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[ROLL CALL]
I AM CALLING TODAY'S FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER.THE CALL OF TODAY'S MEETING IS TO CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION FROM THE FEBRUARY 25TH, 2026 MEETING ON ESTABLISHING FUTURE BUDGET PRIORITIES.
THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS A ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS PRESENT.
ABSENT, COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER.
YOU HAVE SIX MEMBERS RECORDED AS PRESENT.
THANKS TO MY COLLEAGUES AND CITY STAFF FOR HERE.
PURSUANT TO CHAPTER TWO OF THE ACTS OF 2025, ADOPTED BY MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL COURT AND APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO USE REMOTE PARTICIPATION AT MEETINGS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL AND ITS COMMITTEES.
PLEASE NOTE THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDS THIS MEETING AND MAKES IT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR FUTURE VIEWING.
THIRD PARTIES MAY ALSO BE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING THIS MEETING.
IN ADDITION TO HAVING MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL PARTICIPATE REMOTELY, WE'VE ALSO SET UP ZOOM TELECONFERENCE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE VISIT THE CITY COUNCIL SECTION OF THE CITY'S WEBPAGE.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK ARE POSTED.
ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED SIGNUP PROCEDURE, YOU'LL RECEIVE A LINK TO THE ZOOM MEETING.
TO WATCH THE MEETING, PLEASE TUNE IN TO CHANNEL 22 OR VISIT THE OPEN MEETING PORTAL ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
WITH THAT, ALL OF TODAY'S VOTES, IF ANY, WILL BE BY ROLL CALL.
SO TODAY WE ARE CONTINUING DISCUSSION.
THE AGENDA IS I HAVE, UM, AS CO-CHAIR, HAVE AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MEETING TO EXPLAIN WHERE WE'RE AT AND HOW WE GOT HERE.
THAT CO-CHAIR ZUBIE, WE'LL ADD TO THAT WE'LL HAVE A PRESENTATION, UH, FROM THE CITY STAFF.
WE'LL GO TO ANY PUBLIC COMMENT.
IS THERE ANYONE? TWO PEOPLE ARE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN COUNCIL DISCUSSION.
TODAY'S MEETING CONTINUES OUR, UH, PROJECT TO DISCUSS COUNCIL BUDGET PRIORITIZATION FOR FUTURE BUDGETS, AND WE'LL CONTINUE THE PROCESS WE WORKED ON DURING THE FEBRUARY 25TH FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.
THIS PROCESS TO ENSURE COUNCIL INPUT IS PARTLY DUE TO THE CHARTER CHANGES APPROVED BY VOTERS LAST YEAR AND IS GOOD GOVERNANCE.
ONE OF THE MAIN POINTS TO DRIVE HOME TODAY IS THAT WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE FY 27 BUDGET HERE, WHICH IS WE'LL BE NEXT YEAR'S OPERATING BUDGET.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT FUTURE OPTIONS FOR POTENTIAL EXPANDED FINANCIAL INVESTMENT AND STAFF TIME INVESTMENT.
WE ARE LOOKING AT A MORE RESTRAINED FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
SO THIS PROCESS IS MEANT TO INFORM SOUND DECISION MAKING IN THE FUTURE SO THAT WHEN AND IF BUDGET SPACE BECOMES AVAILABLE, THE CITY IS POSITIONED TO MAKE STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN COUNCIL PRIORITY AREAS.
AS MENTIONED AT THE LAST MEETING, AND IN SUBSEQUENT MEMOS, IMPORTANTLY, NARROWING OUR FOCUS IS NOT MEANT TO EXCLUDE, DIMINISH, OR ELIMINATE OTHER GOALS, ALL OF WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO BE PART OF CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN CITY STAFF, CITY COUNCIL, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
RATHER REFLECTS THE PRACTICAL NEED TO CONCENTRATE STAFF CAPACITY AND FINANCIAL PLANNING.
IT'S NOT TO ELIMINATE THE POSSIBILITY OF OTHER ITEMS MOVING FORWARD OVER TIME, BUT TO PRIORITIZE A SELECT FEW AND TO INSTITUTE A PROCESS BY WHICH WE ENSURE THAT THIS COUNCIL WORKS WITH CITY STAFF OVER THE COURSE OF THIS TERM TO MAKE DEMONSTRABLE PROGRESS ON A FEW PRIORITIES.
THE MESSAGE IS THAT WE ALL HAVE PRIORITIES FOR FUTURE EXPANSION, FOR ITEMS THAT MAY NOT BE IN THE PRIORITY LIST, THAT SUGGEST THAT THE COUNCIL COLLECTIVELY AGREES THAT CURRENT LEVELS OF INVESTMENT ARE APPROPRIATE, NOT THAT FUNDING SHOULD NOT CONTINUE.
THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO POINT OUT.
THE ONLY WAY TO ENSURE THAT A FEW ITEMS END UP SCOPED IS TO PRIORITIZE THOSE SELECT FEW, AND NOT TO SAY THAT OTHERS OF THOSE ITEMS WON'T BE PROGRESSED THROUGH OTHER INTERNAL PROCESSES OR COMMITTEE DISCUSSIONS OR PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
BUT IT IS TO CLARIFY WHICH TWO OR THREE, WE'LL HAVE A CLEAR AND COLLABORATIVE PROCESS MOVING FORWARD.
WE THINK AND HOPE THAT BY REFRAMING THIS, THAT WE CAN GET BUY-IN FROM, UH, THE COUNCIL OF CITY STAFF AND THE COMMUNITY.
ALSO, WANNA NOTE WE KEEP USING THE TWO TO THREE NUMBER.
SO IT SHOULD BE STATED THAT IT DEPENDS ON THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF WHICH TWO OR THREE PRIORITIES THE COUNCIL CHOOSES, WHETHER IT'S ACTUALLY TWO OR THREE ITEMS, DIALOGUE WITH THE CITY STAFF WILL HOPEFULLY HELP INFORM US.
SO THE QUESTIONS FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER TODAY, NOW THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH MOST OF THIS PRIORITIZATION PROCESS IN ORDER TO NARROW OUR SCOPE, HOW DO WE COLLECTIVELY FEEL ABOUT THE LIST AND WHAT HAS BEEN CHOSEN? TWO ITEMS DIRECTLY RELATED TO CHILDCARE WERE CHOSEN TWICE THE CAMBRIDGE PRESCHOOL EXPANSION AND AFTERSCHOOL EXPANSION.
BOTH ARE RELATED TO CHILDCARE SUPPORT AND WE HAD PREVIOUSLY CONSIDERED COMBINING THE TWO ITEMS, BUT THEY ARE DIFFERENT AND THEY'RE ALSO RELATED.
SO A QUESTION IS WHETHER THE COUNCIL WANTS TO COMBINE THOSE TWO ITEMS TO INCLUDE THEM IN A NARROWED LIST IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE COMBINE SEVERAL ITEMS RELATED TO SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION FROM THE ORIGINAL LIST.
AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION IS, HOW DOES THE COUNCIL WANT TO NARROW THIS LIST FURTHER IN ORDER TO GET DOWN TO THE TWO OR THREE PRIORITIES? WE'LL SPEND MORE TIME SCOPING AND ASKING THE CITY STAFF TO SPEND TIME ON SOME
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OF THE OPTIONS FOR HOW TO NARROW FURTHER.ONE WE COULD DISCUSS ON THE FLOOR AND A CONS AND A CONSENSUS MAY EVOLVE EITHER TODAY OR TO SUBSEQUENT MEETING.
WE COULD ENGAGE IN, ENGAGE IN A RANKED CHOICE VOTING EXERCISE, AND WE COULD ENGAGE IN ANOTHER SELECTION EXERCISE WHERE, FOR INSTANCE, EACH COUNSELOR CHOOSES TWO ITEMS. SO THE DECISION POINTS TO GET TO TODAY, HOW DO WE WANNA STRUCTURE THE NEXT ROUND OF DELIBERATION? AND THE QUESTION WAS RAISED BY A FEW COUNSELORS IN SOME, UH, STAFF ABOUT THE, THE POTENTIAL COMBINATION OF, UH, THE CPP AND AFTERSCHOOL ITEM.
SO THE NOTES ON THE SLIDES, THE FIRST TWO SLIDES, WHICH, UH, UH, CITY STAFF WILL GO OVER PROVIDE IMPORTANT CONTEXT.
BOTH ARE FROM THE BUDGET BOOK AND OUTLINED SPENDING PRIORITIES AND WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY INVESTING IN THE PIE CHART, THE $992 MILLION OPERATING BUDGET.
AND THE SECOND CHART IS A CONSOLIDATED SPENDING CHART CATEGORIZED BY COUNCIL PRIORITY.
AND THAT CHART INCLUDES BOTH OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET EXPENDITURES.
SO IT'S NOT A DIRECT DOLLAR TO DOLLAR COMPARISON, BUT WHEN SOMEONE IS CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THINGS ARE PRIORITIZED, THIS IS A WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
AND AGAIN, ONE OF THE POINTS TO MAKE IS THAT THIS PRIORITIZATION DOESN'T MEAN THAT THOSE PRIORITIES WON'T CONTINUE.
IT REALLY IS FOR FUTURE PRIORITIZATION IF THERE'S ROOM FOR EXPANSION WHERE WHAT WE'RE ALREADY SPENDING ON TOWARDS OUR VARIOUS PRIORITIES, BUT WE MAY HAVE SOME CAPACITY IN THE FUTURE FOR ADDITIONAL SPENDING.
PART OF THE REASON WE'RE TACKLING THIS PRIORITIZATION EXERCISE IS TO THINK ABOUT WHERE WE WANNA DIRECT FUTURE RESOURCES, UNDERSTANDING AGAIN, WE ALREADY INVEST HIGHLY TOWARDS MANY ESSENTIAL CITY AND COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
UM, AS AN EXAMPLE, THE COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOW WORK WILL CONTINUE AND IT REPRESENTS A MAJOR INVESTMENT, BUT IT'S ON THE LOWER END OF COUNCIL PRIORITIES, NOT BECAUSE WE DON'T THINK IT SHOULD MOVE FORWARD, BUT THAT THE LEVEL OF SPENDING IS APPROPRIATE.
UM, THE BOTTOM LINE IS ALL OF OUR SPENDING AND FUTURE PRIORITIES SHOULD BE IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING.
WE CAN AND SHOULD BUILD ON THE GREAT SUCCESS WE'VE HAD IN IMPLEMENTING GREAT SOCIAL SERVICES.
WE CAN NO DOUBT MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IN MANY DIFFERENT AREAS.
AND NOW TODAY WE'LL BE SPENDING TIME IDENTIFYING A FEW GOALS THAT WE SHOULD PUSH TOWARDS FOR THIS COUNCIL TO CONFIRM WITH CITY STAFF TO WORK ON FOR FUTURE BUDGET CYCLES.
UM, THERE'S ALSO A SLIDE, WE'LL GO OVER THE VISUAL REPRESENTATION, THE PROCESS WE'VE WORKED THROUGH, THERE WAS A SLIDESHOW IN THE ENTIRE LIST THAT WAS REFINED BASED ON THE FEBRUARY 25TH CONVERSATION AND CIRCULATED TO COUNCILS.
AND THEN THERE'S A RESULTS OF THE PRIORITIZATION EXERCISE.
SO JUST SETTING THE CONTEXT FOR TODAY WITH THAT, I, I THINK THE, THE STAFF CAN LEAD US.
DO YOU WANNA LEAD THROUGH THE PRESENTATION OR DO YOU WANT, UH, HOW DO YOU WANT, AND BEFORE I DO THAT, I'D LIKE TO SEE IF CO-CHAIR ZUBIE WANTS TO, UM, ADD TO THE OPENING REMARKS.
NOLAN, I THINK YOU COVERED THE TWO POINTS THAT I WANTED TO, TO HIT.
SO I WILL RETURN THE FLOOR TO YOU CHAIR.
MADAM CHAIR, COUNCILOR ZE HAS HIS HAND RAISED, UH, VICE MAYOR JUST WANTED TO BE MARKED AS PRESENT, SO NOTED, CORRECT CLERK.
[COMMUNICATIONS FROM OTHER CITY OFFICERS]
OR DCM OR A CM OR DIRECTOR JENNINGS WHO WANTS TO TAKE US THROUGH THESE FEW SLIDES.BUT I'M ASSUMING YOU WERE GONNA TAKE US OH NO.
UH, THROUGH YOUR JOURNAL, UM, HAPPY FOR, HAPPY FOR YOU TO WALK THROUGH.
UM, AND MOSTLY WAS JUST GOING TO COMMENT THAT I'VE APPRECIATED THIS PROCESS, UM, THAT, UH, THAT THE TWO CO-CHAIRS HAVE LED.
AND, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DISCUSSION, UH, THROUGH YOU CHAIR.
I I THINK WE, UM, THOUGHT THAT, THAT YOU, UM, OR, UH, CO-CHAIR ZUBIE WOULD BE WALKING THROUGH THE SLIDES SINCE, UM, YOUR INFORMATION.
AS I SAID, THIS IS THE UM, PIE CHART FROM THE BUDGET BOOK OF THE OPERATING BUDGET, UH, FOR THIS CURRENT YEAR, WHICH TOTALS $992 MILLION.
IT SHOWS IN BROAD CATEGORIES WHAT THE OVERALL BUDGET OPERATING BUDGET IS IN.
UM, LET'S SEE, IT INCLUDES, UM, THE MAIN POINT AND THEN NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
THE, THIS IS THE CONSOLIDATED SPENDING.
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NOTED, THIS CHART INCLUDES BOTH OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET CONTRIBUTION.SO IT'S NOT A DIRECT DOLLAR DOLLAR COMPARISON TO THE PIE CHART, UH, BUT IT DOES LET US SEE HOW IT IS THAT THE BUDGET IS STRUCTURED AROUND OUR COUNCIL PRIORITIES.
THE MAIN POINT FROM THESE FIRST SLIDES IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE ALREADY SPENDING ON THESE PRIORITIES.
BECAUSE PART OF THE REASON WE'RE TACKLING THIS IS TO THINK ABOUT WHERE WE WANNA DIRECT FUTURE RESOURCES AND EXPAND THEM.
UH, THE INVESTMENT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE IN MANY OF THESE AREAS.
AND THE QUESTION IS, AS WE'VE SEEN IN PRIOR BUDGET, UH, CONVERSATIONS WITHIN A FEW YEARS, WE THINK THERE MAY BE SOME ADDITIONAL CAPACITY IN THE OPERATING OR CAPITAL BUDGET SIDE TO, UH, TO ADD SOME EXPANSION.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY.
SO THIS IS A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE PROCESS WE'VE WORKED THROUGH TO GET TO THIS POINT.
WE DEVELOPED THE INITIAL LIST BASED ON PREVIOUS PRIORITIZATION WORK IN PREVIOUS TERMS, ALSO THIS TERM COUNCIL POLICY ORDERS OVER THE LAST LITTLE BIT AND THE START OF TERM CHECK-INS WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, AND THEN INPUT DURING THE FEBRUARY 25TH MEETING ON THAT, ON THIS LIST OF PRIORITIES.
