YOU WOULD GET IT TO US. SO, SO I WANNA PUT IT OUT THERE THAT I THINK WE CAN REALLY WORK ON IT GIVEN THE SUCCESS OF THE AWAITING REPORTS. UM, AND I WANNA HEAR FROM STAFF OF HOW ONEROUS ARE OUR WAITING REPORT REQUESTS. I MEAN, I DO TRY, UM, BEFORE I PUT SOMETHING ON TO SAY, IS THIS REASONABLE AND IS THIS A REASONABLE TIMEFRAME FOR THAT? AND IF IT, AND IF I DON'T DO THAT, FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO ME EITHER DURING THE MEETING OR AFTER THE MEETING AND SAY, HEY, YOU, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO REACH OUT TO US BEFORE YOU PUT THIS ON. I, I, I, I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING I'M, I'M VERY OPEN TO, EVEN THOUGH I GET DEFENSIVE AND, AND AND INSECURE, I WILL, UM, TRY TO BE, UH, OPEN TO THAT ON TO THAT FEEDBACK. AND THEN ON CONSTITUENT SERVICES, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE IT BE BETTER SYSTEMIZED. 'CAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IS SOMETIMES SOMEONE WILL EMAIL THE COUNCIL AS COMMISSIONER NADON SAID, AND THEN MAYBE THREE OF US RESPOND, MAYBE ONE OF US RESPOND, MAYBE NINE OF US RESPOND. AND IT'S, AND ULTIMATELY IT'S THE CITY STAFF THAT IS GONNA DO THE WORK ON THAT IF IT'S A CONSTITUENT SERVICE. SO IF WE COULD ALL FIGURE OUT A PROCESS BY WHICH MAYBE WE GET A RESPONSE AND INSTEAD OF ME SAYING RESPONDING IMMEDIATELY TO, UM, TO MY NEIGHBOR OR A NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE CITY, THE PRACTICE IS MAYBE WE FORWARD IT TO THE RELEVANT CITY PERSON AND MAYBE THEY, AND THE REST OF THE COUNCIL KNOWS THAT THAT'S HAPPENED SO THAT WE ALL DON'T HAVE TO DO IT. I, I, I, I KNOW WE'RE NOT THERE YET, BUT I DO THINK THAT WOULD BE PROBABLY MORE EFFICIENT, MORE EFFECTIVE AND HELPFUL FOR THE CITY AS A WHOLE AND PROBABLY ENSURE SOMEBODY GETS A REPLY. 'CAUSE SOMETIMES NOBODY GETS A REPLY 'CAUSE MAYBE I FIGURE WELL MARK IS GOING TO DO THAT SO I WON'T RESPOND. BUT THEN OTHER TIMES, SIX PEOPLE RESPOND AND, AND THEN FRANKLY WE'RE ALL TRYING TO SAY, SEE I WAS RESPONSIVE SO I DUNNO IF THAT'S HELPFUL FEEDBACK. BUT UH, UM, THANKS FOR WORKING ON THIS AND I'M JUST GONNA SAY IF THE MIC, MAKE SURE YOUR MIC IS TURNED OFF. UM, IF YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING, I'LL GO TO COM. UM, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER. HI, JUST TWO QUICK FOLLOW UPS. UM, PICKING UP ON WHAT COUNCIL NOLAN WAS SAYING, I THINK THIS UM, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT INTERNALLY. YOU KNOW, THE EMAIL THAT GOES TO CITY COUNCIL AT CAMBRIDGE MA IS ONE OF THE, I'D SAY THE MOST CHALLENGING ONES 'CAUSE IT DOES GET FORWARDED AND PEOPLE WILL IDENTIFY LIKE, OH THESE ARE THE THREE RIGHT PEOPLE AND THEN ANOTHER COUNCIL WILL IDENTIFY THESE ARE THE THREE RIGHT PEOPLE. SO THEN WE END UP WITH FIVE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHAT SIMILAR BUT OVERLAPPING BUT NOT QUITE. SO I THINK WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB EVEN IF IT'S JUST LIKE, OKAY, MAKE SURE THAT THIS PERSON IS ALWAYS COPIED ON THOSE AS THEY'RE FORWARDED OR YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT SUCH AN CUMBERSOME PROCESS BUT SOME WAY THAT WE SORT OF ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THREE DIFFERENT GROUPS OF STAFF TRYING TO RESPOND TO [02:10:01] THE SAME REQUEST. 'CAUSE PEOPLE ARE DOING A REALLY GENUINE JOB OF TRYING TO GET IT TO THE RIGHT PLACE. SO I THINK THAT IS ONE THAT UM, WE CAN REALLY TRY TO HELP WITH. THE OTHER THING I THINK, AND I THINK WE'VE DONE A BETTER JOB OVER THE YEARS OF SORT OF GETTING MESSAGES TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT LAYER IN THE ORGANIZATION THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF CONSTITUENTS SERVICES GOING TO THE DEPARTMENT HEADS TOTALLY MAKES SENSE. WE WANNA BE SORT OF CAREFUL ABOUT GETTING, YOU KNOW, TOO DEEP IN THE ORGANIZATION BECAUSE I WOULD SAY OFTENTIMES WHAT FEELS LIKE A CONSTITUENT SERVICE CAN THEN QUICKLY COME INTO A POLICY ISSUE. AND SO I THINK WE COULD SORT OF COME UP WITH A LITTLE BIT BETTER, UM, SORT OF BEST PRACTICES IN TERMS OF WHEN PEOPLE ARE REACHING OUT TO THE DEPARTMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW, THAT IT'S REALLY FOCUSED THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT HEAD AND THEN AGAIN WITH THE CITY COUNCIL AT CAMBRIDGE AND MAKE GOVS. I THINK AT A MINIMUM WE CAN SORT OF SAY LIKE, OKAY, MAKE SURE YOU'RE ALWAYS COPYING THIS PERSON IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. 'CAUSE WE DON'T WANT NECESSARILY EVERYTHING TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH A SINGLE PERSON. 'CAUSE IT'S LIKE, SO A LOT OF THESE ARE REALLY QUICK AND SO THE DEPARTMENTS ARE THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO ANSWER THESE RESPONSES. BUT JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT SORT OF DUPLICATING EFFORTS I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL. SO I JUST WANNA PAUSE BEFORE WE MOVE OFF OR ONTO ANOTHER TOPIC JUST TO SUMMARIZE WHAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR. 'CAUSE WE'RE MOVING QUICKLY. UM, WHAT I'M HEARING IS A REQUEST OF THE CITY STAFF ON THE FIRST TOPIC, WHICH IS AROUND THE AWAITING REPORTS TO MAKE THE TRACKER, MATT, THAT YOU REFERENCED ON THE AWAITING AWAITING REPORTS MORE PUBLIC AND AVAILABLE, RIGHT? SO THE IN PROCESS STATUS REPORT TRACKER, UM, DO YOU HAVE A TIMELINE ON THAT? UM, I THINK WE'RE STILL FIGURING OUT WHAT'S GONNA GO PUBLIC AND WHAT'S NOT. 'CAUSE IT'S, THERE'S A LOT OF GRAY THERE IN TERMS OF WHAT IS, UM, WHAT IS, YOU KNOW, VALUABLE FOR THE PUBLIC AND WHAT IS STILL BEING WORKED ON AND FIGURING OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA RESPOND. AND SO, UM, BUT PERHAPS THERE ARE MONTHLY UPDATES, QUARTERLY UPDATES, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT. OKAY. THAT'S GREAT. SO YEAH, WE'LL GET SOMETHING UP SOON. SOON, YEAH. OKAY. SO LIKE SIX, LIKE EARLY FEBRUARY. OH THAT'S SOON. OH YEAH, THAT'S GOOD. LOVE IT. OKAY, GREAT. UM, AND THEN THE SECOND PIECE THAT WE HAD COME UP WAS AROUND THE CONSTITUENT SERVICES. UM, WHICH AS I HEAR A REQUEST, KATHY, I THINK FROM YOU TELL ME IF I GOT IT RIGHT, THAT THOSE TOPICS GET ROOTED THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT HEADS THAT THEY DON'T GET SENT WILLY-NILLY TO 3, 4, 7 PEOPLE, BUT THEY GET SENT TO ONE PERSON AND THAT ONE PERSON ON THE COUNCIL SIDE DO THAT SENDING, IS THAT WRONG? UH, UH, I JUST CLARIFIED. SO I, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA ASK ONE PERSON ON THE COUNCIL BECAUSE THEY GO TO ALL NINE COUNSELORS AND SO, YOU KNOW, SOME ARE ISSUES THAT, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN COUNSELORS FEEL MORE RESPONSIBLE FOR. AND SO I DON'T THINK THAT'S A REASONABLE REQUEST. I THINK AGAIN, VERY SOON IN THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, TWO WEEKS OR SO, WE COULD SORT OF LAY OUT SORT OF A, YOU KNOW, AND SOMETIMES IT IS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENT HEADS, SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY EVEN INAPPROPRIATE TO SEND IT TO TWO DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT HEADS. BUT I THINK I, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE INTERNALLY AND GET BACK TO FOLKS. I THINK THERE IS SORT OF A, LIKE, DO ALL OF THOSE THEN GET COPIED TO SOMEONE IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE SO THAT THEY'RE SEEING SO THAT A SINGLE PERSON IS SEEING ALL THE DIFFERENT EMAIL CHAINS SO THAT WE CAN SORT OF HELP MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS. 'CAUSE AGAIN, I DON'T WANNA MAKE IT TOO CUMBERSOME FOR COUNSELORS TO BE RESPONSIVE TO CONSTITUENTS. SO WE HAVE TWO COMMITMENTS FROM THE CITY BY EARLY FEBRUARY. UM, ONE RELATED TO THE AWAITING AWAITING REPORTS, WHICH IS MY NEW LANGUAGE FOR THE THINGS IN PROCESS. AND TWO IS, UM, THE CONSTITUENT SERVICES PROCESS. OKAY. MAYOR WHO IS WANTING TO SPEAK. AND I THINK I WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, COMMISSIONER NOONE'S POINT AROUND THE, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU DON'T NEED, UH, POLICY ORDER FOR CERTAIN THINGS AND TO TALK THROUGH KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S EASIER TO JUST PICK UP THE PHONE BECAUSE IT'S, THAT'S A BETTER PROCESS. SO I HAD COUNSELOR ZI, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR. UM, AGAIN, I JUST WANTED TO THANK THE STAFF FOR BEING SO ACCESSIBLE AND HELPFUL. SOMETHING I ALSO DO, 'CAUSE WE GET A MILLION CONSTITUENT, UM, REQUESTS, IS I OFTEN FEEL LIKE I SHOULD TRY TO SHELTER THE STAFF, YOU KNOW, AND I, IT'S GOOD FOR STAFF TO BE RELATING WITH THE PUBLIC, BUT I REALIZE THAT ONCE YOUR EMAIL IS OUT, YOU MAY BE RECEIVING EMAILS ALL THE TIME FROM DIRECTLY FROM CONSTITUENTS AND I DUNNO IF YOU REALLY WANT THAT. SO THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER IS ABOUT, UH, SHIELDING STAFF OR NOT SHIELDING STAFF. I MEAN, YOU WANNA, UM, IT'S MOST DIRECT IF, IF, IF PEOPLE ARE HEARING DIRECTLY FROM STAFF. BUT [02:15:01] AT THE SAME TIME, SOMETIMES I WONDER HOW STAFF GETS THEIR JOB DONE 'CAUSE THEY'RE DISTRACTED ALL DAY LONG. AND THE, AND THE TWO PEOPLE THAT I ALSO WISH WERE HERE TODAY WERE SOMEONE FROM INSPECTION SERVICES AND TRANSPORTATION, BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE TWO, UH, PRIMARY AREAS LIKE WE'RE THAT WE GET CONSTITUENT REQUESTS ALL THE TIME AND I FEEL LIKE WE, WE DON'T GET REPORTS BACK ON, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ASSURED BY THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT THAT THEY'RE THOUGHTFULLY CONSIDERING EVERY CONCERN ABOUT A CROSSWALK AND SPEED HUMP AND UM, DANGEROUS INTERSECTION. BUT WE, WE OFTEN DON'T HEAR BACK AND WITH INSPECTION SERVICES ALL THE TIME BECAUSE OF THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE BECAUSE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE BEING DISRUPTED AND NEIGHBORS ARE WRITING US SAYING, YOU KNOW, IS THERE REALLY GONNA BE A DEMOLITION NEXT DOOR? AND WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS? I, I WISH THERE ANYWAY, I WISH THERE WAS SOMEONE FROM THOSE DEPARTMENTS TO REPORT BACK AND TO HELP US TO BETTER RESPOND TO, UH, RESIDENCES, RE RESIDENTS CONCERNS. ALSO, JUST ON, I KNOW WE WIN PRIZES AND I CONGRATULATE THE CITY FOR IT'S INCREDIBLE OPEN DATA PORTAL AND HAVING SO MUCH INFORMATION THAT'S ACCESSIBLE, BUT WE REALLY HAVE TO GET OUR, OUR NUMBERS CONSISTENT. 'CAUSE I THINK BECAUSE THEY'RE SUCH DIFFERENT NUMBERS HOSTED BY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND IN INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES, UH, PEOPLE GET VERY, VERY CONFUSED, INCLUDING US COUNSELORS. SO THAT'S JUST AN ANOTHER PLACE WHERE WE NEED GREATER CLARITY. UM, AND I, AND I I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THERE WAS JUST A PORTAL FOR TRANSPORTATION CONCERNS. UM, AND, AND THE OTHER THING IS, UH, ARE THERE LIKE QUARTERLY, UM, AND I DON'T WANNA, UH, CROSS BOUNDARIES WITH CITY STAFF, BUT I ASSUME CITY DEPARTMENT HEADS REPORT BACK TO THE CITY MANAGER. WOULD IT BE HELPFUL FOR THOSE REPORTS OR SOME VERSION OF THOSE REPORTS TO BE SHARED WITH THE COUNCIL SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT'S IN PROCESS AND WHAT'S NOT IN PROCESS? I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT LIKE THE SHUTTLE STUDY THAT WE APPROPRIATED MONEY FOR. UM, SO, SO MANY THINGS WITH THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW, UM, WHERE THINGS ARE UNTIL THEY REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL. SO IT WOULD JUST BE, IT WOULD BE NICE IF THERE WAS, IF DEPARTMENT HEADS WERE DOING QUARTERLY REPORTS FOR AT LEAST SOME OF THAT INFORMATION TO FILTER DOWN TO THE COUNCIL. THINK THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT IN EARLY FEBRUARY, WHICH IS WHAT ARE THOSE REPORTS GONNA LOOK LIKE? WHAT WILL THEIR FREQUENCY BE? HOW WILL THEY BE DELIVERED? SO I THINK THAT'S COMING. UM, I JUST WANNA GO BACK BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD. I SEE YOUR HAND, UM, CITY STAFF. WE HEARD AT THE BEGINNING OF COUNCILOR SUZIE'S COMMENTS, A DESIRE TO, I THINK THE WORD YOU USED WAS SHELTER OR PROTECT THE STAFF FROM THE CONSTITUENT INPUT. UM, REACTIONS TO THAT, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING? DO YOU NOT WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING? WHAT'S ON YOUR NEED TO KNOW LIST? LET'S GET SOME CLARITY AROUND THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE WITH VERY GOOD INTENTIONS MAKING SOME ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHAT THEY MAY OR MAY NOT NEED OR WANT TO HAVE AVAILABLE TO THEM. SO DOES ANYBODY ON THE CITY STAFF HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT, THAT THEY'D LIKE TO SAY? YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE GUIDELINES? WHAT ARE THE GUARDRAILS? YEAH, KATHY, UM, I CAN TAKE A CRACK. I MEAN, I THINK IT SORT OF FALLS INTO TWO BUCKETS, RIGHT? SO I THINK THERE'S SORT OF A CONSTITUENT SERVICE. I HAVE A BROKEN SIDEWALK, I NEED THIS FIXED, OR I HAVE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SORT OF AN OPERATIONAL SIDE AND I THINK THAT IS SORT OF WHAT THE DEPARTMENTS DO. I THINK, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE BROADER POLICY, UM, ONES ARE MORE CHALLENGING, RIGHT? BECAUSE THOSE ARE SORT OF FOLLOWING INTO THE REALM OF THE WORK OF THE CITY COUNCIL. SO I THINK DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS MIGHT HAVE A DIFFERENT ANSWER AND SO THERE IS SOME JUDGMENT THERE. SO I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT. SO IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW PEOPLE THINK, YOU KNOW, MULTIFAMILY ZONING SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED OR YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE, YOU KNOW, BY, UM, THE LARGER POLICY THINGS THAT ARE REALLY FALLING BACK ONTO CITY COUNCIL, THEN I THINK THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT SORT OF SEPARATION IS HELPFUL BECAUSE IT'S REALLY CONSTITUENTS REACHING OUT TO CITY COUNCIL ABOUT, UM, THOSE POLICIES. AND I DON'T KNOW IF MELISSA HAS THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT. AND THEN I THINK, YOU KNOW, ON THE OPERATIONAL SIDE, YOU KNOW, THAT IS SORT OF WHAT THE DEPARTMENTS DO AND ARE SET UP FOR. SO I FEEL LESS NEED TO SORT OF PROTECT THEM FROM THOSE KINDS OF REQUESTS. BUT AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW IF CDD HAS AN OPINION ABOUT OR THOUGHT, YEAH, THANKS KATHY. UM, I THINK CERTAINLY THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIKE A BROADER POLICY QUESTION AND, YOU KNOW, VERSUS SOMETHING LIKE HOW DOES, WHAT'S THE ROLE OF A A NEIGHBOR IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S BEING BUILT NEXT DOOR TO THEM? THOSE ARE QUICK QUESTIONS WE CAN ANSWER WHAT'S IN THE [02:20:01] ZONING, WHAT ARE, WHAT'S AS A RIGHT VERSUS, UM, WHAT'S NOT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UM, BUT CERTAINLY WHEN IT GETS INTO MORE COMPLICATED, WHAT'S THE POLICY? THOSE ARE CERTAINLY THINGS WE LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'D LIKE TO DO WITH COUNCIL AND IN BROADER, WE'RE ALWAYS HAPPY TO TALK THROUGH HOW THE POLICY WAS DEVELOPED AND CREATED. BUT THOSE GET TO BE MORE COMPLICATED AND ARE HARDER TO ANSWER. BUT CERTAINLY I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, ALWAYS HAPPY TO, TO GET THE EMAILS, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE JOB IS UNDERSTANDING THE PULSE OF THE COMMUNITY. WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RESPOND AS THOROUGHLY AS SOMEONE MAY WANT, AND THAT MIGHT BE MORE, MORE OF A, A, A BIGGER CONVERSATION, PUBLIC DIALOGUE. UH, BUT CERTAINLY HAPPY TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION AND HELP AS NEEDED. HEAD COUNCILMAN MCGOVERN. UH, THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR. YEAH, UM, COUPLE THINGS. I THINK, UH, WHAT SORT OF CONNECTS A LOT OF THESE THINGS, AND THIS IS PROBABLY MORE OF A, MORE OF A TALK OF, UH, DISCUSSION ON SOME NORMS FOR THE COUNCIL, UM, IS THE, WE SORT OF WALK IN DIFFERENT WORLDS, RIGHT? AND, AND, AND SO THE, YOU KNOW, THE THE CITY STAFF, YOU'RE RUNNING THE CITY, YOU'RE DOING ALL OF THIS DAY-TO-DAY WORK. WE'RE SORT OF IN THIS POLITICAL WORLD AND SORT OF AS CO AS COUNCILLOR NOLAN SAID, YOU KNOW, WE GET AN EMAIL TO THE CITY COUNCIL ABOUT WHATEVER TOPIC AND THEN THERE'S THIS MAD RACE BETWEEN THE NINE OF US TO SEE WHO'S GONNA GET TO RESPOND TO IT FIRST. UM, AND YOU KNOW, I, AND THERE ARE TIMES I THINK WE ALL DO THIS, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE TIMES WHERE UM, YOU KNOW, I MIGHT SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT GONNA, I WE ALL GOT THIS, SOMEONE IS GONNA FORWARD THIS ON, I'M JUST NOT GONNA TACKLE THIS ONE. AND THEN YOU GET AN EMAIL BACK SAYING, WELL I ONLY HEARD FROM THIS COUNSELOR. LIKE, OH, I GET SLAPPED FOR IT 'CAUSE I'M TRYING NOT TO OVERLOAD PEOPLE, BUT THEN TO THE CONSTITUENT, I'M THE ONE PERSON WHO DIDN'T EMAIL THEM BACK. SO NOW I'M THE, NOW I'M THE BAD GUY. SO, YOU KNOW, FIGURING OUT HOW WE SORT OF, HOW WE BALANCE THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT. UM, AND I DO, I, YOU KNOW, THE MANAGER BROUGHT UP EARLIER TODAY THAT WHAT WE'RE IN THE TOP FIVE OF THE MOST, WHAT'D YOU SAY, THE MOST RESPONSIVE OR ENGAGED GOVERNMENTS OR THAT EASILY REACHED GOVERNMENT. AND YOU KNOW, I, I DO WANNA, I APPRECIATE VERY MUCH THE STAFF'S WILLINGNESS TO WORK 20 HOUR DAYS , UM, AND, AND BE SO RESPONSIVE AND AS MELISSA SAID, UM, BUT I DO THINK I, I AGREE WITH COUNCILOR ZUZI A LITTLE BIT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD, THERE, THERE SHOULD BE DIFFERENT ROLES THAT WE PLAY IN THIS, RIGHT? AND, AND, AND, AND I CRINGE EVERY TIME I HEAR A PUBLIC COMMENT ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, OUR STAFF ISN'T RESPONSIVE OR OUR STAFF IS UNPROFESSIONAL, OR YOU ALL WORK SO INCREDIBLY HARD TO BE RESPONSIVE TO EVERYBODY WHO JUST FEELS THAT THEY CAN JUST PICK UP, YOU KNOW, DROP AN EMAIL AND THEY, THEY, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER ISSUE THAT THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT AT THAT MOMENT BECOMES THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IN THE CITY. AND IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS AND IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH. AND IF YOU DON'T RESPOND WITHIN, YOU KNOW, SIX HOURS, YOU KNOW, YOU GET TRASHED. AND IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE SO RESPONSIVE AND IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE SO ACCESSIBLE. THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT IS GO, GO LOOK, GO GO EMAIL THE CITY OF BOSTON, YOU KNOW, ABOUT A, A BRICK MISSING IN, IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE IN THE SIDEWALK AND LET'S SEE HOW FAST THEY GET DPW OUT THERE TO FIX THAT, RIGHT? UM, WE PROVIDE GREAT SERVICE HERE TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE. AND WITH THAT COMES A VERY HIGH EXPECTATION. SO I DO, I WANNA BE A LITTLE CAREFUL ON YOUR BEHALF BECAUSE I KNOW IF WE LEAVE IT UP TO THE STAFF, THEY'RE GONNA SAY, OH, EMAIL US ALL THE TIME AND TELL US. 