WE THEN UPDATED THE LIST BASED ON THE COMMENTS AND CIRCULATED THE LIST COUNSELORS ASKING THEM TO CHOOSE THEIR TOP FOUR ITEMS TO PRIORITIZE IN THIS PROCESS.
AND WE ARE NOW AT THE POINT WHERE WE CAN REFINE THE LIST TO FIVE OR SIX ITEMS AND THEN FURTHER DISCUSS IN ORDER TO FIND TWO OR THREE ITEMS TO PRIORITIZE FOR SCOPING AND STAFF PRIORITIZATION OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
SO AGAIN, THIS LAYS IT OUT AND TELLS YOU, TELLS ALL REMINDS ALL OF US WHERE WE ARE IN THIS PROCESS.
SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE ENTIRE LIST THAT WAS REFINED BASED ON THE FEBRUARY 25TH CONVERSATION CIRCULATED TO COUNSELORS.
NOTE THE APPENDIX INCLUDES MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF EACH ITEM THAT WERE ALSO INFORMED BY CITY COUNCILOR.
COMMENTS AND INPUT FROM CITY STAFF.
THESE WERE IN THE BROAD CATEGORIES.
COUNCIL PRIORITY AREAS OF HOUSING AND ZONING, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND EQUITY, TRANSPORTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE.
SO HERE'S WHERE WE COUNCILORS WERE ASKED TO PRIORITIZE FOR ITEMS FOR SCOPING AND FUTURE FINANCIAL EXPANSION.
FIVE ITEMS WERE CHOSEN BY THREE OR MORE COUNSELORS.
SO THIS SHOWS A RESULT OF THE PRIORITIZATION.
AS I MENTIONED IN THE INTRODUCTION, THIS, UM, THE, THIS, EVERY SINGLE COUNSELOR PARTICIPATED IN THIS.
UM, TWO ITEMS RECEIVED FIVE SELECTIONS, THREE RECEIVED THREE, THE REST RECEIVED EITHER TWO OR THREE.
AND THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT IS JUST EVERYTHING THAT RECEIVED EITHER TWO OR FEWER VOTES.
SO THAT I THINK IS THE LAST THING, CORRECT? YEP.
AND THEN THE APPENDIX INCLUDES, UH, UH, MUCH MORE DETAIL.
WE WON'T GO OVER IT BECAUSE IT'S UH, IT HAS A LOT OF MORE, JUST MORE DETAIL ON EACH OF ITEM, BUT IF ANYONE WANTS, WANTS IT, IT IS IN YOUR PACKET, YOU CAN REFER TO IT.
SO WITH THAT THEN, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT THE CITY STAFF WANTS TO ADD BEFORE I GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT? ALRIGHT, WE'RE ALL SET.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS PAUL ANGELO SANTO.
PAUL, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
PAUL, IF YOU CAN UNMUTE YOURSELF.
HI, EVERYONE HEAR ME? OKAY, WE CAN PLEASE GO AHEAD.
I WORK WITH SOMERVILLE, CAMBRIDGE ELDER SERVICES, AND I HELP RUN THE TECH ACCESS PROGRAM, WHICH WAS FEDERALLY, A FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAM.
AND WE WORKED IN CAMBRIDGE WITH, WITH ADULTS 60 PLUS.
AND WE HELPED RESIDENTS GET RESOURCES ONLINE LIKE SOCIAL SECURITY, HOUSING, RECERTIFICATION, SNAP, AND TRANSPORTATION.
AND OUR PROGRAM HELPS 'EM ACCESS THESE SERVICES IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE ALSO SERVE AS A TOUCH POINT BY REFERRING TO OTHER PARTS OF THE SOMERVILLE, CAMBRIDGE ELDER SERVICES FOR ADULTS, OLDER ADULTS, EXCUSE ME.
AND WE WERE ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR, UH, $350,000 IF POSSIBLE, THAT WOULD HELP US TO RUN FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
UH, WITHIN THE TWO YEARS THAT WE'VE ALREADY BEEN RUNNING, WE HELPED OVER A THOUSAND, UH, INTERACTIONS IN CAMBRIDGE ALONE.
AND A QUARTER OF THOSE WERE MEETING PEOPLE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.
AND THE REPERCUSSIONS OF OUR PROGRAM ENDING IS THAT WE'RE PUTTING OLDER ADULTS AT RISK BECAUSE THEY CAN'T ASK ACCESS COMMUNITY SUPPORT.
THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT TAKES FOR THEM TO APPLY FOR THE SERVICE THEY NEED IS VASTLY INCREASED AND THEY'RE REALLY GONNA SUFFER WITHOUT THIS SERVICE THAT WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING TO THEM FOR FREE.
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AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS COLIN BARR.
COLIN, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, PLEASE.
COLIN, YOU'RE UNMUTED ON OUR END.
CAN EVERYONE HEAR IF YOU WANNA TRY AGAIN? WE, WE ARE HEARING LITTLE BITS AND PIECES OF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
I AM THE MANAGER OF THE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS PROGRAM, UH, AS PAUL WAS SAYING, UM, WE ARE, WE'RE A GRANT FUNDED PROGRAM THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UNFORTUNATELY, OUR PROGRAM WAS CUT FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING IN CAMBRIDGE TO HELP OLDER ADULTS, 60 PLUS WITH ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UH, THEIR DIGITAL NEEDS.
UH, OUR GOAL WAS TO NARROW THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AMONG THAT GROUP, BUT WE ALSO HELPED OLDER ADULTS WITH EVERYTHING FROM, UM, APPLYING FOR SOCIAL SECURITY, UM, HOUSING RECERTIFICATION PACKAGES, APPLYING FOR SNAP REAL ID, AND ALSO HELPING THEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO STAY ONLINE, UH, AND PROTECT THEMSELVES TO AVOID SCAMS. WE, UH, BELIEVE THAT OUR PROGRAM HAS, UH, BEEN A CONDUIT INTO HELPING OLDER ADULTS GET THE SERVICES AND THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED IN CAMBRIDGE.
UM, WITHOUT OUR PROGRAM, WE FEAR THAT IT WOULD TAKE LONGER FOR THEM TO GET THOSE SERVICES OR THEY WOULDN'T GET IT AT ALL.
WE BELIEVE THAT, UM, WE ARE DOING WORK IN THE COMMUNITY THAT, UM, HELPS WITH MAKING SURE THAT WE CONNECT, UH, RESIDENTS WITH THE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED OR DESERVE.
UM, I, UH, WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO ENCOURAGE, UH, THE CITY TO CONSIDER FUNDING OUR PROGRAM, UH, FOR 350,000, UH, FOR US TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
THAT IS ALL WHO WERE SIGNED UP.
NOW SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT SO WE CAN GO TO THE COUNCIL.
SO AGAIN, THE, THE QUESTIONS ARE HOW IS THIS SITTING WITH YOU AND, UM, HOW IS IT THAT WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD? AND AGAIN, THE STAFF IS HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT I, I THINK WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL SOMETIMES, UH, WE HAD TALKED, MANY COUNSELORS HAVE SAID, WELL, WHAT DOES SCOPING INVOLVE? I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HEAR, AND MAYBE IF WE WANNA DO THAT BEFORE THE, UM, THE COUNCIL DELIBERATES ON JUST WHAT IS INVOLVED IN SCOPING AND WHAT IS IT THAT, THAT YOU THINK WE'RE, WE'LL BE ASKING YOU TO DO AND WHAT WILL BE HELPFUL FOR YOU TO HEAR, TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD PRODUCTIVELY, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
AND IS THAT OKAY, COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEEL FOR YOU? DO THAT AND THEN WE'LL GO TO YOU, UH, SURE.
UM, WHAT'S SORT OF THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS? I THINK, UM, HAPPY TO, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK SOME OF OUR DISCUSSION HAS BEEN RECOGNIZING THAT, UM, THESE IDEAS ARE IN DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES IN DIFFERENT, UM, DIFFERENT PARTS OF SCOPING, UH, RESOURCING TIMELINES.
IS IT MAYBE HELPFUL TO, SHOULD WE, IS IT HELPFUL TO MAYBE WALK THROUGH, UM, WALK THROUGH THAT AND, AND I THINK SOME OF IT IS MAYBE SITUATING IT WITHIN THE COUNCIL DISCUSSION.
AND SO, UM, I'M HAPPY IF, IF IT'S HELPFUL TO TALK THROUGH, UM, PAGE SIX AND MAYBE JUST GIVE LIKE A ONE OR TWO SENTENCE HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF STATUS, KIND OF WHERE EACH OF THESE IS.
UM, AND A AND A VERY BRIEF SENSE OF FROM, FROM THE ADMINISTRATION'S PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE WE ARE.
AND AS YOU DO THAT TO DISTINGUISH IF POSSIBLE, WHICH IT WOULD BE OPERATING BUDGET NEEDS IN WHICH WOULD BE CAPITAL AND SOMETIMES THEY'RE COMBINED, BUT I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION AS WELL.
UM, SO MAYBE I'LL JUST START, UH, WITH ON PAGE SIX, UM, SOCIAL HOUSING AND THEN WORK, WORK DOWN THROUGH THE
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COLUMNS.UM, AND, AND I THINK, FORGIVE ME IF, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE HAVE THE, UM, DESCRIPTIONS OF THE IDEAS ON PAGES EIGHT THROUGH THE REST OF THE PACKET.
UM, AND SO SOME OF THESE ARE, ARE SORT OF A BROADER SET OF IDEAS.
UM, AND, AND I'LL KIND OF JUST TALK AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL.
UM, I WOULD SAY SOCIAL HOUSING IS AN IDEA THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT MUCH MORE RECENTLY.
UH, SOCIAL HOUSING IS ON THE LIST OF HOUSING AND ZONING PRIORITIES THAT WE DISCUSSED ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN PLANNING AND DISCUSSING WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO MOVE THAT FORWARD.
UM, HOW WE WOULD THINK ABOUT THE FUNDING IS A LITTLE BIT.
TBD DEPENDS ON, UH, HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT, UM, HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE SCOPE OF WHAT A SOCIAL HOUSING PILOT MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
UM, THERE COULD BE A POSSIBILITY THAT WE'RE USING FUNDING FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST.
UM, THIS COULD ALSO ULTIMATELY BE SOME OTHER KIND OF CITY FUNDING ALLOCATION.
UH, WE ALSO DID DISCUSS AT MONDAY'S ROUND TABLE, UM, THINKING ABOUT 180 5 LARGE ROAD AS A POTENTIAL SITE.
UH, I WOULD SAY ALL OF THESE ARE VERY EARLY STAGE, AND SO WE'RE MORE THINKING DIRECTIONALLY THIS IS SOMETHING TO EXPLORE AND SCOPE OUT MORE CLOSELY.
UM, SO I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE MORE EARLY STAGE, UH, IDEAS, BUT ONE THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING ON, UM, SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION, UH, IS A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT IDEAS, UH, INCLUDING TWO 40 ALBANY STREET, UH, WHICH IS WHERE WE CURRENTLY HAVE A ADULT HOMELESS SHELTER FUNDED BY THE STATE.
UM, THAT IS A PROPERTY THAT MIT OWNS BUT HAS LEASED TO BAY COVE, WHICH RUNS THE SHELTER.
UM, THERE'S BEEN LONG CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ESTABLISHING A DAY CENTER, UH, IN CAMBRIDGE THAT COULD BE A PLACE WHERE, UH, PEOPLE COULD BE OFF THE STREETS AND WHERE THERE COULD BE PROGRAMMING AND ENGAGEMENT.
UM, THERE IS, UH, HOUSING VOUCHER EXPANSION FOR PEOPLE COMING OFF OF HOMELESSNESS.
AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE A MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE COMMITTED IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, UH, THAT'S GETTING DEPLOYED, UH, FOR VOUCHERS.
AND THEN THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN LONGSTANDING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT AN OVERDOSE PREVENTION CENTER.
UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THESE SET UP IN OTHER CITIES.
UH, I WOULD SAY GIVEN THE CURRENT FEDERAL ENVIRONMENT, UH, THIS WOULD PROBABLY BE PRETTY DIFFICULT TO SET UP, UM, IN THE NEAR TERM.
UM, BUT ACROSS THOSE IDEAS, UM, I THINK WE, WE PROBABLY ARE EVEN EARLIER THAN A SOCIAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND.
IF WE WERE TO PRIORITIZE, I THINK WE COULD, WE COULD PROBABLY PUSH, UM, SOME SET OF THESE IDEAS FORWARD, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE ASSERTIVELY, UM, IN THE COLUMN, IN THE NEXT COLUMN, COMMUNITY LAND TRUST.
UM, THAT IS A PRETTY NEW IDEA.
UH, AND SO WE'VE NOT HAD ANY PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS TO DATE.
UH, THERE HAVE BEEN MORE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST IN SOMERVILLE, AND I KNOW THAT'S THE MODEL THAT SOME COUNSELORS HAVE DISCUSSED.
UH, WE ARE MOSTLY DOING, UH, ACQUISITIONS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGH THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST.
UH, AND WE'VE BEEN VERY ACTIVE ON THAT FRONT.
UH, BUT WE HAVEN'T DONE AS MUCH WITH, UH, LOCAL EFFORTS TO DO THIS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY ELDER CARE AND SENIOR SERVICES EXPANSION.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS, AND CERTAINLY WE RECOGNIZED THAT A LOT OF THE FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING HAS BECOME MORE CONSTRAINED.
UH, WE'VE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH LOCAL PARTNERS ABOUT SOME OF THE PROGRAMMING CHANGES AND HOW WE MIGHT SUPPORT THAT.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S A BROADER DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT THE GAPS ARE AND HOW THE CITY MAY BE ENGAGED.
UM, WE DO RUN A LOT OF PROGRAMMING AND WORK OUT OF THE TWO SENIOR CENTERS IN THE CITY.
UH, AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF INITIATIVES INCLUDING DIGITAL EQUITY INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE, UH, ENGAGING WITH SENIORS ON THROUGH THE LIBRARIES AS WELL.
UH, RISEUP DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE.
UH, WE HAD A HUMAN SERVICES MEETING YESTERDAY TO DISCUSS THE RESEARCH REPORT COMING OUT OF RISEUP.
UH, AND WE'VE ALSO HELD COMMITTEE MEETINGS IN THE PAST TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE SCOPE MIGHT BE FOR A SUCCESSOR PROGRAM.
UM, I THINK THE, THE OVERALL PROGRAM IS PRETTY, UH, IS PRETTY WELL UNDERSTOOD AND WOULD ACTUALLY BE FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, I THINK WE HAD A REALLY STRONG STRUCTURE AND PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY, THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, CEOC, UM, AROUND THE PROGRAM.
UH, THERE'S STILL A FAIR AMOUNT OF SCOPING TO DO IN TERMS OF HOW WE WOULD DESIGN THE PROGRAM, HOW BIG IT WOULD BE, HOW WE WOULD TARGET IT.
UM, THOSE ARE ALL DECISIONS THAT I THINK WE WOULD NEED TO MAKE.
UM, AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM EXPANSION.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN A REGULAR TOPIC AND, UH, WE DID OUR LAST REPORT IN FALL 2025 JUST TO GIVE
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A PRETTY ROBUST AMOUNT OF DATA IN TERMS OF, UH, THE LOTTERY, UM, PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING SPOTS, UM, HOW THE WAIT LIST IS MOVING.UM, I WOULD SAY OVERALL WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE IN A PRETTY HEALTHY STATE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY INCREMENTALLY WE COULD DO A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT I THINK IN THE LAST LOTTERY, 89%, SO ALMOST LIKE 89% OF PEOPLE IN THE LOTTERY RECEIVED A SPOT, UM, WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD PERFORMANCE.
AND THEN IF YOU DIG INTO THE OTHER 11%, THERE'S UH, THERE'S MORE EXPLANATION IN TERMS OF, UM, HOW THAT FILTERS INTO SECOND, THIRD CHOICES.
UM, BUT I THINK WE ACTUALLY FEEL LIKE WE'RE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE.
UM, THOUGH OBVIOUSLY THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
CAMBRIDGE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM EXPANSION, WE'VE HAD DISCUSSION ABOUT, UH, THE CURRENT STATE OF UNIVERSAL PRE-K WHERE WE COVER ALL FOUR YEAR OLDS, UH, AND LOW INCOME THREE YEAR OLDS.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE PROGRAM THAT I THINK TOOK, UH, A LOT OF EFFORT FROM THE CITY COUNCIL.
UH, WE HAD SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS INVOLVED AND, UH, A CREDIT TO THE WORK OF ALL OF THE STAFF IN THE CAMBRIDGE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM TO HAVE ROLLED THIS OUT.
WE CONTINUE TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, UH, ADJUSTMENTS, IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEN THE QUESTION HERE, I BELIEVE IS HOW WE WOULD THINK ABOUT EXPANSIONS.
UM, AND, AND CERTAINLY, UH, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE IMPACT, ESPECIALLY ON LOW INCOME FAMILIES, UM, IN THE CURRENT STATE, IF YOU HAVE A TODDLER UNDER THE AGE OF THREE, UM, THERE REALLY ISN'T ANY, UH, SUPPORT, UH, IN TERMS OF, UM, CHILDCARE.
AND SO THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND WE COULD BE CONSIDERING, UH, COMBINED SEWER OVERLAY, SEWER SEPARATION.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT.
I DON'T KNOW IF KATHY HAS ONE OR TWO SENTENCES SHE WANTS TO SAY ABOUT OUR CURRENT EFFORTS.
UM, UM, NO, I THINK THIS DOES FALL INTO WHERE CHART CHAIR NOLAN WAS SAYING IS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PROGRESS THERE AND, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THAT IS GONNA BE LEGALLY REQUIRED THROUGH THIS PLAN.
AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK THAT INTO THE BUDGET, PARTICULARLY ON THE SEWER RATE SIDE.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT IS WORK THAT IS CONTINUING.
WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT MONDAY AS WELL.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING I WOULD JUST SAY ON THAT IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS WE WILL HAVE THE DRAFT CSO PLAN, UM, AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND INPUT.
UH, AND, AND I THINK THIS IS HELPFUL JUST TO TALK THROUGH BECAUSE I THINK A NUMBER OF THESE AREAS ARE EXISTING PROGRAMS WHERE WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO WORK.
UH, WE'LL BE FINDING WAYS TO IMPROVE.
AND I THINK THIS PRIORITIZATION PROCESS IS A LITTLE MORE, TO WHAT EXTENT DOES THE COUNCIL WANT TO DIG IN DEEPER AND EXAMINE SOME OF THAT CURRENT STATE AND THINK ABOUT EXPANSIONS AND ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS? UM, THE FOURTH LINE COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUND AND NONPROFIT SUPPORT, UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH THE ORDINANCE CHANGE PROCESS, UH, TO ALLOW FOR, UH, THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS FUND TO DEPLOY MONEY INTO CAPITAL PROJECTS.
THAT WAS A NEED THAT WE HEARD FROM THE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY, UH, BEYOND SIMPLY OPERATING GRANTS.
UM, BUT MANY NONPROFITS ARE STRUGGLING WITH SPACE RENOVATIONS, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, UH, AND PROVIDING THAT FLEXIBILITY WAS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL DESIRED.
UM, WE ARE ALSO, I KNOW THAT THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT ADVISORY GROUP IS ALSO DISCUSSING THE EXISTING FUNDING THEY HAVE AND HOW TO GET THAT OUT TO THE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY IN ANOTHER ROUND OF GRANTS.
UM, I THINK THERE ARE DECISIONS, UM, THAT WILL HOPEFULLY BE COMING IN THE COMING MONTHS.
UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUND IS THE FUNDING IS COMING FROM DEVELOPMENTS.
UH, AT THIS POINT, THE PACE OF DEVELOPMENT HAS DEFINITELY SLOWED, AND SO THEY'VE GOT THE EXISTING DOLLARS THEY HAVE TO WORK WITH.
UM, BUT, UM, BUT THE, THE LONGER TERM FUNDING IS GOING TO BE DEPENDENT ON WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE MORE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CITY.
UH, THE CONTINUUM OF CARE GRANT GAPS, UH, WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS A LOT AS PART OF OUR FEDERAL UPDATES, BUT THIS IS THE FEDERAL HUD CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM THAT, UH, THE CITY ADMINISTERS AND PROVIDES SIGNIFICANT FUNDING FOR, UH, PERMANENT HOUSING FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME OUT OF HOMELESSNESS AND SUPPORTING THE CASE MANAGEMENT, UM, THAT, UH, THAT HELPS SUPPORT THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN A STATE WHERE WE ARE ACTIVELY LITIGATING WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, AND WE ARE BEING REIMBURSED FOR THESE GRANTS RIGHT NOW.
UM, THAT LITIGATION HAS NOT BEEN FULLY CONCLUDED.
UH, AND I THINK TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE MAY BE CHALLENGES THAT COME OUT OF THE LITIGATION, WE'LL BE PREPARED TO HAVE SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, THE CYCLING SAFETY ORDINANCE IS, UH, SOMETHING WE'VE DISCUSSED PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY.
I THINK THE QUESTION IN TERMS OF THIS PRIORITY AREA IS WHETHER WE WOULD BE FURTHER EXPANDING HARDSCAPE AND ADDITIONAL, UM, ADDITIONAL
[00:30:01]
SEPARATED BIKE LANES.UM, I THINK ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF THIS COMING YEAR, THE BIG PRIORITY IS COMPLETING THE FIVE YEAR CSO PLANS.
AND SO, UH, MAYBE KATHY, KATHY HAS HER FINGER ON THE BUTTON.
I'LL LET HER COMPLETE MY SENTENCE.
THE ONE THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S TWO PIECES OF THE CYCLING SAFETY ORDINANCE, RIGHT? SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF FOCUS ON THE QUICK BUILDS, AND THEN THERE IS ANOTHER PIECE OF THE CYCLING SAFETY ORDINANCE THAT IF WE'RE RECONSTRUCTING, UM, A SPECIFIC STREET, THEN WE RECONSTRUCT IT WITH THE, UM, SEPARATED BIKE LANES.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, AS IT STANDS, THAT'S SORT OF FALLING OUR NORMAL PROCESS.
AND SO I THINK THIS IS WHERE IT'S SORT OF LIKE IF COUNCIL WANTED TO PRIORITIZE, UM, YOU KNOW, SPECIFIC STREETS TO SAY WE WANNA FULLY RECONSTRUCT SO THAT WE CAN BUILD OUT, UM, THE CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE, THEN THAT WOULD SORT OF BE IN A DIFFERENT BUCKET AND WOULD BE A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL, UM, INVESTMENT.
UM, MUNICIPAL BROADBAND, WE DID PRESENT, I THINK THIS MAY HAVE BEEN ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, THE FULL REPORT ON THE MUNICIPAL BROADBAND STUDY.
AND WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF DISCUSSIONS SINCE THEN.
UM, THIS WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT CITY EXPENDITURE IN TERMS OF CAPITAL AND SUBSIDY AND A PROJECT THAT WOULD, UH, WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONAL INVESTMENT, UH, ON, ON BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE, DIGGING UP STREETS AND PUTTING DOWN FIBER.
UM, WE ARE OPEN TO CONTINUED CONVERSATION.
IT DOES FEEL VERY CHALLENGING IN TERMS OF FITTING INTO OUR EXISTING CAPITAL PLAN AT THIS TIME.
UH, ON THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING DEVELOPMENT.
UM, WE TEE THIS UP A LITTLE BIT AT THE MONDAY ROUND TABLE, UM, WHERE WE ARE THINKING ABOUT CITY PROPERTIES, UH, AND IN PARTICULAR ON THE BUILDING SIDE, HOW WE THINK ABOUT VACANT BUILDINGS THAT THE CITY OWNS, HOW WE MAY BE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY COUNCIL ABOUT HOW WE PUT THOSE TO USE TO MEET MANY OF OUR NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, RECOGNIZING THAT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH CAPITAL WE CAN DEPLOY.
AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF, OF MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT OUR EXISTING STOCK, OUR OFFICE SPACE, HOW WE PROVIDE FOR THE RIGHT SPACE FOR CITY STAFF TO DO THEIR JOBS AND TO DELIVER ALL THE SERVICES THAT THE CITY DELIVERS.
UM, AND HOW WE THINK ABOUT THAT FROM A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE.
SO, UM, SO THERE'S MORE TO COME.
I THINK WE ARE ACTUALLY ACTIVELY WORKING ON THIS, AND WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, OVER THE SUMMER IN THE FALL WITH, UH, MORE CONVERSATIONS, UH, AS WE THINK ABOUT, UM, WHAT A 10 OR 15 YEAR PLAN WOULD LOOK LIKE, UH, MUNICIPAL SHUTTLE AND FAIR FREE TRANSIT.
UM, THERE IS A MUNICIPAL SHUTTLE OR SORT OF A TRANSIT GAP STUDY THAT WE ARE CONDUCTING.
I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT TIMELINE, BUT, UM, KATHY, DO YOU KICKING IT OFF? YEAH, WE'RE KICKING IT OFF.
AND, UH, I THINK WE CAN PROBABLY FOLLOW UP WITH A, WITH A CLEARER TIMELINE IN TERMS OF WHEN WE EXPECT TO COME BACK WITH THAT, UH, TO REVIEW THE EXISTING, UH, BUS LINES THAT ARE WITHIN THE CITY.
THAT INCLUDES THE MBTA, BUT ALSO UNIVERSITY BUSES, UH, AND ESPECIALLY WHICH AREAS HAVE GAPS THAT WE WOULD, UH, WE WOULD WANT TO FOCUS ON.
WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS IN THE PAST ABOUT, UH, FAIR FREE BUSES.
UM, AND WE HAD INITIALLY HAD SOME CONVERSATION WITH THE MBTA AND THE CITY OF BOSTON ABOUT A POTENTIAL PILOT ON THE NUMBER ONE BUS.
UM, I KNOW AT THIS POINT, UM, BOSTON HAD, I BELIEVE THREE LINES THAT WERE FAIR FREE AND THEY EXTENDED THOSE THROUGH THIS SUMMER, UM, USING FEDERAL ARPA DOLLARS.
AND THEY'RE STILL IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE MBTA ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THOSE PROGRAMS, UM, IN JULY AND BEYOND.
UM, FOOD ACCESS PROGRAMMING, NORTH CAMBRIDGE FOOD PANTRY.
UM, WE WENT THROUGH PRETTY RECENTLY A PRETTY SCARY SET OF CONVERSATIONS DURING THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ABOUT SNAP BENEFITS AND WHETHER THERE WOULD BE A CUTOFF.
UM, AND, UH, AND I THINK THERE'S A GROUP OF BOTH, UH, THE CAMBRIDGE FOOD PANTRY NETWORK AND NONPROFITS INVOLVED IN THE FOOD SPACE THAT ARE HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, ABOUT WHERE WE FEEL LIKE THERE ARE GAPS AND, UH, AND WHAT THEY MIGHT RECOMMEND, UH, THERE, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD FOCUS ON.
UM, BUT I THINK IDEAS THAT HAD COME UP INCLUDED, UH, THE, THE NORTH CAMBRIDGE AREA WHERE THERE WILL BE SPACE IN THE COMING YEARS.
UM, BUT RIGHT NOW THERE ISN'T A FOOD PANTRY IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, WHERE THERE IS A LOT OF NEED.
AND SO WE HAVE A LOT OF FAMILIES WHO ARE COMING, FAMILIES AND HOUSEHOLDS WHO ARE COMING FROM NORTH CAMBRIDGE OVER TO THIS SIDE OF THE CITY IN ORDER TO ACCESS FOOD PANTRIES AT EITHER CEOC OR THE CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER OR EAST END HOUSE.
BUT THERE'S NOT SOMETHING IN NORTH CAMBRIDGE RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE'VE ALSO HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, PAIRING MORE, UH, SERVICES IN FOOD PANTRIES, SO CREATING A SPACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN, UH, ACTUALLY SIGN UP FOR OTHER BENEFITS.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, UM, SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT SOME OF THE NEW RULES THAT, UM, THAT
[00:35:01]
HAVE BEEN ROLLED OUT AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE AREN'T LOSING THEIR BENEFITS AND, UH, TO ALSO UNDERSTAND HOW MANY FAMILIES MAY LOSE BENEFITS BECAUSE OF THESE NEW RULES.AND WHAT WE MIGHT DO ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, WE'VE PASSED A BUTO REGULATION THAT, UH, THAT PROVIDES VERY CLEAR TARGETS FOR LARGE COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.
UM, I THINK RESIDENTIAL HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON THE TO-DO LIST, UM, MUCH MORE DIFFICULT.
UM, AND I THINK THIS IS A QUESTION IN TERMS OF WHETHER WE WOULD WANT TO PRIORITIZE THIS FROM A, UH, ORDINANCE STANDPOINT, BUT I THINK THE REASON WHY THIS IS ON THE LIST IS ALSO A RECOGNITION THAT THERE WOULD NEED TO BE SOME SORT OF SUBSIDY, UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF HOUSEHOLDS JUST AREN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO AFFORD SOME OF THE UPGRADES THAT ARE REQUIRED.
UM, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY CONVERSATION AT THE STATE LEVEL ABOUT MASS SAVE AND SOME OF THOSE PROGRAMS. UM, BUT I THINK THIS TIES INTO A LOT OF THAT IDEA IN TERMS OF HOW WE SUPPORT HOUSEHOLDS, RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES THAT ARE THINKING ABOUT, UM, REDUCING THEIR ADMISSIONS FOOTPRINT, UH, TREE PLANTING EXPANSION.
I THINK THAT KIND OF SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.
UH, WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST, UM, SET OF WORK, UH, ON THE URBAN, UH, FOREST.
AND, UH, WE ARE EXCITED TO CONTINUE TO BE PROVIDING UPDATES.