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU DO. BUT YOU ALSO SHOULDN'T BE WORKING AT EIGHT O'CLOCK AT NIGHT, YOU KNOW, GETTING HERE AT EIGHT IN THE MORNING AND WORKING TILL EIGHT OR NINE O'CLOCK AT NIGHT GOING OUT TO MEET WITH CONSTITUENTS BECAUSE YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY DOESN'T LIKE THE COLOR OF THE PAVEMENT IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE. UM, SO WE GOTTA SET SOME LIMITS FOR ALL OF YOU AND MAYBE THAT'S WHERE WE COME IN AND WE TAKE SOME OF THE HEAT MORE SO ON THAT. UM, IN, UH, IN TERMS OF THE, I JUST WANTED TO, IN, IN TERMS OF THE, THAT AWAITING AWAITING REPORTS LIST, UH, IF THAT'S WHAT WE'RE CALLING IT, UM, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER THING THAT WOULD BE, AND I THINK THIS IS WHAT COUNCIL SUZI WAS SAYING, OR AT LEAST THE WAY I HEARD IT, YOU KNOW, IF WE COULD GET SOME KIND OF QUARTERLY, I DON'T WANNA CREATE MORE WORK, BUT SOME KIND OF QUARTERLY UPDATE OF NOT OF ALL THE VARIOUS THINGS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON, BECAUSE I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO POLICY ORDERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO, 'CAUSE I AGREE NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE A POLICY ORDER, [02:25:01] BUT AGAIN, IN THE POLITICAL WORLD WE LIKE FILING POLICY ORDERS BECAUSE THEN PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT. IF I HAD A LIST OF MY GOD CDD IS WORKING ON THESE 30 THINGS, THAT'S GOOD, YOU KNOW, THAT I MAY NOT FILE THAT POLICY ORDER. YOU KNOW, UM, SO IT'S NOT JUST THE AWAITING AWAITING REPORTS, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON THAT THAT IS TAKING A LOT OF TIME THAT WE SORT OF, WE FORGET ABOUT. AND UM, I THINK THAT'S, THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO KNOW SO THAT WE CAN BE A LITTLE MORE DILIGENT AND, AND A LITTLE MORE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT WE ACTUALLY FILE AND TO PILE PUT A LITTLE LESS ON YOUR PLATE, YOU KNOW, AT TIMES. SO, UM, THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR. I DO HAVE, UM, NAOMI, MY COMMENT IS PROBABLY JUST GONNA BE A FOOTNOTE IN A SENSE TO WHAT COUNCIL MCGOVERN JUST SAID. I THINK IN REAL TIME, UM, THERE ARE THESE SORT OF VERY NEBULOUS TOPICS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND THERE ARE, I COULD PROBABLY NAME LIKE FIVE PEOPLE WHO CONSISTENTLY WILL CALL OR COME TO THE COUNCIL OFFICE ON TUESDAY AND BASICALLY ASK ME TO GIVE THEM A RUNDOWN OF THE MEETING. AND THEN THEY'LL SAY, SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW? AND I SOMETIMES DON'T KNOW WHO TO DIRECT THEM TO OR IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S SO BIG THAT I'M LIKE, WELL, WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO START? LIKE, SO KNOWING SORT OF, I KNOW THAT IT PROBABLY ISN'T EASY TO ASSIGN A PERSON TO EVERY SINGLE THING THAT I COULD DIRECT SOMEONE TO, BUT HOW I, HOW I TYPICALLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION IS I'LL SAY, WELL, AS A PERSON IN THE ROOM, HERE'S WHAT I HEARD LAST NIGHT. THE FINAL ACTIONS WILL BE POSTED AT THIS TIME OF THE ACTUAL MEETING SUBSTANCE ITSELF. BUT PARTICULARLY WHEN THERE'S A HOT TOPIC THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE JUMPING INTO AND TO THEM IT JUST STARTED, BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, 50 MONTHS PAST WHEN IT ACTUALLY STARTED, I HAVE NO WAY TO SORT OF BUILD BACKWARDS AND MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S BEEN A WHOLE PROCESS. THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT IN THE PROCESS AND SOME PROJECTS DO HAVE SOMEWHERE ONLINE THAT I CAN DIRECT THEM TO, TO SORT OF READ THE ENTIRE HISTORY AND KIND OF GET THEMSELF UP TO SPEED. BUT FOR THESE PEOPLE, SOMETHING IS HAPPENING THAT THEY'RE THINKING JUST STARTED TODAY 'CAUSE THEY JUST STARTED PAYING ATTENTION TO IT. AND A LOT OF TIMES I'M A LITTLE BIT AT A LOSS, BUT I DON'T WANNA DO THAT THING WHERE I'M LIKE, OH, LET ME TRANSFER YOU TO CDD, LET ME TRANSFER YOU 'CAUSE SOMEBODY ELSE IS JUST GONNA PICK UP THAT PHONE AND ALSO NOT KNOW. AND NOW I'M PART OF GIVING THAT PERSON A RUNAROUND. THANKS. ANYBODY ELSE BEHIND ME THAT I DIDN'T, DIDN'T SEE CITY MANAGER? UM, MAYBE JUST TO SIT ON, I THINK, UM, ALSO MARK, I MEAN I THINK NAOMI, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, I, I APPRECIATE IT. I THINK THAT POINT, AND I THINK THERE'S DEFINITELY A CHALLENGE. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A PERFECT ANSWER TO THE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. 'CAUSE I THINK ACTUALLY A LOT OF US ARE OFTEN ASKING THAT QUESTION AND UH, AND IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE IN SENIOR LEADERSHIP IN THE CITY OR ON THE CITY COUNCIL, AND WE'RE ABOUT AS IN THE KNOW AS ANYBODY CAN BE, BUT SOMETIMES THE ANSWER IS WE DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW QUITE WHAT'S NEXT BECAUSE THAT'S BEING WORKED OUT. UM, SORT OF LIKE IF WE WERE TO ASK JOHN RIGHT NOW, ARE WE GONNA GET HIT WITH ANOTHER STORM? UM, THE ANSWER RIGHT NOW MIGHT BE WE'RE, WE'RE NOT QUITE SURE, BUT WE'RE GONNA KNOW MORE IN IN A COUPLE DAYS. UM, I DID WANT TO SIT A LITTLE BIT WITH, WITH MARK YOUR, 'CAUSE I THINK THIS HAS ACTUALLY COME UP A COUPLE OF TIMES THIS QUESTION OF, UM, AND I THINK IF I WERE TO DESCRIBE IT ON BOTH SIDES, AND I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM SOME CITY STAFF, BUT I THINK ON THE COUNCIL SIDE, I HEAR COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN, YOU KNOW, THIS SENSE OF WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE OF EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING. AND THE CHALLENGE IS, IT ACTUALLY IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK TO CAPTURE A SNAPSHOT OF THE STATUS OF EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING. OR TO EVEN DEFINE LIKE WHAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO THE CITY COUNCIL. UM, AND SO I THINK FROM ONE ANGLE THE COUNCIL WANTS TO KNOW LIKE, WHAT ELSE ARE YOU WORKING ON? AND IS THAT STUFF THAT WE THINK IS IMPORTANT? DO WE HAVE OPINIONS? DO WE JUST WANT TO APPRECIATE THE GOOD WORK THAT'S HAPPENING? UM, I THINK THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF WORRY ON THE CITY SIDE THAT LIKE THE MORE WE SHARE, THE MORE FEEDBACK WE GET. AND THAT CAN SOMETIMES BE CHALLENGING, SORT OF LIKE A, IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, LIKE LET'S NOT TRY TO LOOK AT IT AND FIX IT. UM, AND I THINK ON THE CITY SIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S PROBABLY A BIT OF THE, THE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE HOW DO WE ENGAGE WITH THE CITY COUNCIL ON EVERYTHING THAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING? AND MAYBE THE WORRY IS, LOOK, IF UM, IF YOU'RE HAPPY THAT PUBLIC WORKS IS DOING A GREAT JOB AND THE TRASH IS GETTING PICKED UP AND THE COMPOSTING PROGRAM IS WORKING AND THERE'S CONTINUED WORK ON RECYCLING, WE SORT OF END UP DOING THAT ANNUAL CONVERSATION. UM, BUT [02:30:01] I THINK THERE'S SOMETIMES A RELUCTANCE TO, TO GO AND SAY PUBLIC WORKS. LIKE LET'S PUT TOGETHER A QUARTERLY REPORT THAT ACTUALLY DOESN'T GET READ OR TALKED ABOUT ON MONDAY NIGHT. I THINK THAT'S THE WORRY THAT THAT'S SOMETIMES WE DO PRODUCE CONTENT THAT DOESN'T END UP, DOESN'T END UP REALLY FEELING HELPFUL. EVEN IF AT THE START OF THAT JOURNEY IT WAS LIKE, OH, THIS WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE PIECE THAT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO DOING TO SAY LIKE, IF WE'RE GONNA PUT IN EFFORT TO DO SOMETHING, IT'S GOTTA TURN INTO, INTO SOMETHING WORTHWHILE, BUT MAYBE OPEN THAT UP TO CITY STAFF. 'CAUSE I THINK WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD THAT CONVERSATION A COUPLE OF TIMES AS WELL BECAUSE WE DO WANT TO SHARE MORE OF EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING. UM, IT IS JUST WORK AND IT'S, IT'S HARD TO SOMETIMES CRYSTALLIZE GIVEN THE, THE AMOUNT THAT IS CHANGING IN THE CITY. AND I THINK WE'VE HEARD FROM SOME CITY STAFF MULTIPLE TIMES FOR VARIOUS REASONS, BUT IF THERE'S FOLKS WHO HAVEN'T SPOKEN WHO'D LIKE TO SPEAK, PLEASE, PLEASE DO SO. AND WE HAVEN'T GONE AROUND AND HEARD FROM ALL COUNSELORS EITHER. SO WANNA MAKE SPACE FOR THAT. I JUST WANNA PICK UP ON THE POINT THAT YOU MADE COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN ABOUT THE POLITICAL VERSUS THE ADMINISTRATIVE. AND I WOULD, I, IF I CONNECT THAT TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID, CITY MANAGER, I DON'T THINK I'M PUTTING WORDS IN PEOPLE'S MOUTHS. I'M GONNA PUT IT OUT THERE AS A HYPOTHESIS THAT THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CITY IS WHAT YOU NECESSARILY NEED OR WANT TO KNOW ABOUT FROM A COUNCIL PERSPECTIVE, RIGHT? DID, DID KATHY DO X, Y, Z? IS IT A LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT I THINK THE REQUEST FROM THE CITY IS ASSUME TRUST ASSUME THAT THE BASIC OPERATIONS OF THE CITY ARE HAPPENING. LIKE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED TODAY TO GET ALL OF YOU HERE HAPPENED WITHOUT COUNCIL INPUT. YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO CALL ANYONE, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO TELL ANYONE TO CLEAR THE STREETS, RIGHT? THESE THINGS HAPPEN, BUT THERE IS A DOMAIN OF THE POLITICAL THAT IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE COUNCIL TO BE INVOLVED WITH, AWARE OF, INCLUDED ON, SO THAT THEY'RE PREPARED TO RESPOND TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS SO THAT THEY'RE PREPARED TO, I SEE, HOLD ON ONE SECOND. THAT THEY'RE PREPARED TO BE ENGAGED IN RESPONSIBLE WAYS. AND SO ONE WAY TO THINK ABOUT THESE REPORTS IS WHAT'S ADMINISTRATIVE VERSUS WHAT'S POLITICAL? VICE MAYOR, THANK YOU. UM, I WAS GONNA SAY, UM, I KIND OF HAVE A DIFFERENT, UH, TAKE ON ALL OF THIS. UM, I THINK IT IS HELPFUL TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT LIKE WHERE THE CITY IS GOING SOMETIMES, UH, IN THE SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR LIKE ALL THE WORK THAT CDG DOES, LIKE WE, IT'S HIGH VISIBILITY TO THE CITY COUNCIL. SO WE KIND OF HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF LIKE, HERE'S A LOT OF THE PROJECTS THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON. MAYBE NOT EVERYTHING BUT A GOOD CHUNK OF IT. AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, I THINK ALL OF CITY COUNCIL APPRECIATES HOW MANY DIFFERENT PRIORITIES, DIFFERENT AMENDMENTS, DIFFERENT SORTS OF STUFF THAT THERE IS GOING ON. UM, AND FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS IT'S NOT NECESSARILY VISIBLE. AND THAT'S A QUESTION OF LIKE, ALSO LIKE CHANGE IS HARD BOTH IN TERMS OF PRIORITIZING IT, PUBLIC FEEDBACK AND PUSHBACK. UM, AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. LIKE I THINK THE EXAMPLE OF LIKE WITH HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ABOUT AFTERSCHOOL, IS THAT HAPPENING SHOULD BE LIKE BE AWARE OF IT OR IS IT JUST LIKE NOT WORKING FOR ALL THESE REASONS AND WANTING TO KNOW THAT. AND SO IT'S NOT JUST LIKE EVERYTHING IS WORKING AND WE SHOULD IGNORE IT AND IT KIND OF GOES IN OTHER DIRECTIONS AS WELL, LIKE FOR TRANSPORTATION, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SHUTTLE STUDIES GOING ON, BUT I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE LIKE IF IT'S GONNA LEAD SOMEWHERE, IF IT'S NOT, SHOULD I INTRODUCE SOMETHING DIFFERENT? UM, THAT ALSO HAS TO DO WITH TRANSPORTATION. WELL LET'S SLOW THAT WORK DOWN, RIGHT? LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF PROGRAMS WHERE IT'S LIKE KIND OF ACTUALLY CONFUSING OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHERE IS THIS LIKE NEW PROJECT GOING? 