UH, I BELIEVE THERE'S A FIVE YEAR UPDATE COMING UP, UM, IN 2026 THAT IS CURRENTLY IN THE WORKS AND WILL GET SUBMITTED TO THE COUNCIL.
UH, AND THEN THIS WAS ALSO SOMETHING THAT WAS PRIORITIZED AS PART OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING IN TERMS OF MORE TREES.
AND THEN YOUTH CENTER UPGRADES, UH, I THINK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF AS WELL.
COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER, AND THEN I THINK VICE MAYOR ZE AND THEN COUNCILLOR SIMMONS.
THROUGH YOU, MADAM CHAIR AND THANKS, UH, TO THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND CITY STAFF FOR WORKING ON THIS.
I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME EVER, AT LEAST DURING MY TIME ON THE COUNCIL, THAT WE'VE DONE A FORMAL BUDGET PRIORITIZATION PROCESS LIKE THIS, UM, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING.
UH, PREVIOUSLY FOR ANYBODY IN THE THE PUBLIC WHO MAY BE WATCHING, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD A BUDGET COME BEFORE US EACH YEAR, AND THERE WERE THINGS THE COUNCIL VOTED ON, BUT IT WAS NEVER, YOU KNOW, REALLY CLEAR HOW MUCH, UH, HOW THOSE THINGS ENDED UP THERE.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A, OBVIOUSLY AN IDEA THAT IT WAS CONNECTED TO COUNCIL POLICY ORDERS AND PRIOR AND DISCUSSIONS AND PRIORITIES AND GOAL SETTING, BUT IT WAS SORT OF LIKE THROWING EVERYTHING IN A BIG STEW AND, AND YOU SORT OF SEE WHAT, WHAT GETS BOILED DOWN.
AND IT WAS NEVER REALLY CLEAR HOW, HOW, WHAT LANDED AND WHAT NUMBER IN THE BUDGET PROCESS.
SO THIS IS A, HOPEFULLY A, A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S SOMETIMES AT THESE SORT OF WONKY PROCEDURAL CHANGES AT THE QUIET COMMITTEE MEETINGS THAT, THAT SOME OF THE BIGGEST, MOST IMPACTFUL CHANGES END UP HAPPENING.
AND I THINK THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE ONE OF THEM.
UM, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF NEXT STEPS STILL TO MAKE GOOD ON THIS VIA THE SCOPING AND ADOPTION FOR THE, THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT AS THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES HERE.
AND, AND TIME WILL TELL IF THIS ENDS UP BEING A, A BIG, YOU KNOW, IMPROVEMENT IN, UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
BUT I THINK IT REALLY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE, SO THANK YOU TO THE, THE FINANCE CO-CHAIRS AND CITY STAFF FOR WORKING ON THIS.
UM, UH, I THINK THERE'S, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY ALSO A QUESTION OF HOW, HOW OFTEN WE'RE DOING THIS.
ARE WE DOING THIS EVERY SINGLE YEAR AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS? ARE WE DOING THIS ONCE EVERY FIVE YEARS OR ONCE PER TERM? UM, THAT WE STILL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT.
BUT I THINK THERE IS A, UM, THE THING I WAS COMING TO MY MIND IS, UH, I THINK IT WAS LAST YEAR, THE YEAR BEFORE WAS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF, OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.
AND THERE WAS A QUOTE THAT CAME OUT FROM THAT, FROM LAUREN MICHAELS WHERE HE SAID, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T GO ON AT 1130 BECAUSE IT'S PERFECT.
WE GO ON, UH, BECAUSE IT'S 1130.
AND I, UH, WE, THAT'S SORT OF WHERE WE NEED TO GET AT, WHERE WE DO THAT WITH VOTING ON THE BUDGET APPROVAL PROCESS.
WE, WE DO THAT EVERY JUNE, WHETHER WE'RE READY OR NOT.
'CAUSE THAT IS WHAT STATE LAW DEMANDS.
UH, I THINK WE NEED TO GET TO THAT POINT WITH THE BUDGET PRIORITIZATION DISCUSSIONS WHERE WE ARE DOING IT EVERY SPRING OR OR EVERY FALL, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A GOOD FINANCIAL YEAR, WHETHER IT'S A BAD FINANCIAL YEAR, WHETHER THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER STUFF GOING ON IN THE CITY.
WE, WE GET IN THE HOBBIT OF DOING THAT EVERY YEAR BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S THE TIME TO DO THAT, WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE READY.
UM, UH, AND I, I, I THINK THIS IS A, A GOOD MODEL FOR THAT AND HOPE WE CAN KEEP DOING IT.
UM, SOMETHING I'VE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR A LONG TIME AND, UH, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY, UH, A BIG STEP FORWARD, UH, FOR THE BUDGET PROCESS AND I THINK SMALL D DEMOCRATIC PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING IN THE CITY AS A WHOLE.
UM, SO THE QUESTIONS I HAD WERE TO THAT END OF, OF HOW DO WE TAKE THIS FIRST STEP AND, AND TURN IT INTO SOMETHING CONCRETE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ON THIS LAST PAGE WE HAVE TWO TOP, UH, CLEAR TOP VOTE GETTERS AND, AND A SMALLER NUMBER OF, UH, THREE MORE SECOND PLACE RUNNERS UP.
UH, BUT, BUT TWO, YOU KNOW, GOT MAJORITY SUPPORT FROM THE COUNCIL.
UM, ON THOSE TWO PRIORITIES, I WANTED TO ASK, HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO SCOPE THOSE? WHEN WILL THAT SCOPING BE BACK BEFORE THE COUNCIL? IS THAT GONNA BE TWO MONTHS FROM NOW, THREE MONTHS FROM NOW, FOUR MONTHS FROM NOW? WHEN CAN WE EXPECT TO HAVE THAT SCOPING BACK BEFORE US EVEN, EVEN IF IT'S JUST AN INITIAL ONE? UM, AND YOU KNOW, CAN THAT BE READY FOR THE
[00:40:01]
NEXT FISCAL YEAR FY 28? I THINK, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT FINANCIAL OUTLOOKS CHANGE DEPENDS HOW MUCH REVENUE WE RAISE, HOW MUCH WE'RE ABLE TO PUT, PUT THROUGH THINGS.THESE ARE GONNA BE MULTI-YEAR PROCESSES AND THINGS WE'RE NOT JUST DONE WITH NEXT YEAR.
BUT I THINK I, THE DEAL WITH THE SCOPING IS THAT WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, 15 MONTHS BEFORE WE'VE GOT A VOTE ON THE, THE FY 28, BUT BUDGET PROCESS, CAN WE HAVE THAT SCOPING READY TO INCLUDE SOME OF THE THINGS ON SOCIAL HOUSING AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION IN THE BUDGET WE'RE VOTING ON IN JUNE, 2027.
UM, SO A COUPLE QUESTIONS IN THERE, BUT HOW LONG IS THE SCOPING FOR, FOR THESE GONNA TWO GONNA TAKE, AND UH, WHEN WILL IT BE BACK BEFORE THE COUNCIL, UH, THROUGH YOU CHAIR NOLAN? UM, I THINK IT DEPENDS, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE IT DEPENDS ON, UH, I THINK WE WOULD START THE WORK AND, AND CERTAINLY IT WOULD BE FOR, UH, THE COUNCIL TO JUDGE WHETHER OR NOT THE CITY AND THE COUNCILORS INVOLVED ARE, UH, WORKING EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY TO SCOPE THESE IDEAS AND MAKE DECISIONS.
UM, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, I, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO KNOW ON TIMELINE GIVEN, UH, GIVEN THAT WE STILL HAVE SOME PRETTY BROAD AREAS EVEN WITHIN SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THE WORK ON AN OVERDOSE PREVENTION CENTER INVOLVES A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF LEGAL QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW GIVEN THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD, I WOULD POTENTIALLY ESTIMATE THAT IF THAT WAS THE ONE THING THAT WE WANTED TO DO TOGETHER, IT MAY TURN OUT THAT WE ARE WAITING A LONG TIME BECAUSE THERE'S GOING TO BE FEDERAL CHALLENGES TO GETTING AN APPROVAL AND SIGNIFICANT, YOU KNOW, LIABILITY THAT, THAT WE WOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT.
UM, ON THE MORE EASY SIDE OF THINGS, IF THE COUNCIL SAID THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE EXPANDED, YOU KNOW, MUNICIPAL VOUCHERS BY $500,000, THAT IS A VERY CLEAR SCOPE, AND WE WOULD NOT NEED TO DO A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, HOW MUCH BUDGET WE WOULD NEED, HOW WE WOULD IMPLEMENT IT.
UM, AND SO I THINK IT DEPENDS A LITTLE BIT ON HOW WE THINK ABOUT WHAT THE, WHAT THE INTERVENTION IS.
AND, AND ONCE WE GET THAT DECISION, I THINK WHAT I'D LOVE TO DO IS BE MORE CLEAR ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE ASKING TO SAY.
YOU KNOW, ONCE WE UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT WE WANNA WORK ON, HOW DO WE PUT TOGETHER A SENSE OF A TIMELINE AND A WORK PLAN, AND THEN WE CAN, WE CAN START WORKING THROUGH THE MILESTONES.
SO WHAT ARE YOU SUGGESTING AS A NEXT STEP FROM, FROM WHAT YOU WERE SAYING IT, IT ALMOST SOUNDED LIKE NOW WE HAVE TWO THINGS.
THERE ARE SUB BUCKETS WITHIN THOSE, NOW WE NEED TO DO A SCOPING WITHIN THE TOP TWO THINGS WE'VE SCOPING.
IS THAT, THAT WHAT WE'RE YOU'RE GONNA SUGGEST AND WE'RE GONNA GONNA VOTE ON THOSE? OR WHAT, WHAT IS THE CONCRETE NEXT STEP, UH, THROUGH EACH? I THINK THAT'S RIGHT.
UM, I WOULD SAY, UH, I WOULD, I WOULD DEFER A LITTLE BIT TO THE COUNCIL IN TERMS OF HOW WE WANT TO MOVE THROUGH THIS IN, IN BOTH A WAY THAT IS INCLUSIVE AND FEELS LIKE IT REPRESENTS THE BODY, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZES THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE, YOU KNOW, NINE CITY COUNSELORS MEETING TOGETHER TO MAKE EVERY DECISION.
AND SO, UM, SO I DO THINK SOME, SOME AMOUNT OF DECIDING HOW WE WANT TO THEN MAKE THAT NEXT DECISION, I WOULD AGREE IS, IS THE QUESTION.
AND IF WE SAY WHAT WE WANNA WORK ON IS SOMETHING WITHIN THE AREA OF SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION.
UM, AND, AND I THINK EVEN AS WE WERE WRITING THESE, I DON'T KNOW THAT NECESSARILY THESE ARE THE ONLY OPTIONS.
UM, BUT I WOULD PROBABLY SAY WE COULD FIND A SMALLER GROUP TO SAY, WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION? WE COULD COME UP WITH SOME OPTIONS, WE COULD BRING IT BACK TO EITHER THE HOUSING COMMITTEE OR A SEPARATE GROUP AND THEN BRING IT BACK TO THE COUNCIL TO THEN MAKE DECISIONS AND THEN COME UP WITH CLEARER WORK PLANS.
UM, THANKS, THAT'S HELPFUL TO TALK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT, UM, AND AGREE THAT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION, THERE, THERE ARE A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT PIECES IN THAT AND, AND YOU LIST THOSE AT THE BOTTOM.
SO FIGURING OUT WHICH ONE TO START WITH.
UM, SOME OF, OF THESE PRIORITIES THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DISCREET THINGS ALREADY, LIKE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM EXPANSION, MUNICIPAL BROADBAND, WE'RE, WE'RE DISCRETE THINGS.
I THINK SOCIAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND IS A DISCREET THING.
I DON'T, DON'T THINK WE NEED TO FURTHER VOTE WITHIN THAT.
IT'S, IT'S ONE THING AND, AND THAT'S THE OTHER TOP PRIORITY.
SO TIMELINE THERE, LIKE THAT'S, YOU GOT GOT YOUR MARCHING ORDERS, THAT'S, THAT'S A TOP THING.
HOW A SENSE OF OR GOAL OF WHEN YOU HOPE TO HAVE THAT SCOOPED BY, UH, THROUGH YOUR CHAIR.
I MEAN, I I WOULD, I WOULD RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE THAT SOCIAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND HAS BEEN LIKE FULLY SCOPED.
YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IS TO SCOPE THIS.
OH, THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING, WHAT THIS LOOK LIKE.
YEAH, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE THING WE GOT, WE IS AS OUR TOP THING TO SCOPE IT.
I'M ASKING HOW LONG DO YOU THINK THINK IT WILL TAKE TO SCOPE THAT? YEAH.
I MEAN, I THINK IT DEPENDS ON HOW QUICKLY WE'RE MAKING DECISIONS.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, A LOT OF THAT WORK IS MOVING.
SO I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A MEETING TOMORROW ABOUT, UH, ABOUT CLARIFYING SOME OF THE LOGISTICS AND HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
[00:45:01]
UM, I BELIEVE A LOT OF WHAT WE ARE INTENDING IS TO ALSO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ENGAGING NOT JUST WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, BUT ALSO WITH, UH, FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, HOUSING EXPERTS ON, ON HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT SOCIAL HOUSING.AND, UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, AT A HIGH LEVEL, I THINK, I THINK THAT THE TIMELINE THAT WE ARE, WE'VE LARGELY SHARED, UM, IS THAT WE PROBABLY HAVE, UM, A SIX TO EIGHT MONTH PERIOD WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO REALLY ENGAGE ACROSS ALL THOSE STAKEHOLDERS, ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT WE MEAN BY SOCIAL HOUSING AND WHAT A PILOT MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE WOULD BE MORE READY TO GET CONCRETE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT A PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WOULD LOOK LIKE STARTING IN EARLY 2027.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS COULD MOVE FASTER IF WE MAKE DECISIONS MORE QUICKLY.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS THIS QUESTION OF, RIGHT, LIKE, HOW MUCH PROCESS DO WE WANT TO ENGAGE IN AND HOW INCLUSIVE DO WE WANT TO BE VERSUS HOW MUCH DO WE WANT TO JUST SAY THIS IS THE ANSWER AND LET'S JUST MOVE FORWARD WITH SOMETHING.
UM, THANKS, I'LL, I'LL YIELD EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROCESS AND IF I SOUNDS LIKE I'M GRILLING YOU, IT'S 'CAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE IT, IT WORKS AND, UH, BECOMES TRANSFORMATIVE.
UH, SO THANKS FOR THE WORK ON THIS.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO PUSH ON IT.
VICE MAYOR AND THEN MAYOR SIDIKI.
I JUST HAD A BRIEF COMMENT, WHICH IS I'M ALSO VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS PROCESS.
UM, I THINK IT'S A HUGE IMPROVEMENT FROM PRIOR YEARS AND ALSO I THINK COUNCILOR NOLAN MENTIONED COMBINING AFTER SCHOOL AND, YOU KNOW, PRE-K EXPANSION.