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY A NEW PROJECT IS A LOT OF WORK AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF AMBIGUITIES AND COSTS AND ALL THIS SORTS OF STUFF. BUT FROM THE CITY COUNCIL PERSPECTIVE, LIKE IF I KNEW PEOPLE WERE WORKING ON THIS BIG THING, I'D BE LIKE, OKAY, WELL LIKE THEY NEED THE TIME AND SPACE TO WORK ON IT. UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO THE FEAR THAT IF WE DON'T SEE IT THEN IT'S JUST LIKE, WELL IT WAS A BIG HARD BALL AND WE HAVE LOTS OF OTHER PRIORITIES IN THE CITY, SO LIKE LET'S JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, UH, PUT IT TO THE SIDE. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF THE CHALLENGE. UM, I TOTALLY HEAR THE CITY MANAGER ON THE POINT OF LIKE, SOMETIMES WE DON'T PULL THINGS AND YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL CAN SOMETIMES GET CONCERNED ONLY ABOUT A PARTICULAR SUBSET OF ISSUES AND THINGS THAT WERE REALLY RELEVANT WHEN YOU PASS A POLICY ORDER, ASKING FOR A FIVE YEAR [02:35:01] REPORT OR A ONE YEAR REPORT. BY THE TIME THAT ONE YEAR COMES AROUND, IT'S LIKE ACTUALLY THE CONVERSATION HAS MOVED ON. UM, AT THE SAME TIME I FEEL LIKE MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE A SPACE FOR HAVING SOME OF THAT. MAYBE THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, KIND OF INTERSECTION, YOU KNOW, ROUND TABLES MORE TO THE CONVERSATIONS OR MAYBE IT'S COMMITTEE WORK, BUT LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S LIKE AN UPDATE ON TRANSPORTATION SHUTTLES, MAYBE THAT'S MORE OF LIKE A ROUND TABLE CONVERSATION. UH, BUT YOU KNOW, LIKE WHETHER IT'S THAT OR CONSTITUENT SERVICES OR LIKE HOW ARE WE IMPROVING COMMUNITY OUTREACH OR WHATEVER. LIKE IT FEELS LIKE THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME SORT OF SPACE TO DISCUSS THAT AND MAYBE IF THERE'S CONCERN ABOUT BEING PULLED AND MAYBE IT'S JUST UH, IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT. I HAD COMMISSIONER ELO NEXT, HI AND THANK YOU. UM, I'M THINKING ABOUT LIKE THE POLITICAL AND THEN THE ASSUMING TRUST. SO EVERYTHING THAT I FEEL LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO BRING FORWARD THAT HAS SOME POLITICAL KIND OF ASSOCIATIONS TO IT, PARTICULARLY IN THIS CHARGED ENVIRONMENT. AND WHAT I THINK ABOUT IS HOW DO I BRING THE CONVERSATION BACK TO CAMBRIDGE, BACK TO MY JOB AND WHO I SERVE AND SEPARATING OURSELVES FROM THE POLITICALLY CHARGED ENVIRONMENT AND HOW DO WE KEEP OUR COMMUNITY SAFE. SO I'M JUST APPRECIATING, I THINK WITH COUNSELOR OR VICE MAYOR AZI JUST SAID AS FAR AS WORKING ON THROUGH THAT IN THESE COUNCIL MEETING, IN THESE COMMITTEE MEETINGS. SO I'M THINKING ABOUT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING. CAN WE USE THAT AS A WAY TO BUILD TRUST, TALK ABOUT WHAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS DOING, HOW WE ARE CAMBRIDGE FOCUSED AND HOW WE'RE SEPARATING OURSELVES FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON, UM, ACROSS THE, THE COUNTRY. SO I'M JUST REALLY THINKING ABOUT THAT. AND THEN THE BIG PART FOR ME IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS JUST THE BUILDING TRUST, RIGHT? I'M FROM THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE. I WAS ALMOST BORN HERE, BEEN HERE FOR 50 YEARS. IN THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING IN CITY COUNCIL, IT'S AGAIN, HOW DO WE SEPARATE FROM THE LARGER CONVERSATIONS AND JUST LET PEOPLE KNOW WE CARE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY HERE, WE CARE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UM, IMPLEMENTING CAMBRIDGE VALUES AND ALL THE TECHNOLOGY OR ANYTHING THAT WE WANNA BRING HERE. SO AGAIN, BRINGING IT BACK TO CAMBRIDGE AND WHAT WE'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT AND I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT. THANKS. HE HAD HIS HAND UP BEFORE AS WELL. ACTUALLY BEFORE LEE GOES, I'M JUST GONNA CHIME IN 'CAUSE I HAD A THOUGHT, UM, ON THE CONSTITUENT ISSUE PIECE. SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT, UM, TO DEPUTY CITY MANAGER'S POINT, UM, IS KIND OF AROUND HOW THE STANDARDIZATION, UM, WORK ALSO APPLIES TO THE AIDES. UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE AIDES WHO ARE WORKING WITH COUNSELORS TO DO CONSTITUENT WORK, WHAT IS THEIR ROLE? UM, YOU KNOW, AND SO I DO THINK WE NEED TO OPERATIONALIZE THAT A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I REACH OUT, I'LL GET A RESPONSE FAIRLY QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S AIDS REACHING OUT, THEY'RE COPYING THEIR, YOU KNOW, DEPARTMENT HEAD, THE COUNSELOR, WE, WE JUST, I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL TO KIND OF NAIL THAT DOWN. UM, AND THEN I THINK ON THE ASKING FOR MORE INFORMATION TO COUNCILOR MCGOVERN'S POINT CAME UP LAST YEAR TOO, AND I THINK HOW I'VE, I'VE TRIED TO USE THE BUDGET AS LIKE A AREA, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THERE THAT SHOWS KIND OF WHAT DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING AND THEN THERE'S, SO ARE THERE PLACES INSTEAD OF CREATING MORE WORK, ARE THERE PLACES YOU CAN POINT US TO THAT HAVE INFORMATION ALREADY? I LOVE THE, YOU KNOW, THE QUARTERLY CITY MANAGERS FROM THE DESK, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S IT CALLED? CITY VIEW. YEAH, CITY VIEW. AND THAT IS A GREAT KIND OF SUMMARY OF THINGS. THE BUDGET'S, A SUMMARY OF THINGS. SO INSTEAD OF KIND OF, I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT IS A LOT OF WORK TO SAY WHAT EXACTLY YOU'RE DOING. WHAT ARE, WHERE, CAN YOU POINT US TO UM, THAT, 'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF REPORTS, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS POINT US BACK TO THE SIDEWALK, FIVE YEAR SIDEWALK PLAN, POINT US BACK TO THAT STUDY THAT WE DID. SO HOW DO WE KIND OF FULFILL THAT ASK WITHOUT NECESSARILY CREATING A WHOLE KIND OF, UM, NEW DOC OF HERE'S WHAT I'M DOING. WE'LL GO TO LEE. THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR. UM, WHAT I REALLY LIKE ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION IS I THINK WE'RE STARTING TO MOVE INTO THE AREA WHERE WE CAN START TO FIX SOME THINGS. THERE'S THE FIRST GOAL THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT IS LIKE, WE'RE ONE CITY AND YOU KNOW, I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT ADMINISTRATION, THE COUNCIL, WE'RE ALL WORKING TO BETTER THE COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT OUR RESIDENTS. AND TO COUNCILOR MCGOVERN'S POINT, THERE ARE DIFFERENCES. THERE'S A POLITICAL ASPECT OF IT AND YOU KNOW, COUNCILOR NOLAN EARLIER, UM, IN THIS [02:40:01] MORNING SESSION BROUGHT UP, YOU KNOW, JUST AS SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS LIKE, HOW DO WE GET SOMETHING FOR THE COUNCIL INTO THE, YOU KNOW, DAILY EMAIL. AND I THINK THAT'S A REALLY EASY SORT OF QUESTION AND A REALLY HARD ANSWER BECAUSE YOU KNOW, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE IN OUR SHOP, WE TRY NOT TO STEP INTO THE POLITICAL REALM WHEN THERE'S THINGS BEFORE THE COUNCIL. WE WANNA SUPPORT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING AND THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING. BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE NINE COUNCILORS THAT ARE ALL IN AGREEMENT ON SOMETHING, THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ONE THAT'S DIFFERENT, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE PUTTING IN? SO FOR ME IT'S FIGURING OUT, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS, IMPROVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, PARTICULARLY WITH ITEMS THAT ARE BEFORE THE COUNCIL. LIKE WHAT IS THAT PURPOSE UPFRONT? WHAT IS SORT OF THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES THAT WE WANT AND WHAT IS GONNA BE THE PROCESS FOR GETTING SOMETHING THERE? HOW WILL OUR TEAMS KNOW THIS IS REALLY THE WILL OF THE COUNCIL IF WE'RE GONNA BROADEN INTO THAT? BECAUSE WE DO WANT TO GET TO YES, TO SUPPORT THE WORK HOLISTICALLY. AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE DON'T WANT TO STEP INTO THE POLITICS SIDE BECAUSE THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT WE SEE OUR SHOPS ROLL OUT. BUT WE DID THIS ONE SUCCESSFULLY AND I THINK IT WAS WITH MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, A VOTE THAT WAS TAKEN. WE HAD CITYWIDE MAILERS. SO I THINK FOR US TO FIGURE OUT LIKE WHAT IS THAT PROCESS WHEN WE ARE DOING IT WILL BE IMPORTANT. AND I THINK THAT TIES INTO CONSTITUENT SERVICES WHEN IT TIES INTO LIKE WHEN YOU WANT REPORTS, JUST GIVE THE CLARITY SO THAT WE DON'T SAY YOU WANT TO HAVE A REPORT, YOU WANT TO HAVE