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO ECHO THAT.
I THINK THAT MY GENERAL FEELING WAS THAT EDUCATION AND CHILDCARE ARE TOP PRIORITY, AND SO WHAT EXACTLY THE BUCKET FITS IN.
HAPPY TO COMBINE THAT AS WELL.
UH, THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SAY AT THIS POINT, BUT A YIELD, THANK YOU.
VICE MAYOR, UH, MAYOR SIDIKI, AND THEN COUNCILOR MCGOVERN.
UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD AS I THINK ABOUT THIS, UM, IS THE, THERE'S A LIKE SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM VISIONING.
AND I THINK FOR SOME OF THIS, AS YOU'VE MENTIONED, LONG-TERM, IT'LL BE LONG TERM BECAUSE THERE'S THINGS THAT, UM, REQUIRE THAT TYPE OF, UM, ANALYSIS, BUT SOMETHING LIKE HOUSING VOUCHER EXPANSION, FOR EXAMPLE, IF THAT'S HALF A MILLION, I MEAN, WE COULD DO THAT NOW, RIGHT? I KNOW WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS YEAR'S BUDGET
I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO THAT, BUT, UM, WE WILL SEE WHEN THE BUDGET COMES FORWARD, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S BEEN DECIDED.
BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, PRESUMABLY WE HAVE, I KNOW THERE'S THE CONTINUING OF CARE GRANTS, BUT WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS LIKE, THERE'S SOME OF THIS WHERE WE, I KNOW WE'RE VISIONING FOR, YOU KNOW, MANY, UH, FISCAL CYCLES, WHICH TOTALLY MAKES SENSE.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, FOR SOME OF THIS, IT CAN HAPPEN MORE IN MY VIEW, UM, BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF BEEN SCOPED AND DONE QUICKER.
SO THAT'S KIND OF A POINT I WANTED TO GET ACROSS.
AND SO I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WITH SOME OF THIS, EVEN WITH AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM EXPANSION AND CAMBRIDGE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM EXPANSION, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I THINK OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, CHILDCARE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS YESTERDAY TOO, LIKE, IT'S A, IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT NEED FOR THE ZERO TO TWO AND IT'S, IT'S A GAP THAT, UM, HASN'T BEEN FILLED, BUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD THAT REALISTICALLY TIMELINE LOOK LIKE? WOULD THAT BE TWO YEARS? WOULD THAT BE THREE YEARS? WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THAT LEGWORK ALREADY BUILDING ON WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, OFFICE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD, UM, HAS DONE.
UM, SO ALL THAT TO SAY, I THINK SOME OF THIS, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHY LIKE ALBANY STREET SHELTER EXPANSION, LIKE THEY'LL, WE'LL NEED TO, IF WE DO STUFF ON THAT, THEY NEED TO FIND A PLACE.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, I'VE MET WITH THEM, UH, BAY COVE AND OTHERS.
LIKE THERE'S ALL THESE, THERE'S BIGGER QUESTIONS THERE AND THERE'S A PLANNING PROCESS THERE.
BUT WITH SOME OF THESE, I THINK DEPENDING ON WHAT IT IS AND HOW, LIKE IF IT'S OPERATING VERSUS CAPITAL, I THINK THERE'S A DIFFERENT, UM, TIMEFRAME WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND I THINK THERE'S, I THINK I WANNA JUST SPEAK INTO THE URGENCY ON SOME OF IT AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHERS MY COLLEAGUES FEEL, BUT I THINK THAT WAS MY FIRST, UM, THOUGHT I HAD AS WE, AS WE NARROW DOWN AND, UM, FURTHER PRIORITIZE, I THINK THERE'S LIKE TWO, WE'RE ALL, I KNOW IT'S, IT'S MORE ABOUT LIKE, OKAY, WHAT'S THE CAPACITY TOO AND FOR PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY DO THE SCOPING AND DO THE WORK.
BUT I'M STRUGGLING WITH SOME OF THE LONG TERM SHORT TERM.
SO NO REAL QUESTION, BUT JUST WANTED TO SHARE MY COMMENTS.
AND RIGHT, WE'RE KIND OF MIXING IN SOME THINGS THAT ARE SOMEWHAT SMALLER SCALE AND SOME MUCH LARGER.
ON THE OTHER HAND, AS COUNCILLOR SARINA WHEELER
[00:50:01]
SAID, WE'RE DOING THIS KIND OF EARLIER IN THE PROCESS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND WE'RE WORKING OUT, AND AT LEAST WE'RE ALL BEING ABLE TO TALK WITH EACH OTHER AND ALSO TRYING TO GET, UM, A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT WITH THE CITY STAFF.BEFORE I GO TO COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN, I BELIEVE THE CITY MANAGER OF WON WANTS TO, UH, I MEAN, I THINK, I THINK MAYBE JUST ONE, ONE ADDITIONAL THOUGHT AND, AND I THINK, UM, COUNCILLOR MAYOR SIDIKI, I THINK YOU'RE FRAMING THIS CORRECTLY.
I THINK IT'S MAYBE NOT EVEN JUST A SHORT TERM LONG TERM THING, BUT I WOULD ALMOST SAY, UM, I DO FEEL LIKE SOME OF WHAT THE COUNCIL IS MORE EXCITED ABOUT IN TERMS OF THIS PROCESS IS INCRE INCREMENTAL VERSUS, UM, A LITTLE BIT MORE TRANSFORMATIVE.
MIGHT BE TOO AMBITIOUS A WORD, BUT I DO THINK IN SOME WAYS, UM, THINKING ABOUT ALBANY STREET AND A TRANSFORMATION OF THAT SITE IS A BIG PROJECT.
YOU KNOW, THAT TAKES, UH, IT, IT DOES TAKE US SAYING COLLECTIVELY, WE WANNA PRIORITIZE THIS, WE WANNA RESOURCE IT.
THAT BOTH MEANS WE MAY NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE BUDGET REQUIREMENT WOULD BE TODAY, BUT WE'RE WILLING TO, TO SAY THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PRIORITY AND WE'RE GONNA PUT STAFF AND RESOURCES INTO HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, I THINK THOSE ARE PROBABLY THE KIND OF IDEAS THAT ARE MORE EXCITING TO THE COUNCIL TO BE THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF THIS PROCESS VERSUS, UH, I WOULD SAY THERE ARE ALWAYS INCREMENTALLY MORE GOOD THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE ACROSS ANY NUMBER OF PROGRAMS. UM, AND, AND SO WE COULD ALWAYS PLANT MORE TREES, BUILD MORE BIKE LANES, DO MORE EV CHARGERS, UH, PROVIDE MORE FUNDING FOR RENTAL RELIEF, UM, YOU KNOW, PUT MORE MONEY IN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST.
AND SO I THINK SOME OF THIS IS JUST RECOGNIZING LIKE, WELL ACROSS ALL OF THOSE AREAS, WE'VE ALREADY PUT SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES INTO THOSE PROGRAMS. UM, AND, AND I THINK THE, THE CONVERSATION IS MORE ABOUT WHERE DO WE WANNA FOCUS A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA ATTENTION AS OPPOSED TO JUST SAY LIKE, WHAT WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD FIND $50,000 TO THROW INTO X.
COUNCILOR MCGOVERN, UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR THROUGH YOU.
UM, FIRST THANK YOU TO YOU AND, UH, CO-CHAIR ZUBIE.
THIS IS, UM, THIS IS A NEW THING, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE DOING.
AND, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING NEW, IT CAN BE A LITTLE CLUNKY AT TIMES AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE ALL THAT STUFF OUT AS, AS, AS WE DO IT.
UM, YEAH, I STARTED TO FOLLOW UP ON, ON ON MAYOR SIDIKI.
I KIND OF HAD SIMILAR, AND MAYBE BECAUSE THIS IS NEW AND WE WERE THINKING ABOUT THINGS DIFFERENTLY, BUT UM, SORT OF HAD A SIMILAR REACTION WHERE I LOOK AT SOMETHING LIKE, I MEAN, EVEN THE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION, WHICH IS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF AND PUSHING FOR FOR A LONG TIME, 10 YEARS ON A DAY CENTER, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS SOMETHING THAT LIKE, IS THAT A BUDGET ISSUE YET OR IS IT A GOAL TO SAY, HEY, WE WANT YOU TO START SORT OF THINKING ABOUT THIS AND, AND PLANNING THIS OUT.
AND IT MAY TAKE, YOU KNOW, IT MAY TAKE A YEAR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE'S SOME MONEY FOR, YOU KNOW, HIRING A CONSULTANT OR, YOU KNOW, DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, SOME SHORT MONEY.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE MAY NOT KNOW WHAT THE BUDGET IMPLICATION OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS FOR A YEAR OR TWO YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, RIGHT? IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN QUICKLY.
SO WE'RE HAVING AN, IN THE CON WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BUDGET, BUT IT'S SORT OF HARD TO KNOW THAT WHEN, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE NUMBERS TO SORT OF GO ALONG WITH THINGS.
SO, I MEAN, I'M CERTAINLY, I'M EXCITED TO SEE THAT IT, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, IT ON THE LIST AND, AND, AND GOT FIVE VOTES AND I CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT IT AND I WANT US TO SCOPE IT.
UM, BUT I, YOU KNOW, I, I DO SORT OF FEEL LIKE WITH, WITH WHAT, WHAT THE MAYOR SAID IS THAT THAT'S A SORT OF A LONGER TERM THING, AND THERE ARE STILL SOME QUESTION MARKS THERE WHERE IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE NEXT COUPLE BUDGETS, SOMETHING LIKE PRESCHOOL EXPANSION, THE INFRASTRUCTURE'S ALREADY THERE, RIGHT? AND SO THAT'S A, I MEAN OBVIOUSLY IT'S, IT, I'M NOT SAYING IT'S EASY AND I'M NOT SAYING IT'S NOT GONNA TAKE WORK, BUT WE ALREADY EX, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE HAVE A PRESCHOOL PROGRAM, RIGHT? UM, OR FINE MAKE, YOU KNOW, TAKE SOMETHING ELSE WHERE YOU'RE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, UH, CONTINUUM OF CARE GRANTS OR, OR YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE, I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S A GREAT LIST AND THERE'S, I COULD MAKE A CASE FOR ANYTHING ON THIS LIST AND IT WAS NOT AN EASY THING TO, TO, TO COME UP WITH A FEW PRIORITIES.
[00:55:01]
AGAIN, I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE SORT OF, SEEM A LITTLE MORE CLEAR TO ME TO BE MONEY ISSUES.I MEAN, JUST TAKE THE TWO CALLERS THAT CAME IN TODAY, RIGHT? UM, ABOUT THAT, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE, THE, THE TECH ACCESS PROGRAM, WHICH I, I'VE HEARD FROM A LOT OF SENIORS.
IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAM, A VERY VALUABLE PROGRAM, A GREAT PROGRAM.
I DON'T KNOW, IT'S CAMBRIDGE AND SOMERVILLE.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE ON, YOU KNOW, IF WE PAY THE WHOLE THING FOR THEM AND MAYBE SOMERVILLE KICKS IN HALF OR WE KICK IN HALF, BUT THAT FEELS LIKE A BUDGET DISCUSSION, RIGHT? LIKE, DO WE WANT TO ALLOCATE FUNDS FOR THAT AND, AND HOW DO WE DO THAT? SO I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT.
UM, SO, OR COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, VERY INTERESTED IN THAT, BUT JUST EVEN BY YOUR OWN ACCOUNT, MR. MANAGER TODAY, I MEAN THAT'S, YOU CAN'T PUT A DOLLAR FIGURE ON THAT TODAY, RIGHT? SO TO SAY, OH, I WANT TO PRIORITIZE THIS IN THE BUDGET OVER AFTERSCHOOL EXPANSION.
I'M NOT SURE THAT CONVERSATION IS THERE YET, RIGHT? WHERE THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT YEAH, PROBABLY ARE THERE, RIGHT? SO IT'S JUST A HARD, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST, I THINK WE'RE JUST SORT OF WORKING THROUGH THIS AND FIGURING THIS OUT.
MADAM CHAIR, WHAT, AND I'M SORRY MADAM CHAIR, JUST A QUICK PROCESS QUESTION FOR TODAY.
UM, 'CAUSE I, I MIGHT HAVE TO LEAVE EARLY.
ARE WE VOTING ANYTHING TODAY THAT, WELL AS I, I THINK WE HAD AN OPTION THAT WE FIGURED WE'D DISCUSS IS GET A SENSE OF THE COUNCIL, WHETHER WE, YOU KNOW, AN OPTION WOULD BE, ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A TOP TWO.
DO WE STICK WITH THEM? IS THERE A THIRD THAT WE WANNA ADD FROM THIS WHOLE LIST TO SAY WE, WE THINK THOSE SHOULD BE SCOPED A LITTLE BIT.
OR DO WE HAVE ANOTHER FURTHER DISCUSSION? TAKE THIS IN, REFLECT AND HAVE A PROCESS WHERE, UH, COACH ZUBIE AND I WORK WITH THE STAFF TO SAY, OKAY, HOW, HOW, HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD FURTHER? I MEAN, IT, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MESSY, BUT THE, THE QUESTION IS WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY VOTING TODAY, ALTHOUGH WE COULD, RIGHT? UM, IF SOMEONE WANTED TO, TO PROPOSE HOW TO MOVE FORWARD.
I THINK WE WANTED TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION AND IF COUNCILOR ZUBI WANTS CHAIR, ZUBI WANTS TO WEIGH IN, AND THEN I'LL A AND THEN WE'RE STILL WITH YOU, UH, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN IS THAT YOU, UH, CO-CHAIR ZUBIE? YEAH.
QUICK ADDITION TO IF SOMEONE ON THE FLOOR WANTS TO PUT IN A MOTION TO SAY, COMBINE THE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM EXPANSION AND THE CAMBRIDGE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM EXPANSION INTO ONE, OR IF WE WANNA LEAVE IT AS TWO SEPARATE ONES, THAT'S ANOTHER PART OF THE CONVERSATION THAT, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE AS WELL.
AND WELL, WE MADAM CHEER TO YOU.
UM, THIS IS NOT ABOUT 27, FISCAL 27.
UM, IS THAT CONVERSATION GONNA HAPPEN AT SOME POINT? THERE WAS, ARE, ARE THERE, I'M SORRY, MR. MANAGER.
I WAS, WE'RE ABOUT TO START CONVERSATIONS ABOUT 27
UM, AND AGAIN, I THANK YOU AND I THINK ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UM, SPINNER HAD A, SOMETHING ABOUT MY QUESTION OR MY COMMENT.
I MEAN, I WOULD SAY, UM, I THINK, I THINK COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN YOU ARE PAINTING THE RIGHT PICTURE OF THERE ARE DIFFERENT THREADS THAT ARE, THAT WE ARE PULLING TOGETHER, WHICH I THINK IS, IS GOOD.
AND THERE WILL JUST HAVE TO BE SOME LEVEL OF OVERLAP BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE HAVING THIS AS PART OF A BUDGET PRIORITIES CONVERSATION WITHIN FINANCE COMMITTEE.
UM, AND I THINK WHAT YOU'RE POINTING TO IS SOME OF THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE, UM, PRIORITIZATION CONVERSATIONS, STRATEGY CONVERSATIONS, UM, BUT THEY'RE ALSO NOT, NOT BUDGET CONVERSATIONS, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEN, THEN WHEN WE HAVE A SEPARATE CONVERSATION OUTSIDE OF THE BUDGET AND WE SAY, OKAY, WHAT ARE OUR PRIORITIES WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HOUSING AND ZONING, OR WHAT ARE OUR PRIORITIES WHEN WE THINK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION? THEN THE QUESTION COMES UP, WELL, WHAT'S THE POINT OF TALKING ABOUT THIS IF WE DON'T HAVE THE BUDGET? UM, SO I THINK, I THINK WE ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION THAT SPANS AND RECOGNIZES THAT WE NEED TO BE DOING BOTH OF THOSE.
WE NEED TO BOTH BE DOING SOME LEVEL OF PRIORITIZATION AS WE THINK ABOUT THE COUNCIL PRIORITY AREAS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING IN HOUSING AND ZONING? HOW ARE WE TACKLING, UM, HOUSING? HOW ARE WE TACKLING HOMELESSNESS WHEN WE THINK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION? WHAT ARE WE DOING IN TRANSPORTATION? WE NEED TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AND THINK ABOUT THE STRATEGY, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO BRING TOGETHER A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE BUDGET BECAUSE, UH, IF WE JUST PRIORITIZE ACROSS EACH AREA AND WE ADD UP ALL THE NUMBERS AND THAT NUMBER ENDS UP BEING WAY TOO BIG, THEN WELL, HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE ACROSS? SO I, I THINK WE HAVE TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH AND, AND ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT IT'LL BE A LITTLE BIT MESSY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, EVEN AS I LOOK AT PAGE SIX, WE DID HAVE A PRETTY REASONABLE HOUSING AND ZONING CONVERSATION.
AND I WOULD SAY IT PROBABLY LEANED MORE HEAVILY TOWARD HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
[01:00:01]
AS OPPOSED TO HOMELESSNESS.UM, BUT COMMUNITY LAND TRUST WASN'T ON THAT LIST.
UM, BUT SOCIAL HOUSING WAS, WHICH IS WHY I THINK WE CURRENTLY HAVE ACTIVE WORK HAPPENING ON SOCIAL HOUSING.
UM, AND WE'LL JUST HAVE TO NAVIGATE THAT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WE DID HAVE A PRIORITIZATION CONVERSATION AT SOME LEVEL ON THE HOUSING FRONT, BUT IF IT TURNS OUT THAT AS WE'RE HAVING THIS BUDGET CONVERSATION, THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST IN THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, THEN WE CAN, WE CAN FIGURE OUT LIKE, DOES THAT FIT? HOW DO, WHAT DOES THAT DO TO THE TEAMS THAT WE'VE DEPLOYED AND WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE ENOUGH CAPACITY? UM, AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S A HEALTHY DYNAMIC WHERE, UH, WHERE I WOULD SAY IT'S GOING TO BE NATURAL FOR US TO NEED TO BOTH PROTECT SOME AMOUNT OF CAPACITY TO THE THINGS THAT WE'VE COMMITTED TO DOING, BUT ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO PIVOT, THINGS WILL COME UP.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY WE'VE PLANNED ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, ENOUGH ENOUGH CAPACITY, UM, THAT, THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY GET IT ALL DONE.
AND, AND IF WE CAN'T, THAT'S SORT OF THE JOB OF MYSELF AND DEPARTMENT HEADS TO COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? LIKE, WE WE'RE GONNA, IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR US TO DO IT THREE THINGS WELL THAN FIVE THINGS POORLY.
HOW DO WE CHOOSE AND HOW DO WE CHANGE OUR TIMELINES? UM, AND I'M, MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN HAVE MORE OF THOSE TRANSPARENT CONVERSATIONS BECAUSE THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO END UP IN A SITUATION WHERE THE COUNCIL IS SAYING, WELL, YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE GONNA GET THIS TIMELINE DONE.
WHY IS EVERYTHING BEHIND SCHEDULE? AND THEN WE'RE SAYING, WELL, IT'S BECAUSE WE ADDED THREE NEW THINGS.
UM, I THINK I WANT US HOPEFULLY TO BE MORE ALIGNED AND THEN WE CAN DELIVER ON, ON EXPECTATIONS, UM, AND, AND REALLY FEEL THAT ALIGNMENT ACROSS, UM, THE COUNCIL AND THE ADMINISTRATION.
UM, ARE YOU, YOUR, YOUR QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED.
COUNCILMAN MCGOVERN, COUNCILLOR UZI, UH, THANK YOU.
I THINK IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SET PRIORITIES TO HAVE PLANS TO SET INTENTIONS.
'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO, YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET ANYWHERE UNLESS YOU IMAGINE A FUTURE.
BUT THEN, UM, I'M STUCK ON, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A, WE'RE IN DEMOCRACY IS SO HARD, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE ELECTED FOR TWO YEARS.
WE MAY HAVE A, THERE MAY BE A NEW COUNCIL IN TWO MORE YEARS, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LONG-TERM PLANNING, BUT YOU NEED TO BE DOING LONG-TERM PLANNING FOR THE SAKE OF THE CITY, RIGHT? EVEN IF THE COUNCIL CHANGES.
UM, AND I ALSO FIND, I FIND THIS AS A CURIOUS DISCUSSION, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE LESS MONEY AND THIS CONVERSATION FOCUSES ON NEWISH NEW INITIATIVES AND EXPANSIONS WHEN I FEEL AS THOUGH WE REALLY SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT EFFICIENCIES.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT I'M REALLY THINKING ABOUT IS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD A GREAT PROGRAM LAST YEAR ABOUT HOW THERE ARE LIKE 12 DIFFERENT PROGRAMS HELPING TO TRAIN OUR YOUTH FOR THE FUTURE.
BUT I, I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF THOSE STUDENTS ARE GETTING JOBS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE AREN'T A LOT OF BIOMED JOBS AND THERE WERE THREE BIOMED PROGRAMS. SO I, I FEEL AS IF, UM, I, AND, AND AFTER HEARING ABOUT THE GREAT NEED FOR REPAIRS ON MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, I REALLY WISH THERE WAS A WORKFORCE, UH, PROGRAM THAT FOCUSED ON, NOT JUST ON CONSTRUCTION AND CABINETRY, BUT, UM, IF ONLY OUR STUDENTS, UH, LOCAL STUDENTS COULD LEARN HOW TO DO THE PLUMBING, THE ELECTRICITY TO HELP US TAKE CARE OF OUR, UM, OUR, OUR MANY, MANY BUILDINGS THAT NEED REPAIR.
UM, THE OTHER THING I FIND CONFUSING ABOUT THIS DISCUSSION IS THERE ARE NO NUMBERS COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PROJECTS.
LIKE I HAVE LONG ADVOCATED FOR FUNDING FOR STARTUP MONEY FOR THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, IF THEY COME UP WITH A VIABLE WORK PLAN, BUT ONLY IF THEY HAVE A VIABLE BUSINESS PLAN.
THEY'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY'VE GOT THE CAPACITY, UH, ACTUALLY TO, TO GET THIS OPERATION UP AND RUNNING.
THEY'VE BEEN OFFERED LIKE FIVE OR SIX BUILDINGS, BUT THEY'VE GOTTA HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN.
SO I, I THINK I, I DON'T THINK WE NEED AT THIS TIME TO BE TALKING ABOUT CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY'VE GOT LEGS AND CAN JUST GET THEMSELVES ORGANIZED.
RIGHT? AND SOMERVILLE GOT THEIRS, UH, STARTED WITH A $200,000 GRANT FROM THE GOVERNMENT.
SO WHEN I VOTED TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, IT WAS TO GIVE THEM INITIAL FUNDING TO SORT OF GET GOING AGAIN, IF THEY PROVE THAT THEY'VE GOT A VIABLE BUSINESS PLAN AND THEY HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE ADVISING THEM, AND IF IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S A GOOD INVESTMENT, THEN THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE.
ANOTHER SMALLER INVESTMENT SPEAKING, UM, BUILDING ON WHAT
[01:05:01]
MAYOR SIDIKI SAID IS, UM, UH, LIKE THE DIGITAL ACCESS FOR SENIORS $350,000.TO ME THAT SEEMS LIKE A NO BRAINER.
I WAS JUST TOURING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, SOMETHING THAT I HOPE ALL MY COLLEAGUES WILL DO.
UM, AND THEY HAVE TWO PEOPLE FOCUSED ON CYBERSECURITY CRIMES WORKING ALL THE TIME.
UM, BUT I, UH, I UNDERSTAND EVEN HARVARD STUDENTS ARE LIKE FALLING INTO THIS, YOU KNOW, THE TRAPS OF SCAMS, CYBER SCAMS. UM, WE HAVE ELDERS.
WE, YOU KNOW, I JUST FEEL LIKE IF WE CAN PROACTIVELY, UM, HELP ELDERS FROM OPENING THOSE EV BYTES TO PARTIES AND LIKE LOSING ALL THEIR DATA, I, I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD, THAT'S UH, LIKE A, A GREAT INVESTMENT.
UM, WILL, WILL SAVE MONEY BY SPENDING THAT THREE 50 NOW.
AND THAT'S JUST LIKE A SMALL AMOUNT WITH SOCIAL HOUSING.
I THINK WE, WE ALL SUPPORT SOCIAL HOUSING.
I THINK THAT'S SUCH AN EXCITING IDEA.
BUT, UM, THE CHALLENGE AS WAS PRESENTED TO US IS HOW TO FUND IT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE ARE FUNDING MECHANISMS TO SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT NOT SOCIAL HOUSING.
UH, SO WE'VE GOTTA SEEK OUT PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN A WAY TO FUND THAT.
I WAS EXCITED THAT 180 5 LARCH, UM, ROAD IS BEING CONSIDERED AS A SITE FOR THAT.
I THINK THAT, UH, SOCIAL HOUSING WITH OPEN SPACE WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLE, UM, USE FOR THAT SPACE.
BUT AGAIN, THERE'S THAT MORE DIFFICULT QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOKED AT THE, THE TABLE, UH, THAT THE CHA PROVIDED FOR US AT THE MEETING, WHAT, A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, IT'S LESS EXPENSIVE TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAN SOCIAL HOUSING.
SO WE, YOU KNOW, THAT FIN FIGURING OUT HOW TO FINANCE THAT IS THE REAL CHALLENGE THERE.
UM, ANYWAY, I I, I DO THINK IF WE CAN FIGURE, IF WE CAN CRACK THAT NUT, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT THING TO ADVANCE.
AND MAYBE WE WILL HAVE TO HAVE THE HARD DISCUSSION OF WHETHER WE WANNA OUT MOVE SOME MONEY FROM THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST TO THIS SOCIAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND, SO THAT TO BETTER, UM, UM, IN TO BETTER TO GET CLOSER TO THE REALIZATION OF CREATING SOCIAL HOUSING.
I MEAN ANY, ANYWAY, THESE ARE COMP AS, AS YOU SAY, THEY'RE VERY MULTILAYERED, COMPLICATED QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS.
IT'S GOOD WE ARE DISCUSSING THEM BECAUSE WE'RE NEVER GONNA GET SOCIAL HOUSING IF WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT IT, RIGHT.
BUT, UM, WE DO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT THE FINANCE PIECE.
AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, HISTORICALLY IN SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA WHERE THERE IS A LOT OF SOCIAL HOUSING, THE PROPERTIES WERE ALREADY ACQUIRED DURING DISTRESSED MARKETS AND WE'RE, WE HAVE A VERY EXPENSIVE REAL ESTATE MARKET, SO IT'S, THE PROPERTIES ARE GONNA BE EXPENSIVE, RIGHT? UNLESS WE'RE BUILDING ON CITY OWNED PROPERTIES.
SO ANYWAY, I, I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE THE OTHER THING THAT'S CONFUSING IS SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO DECIDE BETWEEN LIKE PUTTING, UH, ON A NEW ROOF IF YOU'VE GOT A LEAKY ROOF OR BUYING A NEW CAR.
AND IF YOU'RE PRUDENT, YOU BUY THE NEW ROOF.
'CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA END UP WITH A LOT OF PROBLEMS IF, IF YOU DON'T FIX THE ROOF.
I, I REMAIN CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, OUR MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS AND DEFERRED MAINTENANCE BECAUSE I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SPENDING NOW TO SAVE LATER, RIGHT? 'CAUSE WE NEED TO USE, UM, MAKE GOOD USE OF OUR COMMUNITY, OUR FI OUR FISCAL RESOURCES.
UM, SO I, I, ANYWAY, I KNOW YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THOSE THINGS, BUT I, AS WE PRIORITIZE, I THINK SOME OF THESE THINGS, THEY'RE ALL, I'D LOVE TO HAVE ALL OF THESE THINGS ACTUALLY, BUT THE REALITY IS WE CAN'T, AND ACTUALLY WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT DOING MORE WITH LESS NOW RATHER THAN EXPANDING.
BUT, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT HOW CAN WE MOST PRUDENTLY USE THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE TO FUND EXISTING PROGRAMS MORE, EVEN MORE EFFICIENTLY.
AND THEN WHICH INVESTMENTS LIKE HAVE TO BE MADE NOW BECAUSE THEY'LL COST US A LOT MORE LATER.
SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE JUST MY THOUGHTS.
AND OH, AND DISTRIBUTED THERMAL ENERGY NETWORKS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE LIST AS A NUMBER TWO ITEM, BUT SOMEHOW IT DIDN'T GET THERE AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER, UM, THE CITY MANAGER OR THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER WANTED TO SPEAK TO THAT PROJECT.
I THINK THAT'S LIKE A $30 MILLION PROJECT.
UM, BUT, UM, AND IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE IF, UM, IT HAPPENED IN THE ALEWIFE QUAD.
UH, BUT I, YEAH, I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT THAT.
UM, THREE CHAIR NOLAN, SO I CAN UPDATE.
[01:10:01]
ARE WORKING TO GET AN UPDATE TO COUNCIL ON THE OVERALL GEO NETWORK, UM, PLANNING THAT, UM, THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY IS DONE.AND WE THINK THERE IS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY IN THE ELWA AREA AS A NEW DEVELOPMENT AREA.
AND SO, UM, AGAIN, I'M NOT SURE WE'RE SEEING THAT AS A LARGE CITY CAPITAL PROJECT AT THE MOMENT, BUT, UM, DEFINITELY CONTINUED WORK IN THAT AREA.
SO I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE PRIORITIZATION PROCESS IN TERMS OF WHAT MADE THE LIST OR DID MAKE THE LIST, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING WE ARE, WE WILL BE REACHING OUT AND PROVIDING AN UPDATE TO COUNCIL ON.
YEAH, ACTUALLY I WANT TO, THAT WAS ACTUALLY A, IT'S NOT A TYPO, IT'S ACTUALLY A MISTAKE.