US PUT OUT INFORMATION AND WE DO IT, BUT WE ACTUALLY PUT OUT THE WRONG INFORMATION. WE DON'T HAVE IT. THAT WE REALLY GET CLEAR SO THAT WE CAN TRY TO ACHIEVE, UM, THOSE GOALS TOGETHER. AND I THINK IT'S THAT TENSION IS THE AREA WHERE WE CAN FIGURE OUT THE MOST SOLUTIONS I HAVE COUNCIL CLARITY AND THEN MATT, SO JUST ON THAT, SO I UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT'S THE CORRECT PROTOCOL BECAUSE I, THE WAY I VIEW IT IS THE CITY COUNCIL'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE POLITICAL SIDE OF IT AND IT'S EACH INDEPENDENT CITY COUNCIL'S ROLE TO DEAL WITH THAT. HOWEVER THEY CHOOSE TO DEAL WITH IT, WITH THEIR CONSTITUENCY. BUT THEN IN COMMUNICATING WITH CITY STAFF, WHAT'S THE MOST EFFECTIVE AND CORRECT PROTOCOL TO FIGURE OUT FOR POLICY ORDERS. IF I WANT TO CALL AND SAY, IS THIS APPROPRIATE? DO I CALL, DOES MY AIDE CALL FOR CONSTITUENT SERVICES? WHO DO I CALL? DO I CALL THE HEAD? IS THERE SOMEBODY IN THE DEPARTMENT THAT IS THE PREFERRED PERSON TO CALL JUST SO I CAN STREAMLINE IT AND GET IT DONE? BECAUSE IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE THIS IS AS SIMPLE AS HAVING AN EFFECTIVE FIVE MINUTE CONVERSATION AND THEN WE MOVE ON. SO I THINK THE QUESTION IS, I'M HAPPY TO CALL THE CITY MANAGER EVERY SINGLE TIME, BUT I THINK HE'S GOT OTHER THINGS TO DO. I, I THINK THE QUESTION IS DO WE HAVE A POINTS OF CONTACT MAP FOR THE CITY STAFF? THAT IS THE QUESTION THAT I'M HEARING YOU RAISE. LIKE HOW DO I KNOW WHO TO GO TO FOR WHAT? UM, I THINK, UH, I THINK IT'S A GREAT POINT. YOU KNOW, WE'VE SORT OF OF HAD THIS CONVERSATION A LITTLE BIT AND I THINK WE DIDN'T GET THERE LAST TERM. UM, I WAS JUST TALKING WITH THE MAYOR AND MAYBE IT IS ACTUALLY TIME FOR US TO TRY AND LIKE PUT SOME STUFF IN WRITING AND PROVIDE, I DON'T THINK IT'S LAWS OR REGULATIONS, IT'S MORE GUIDANCE. UM, AND, AND I THINK TO YOUR QUESTION, COUNSELOR FLAHERTY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS SORT OF LIKE THE, I DON'T KNOW, LIKE THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN PROBLEM. LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU SORT OF, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ONLY FIND IT IF YOU'VE BEEN THERE. I FEEL LIKE THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WHAT WE'VE LEFT NEW COUNSELORS WITH THAT YOU SORT OF HAVE TO OVER TIME FIGURE OUT LIKE WHO ARE THE PEOPLE TO GO TO. YOU SORT OF KNOW WHO IS RUNNING WHICH DEPARTMENT, BUT IT TAKES TIME TO, TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, OH, OKAY, THIS REQUEST GOES TO JOHN IN PUBLIC WORKS, THIS REQUEST GOES TO, UM, YOU KNOW, BROOK AND TRANSPORTATION. UM, WE COULD PROBABLY DO A BETTER JOB OF CREATING A MORE CONSISTENT SET OF GUIDELINES. UM, AND I THINK THAT ACTUALLY GETS TO SOME OF WHAT, WHAT KATHY WAS SHARING AS WELL IN TERMS OF, UM, WE ARE PROBABLY TRYING TO KEEP IT TO A CERTAIN LIST OF DEPARTMENT HEADS AND THEN THEY CAN DELEGATE WITHIN THEIR TEAMS. UM, AND SO IT DOES, IT DOES BECOME A LITTLE BIT HARDER WHEN CITY COUNSELORS ARE REACHING DEEPER INTO THE ORGANIZATION. UM, AND SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD TAKEAWAY AS WE THINK ABOUT THESE AREAS. THE POLICY BOARD ORDERS, AWAITING REPORTS, THE CONSTITUENT SERVICES. UM, WE CAN MAYBE WORK WITH, UH, WORK WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AND START TO DRAFT SOMETHING, UM, THAT WE CAN, UM, WE CAN HOPEFULLY SHARE SOON. BEFORE I GO TO COUNCIL ZUBIE. GO AHEAD. I WAS JUST SAYING MATT WAS WAITING. IS THAT OKAY? GO AHEAD MATT. SO, UM, I WAS JUST GONNA, UH, CALL OUT AND IT ACTUALLY RELATES TO WHAT THE CITY MANAGEMENT WAS SAYING, BUT, UM, I THINK IT'S A GOOD CALL OUT ON THE COUNCIL [02:45:01] A TOO, I, WE HAVE, WE HAVE NEW COUNCIL AIDS AND YOU KNOW, GOING BACK TO WHEN I WAS IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, WE USED TO RUN TRAININGS FOR THE COUNCIL AIDS ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT SERVICES THAT THE CITY PROVIDES AND, AND WHERE TO GO FOR WHAT. SO, UM, IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE, WE LEAN INTO AGAIN THIS TERM SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. UM, I'M SCARED OF SAYING THAT 'CAUSE GABRIEL IS GONNA ASK ME FOR A COMMITMENT, A TIMELINE COMMITMENT ON THAT. UM, YOU'RE RIGHT, EARLY FEBRUARY APPARENTLY IS THE, IS THE THING TO SAY. UM, AND YEAH, SO THAT WAS, I JUST WANTED TO CALL THAT OUT. AND THEN ALSO I THINK THE AIDS CAN BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL IN THE COMMITTEE PROCESS PLANNING AS WELL. I KNOW THAT OFTENTIMES OUR OFFICE IS GOING THROUGH COUNSELORS ABOUT SCHEDULING AND ABOUT AGENDAS, SO HAPPY FOR THE AIDES TO LEAN IN MORE ON THE SCHEDULING PART PIECE OF THAT AS WELL. YOU'RE, UH, AND IT'S THE AIDES, UM, STAFF, HOWEVER YOU GUYS LIKE TO REFER TO THEM. I KNOW THAT THERE'S DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT REF UM, TITLES OUT THERE, BUT WITH VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT. WE HAVE COUNCILOR ZUBIE AND THEN WE HAVE CFO SPINNER. SO IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ALL HAVE LEFT COUNCILOR FLAHERTY AND I IN THE DUST. WE'RE OVER HERE. NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. UM, WE'RE DEFINITELY GETTING SITUATED. IT'S GOOD TO SEE PEOPLE THAT I HAVEN'T GOTTEN THE CHANCE TO MEET YET PERSONALLY, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING TO KNOW, UM, THE FOLKS AROUND THIS TABLE AND OTHERWISE, AND I JUST WANNA ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EFFORTS THAT YOU PUT INTO THIS WORK. I THINK I'M COMING INTO THIS WITH, YOU KNOW, A FRESH SET OF EYES TO JUST THINK ABOUT ONE, LIKE IT DOES FEEL LIKE A LITTLE BIT WE'RE OPERATING IN SILOS. LIKE THERE'S THE CITY STAFF ADMIN SIDE, THE COUNCIL SIDE, AND EVEN THE RESIDENTS END OF THINGS. AND IT'S ALMOST LIKE COUNCILS IN THIS TUG AND POOL BETWEEN BOTH SIDES. AND IT MAKES THINGS A LITTLE HARDER TO NAVIGATE HOW WE DO THE WORK. UM, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S TO BLAME TO ANY SINGLE PERSON, BUT IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I'LL BE THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF HOW THAT IMPACTS YOU. LIKE THE POOL FROM COUNCIL TO LIKE, WE'VE DONE THIS, LIKE WHERE ARE YOUR UPDATES ON THIS? SO JUST BE CURIOUS TO HEAR HOW YOU ALL NAVIGATE THE MORE POLITICAL PIECE. I ALSO, I DON'T KNOW, THIS IS A JOKE, BUT HOW MANY OF YOU ALL ORDERED A DOMINO'S PIZZA BEFORE? SO, SO DO YOU KNOW ONLINE THERE'S LIKE THE VISUAL TRACKER. DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? IT'D BE GREAT IF WE COULD, IF WE GET LIKE, COULD GET LIKE A VISUAL TRACKER ON, UM, AWAIT. THERE YOU GO ON A WAITING AWAITING REPORTS. UM, AND ON THE CONSTITUENT SERVICES PIECE, I'M JUST CURIOUS IF THERE'S A WAY TO CENTRALIZE THE INBOX OR THAT PROCESS UNDER LIKE ONE PERSON OR A DEPARTMENT OR, I KNOW LIKE DEVELOPING A 3 1 1 COULD BE HELPFUL IN TERMS OF JUST FIGURING OUT WHAT'S THE BEST WAY, AGAIN TO MAKE SURE THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS DON'T HAVE TO LIKE, TRY TO LIKE GET AHEAD ON IT. AND THEN THERE'S THIS LIKE WEIRD INTERNAL COMPETITION ABOUT IT. AND THEN ALSO YOU GUYS, THERE'S LIKE, I JUST GOT AN EMAIL FROM THIS PERSON. SO IS THERE A WAY TO CENTRALIZE THAT PIECE, UM, VIA LIKE A PERSON DEPARTMENT, A 3 1 1? UM, AND IT WOULD BE ALSO GREAT AGAIN, DON'T ALSO WANNA BE A PART OF THE FOLKS WHO ADD ON WORK, BUT IF, IF EACH DEPARTMENT HAS LIKE A FREQUENT INQUIRIES LIKE THAT YOU GET FROM US AS COUNSELORS, IT'D BE GREAT TO JUST GET A QUICK LIST. LIKE IF EACH DEPARTMENT HEAD COULD SAY, I HEAR A LOT ABOUT SOMEONE ASKING LIKE, WHAT DO I NEED TO DO IF LIKE, MY NEIGHBOR, YOU KNOW, ASKS ABOUT A DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NEXT TO THEM OR YEAH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL JUST FOR US TO RUN THROUGH LIKE QUICKLY IF WE EVEN NEED TO REACH OUT. BUT AGAIN, THESE ARE JUST ALL DI ALL IDEAS AND I'M, I'M CURIOUS TO HEAR FOLKS' THOUGHTS ON THE, THE, THE PUSH AND PULL. UM, I, I WOULD SAY BRIEFLY, UM, I THINK WE HAD, WE HAD STARTED A PROJECT ON AN FAQS AND I THINK IT HAD SORT OF FLOUNDERED A LITTLE BIT. UM, AND SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S WORTH FOR, IT'S WORTH US THINKING ABOUT. UM, I I WOULD SAY, AND, AND THIS IS LIKE JUST A LARGER PROJECT THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO ULTIMATELY PRIORITIZE BECAUSE IT WOULD TAKE A LOT OF WORK. UM, WE DON'T HAVE 3 1 1 AS A CITY AND SO BOSTON SOMERVILLE HAVE SET UP A 3 1 1 SYSTEM. UM, AND I, I HESITATE A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I BOTH BELIEVE THAT WE ACTUALLY SHOULD PROBABLY MOVE TOWARD THIS AT SOME POINT AND WE'VE NOT PRIORITIZED IT. BUT, BUT IF YOU'LL NOTICE, IF YOU'RE A CONSTITUENT AND YOU WANNA GET TO THE CITY, YOU ARE GOING ONTO THE WEB PAGE AND NAVIGATING THROUGH EVERY DEPARTMENT AND THERE'S NUMBERS FOR EVERY SERVICE. THERE ISN'T LIKE A SINGLE LINE THAT YOU COULD CALL THAT WOULD HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE TO GO. AND I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE. SO YOU CAN JUST HIT 3 1 1 AND THEN, AND THEN THEY WILL NAVIGATE YOU TO, YOU CAN JUST CALL AND SAY, HEY, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT NEXT DOOR, OR I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A TRASH PICKUP. UM, AND THEN IT'LL GO THERE. UM, I THINK THESE ARE SORT OF THE DEEPER STRUCTURAL THINGS THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY [02:50:01] WORK ON. UM, BUT I THINK, UM, I THINK IT'S A GOOD, IT'S A, IT'S A LONGER CONVERSATION, I WOULD SAY IT'S NOT AS EASY AS EASY AS ORDERING A PIZZA. MM-HMM . WE'LL GO TO CFO SPINNER, AND THIS IS JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A SHIFT, BUT I, BUT I I, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK HAS GONE WELL IN THE PAST TWO YEARS REALLY IS, UM, SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S DONE IN COMMITTEE AND I'VE, I'VE JUST SEEN THE TRANSITION SPECIFICALLY IN THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE'VE SORT OF DEEPENED A LOT OF THE WORK. WE'VE STARTED DOING, UM, A LOT OF OUR, UH, MEETINGS AROUND THE FINANCES, UM, EARLIER, UH, A LOT OF DEEPER EDUCATION FOR COUNSELORS, FOR, FOR STAFF, FOR RESIDENTS WHO, WHO TUNE IN. AND I THINK SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WORKS WELL WITH THAT IS REALLY THE COORDINATION AND THE COLLABORATION WITH, UM, WITH FINANCE CHAIRS AND CO-CHAIRS, UH, TO PREP AND, AND MAKE DECISIONS, UM, ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT AT THOSE MEETINGS, PERHAPS EVEN IN THE FINANCE. UM, ON THE FINANCE SIDE, WE, WE TALK ABOUT THE CADENCE OF THOSE MEETINGS AND SO I, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'VE SEEN JUST IN, AND I'VE BEEN HERE NOW FOR TWO YEARS AND SO I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN A GROWTH OVER THOSE TWO YEARS OF HOW WE'RE USING THOSE, UM, PARTICULARLY FINANCE COMMITTEES, BUT I'VE ALSO SEEN IT IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOME OF THOSE OTHER COMMITTEES, UH, TO DO THE WORK AND TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY TOGETHER. SO I THINK I'VE SEEN FOLKS WHO WANTED TO TALK AGAIN, UM, ON THE COUNCIL SIDE, I DON'T WANNA GO TO ANYONE WHO HASN'T SPOKEN AND COUNCILLOR SIMMONS, JUST WANNA CHECK IN WITH YOU. ARE YOU SET? YOU'RE GOOD. OKAY. AND THEN ON THE CITY FOLK SIDE, I KNOW THERE'S PEOPLE WHO PROBABLY WANNA TALK, BUT IF THERE HAS, IS THERE ANYONE WHO HASN'T SPOKEN WHO'D LIKE TO BE HEARD ON ANYTHING? NO, YOU'RE GOOD. JUST WANNA CHECK IN. DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT, BUT JUMP IN. OH, YOU DO. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I, ONE THING THAT I APPRECIATE OVER THE LAST YEAR IS WHAT WE'VE DONE INTERNALLY IS CREATED ALMOST LIKE, UM, SORT OF A SYNDICATION OF INFORMATION AS WE CASCADED THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION. AND I THINK THAT'S WORKED REALLY WELL, UM, NOT ONLY WITH STAFF, BUT JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE, UM, EITHER IMPACTED PARTIES OR FOLKS WHO MIGHT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FIELDING CONSTITUENT SERVICES GET SORT OF LOOPED INTO THINGS, UM, IN THAT SORT OF SYNDICATION LOOP THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO BUILD OUT. AND SO I APPRECIATE, UM, THAT OVER THE LAST YEAR SO HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY HELPFUL, NOT ONLY INTERNALLY, UH, FOR STAFF AS WE WORK ON PROJECTS AND BUILD THINGS FOR CITY COUNCIL, BUT UH, SOME OF THOSE EXTERNAL LOOPS AS WELL. SO JUST WANTED TO TAKE KUDOS TO FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THAT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. I, A FEW HANDS UP. SO I'M GONNA COUNSELOR NOLAN AND THEN NAOMI. AND THEN COUNCIL VICE INE. THANKS. YES, I, I THINK THIS IS, WE'VE GONE AROUND AND GOTTEN I THINK, SOME GOOD SUGGESTIONS. I DO THINK, JUST TO WRAP IT UP, SOME OF THE QUESTION, GOING BACK TO HOW DOES IT, WE'RE SHARING INFORMATION AS THE, THE MAYOR SAID THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT BUDGET BOOK, SO LET'S NOT REINVENT THE WHEEL. JUST FEEL FREE TO POINT US TO THAT, THAT THERE IS SOME, FOR MANY DEPARTMENTS, HERE'S WHAT WE PLAN TO WORK ON. HERE'S WHAT WE WORKED ON. I THINK BUILDING ON THAT, AND THEN AS I SAID EARLIER, I THINK IF WE JUST HAD A SCHEDULE FOR, THESE ARE THE REPORTS THAT WE'RE EXPECTING TO MAKE, UM, AND, AND PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT REPORTS ARE THE ONES WE PUT IN ORDINANCE. LIKE WE PUT THEM IN ORDINANCE FOR A REASON AND SAY, WE EXPECT THIS REPORT ON HOUSING ONCE A OR ON, ON THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING. WE, WE ACTUALLY EXPLICITLY SAY WE, UM, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. I THINK IT MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR US TO UNDERSTAND, ARE THERE OTHER THINGS THAT WE HAD HAD AN ORDINANCE THAT WE FORGOT TO BE REPORTED ON. I KNOW THAT HAPPENED WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, LIKE, LO AND BEHOLD, OH, IT'S IN THE ORDINANCE, BUT WE HADN'T HAD THAT FOR FIVE YEARS. IT WAS NOBODY'S FAULT. IT'S JUST THAT NOBODY HAD THOUGHT ABOUT IT. SO I THINK GOING BACK AND, AND SYSTEMATIZING THAT WOULD HELP ALL OF US. AND I, I DO WANNA ECHO THIS ISN'T MEANT TO BE, LET'S ADD ON WORK TO THE CITY TO PRODUCE THESE REPORTS THAT GO NOWHERE. BECAUSE THE LAST THING WE WANNA DO IS HAVE YOU ALL GIVE US A REPORT. AND THEN EITHER IT'S JUST, OH, WE ACCEPTED THAT REPORT AND PUT IT ON FILE, WHICH MEANS, DID ANYBODY EVEN READ IT? I CERTAINLY TRY TO HOLD MYSELF TO A STANDARD THAT I'M ONLY ASKING FOR A REPORT IF IT MEANS THAT IT WILL INFORM MY POLICY MAKING OR DECISIONS. SO I WILL, AND I THINK IF, AND SOMETIMES IT'S IF, IF WE DON'T ALREADY HAVE THIS INFORMATION, WE SHOULD HAVE THIS INFORMATION. 'CAUSE IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY TO HAVE. AND, AND YET SOMETIMES THE INFORMATION IS ALREADY AVAILABLE. AND I, AGAIN, AS I SAID EARLIER, I DON'T WANNA HAVE ONEROUS REPORTS GO ON, GO ONTO ANY AGENDA OR EVEN IN A MEETING UNLESS IT'S CLEAR HOW IT'S GONNA BE USED, WHY IT'S GONNA BE USED, AND WHAT IT, WHAT IT CAN HELP INFORM US. AND I THINK CITY STAFF AND, AND SOME OF THE TENSION [02:55:01] THAT, UM, LEE REFERENCED IS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE ARE ALL ONE CITY, BUT AT SOME POINT, EVERYTHING THE COUNCIL DOES BECOMES THE CITY. LIKE IF WE PASS SOMETHING, EVEN IF IT'S A, A SPLIT VOTE, IT IS THE CITY POLICY. SO THERE SHOULD BE NO QUESTION, BUT THAT, THAT HAS BECOME PART OF THE CITY INFORMATION AND IT SHOULD BE COMMUNICATED TO THE RESIDENTS AS A WHOLE SO THAT THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT HAPPENED. I MEAN, PB STARTED IN THE COUNCIL, THERE WAS A HUNDRED PERCENT THE COUNCIL DRIVEN THING, AND NOW IT'S JUST A CITY DEPARTMENT. THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SAFETY STARTED IN THE COUNCIL, AND NOW IT'S, THERE'S A REPORT THAT WE ALL GOT AFTER THE FIRST YEAR SAYING, THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON. SO I THINK WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE, THAT THOSE ARE THINGS THAT THE COUNCIL DID, WORKED WITH THE CITY MADE HAPPEN, AND NOW IS PART OF THE, UM, ETHOS AND, UM, CITY, UH, CITY RESIDENTS ALSO RELY ON THAT AS WELL. SO I THINK THOSE ARE ALL POSITIVE THINGS AND THE MORE WE CAN SYSTEMATIZE, MAKE IT CLEAR, CLEAR WHEN IT IS THAT WE ARE USING REPORTS THAT THEY SHOULD ONLY BE REPORTS THAT ARE HELPFUL TO EITHER THE COUNCIL OR THE CITY STAFF. UM, AND ONE MORE THING, I THINK WE DO HAVE C CLICK FIX. I DON'T KNOW HOW IT WORKS, BUT WE DO HAVE IT. AND I CERTAINLY REFERRED PEOPLE TO IT. I THINK THERE'S SOME QUESTION ABOUT HOW USEFUL IT IS. I KNOW IT'S NOT QUITE 3 1 1, BUT IT IS, I KNOW THE CITY STAFF DOES USE IT AND IT CAN BE REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL. UM, SOMETIMES THOSE REPORTS ARE A YEAR LATER, NOBODY'S RESPONDED, BUT OTHER TIMES IT REALLY IS USED. SO I THINK IF WE CAN USE THAT MORE EFFECTIVELY, THAT MIGHT ADDRESS SOME OF THESE CONSTITUENT CONCERNS. AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, I THINK WAS A WHOLE YEAR AND A HALF AGO, IF WE JUST HAD A CHAT BOX ON OUR CITY WEBSITE, USE AI TO HELP THESE FAQS, YOU KNOW, TO PUT SOMETHING ON SO THAT SOMEONE GOES TO THE WEBSITE INSTEAD OF GOING THROUGH WHICH DEPARTMENT DO I EVEN GO TO? I AM PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF THE WEBSITES, AND IT STILL TAKES ME 17 CLICKS SOMETIMES TO GET THE INFORMATION I'M LOOKING FOR. MANY, MANY CITIES HAVE SUCCESSFULLY USED AI. IT'S NOT A FANTASY LAND, MEANING THEY LIMIT THE AI QUERY TO ONLY THE CITY PAGES. AND THAT COULD MEAN IT OFFLOADS FROM, INSTEAD OF CALLING UP AND HAVING SOMEONE AT DPW OF DANCE, OR WHEN IS MY RECYCLING DAY, YOU PUT IT IN, WHEN IS MY RECYCLING DAY? AND IT AUTOMATICALLY HAPPENS JUST A GENERAL EQUIVALENT OF 3 1 1 ON OUR HOMEPAGE, BECAUSE WHEN PEOPLE CAN'T FIND IT QUICKLY, THEN THEY START CALLING COUNSELORS OR SENDING EMAILS OR CALLING CITY STAFF. SO I'D LOVE US TO THINK ABOUT THAT IN, IN THE FUTURE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE CONCERNS. WE'LL GO TO NAOMI. I WAS JUST GONNA MAKE A QUICK COMMENT REGARDING THAT CITY COUNCIL INBOX AND ALSO SOME OF THE CONVERSATION AROUND THE AIDES. I THINK RIGHT NOW THE AIDES ARE KIND OF OPERATING AS EIGHT, LIKE EXTENSIONS, EIGHT SEPARATE EXTENSIONS OF THEIR COUNSELOR. AND I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF WILLINGNESS TO SORT OF BEHAVE MORE LIKE A TRADITIONAL DEPARTMENT AND, UH, AND HELP WITH A LOT OF THESE KIND OF QUERIES. SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT ON RECORD THAT I THINK WE'RE ALL EAGER TO KIND OF FORMALIZE THAT, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO RESPONDING TO THOSE EMAILS. I THINK IT'S BEWILDERING EVEN SOMETIMES FOR THE PERSON SENDING THE EMAIL TO GET A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT RESPONSES FROM, OR THEY GET SIX RESPONSES AND THEN TWO DAYS LATER THEY GET TWO MORE AND THEY'RE LIKE, YEAH, I'M ALREADY ALL SET. AND THEN THAT CONFUSION IS ACTUALLY GOING OUT INTO THE WORLD AT WHY IS THIS, HOW WE'RE RESPONDING TO THESE. WELL HAVE VICE MAYOR, UH, THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR. I WAS GONNA SAY, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME ISSUE WITH COUNSELORS RESPONDING TO THINGS AND THEN KEEPING CITY COUNCIL, UM, ALL ABREAST TO IT BECAUSE OF OPEN MEETING LAWS. BUT MAYBE THAT'S A PLACE FOR LIKE, UM, NOT NECESSARILY FOR NAOMI, BUT FOR SOME CENTRALIZED PERSON TO DO THE RESPONSE OF LIKE, THIS IS BEING TAKEN CARE OF. SO THE REST OF US KIND OF KNOW IN A WAY THAT COMPLIES WITH OPEN MEETING LAW. UM, AND THEN I JUST BRIEFLY WANTED TO TOUCH ON THE POINT