IT WAS ON THE PRIORITIZATION LIST AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THAT CATEGORY.
AND FOR SOME REASON, AND I OWN IT BECAUSE IN, IN REVIEWING THIS, I DIDN'T CATCH THAT EITHER, BUT IT, COUNCILOR SUZI IS RIGHT, IT HAD BEEN THERE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN, IN THE RIGHTMOST COLUMN OF, UM, THE TWO WERE UNDER VOTES.
UM, AND IT, SO, SO THANKS FOR POINTING THAT OUT.
WE SHOULD MAKE SURE THERE'S NO OTHER, UH, ITEMS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THAT LIST.
BUT, UM, IF CITY STAFF WANTS TO RESPOND TO ANY OF, THERE WAS A, A RANGE OF QUESTIONS THAT, UH, COUNCILOR SUZI TALKED ABOUT, OR WERE THOSE JUST COMMENTS OR IS THERE ANYTHING TO RESPOND TO? DID YOU EXPECT A RESPONSE ON NO, I, YOU, YOU KNOW HOW I'M THINKING.
UH, I, I THINK YOU'RE DOING GREAT WORK.
I WANNA KEEP OUR AAA BOND RATING.
I WE'VE GOTTA DO LESS WITH MORE AND FIG FIND MORE EFFICIENCIES, AND I KNOW THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON.
UM, A COUPLE POINTS AND THANK YOU, UH, ALL MY COLLEAGUES FOR BRINGING IN THIS, UH, QUITE CHALLENGING, I THINK, BUT GOOD DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW WE NAVIGATE THIS IN, IN, IN THIS ARENA OF MANY DIFFERENT PRIORITIES WITH VERY DIFFERENT PROFILES, VERY DIFFERENT SCOPING, VERY DIFFERENT TIMELINES, AND VERY DIFFERENT FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS.
UH, A COUPLE THINGS I WILL NOTE THAT, UH, FOR INSTANCE, A POINT RAISED ABOUT WORKFORCE EVALUATION, VERY IMPORTANT.
IT'S NOT PART OF THIS CONVERSATION ONLY BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING WE WOULD WANNA DO, I THINK IN THE ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE TALKED ABOUT.
IT MAY EVENTUALLY HAVE BUDGET IMPLICATIONS IF IT TURNS OUT THAT WE CAN CONSOLIDATE PROGRAMMING AND, AND OPERATE MORE EFFICIENTLY, WHICH I THINK IT'S INCUMBENT ON US TO DO THAT WITH MANY DIFFERENT PROGRAM AREAS.
BUT I JUST WANNA POINT OUT, WELL, THAT THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A COUNCIL PRIORITY.
I THINK WE UNDERSTAND IT, IT SHOULD BE WORKED ON.
IT'S NOT ON THIS BECAUSE IT DOES, IT WOULDN'T REQUIRE AN EXPANSION.
IT REALLY IS ABOUT, PERHAPS IT WOULD ACCELERATE SOME OF THE ABILITY TO DO OTHER PROGRAMS IF IT TURNS OUT THERE'S EFFICIENCY.
UM, AND I'LL ALSO NOTE SIMILARLY, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, SUPPORT ON THE COUNCIL IN THE CITY FOR PROGRAMS RELATED TO DIGITAL NAVIGATORS.
WE HAVE A WHOLE DIGITAL NAVIGATOR TEAM THAT IS RELATED TO THIS QUESTION OF HELPING SENIORS.
AND I THINK IT'S NOT JUST SENIORS WHO NEED TO UNDERSTAND, DON'T OPEN THOSE INVITES, WHICH ARE FLOODING EVERYBODY.
UM, I, WE WE'RE SEEING IN A RANGE OF, OF AREAS THAT AS IS, UM, KNOWN THE ABILITY TO REACH PEOPLE BY EMAIL HAS EXPLODED A LOT OF EMAIL BOXES, BUT IT ALSO HAS EXPLODED THE NUMBER OF SCAMS IN WAYS THAT PEOPLE CAN GET SCAMMED.
AND CERTAINLY I KNOW THERE'S, THERE'S A SENIOR THAT THE CITY HAS WORKED WITH WHO LOST, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS DUE TO SOME KIND OF EMAIL SCAM.
AND IT WASN'T EVEN ONE WHERE WE'RE HOLDING YOUR SON AND I'M IN AN ACCIDENT.
IT REALLY WAS A MUCH MORE SOPHISTICATED SCHEME.
SO IT'S CERTAINLY, BUT THE CITY IS WORKING ON IT.
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER WE NEED TO EXPAND THAT.
UM, IT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE'RE AT A POINT WHERE, AND I'D LOVE A SENSE OF THE COUNCIL THAT THERE ARE TWO, UM, BROADLY, UH, SUPPORTIVE, UM, INITIATIVES.
THE SOCIAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION.
AGAIN, THERE'S SOME MESSINESS, PARTICULARLY IN THE SECOND ONE BECAUSE IT'S NOT DEFINED ON WHAT THAT INVOLVES.
SO IT MAY BE WE SAY, HEY, THOSE REMAIN OUR TOP, OR IF WE WERE TO DO WHAT I WOULD CERTAINLY PROPOSE AND LIKE, BECAUSE I, I, I WANNA KEEP FOCUSING ON SOMETHING THAT RELATES DIRECTLY TO, UM, PARTICULARLY LOW INCOME PEOPLE ACROSS THE CITY.
AND IT SEEMS THAT, UH, CHILDCARE EXPANSION WOULD POSSIBLY BE ONE OF THOSE.
AS COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN SAID, WE HAVE A PROGRAM IN PLACE, WHICH DOESN'T MEAN IT WOULD BE EASY TO EXPAND IT MORE, BUT THERE IS A PROGRAM AND WE KNOW AT LEAST AND WHEN WE'RE, IF WE'RE TALKING A FEW YEARS OUT, ANYWAY, THAT'S THE IDEA IS, IS THIS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO DO, IF WE JUST COMBINED AT LEAST IN VOTES AFTER SCHOOL AND CAMBRIDGE PRESCHOOL, IT, THAT WOULD MOVE THAT INTO, WE'D HAVE TO HAVE A NEW COLUMN ON THIS CHART, WHICH WOULD BE, IT WOULD GET FOUR VOTES, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE WILL OF THE COUNCIL OR NOT.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THE CITY HAS ANY RESPONSE.
WOULD THAT BE TOO MANY TO SCOPE? WOULD THREE BE TOO MANY TO SCOPE? ARE YOU MORE COMFORTABLE WITH TOO? I THINK WE'RE AT THE POINT WE'RE AT LEAST GETTING A SENSE OF, OF THAT.
AND I'M NOT SURE WE CAN RESOLVE IN THIS MEETING, BUT I THINK IT FEELS TO ME THAT THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT.
SO LOVE SOME RESPONSES FROM EITHER THE CITY OR
[01:15:01]
FELLOW COUNSELORS, MAYOR SIDIKI, THANK YOU.YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK, UM, THE, AS I MENTIONED IN PRIOR MEETINGS, THE ZERO TO TWO SPACE IS A BIG NEED AND WILL HAVE A REAL IMPACT.
UM, PARTICULARLY IF WE PRIORITIZE OUR MOST LOW INCOME FAMILIES LIKE WE ARE DOING WITH THREE YEAR OLDS, UM, CURRENTLY IN CPP.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE SHOULDN'T LET GO OF THAT.
AND, AND, AND I WILL SAY, I KNOW, I BELIEVE IT WAS MAYOR SIDIKI WHO BROUGHT IN, WHEN WE DISCUSSED THIS IN COUNCIL, THAT IS THERE A WAY TO HELP ALLEVIATE THE POTENTIAL FINANCIAL STRAIN BY HAVING SOME MEANS TESTING AND THE MEANS TEST OR A SLIDING SCALE, BUT IT JUST TO ASSURE PEOPLE IT, WE WOULDN'T TAKE IT AWAY FROM ANYBODY CURRENTLY HAVING IT.
AND IT MAY BE A WAY TO, TO PARTIALLY SUBSIDIZE A LOT OF PEOPLE AND THEN FULLY SUBSIDIZE OTHERS SO THAT IT, THERE WOULD STILL BE A, AN INCENTIVE.
I, I THINK THAT WAS THE VISION.
BUT, UM, I KNOW THAT MAYOR CITY KIDS HAD SUGGESTED THAT AS A WAY AND A COMMITMENT TO EXPANDING THIS FOR A PARTICULAR, IF THAT'S PART OF IT, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW.
JUST SO I CAN JUMP IN, I THINK THERE IS A PO THAT WAS PUT IN AROUND JUST LOOKING AT A BUNCH OF THIS STUFF.
SO I DO THINK ON COUNSELOR SUZI'S KIND OF OVERALL LIKE EXPANSION QUESTION, I DO THINK THERE'S A QUESTION HERE OF, UM, IF, IF WE HAVE A BUCKET OF MONEY WITH RESPECT TO CBP, UM, YOU KNOW, DO WE CHANGE IT TO KIND OF A AFTERSCHOOL MODEL WHERE PEOPLE WHO WITH MEANS ARE PAYING, UM, SO THAT WE CAN THEN COVER THE ZERO TWO, THE EXPANSION PART OF IT.
SO I DO THINK THERE'S A QUESTION THERE.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS COMPLICATED, UH, POLICY AND IMPLICATIONS AND SO FORTH.
SO WE HAVE TO HAVE OUR CONVERSATION, BUT I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE AFRAID OF NOT ASKING ABOUT WHAT THAT COULD POTENTIALLY LOOK LIKE IF WE WANNA SERVE MORE PEOPLE.
UM, AND IF THAT IS A QUESTION AROUND US BEING ABLE TO MAYBE DO MORE IN OTHER AREAS, UM, HOW DO WE FIND WAYS TO DO THAT? SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY.
COULD YOU RESTATE YOUR QUESTION, COUNCIL NOLAN? I JUST, I'M NOT QUITE SURE I UNDERSTOOD IT AND WANTED TO MAKE SURE BEFORE WEIGHING IN.
WELL, I, I, I'M LOOKING AT THIS PRIORITIZATION AND WHAT WE HAD SAID IS WE'D END UP WITH TWO OR THREE PRIORITIES FROM THIS BROAD LIST.
WE KIND OF WENT FROM 19 TO THIS, AND IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S THAT SOCIAL HOUSING REVOLVING FUND AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING ARE KIND OF CLEAR THAT, AND, AND FROM WHAT EVERYBODY SAID, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE DO WANT THAT TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND AGAIN, EVEN WHILE IT'S MOVING FORWARD, IN SOME WAYS IT'S REALLY SAYING, THESE ARE ONES THAT WE THINK MERIT SOME SCOPING BY THE STAFF, WHICH IS REALLY JUST STAFF TIME OVER THE NEXT WHILE.
AND WE WOULD EXPECT AND HOPE AGAIN, NOT FOR THIS NEXT OPERATING BUDGET, WHICH PROCESS IS ALREADY STARTING, BUT IN FUTURE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING WE CAN SEE EXPANDING.
AND THEN THE QUESTION IS, WHICH I RAISED AND, UH, VICE MAYOR SAID THAT MADE SENSE FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE IS IF WE WERE DOING SOMETHING IN THE CATEGORY OF KIND OF SOCIAL EQUITY AND, UM, AND WHAT WAS THE, UM, WOULD WE THEN SAY, HEY, WE DON'T WANNA FORGET.
AND AS MAYOR SADIKI SAID, WE DON'T WANNA FORGET THAT WE, WE DO HOPE EVENTUALLY TO EXPAND THE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM TO MORE, UH, PEOPLE IN THE CITY IN PARTICULAR, FOCUSING VERY MUCH ON THE LOW INCOME, WHO RIGHT NOW HAVE NOTHING FROM ZERO TO TWO.
YOU KNOW, WE ARE MEETING THEM IN THREE, AND THAT WOULD BE, WE DON'T YET KNOW THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THAT BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T SCOPED OUT AND SAID, HEY, WHAT IF WE HAVE SOME PARTIAL SUBSIDY, BUT SOME PEOPLE PAY SOMETHING, MAYBE NOT EVERYTHING.
AND THEN FOR SOME PEOPLE IT'S TOTALLY FREE.
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THAT'S ON THE LIST OR WHETHER WE JUST ARE COMFORTABLE STAYING WITH, WITH, WITH THESE KIND OF TOP TWO.
I I, YOU KNOW, I I, SO DOES THAT MAKE SENSE AS A CLARITY? YEAH.
AND WHETHER, WHETHER WE, DID WE GIVE THE SENSE OF THE COUNCIL NOW OR IF WE SIT WITH THIS AND COME BACK, I'M NOT SURE.
AND COUNCILOR MCGOVERN I KNOW ONCE HAS HIS HAND UP.
UM, AND YOU SAID THIS IN YOUR OPENING COMMENTS, AND WE PROBABLY SHOULD SAY IT EVERY 15 MINUTES, JUST TO, YOU KNOW, IN THESE DISCUSSIONS TO REMIND OURSELVES THAT WE'RE, WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT THESE THINGS THAT DON'T NECESSARILY LAND IN A PRIORITY LIST AREN'T GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I WOULD'VE, I WOULD THINK THAT, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, THE CONTINUUM OF CARE GRANTS, YOU KNOW, THAT DECISION GETS APPEALED AND IT, WE END UP ACTUALLY LOSING THAT $6 MILLION THAT WOULD RESULT IN OVER A HUNDRED PLUS PEOPLE BEING PUT BACK ON THE STREET.
I WOULD ASSUME WE WE'RE NOT GONNA SAY, OH, IT DIDN'T MAKE ONE OF THE SCOPING THINGS.
[01:20:01]
NOT GONNA TRY TO FIGURE THIS OUT.RIGHT? SO IT, IT IS IMPORTANT TO, YOU KNOW, JUST REMIND OURSELVES AND, AND REMIND THE PUBLIC, UM, THAT EVEN IF WE DON'T, EVEN IF SOMETHING DOESN'T RISE TO ONE OF THE TOP TWO OR THREE THINGS THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF MOVE FORWARD, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE ABANDONING THOSE, THOSE GOALS OR THOSE SERVICES.
THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, COUNCILOR SABINA WHEELER.
UM, MADAM CHAIR, I WOULD YEAH, AGREE WITH WHAT BOTH THE, THE COUNSELORS BEFORE ME SAID WITH, UH, UH, MAYOR SIDIKI, I THINK, YEAH.
COMBINING AFTER SCHOOL AND, AND PRESCHOOL, UNDERSTANDING THAT AS ONE THING PUTS THAT IN THE, THE TOP CATEGORY ALONG WITH SOCIAL HOUSING AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION AND UNDERSTANDING THOSE THREE AS THE TOP PRIORITIES, UM, MAKES SENSE.
UH, 'CAUSE I THINK FOLKS HAVE A SIMILAR INTENT AND THERE'S A LOT OF OVERLAP BETWEEN THOSE TWO.