THAT COUNCIL ARZU BE MADE ABOUT THE SILOS. UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THERE'S LIKE TWO WAYS TO FRAME LIKE A 3 1 1 CONVERSATION, WHICH IS A, IT'S LIKE A LOT OF WORK BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SETTING UP THIS NEW APPARATUS. OR SECOND IS THAT IT'S A LOT OF WORK BECAUSE INTERNALLY OUR STRUCTURE ITSELF IS KIND OF CONFUSING. UM, AND WE DON'T OFTEN HAVE TO NAVIGATE IT OURSELVES. UM, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT HERE TO SAY THAT THE CITY ISN'T WELL RUN. I THINK THAT WE TALK ABOUT THAT ALL THE TIME, BUT SOMETIMES I THINK WE USE THAT AS A WAY TO GIVE OURSELVES A PASS IN THAT I THINK THAT THE CITY CAN GENUINELY BE CONFUSING TO NAVIGATE. UM, AND OBVIOUSLY I KNOW THE DEVELOPMENT WORLD A LITTLE BIT BETTER, BUT LIKE, YOU KNOW, SO OFTEN YOU HEAR THE CONVERSATION OF CDD SAYS ONE THING, TRANSPORTATION SAYS ANOTHER THING, INSPECTION SERVICES AS ANOTHER THING. AND WHETHER IT'S THAT FOR DEVELOPMENT OR FOR EVENTS OR FOR, YOU KNOW, UM, OTHER SORTS OF CONVERSATIONS, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, IT CAN ACTUALLY BE A GOOD USEFUL EXERCISE 'CAUSE IT'LL HELP US BE STRICT WITH, ACTUALLY THIS POINT IS GENUINELY CONFUSING FOR RESIDENTS AND HERE'S HOW WE WOULD WANT THEM TO NAVIGATE IT. SO I THINK IT MIGHT BE A GOOD EXERCISE. SO IT'S 1243, [03:00:01] WE HAVE TO WRAP UP SOON. UM, BUT I KNOW THERE'S A FEW FOLKS WHO WANNA SAY A FEW MORE THINGS. UM, BEFORE I GO TO YOU, COMMISSIONER, UM, DOES DIRECTOR BROWN BE HAVE ANYTHING THEY'D LIKE TO SAY BEFORE? YOU'RE GOOD. YOU'RE GOOD. OKAY, GO AHEAD. OKAY. UH, A LITTLE BIT OF, OF A, OF A SELFISH PLUG, I GUESS ON THIS ONE. AND JUST GOING BACK TO POLICY ORDERS AND AWAITING REPORTS, WHILE I'M SURE THERE ARE ARE PLENTY OF US AROUND THIS ROOM WHO WOULD NEVER WANT TO SEE ANOTHER AWAITING REPORT, WE REALIZE THAT'S ALL PART OF WHAT WE DO. I THINK WHAT'S REALLY HELPFUL IS, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT EASY BECAUSE A LOT OF THIS STUFF IS IN THE MOMENT, BUT IF YOU ARE GONNA PULL AN AWAITING REPORT THAT WE CAN GET A HEADS UP ON IT IF THERE'S SPECIFIC QUESTIONS YOU HAVE, BECAUSE NOBODY LIKES TO BE PUT ON THE SPOT. AND IF WE CAN HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE ROOM TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO YOU, I THINK IF WE CAN PREP A LITTLE BIT, WE CAN GET YOU BETTER ANSWERS ON THAT STUFF. SO I WOULD JUST SAY, IF THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO DO THAT AND WE DO IT, AND I KNOW WE DO IT AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS, OFTENTIMES WE'LL GET QUESTIONS AHEAD OF TIME. WE'LL KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GONNA PULL. IT'S REALLY HELPFUL FOR STAFF. UM, AS COUNCIL MCGOVERN SAID, YOU KNOW, I KNOW AT LEAST FOR THE OPERATING DEPARTMENTS, A LOT OF OUR FOLKS THAT HAVE TO COME IN AND ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS, THEY'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, YOUR TYPICAL NINE TO FIVE OR WORKING UNTIL EIGHT O'CLOCK. A LOT OF THESE FOLKS ARE LEAVING AT THREE 30. AND SO TO KEEP THEM AROUND AND NOT KNOWING WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF A HEADS UP WOULD REALLY BE HELPFUL. SENIOR MANAGER, UM, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST ON, THERE'S, THERE'S SORT OF, SOME OF THIS ACTUALLY ENDS UP BECOMING A BIT OF THE GOVERNMENT OPS CONVERSATION ON COUNCIL RULES AND, AND SOME OF HOW THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING GOES. BUT I THINK, JOHN, JUST SOME OF WHAT YOU SAID MADE ME THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, AND THAT IS ACTUALLY A BIG CHUNK OF THE WORK THAT WE DO TOGETHER ON THE POLICY ORDERS, THE AWAITING REPORTS, UM, I WOULD SAY WE ARE VERY OPEN. YOU KNOW, WE, WE PUT EVERYTHING UP ON THURSDAY AND SO, UM, I THINK THIS IS MAYBE A REQUEST BROADLY FOR OURSELVES. YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS GO PRETTY LATE. UM, AND, AND SO TO THE EXTENT THAT COLLECTIVELY WE ALL DESIRE TO RUN AN EFFICIENT MEETING AND, UH, AND GET OUT A LITTLE MORE ON TIME OR ALSO JUST HAVE MORE SPACE TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION, WE REALLY WANNA HAVE, UM, I WOULD, I WOULD DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE FOLKS, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE ALL THOSE REPORTS GO UP ON THURSDAY. AND IF THERE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY CLARIFY ON FRIDAY DURING THE DAY OR ON MONDAY DURING THE DAY, THIS ISN'T TO TAKE THINGS OUT OF THE PUBLIC SPACE. UM, BECAUSE I THINK ULTIMATELY, BOTH FROM A POLITICAL PURPOSE AND FROM AN OPEN MEETING LAW PURPOSE, THERE ARE THINGS, QUESTIONS, DISCUSSIONS THAT WE WANNA HAVE IN THE PUBLIC SPACE. BUT IF THERE ARE CLARIFICATIONS OR JUST A QUESTION ABOUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE A PUBLIC POINT, THEN, THEN PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT AND WE CAN HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS MORE TO JUST SAVE THE TIME ON MONDAY FOR THE KIND OF PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS THAT I THINK WE ALL KNOW WE WANNA HAVE. UM, SO IT'S JUST A THOUGHT IN TERMS OF AS, AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE TERM, WHETHER WE DO WANNA HAVE A SENSE OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY HOURS DO WE WANT MONDAY NIGHT TO GO? AND HOW EFFICIENTLY DO YOU WANNA MOVE THROUGH THOSE MEETINGS? THERE'S TWO FOLKS WHO HAVE THEIR HANDS UP. ANYONE WHO'D LIKE TO SPEAK, I WOULD JUST RAISE YOUR HAND RIGHT NOW. I HAD COUNSELOR ZUZI, COUNSELOR MCGOVERN, ANY FOLKS FROM THIS END, AND SO LET'S LET THEM SAY, AND THEN GABRIELLE, I'LL PASS IT BACK TO YOU. COUNCILOR ZUZI. YEAH, JUST A FEW SORT OF RANDOM THOUGHTS. I THINK THE IDEA, WE HAVE SORT OF A VERY INFORMAL ONBOARDING PROCESS NOW FOR AIDS IN CITY COUNSELORS. I WILL TELL YOU THAT WHEN I ASSUMED JOAN PICKETT'S SEAT, UH, WHAT ABOUT 15, 16 MONTHS AGO? I JUST FELT LIKE I WAS DROPPED IN THE DEEP END. AND, UM, THERE WERE MEETINGS THAT I HAD WITH, UM, MANY MEMBERS OF THE CITY STAFF, BUT I FEEL AS THOUGH, UH, THE COUNCIL IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE WITH VERY DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND OUR AIDES AS WELL. UH, NONE OF US ARE EXPERTS IN EVERY AREA. SO I ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE THE CITY WOULD BENEFIT FROM A MORE, NOT TO ADD MORE WORK, BUT A MORE FORMAL ONBOARDING STAFF FOR THE AIDES AND FOR THE COUNSELORS. UM, I KNOW I'M STILL SURPRISED AND MAYBE AS I'M ON THE COUNCIL LONGER, I NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GONNA BE ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA THURSDAY NIGHT. UH, AND, AND I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, I I I HOPE, UM, MAYBE, UM, COUNSELOR, YOU KNOW, MORE [03:05:01] EXPERIENCED COUNSELOR COUNSELORS HAVE A BETTER SENSE FOR WHAT, WHAT WILL BE ON THE AGENDA. BUT I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT'S SORT OF INTERESTING THAT I, I, I REALLY HAVE NO CLUE WHAT'S GONNA BE DISCUSSED OR WHAT MY WEEKEND WILL, WILL BE AS I'M PREPARING FOR THE MEETINGS. UM, AND I JUST, I WANTED TO BRING UP, UH, THIS BIT WITH CONSTITUENT SERVICES, IF WE CAN JUST, UM, IF WE CAN AGAIN, CENTRALIZE IT, IT WILL ALSO JUST BE A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT, UH, USE OF EVERYBODY'S TIME. AND I FEEL LIKE THERE ARE REAL ISSUES THAT WE AS A COUNCIL AND AS A CITY NEED TO SOLVE IF WE CAN. UM, WE NEED TO RESPOND TO CONSTITUENT SERVICES, BUT I MEAN, THEY'RE IMPORTANT, BUT I FEEL LIKE IF WE, WE REALLY NEED TO BE FIGURING OUT, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE BEST TRAIN OUR YOUTH FOR THE JOBS OF THE FUTURE? YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE, UM, BEST EXPAND AFTER SCHOOL? HOW CAN WE, I MEAN, THERE ARE REAL ISSUES, WHETHER IT'S HOW CAN WE MAKE, UH, OUR CITY STREETS WORK FOR EVERYONE. UM, I, I FEEL LIKE IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT A PROCESS, A BETTER PROCESS FOR CONSTITUENT SERVICES, THEN WE'LL HAVE MORE TIME TO REALLY FOCUS ON THE STUFF OF GOVERNMENT THAT WILL, CAN, CAN DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE PEOPLE'S LIVES. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR. UH, THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR. UM, JUST SORT OF WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON WHAT THE, THE MANAGER WAS JUST, WAS JUST SAYING. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, TO GET A, TO GET A BETTER SENSE BEFORE THE MEETING AS TO WHAT IS GONNA BE PULLED AND WHAT'S IS WHAT'S GONNA COME UP. AND I'M, I'VE DONE THIS A BUNCH OF TIMES AND I'M GUILTY OF IT, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO THINK ABOUT ON THE COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE STAFF THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE DOING GREAT WORK AND, AND WANT AND WANT AND DESERVE SOME ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THAT WORK, BUT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES LIKE I'LL PULL SOMETHING OFF THE CITY MANAGER'S AGENDA AND THIS POOR, YOU KNOW, AND, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY HAS TO SIT AROUND FOR FOUR HOURS FOR ME TO SAY, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU. I THINK YOU'D RATHER HAVE THOSE FOUR HOURS BACK THAN HAVING ME SAY THANK YOU. SO, YOU KNOW WHAT I, I'D LOVE THE FEEDBACK FROM, FROM THE STAFF IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE ASKING ARE ACTUALLY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ASKED AT A PUBLIC MEETING AND ARE QUESTIONS THAT MAY DECIDE HOW WE'RE GONNA VOTE IN ONE PARTICULAR WAY. SOMETIMES WE PULL THINGS AND WE'RE JUST ASKING QUESTIONS THAT ARE JUST CURIOUS TO US, RIGHT? AND FORGET THE FACT THAT THAT MEANS THAT PERSON IS NOW SITTING HERE TILL 10 OR 11 O'CLOCK AND HAVE TO BE IN, YOU KNOW, I, I WAS TALKING TO MR. IRWIN, NICOLE THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS MORNING. I MEAN, SHE LIVES 40 MINUTES AWAY, YOU KNOW, SO SHE LEAVES A MEETING, A CITY COUNCIL MEETING AT 12 O'CLOCK, HAS TO DRIVE HOME, HAS TO BE BACK IN AT EIGHT 30. THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MORNING. WELL, WE DON'T HAVE TO BE IN AT EIGHT 30 IN THE MORNING AS COUNSELORS. WE COULD SAY, YEAH, OUR FIRST APPOINTMENT'S AT 10, YOU KNOW, WE'RE FLEXIBLE. WE'RE GONNA WORK UNTIL 10 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT, WHATEVER. SO WE REALLY DO NEED TO BE MORE CONSCIOUS OF WHAT, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO PULL FOR A MONDAY NIGHT, AND THEN WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS WE'RE GOING TO ASK THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT AND HELP MOVE THE DIALOGUE ALONG. AND NOT JUST, I'M JUST WONDERING OR EVEN JUST A THANK YOU. RIGHT. I, SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT POINT. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, COUNCILLOR SIMMONS. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. IT'S, I, I THANK YOU COUNCILOR MCGUFF FOR BRINGING THAT, THAT UP. UH, I, FOR ME, WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE NEVER REALLY TALKED ABOUT, AND IT'S PROBABLY A GOVERNMENT OPS KIND OF CONVERSATION, IS LOOKING AT DIFFERENT MODELS OF HOW WE HAVE OUR MEETINGS. I MEAN, CITY COUNCIL IN BOSTON HAS THEIR MEETINGS AT TWO O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON, OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS BIFURCATE PUBLIC COMMENT FROM THE BUSINESS MEETING. THEY HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT ON A MONDAY, AND YOU HAD THE BUSINESS MEETING ON A, A TUESDAY. AND WHAT I THINK WE SORT OF FORGET THAT IT IS A BUSINESS MEETING, AND I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A VERY, UM, ENGAGED ON SOME LEVEL, THE ONE HALF OR 1% CONSTITUENCY THAT WANNA COME AND, AND, AND BE INVOLVED. BUT THAT'S NOT, I THINK, AND AS A PERSON THAT HAS BEEN A, A STAFF PERSON TO THE CITY, IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE STAFF. UH, YOU REMEMBER YOU, UM, MENTIONED NICOLE, BUT, UH, CLERK, UH, CRANE, THAT CLERK, YOU KNOW, WHO YOU ARE LIVES IN BURLINGTON. AND SO, AND IT'S HERE EIGHT O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. SO HOW DO WE BECOME MORE COGNIZANT? AND THAT'S, I WOULD NAME EVERYBODY, BUT I DON'T KNOW EVERYBODY'S ADDRESS. WHERE DO YOU LIVE, MS. WATKINS? NOT FAR ENOUGH. . THE POINT BEING, I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION MAYBE NOT TO HAVE HERE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT, WE DON'T WANNA JUST WORK [03:10:01] HARD. WE WANNA WORK WELL OR EFFICIENTLY. AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY NEED TO PAY A LITTLE BIT MORE ATTENTION TO BECAUSE THE, THE STAFF HAVE TO BE HERE, AS YOU SAID, COUNSELOR, 8, 8 30 IN THE MORNING WHERE SOME OF US DON'T HAVE TO SHOW UP UNTIL NOON, WENT HOME, HAD A NAP, HAD SOME BREAKFAST CUP OF TEA, COME IN AND SIT HERE AT MIDNIGHT AND HAPPY, HAPPY GEORGIA. BUT IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE STAFF THAT'S DOING THEIR, TRYING TO DO THEIR BEST WORK FOR US. SO I HOPE THAT IT'S A PLACE FOR US TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. I DON'T KNOW IF COUNCIL, SABRINA WHEELER WANTS TO TAKE IT UP IN GOVERNMENT OPS, BUT SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY NEED TO TALK ABOUT AND HOW DO WE HAVE A EFFICIENT MEETING. YOU KNOW, I MIGHT KNOW A LOT ABOUT DEI, BUT I DON'T HAVE TO TELL ALL TO YOU IN A MEETING. SO, UH, SOMETHING THAT'S WANTED TO PUT OUT THERE. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. WE DO HAVE A GOV OPS MEETING ON THURSDAY, CHAIRED BY COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER, 10 30 TO 1230. I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN COLLECTING VARIOUS SUGGESTIONS. FEEL FREE EVERYONE, DEFINITELY EMAIL COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER, WHEELER ON THAT PIECE, BUT I, I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH WHAT'S BEEN SAID. SO IT'S 1255. I'M GONNA PASS IT TO GABRIELA TO CLOSE US OUT. OKAY. SO A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT HAVE COME OUT OF THIS CONVERSATION. UM, EARLY FEBRUARY, UM, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IS GOING TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON HOW THEY'RE GONNA UPDATE ON THOSE THINGS THAT ARE IN PROCESS. IT'S AN UPDATE TO THE UPDATE. UM, THERE SEEMS TO BE A ROUND ROBIN REQUEST TO AT LEAST EXPLORE SOME KIND OF CENTRALIZED CONSTITUENT SERVICES SOLUTION, WHETHER THAT'S THREE Y OH ONE, WHETHER THAT'S DOMINO'S, WHETHER THAT WHAT, WHATEVER IT IS, SOMETHING. UM, SO THAT IS A NEXT ACTION. UM, AND THEN LASTLY, UM, I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT, WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS ISSUE OF, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA BE ON THE AGENDA ON MONDAY. I'M CONFUSED BY THAT. UM, BUT IT FEELS LIKE A REALLY IMPORTANT POINT THAT WE SHOULDN'T LOSE. UM, I THINK, I THINK ON THAT ONE, I MEAN, THE AGENDA IS, YOU KNOW, ON THE CITY SIDE WE ARE PLANNING OUT WHAT TO PUT UP, BUT SOMETIMES THERE IS A LOT OF WORK LAST MINUTE TO FIGURE OUT, ARE WE READY? IS THIS GONNA BE COMPLETED? HAVE WE REVIEWED IT? AND SO IT IS THE CASE THAT SOMETIMES WE'RE SAYING, OKAY, LET'S DO IT AT THE NEXT MEETING. WE NEED A LITTLE BIT LONGER. UM, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE, THE THURSDAY BEFORE THE MONDAY MEETING IS THE ADVANCE NOTICE THAT WE'RE GIVING EVERYBODY. I THINK IF YOU START PUSHING BACK FROM THURSDAY TO GIVE ADVANCED NOTICE, THE ADVANCED NOTICE, IT STARTS TO, IT STARTS TO BE A LITTLE BIT ODD. UM, ON THE COUNCIL SIDE, I WOULD SAY THERE'S BOTH OPEN MEETING LAW BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T HAVE FIVE COUNSELORS ALL TALK, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T HAVE A WHOLE COUNCIL TALKING TO EACH OTHER ABOUT WHAT'S COMING UP ON THE AGENDA. UM, AND, AND THAT IS A BIT MORE OF, UM, I THINK IT HAS GOTTEN MUCH BETTER IN TERMS OF OVERALL NOT SURPRISING EVERYBODY. SO I THINK SOME PEOPLE ARE GOING TO END UP A LITTLE BIT SURPRISED. YOU KNOW, WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW WHAT'S COMING UP IN THE POLICY ORDER AGENDA. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK IT'S BETTER WHEN THE BIG THINGS WE DO GET A HEADS UP ON BECAUSE ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S LIKE SOME BACK AND FORTH TO SAY, UM, IS THERE CONTEXT THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR YOU TO KNOW? UM, HOW IS THIS GOING TO BE RECEIVED BY DEPARTMENTS? I THINK THOSE ARE ACTUALLY VERY PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS. UM, BUT I THINK SOMETIMES THEY'RE JUST SMALL THINGS THAT GO UP AND THAT'S KIND OF OKAY. UM, BUT, BUT I FEEL LIKE, AND MAYBE THIS IS, THIS IS PART OF THE BROADER CONVERSATION. IT IS, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZING THE LIMITATIONS OF WHAT NEEDS TO ULTIMATELY BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. THE MORE THAT I THINK WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER AND COMMUNICATING AND BEING TRANSPARENT ABOUT, UM, ABOUT WHAT'S COMING UP, THE BETTER. AND CERTAINLY I WOULD SAY, UM, FOR FOLKS THAT ARE TRACKING LARGER PIECES OF WORK, UM, YOU SHOULD FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT AND TO SAY, FOR INSTANCE, UM, WHEN IS THIS COMING UP? WHAT'S THE TIMELINE? UM, WE HAVEN'T SPENT AS MUCH TIME TALKING ABOUT THE COMMITTEES, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT IS WHERE IN MANY WAYS THE LARGER ITEMS, THE ONES THAT THE COUNCIL CARES THE MOST ABOUT, END UP SITTING. AND I THINK I HAVE SEEN, UM, WHETHER IT'S THE COMMITTEE CHAIRS OR INDIVIDUAL COUNSELORS WHO ARE MUCH MORE ENGAGED ON AN ISSUE, THOSE FOLKS DO TEND TO BE MUCH MORE CONNECTED TO THE CITY STAFF THAT ARE WORKING ON SOMETHING AND THEY HAVE A MUCH DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF, YOU KNOW, THE TIMELINE AND THE WORK PLAN. UM, IT JUST ISN'T, I THINK, POSSIBLE FOR ALL NINE COUNSELORS TO BE IN THE LOOP ABOUT EVERYTHING. UM, BUT TO THE EXTENT THAT EACH OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY HAS AREAS OF WORK THAT YOU WANNA BETTER UNDERSTAND, WE'RE ALWAYS HAPPY TO, TO BE [03:15:01] MORE CLOSELY CONNECTED AND COMMUNICATING LIKE, OH, OKAY. YOU KNOW, WHAT'S COMING UP IN THE NEXT MONTH. DO YOU WANNA SAY ANY CLOSING WORDS, EITHER MAYOR OR CITY MANAGER BEFORE WE TRANSITION OUT AND YOU DO THE ROLL CALL? NO, I'LL JUST SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR INSIGHTS, YOUR PARTICIPATION. THERE'S OBVIOUSLY DEFINITELY SOME KEY AREAS OF FOLLOW UP. UM, AND THEN THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, MAY BE BETTER DISCUSSED IN DEVOPS, UM, THAT WE CAN PIVOT THERE. UH, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK, WE'LL, I'LL WORK WITH THE CITY MANAGER ON HOW WE, UM, FOLLOW UP ON SOME OF THE HOMEWORK THAT CAME OUT OF THIS SESSION. BUT THANK YOU FOR TO EVERYONE FOR COMING AND PARTICIPATING. PARTICIPATING. AND DOES EVERYONE KNOW WHERE THEY'RE GOING NEXT, NAOMI OR MATT? TO A WARM ROOM? ? YES. LET'S ADJOURN FIRST. OKAY. WE'LL ADJOURN AND ON A MOTION BY COUNCILOR NOLAN TO ADJOURN. WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL. COUNCILOR ZUBIE? YES. VICE MAYOR AZI? YES. YES. COUNCIL FLAHERTY? YES. YES. COUNCIL MCGOVERN? YES. YES. COUNCILOR NOLAN? YES. YES. COUNCILOR SIMMONS? YES. YES. COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER. YES. YES. COUNCILOR EY? YES. YES. MAYOR SIDIKI. YES. YES. AND YOU HAVE NINE MEMBERS RECORDED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. WE ARE ADJOURNED. BYE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.