UM, AND THEN, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF WHAT, WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, COUNCILLOR NOLAN, I, I THINK I, UM, AGREE THAT THOSE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE SAID THAT AS THOSE ARE THE TOP THREE PRIORITIES THAT AS A, A MESSAGE GOING FORWARD.
UM, UH, I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT.
AND THEN TO COUNCILOR MCGOVERN'S POINT, I THINK THE, THE WORD PRIORITIES IS, IS THE ITERATIVE WORD HERE.
WE'RE NOT SAYING YES, NO, WE'RE NOT SAYING YES.
DO THESE THREE, DO NOT DO ANY OF THE OTHER THREE.
UM, AND AND THAT'S THE UNDERSTANDING AS WELL THAT WE'RE SAYING, YES, THESE THREE ARE THE PRIORITIES.
WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT MEANS WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THE OTHER TWO.
AND I WOULD ALSO PUT IN THAT, THAT A LOT OF THIS, UH, DEPENDS ON THE, THE LARGER CONTEXT OF THE WORLD WE'RE IN, RIGHT? WE MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT CONGRESS AND A YEAR FROM NOW THAN WE DO NOW THAT MAY CHANGE THE AVAILABLE FEDERAL FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR SOME OF THESE, IF THERE BECOMES A LOT MORE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE CONTINUUM OF CARE GRANT GAPS, OR THERE FOR, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT ALLOW US TO DO BETO FUNDING.
'CAUSE THERE, THERE'S FUNDING AVAILABLE, RIGHT? ANYTHING CAN CHANGE, ANY OF THESE CAN MOVE AROUND.
IT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE NOT DOING ANY OF THESE.
IT'S, IT'S SAYING THE COUNCIL IS SENDING THIS MESSAGE OF THESE THREE TH THREE THINGS THAT THREE PRIORITIES, SCOPE, THESE COME BACK WITH US.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GIVING YOU A, A CLEAR ROADMAP OF THESE ARE THE THINGS WE WANT, WANT SOME FOCUS ON.
IT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE WE'RE NOT DOING ALL THE OTHER THINGS AT SOME POINT, OR WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE OTHER THINGS.
UM, THAT'S MY THINKING ON THIS.
I YIELD BACK, RIGHT? AND I WANNA REEMPHASIZE THAT SOME OF THIS WILL MOVE FORWARD ON SOME LEVEL.
AND, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, SOMETHING MANY OF US HAVE WORKED HARD ON AND WISHED WE HAD DONE, YOU KNOW, MUNICIPAL BROADBAND IS STILL SOMETHING, I THINK IT'S A UTILITY.
I WISH, ON THE OTHER HAND, GIVEN OTHER PRIORITIES, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA THINK IS GONNA MOVE FORWARD OR, OR BE SCOPED OUT AND TAKEN TO THE NEXT STEP AS, AS, AGAIN, WHICH DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T ALL AGREE IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE TERRIFIC TO HAVE AT SOME POINT.
AND YET IN THE MEDIUM TERM, IT'S, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT, SO COUNCILLOR UZI, YEAH.
SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE REALLY COMING UP WITH IS SORT OF A WISHLIST, RIGHT? IF, IF WE HAD THE FUNDING, THESE ARE THINGS WE'D LIKE TO ADVANCE, BUT BACK TO THE AFTERSCHOOL AND PRESCHOOL QUESTION, OF COURSE, IT'D BE FABULOUS IF WE COULD OFFER FREE PRESCHOOL, UH, OR I KNOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SUBSIDIZED, UM, OR A TIERED SYSTEM FOR PRESCHOOL NOW, UM, IN MORE COMPLETE AFTERSCHOOL.
BUT ANYWAY, I, I WORRY A LITTLE BIT, I FEEL LIKE THE REASON THAT UNIVERSAL PRE-K WORKS IS BECAUSE IT INVOLVES EVERYONE.
AND I WORRY IF IT'S A TIERED SYSTEM THAT MORE AFFLUENT FLUENT FAMILIES WILL PULL OUT OF THE PROGRAM.
AND THAT MAY MAKE IT A LESS EFFECTIVE, UM, PROGRAM.
BUT I, IT IS, SO FAR WE'RE, WE'RE INVESTING LIKE 35 MILLION INTO, UM, UNIVERSAL PRE-K.
SO I, THESE ARE EXPENSIVE PROGRAMS. AND WITH AFTERSCHOOL, AGAIN, UM, I HAD A CHILD AND I NEEDED AFTERSCHOOL CARE FOR HIM.
AND I UNDERSTAND PARENTS NEED FOR AFTERSCHOOL CARE, BUT I ALSO, WE'VE HEARD ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO FIND SPACE, HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO HIRE INSTRUCTORS.
I MEAN, THERE ARE SO MANY VERY CHALLENGES.
SO THERE ARE THINGS TO STRIVE FOR.
I MEAN, ONE DAY, UM, WHEN WE'RE FLUSH AGAIN, I HOPE, I HOPE WE CAN DO IT AND MAYBE WE CAN FIGURE IT OUT A TIERED SYSTEM THAT WILL, UM, HELP TO COVER THE COSTS.
BUT I, I WORRY THESE ARE VERY, THESE ARE EXPENSIVE PROGRAMS AND I WONDER IF THIS IS THE TIME TO BE TALKING ABOUT EXPANDING THEM.
UM, I, I THINK IT'S NOT QUITE, IT'S A WISHLIST OBVIOUSLY.
IT, IT'S MORE A, WE THINK THESE MERIT PUTTING SOME TIME INTO SCOPING OUT FOR FUTURE.
AGAIN, WE HAVE BEEN TOLD IN ALL OUR BUDGET MEETINGS THAT EVENTUALLY WE SEE THAT IT, IT MAY BE THAT THERE WILL BE SOME FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY BASED ON, FIRST OF ALL, OUR DEBT SERVICE COMING DOWN AS WE PAY SOME OFF.
OR AS COUNCILLOR, SABRINA WHEELER SAID, THERE MAY BE FEDERAL FUNDING THAT CHANGES, OR IT
[01:25:01]
MAY GET WORSE.AND WE WILL SCOPE THINGS OUT AND REALIZE, ACTUALLY WE HAVE TO RETRENCH.
BUT WHAT WE DO KNOW IS IF THERE IS ANY FLEXIBILITY, THE CITY AND THE COUNCIL WANT TO SAY, WE WANNA HAVE A CONVERS, WE WE'RE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION IN ORDER TO SAY, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN SYNC ON WHAT WE WOULD MOVE FORWARD AS.
AND THE STAFF HAS ALSO SAID, WE CANNOT MOVE FORWARD SCOPING 25 DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT IS, AND, AND JUST TO RIGHT AFTER THE, UM, THE MEETING ON, UM, WITH THE REPORT ON RISE, WE HEARD FROM A PARENT TO SAY, HEY, I, I'M IN A GREAT HIGH QUALITY CHILDCARE PROGRAM, BUT THERE'S NOT SPACE IN CPP TO ACCEPT MY PROGRAM, EVEN THOUGH I THINK IT'S SUPER HIGH QUALITY AND WOULD LOVE TO CONTINUE.
SO I, I, I THINK THE CAPACITY IS THERE DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF SUBSIDY THAT HAPPENS.
UM, AND, AND I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT WOULD BE, TO ME, THAT WOULD BE PART OF THE SCOPING TO SAY IF WE HAVE A TIERED SYSTEM, WE CAN PROBABLY ASSESS SOME OF THE IMPACT.
AGAIN, IF THE TIERED SYSTEM THOUGH IS YOU GET A 50% DISCOUNT IF YOU'RE IN A CERTAIN CATEGORY AND A HUNDRED PERCENT DISCOUNT, ANOTHER THAT LESSENS THE, THE CONCERN THAT SOMEONE WOULD NOT BE THERE.
BUT COUNCILOR SABRINA, DID I HEAR, SAY YOU'RE KIND OF MAKING THAT MOTION TO SAY LET'S GO FORWARD AND SAY THE SENSE OF THE COUNCIL IS, IS THESE THREE ITEMS, THE SOCIAL HOUSING, REVOLVING FUND, SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, AND THEN CHILDCARE.
SO I, I, I THINK IF YOU WANNA VOTE ON THAT, THEN I, OR A SENT TO THE COUNCIL, THEN WE CAN DISCUSS THAT AND SAY, AGAIN, AS COUNCIL MCGOVERN SAID, THAT DOESN'T MEAN OTHER THINGS AREN'T MOVING FORWARD.
AND ALSO IT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE GUARANTEED TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS IN A COUPLE YEARS.
I BE JUST WANNA QUICKLY NOTE ALSO FOR COUNSELOR SABRINA WHEELER, IF IT IN A WAY ADDS MORE CONTEXT TO THE DISCUSSION THAT, UH, COMBINING THE AFTER SCHOOL AND CPP WOULD PUT IT UNDER FOUR VOTES AND NOT NECESSARILY FIVE.
SO IF THAT'S PART OF SOME OF THE NUANCE WE WANNA HOLD SUCH THAT, UM, WE WANNA SAY THAT THE ONES THAT GOT FIVE, FIVE VOTES AND FOUR VOTES ARE THE ONES THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, THEN THAT BE THE CASE.
IF THAT'S THE WILL OF THE BODY, OR IF WE WANNA HOLD DISCUSSION FOR THE FOUR VOTES AND THREE VOTES IN FIGURING OUT MAYBE WHAT THAT THIRD PRIORITY IS, IS SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AS WELL.
I, I THINK AT LEAST WHAT I HEARD, AND COUNCILOR SABRINA REAL KIND OF CONFIRMED IS THAT HE DID THINK THAT IT, IT MADE SENSE TO MOVE FORWARD AND MAYBE THE WAY TO PHRASE EMOTION IS TO MOVE FORWARD TO COMBINE AFTER SCHOOL AND CAMBRIDGE PRESCHOOL INTO A CHILDCARE PRIORITY AND TO THEN MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT AND SOCIAL HOUSING AND SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
AND IF IT'S, UM, COUNCIL, WE KNOW IF YOU WOULD WANT ME TO LIKE EMAIL, UH, THAT IN, BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU, FOR WHAT YOU AND COUNCILOR ZUBIE SAID, THE THINGS THAT, THAT GOT FOUR AND FIVE VOTES.
AND AGAIN, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE, WE WOULDN'T KEEP, UH, THINKING ABOUT THE ONES THAT GOT THREE OR LESS VOTES.
AND ALSO LIKE, LET'S SEE HOW LONG IT TAKES TO SCOPE THESE THREE.
I MY QUESTION WAS LIKE, HOW LONG IT'S GONNA TAKE TO GET THESE, COME BACK? LET'S SEE HOW LONG IT TAKES, IF IT TAKES A COUPLE MONTHS.
UH, IF I DON'T, AND THEN WE HAVE TIME TO, TO GET THE OTHERS SCOPED AND WE THINK THAT'S WORTHWHILE, WE COULD, WE COULD EVEN THEN GO BEYOND IT.
BUT LET'S, LET'S START WITH THESE THREE, SEE WHAT THE SCOPING SAYS.
UM, SO I WOULD, WOULD SEND THAT AS A MOTION.
IS, IS IT HELPFUL IF I SEND THAT AN EMAIL TO YOU AND THE CLERK? OKAY.
SO THE CLERK IS SAYING WE COULD VOTE ON THAT.
EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT IT'S, EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT IT IS, I BELIEVE.
COUNCIL OF FLAHERTY, ABSENT COUNCILOR MCGOVERN? YES.
ABSENT COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER.
AND YOU HAVE SEVEN MEMBERS RECORDED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE AND TWO RECORDED AS ABSENT.
AND AS, UH, COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER SAID, WE DON'T KNOW HOW THE SCOPING LOOKED.
THE STAFF PROBABLY DOESN'T KNOW AT THIS POINT EITHER.
AND AS, UH, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN AND I BELIEVE MAYOR SIDIKI ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE ONE IN THERE, WHICH IS THE, UM, SUPPORTIVE HOUSING EXPANSION MAY REQUIRE FURTHER DISCUSSION MAYBE IN A HOUSING COMMITTEE OR OTHER, BECAUSE THERE'S MANY INVOLVED IN THAT, UNLIKE, UNLIKE THE OTHER TWO ARE A LITTLE BIT CLEARER.
SO I, I THINK WE'VE MET THE GOALS OF THIS MEETING.
I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM THE STAFF, IF THAT'S RIGHT, AND ALSO FROM MY COLLEAGUES, WHETHER THEY BELIEVE THAT AND I'M SEEING NODDING ANY, YEAH, I THINK THROUGH YOU JOURNAL AND, UM, I THINK THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL.
[01:30:01]
I THINK SOME OF THIS IS JUST RECOGNIZING THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE PAST I THINK WE PRIMARILY DID THIS THROUGH POLICY ORDERS, WHICH, WHICH JUST DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PRIORITIZATION.AND SO, UH, I THINK HAVING A CLEARER SENSE OF THE COUNCIL THAT, THAT THERE ARE THREE THINGS WE WANT TO BE MORE ACTIVELY WORKING ON IS REALLY HELPFUL.
UM, THERE IS AN OUTSTANDING POLICY ORDER ON, UH, EARLY CHILDHOOD.
UM, I THINK WE ARE PLANNING TO GET THAT BACK IN THE COMING WEEKS.
UM, AND, AND I THINK THE OTHER REASON WHY THIS IS, THIS IS HELPFUL IS BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IF WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE EXTENT TO WHICH, UM, WE ARE GOING TO PLAN FOR ANY EXPANSION OF, UM, OF CHILDCARE, UM, THAT THE CITY MIGHT FUND, WE, WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS BUDGET.
UM, AND, AND THE EXTENT OF WHICH AS WE LOOK AT FY 28 AND BEYOND, WE'RE PLANNING FOR THAT.
UM, BUT IT IS REALLY HELPFUL TO KNOW THAT IT'S AT LEAST IN THAT HIGHER TIER OF PRIORITIES FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE.
UM, AND THAT'S HELPFUL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO FUND.
UM, BUT SAYING THIS IS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANNA WORK ON MORE ACTIVELY, IT DOES HELP US SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WORTH PUTTING MORE STAFF TIME INTO.
UM, BECAUSE IF IT COMES DOWN TO LIMITED BUDGET, AT LEAST IT'S, IT'S ON THAT HIGHER LIST.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD PROCESS.
UM, WE'RE ALL GOING THROUGH IT AND I, I'M SURE WE'LL FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE THIS AS WELL.
UM, BUT I APPRECIATE THE COLLABORATION WITH THE FINANCE CO-CHAIRS, UH, AND WITH THE COUNCIL OVERALL, UH, AS WE THINK ABOUT DIFFERENT WAYS TO INCORPORATE YOUR VOICE INTO THE BUDGET MORE EXPLICITLY.
WITH THAT COUNCILOR, CO-CHAIR, ZUBIE, DO YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING BEFORE I CALL FOR A ADJOURNMENT? VOTE? NOPE.
ON A MOTION BY, UH, COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER TO ADJOURN.
AND YOU HAVE SEVEN MEMBERS RECORDED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE AND TWO RECORDED IS ABSENT.