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[ROLL CALL]
BEING PRESENT, I WANTED TO CALL TONIGHT'S NOVEMBER 9TH, 2026 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER.THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS A ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS PRESENT.
PRESENT, COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER.
PLEASE JOIN ME IF YOU CAN IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND THEN PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE.
PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
PER 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.
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 MUST SIGN UP AT WWW.CAMBRIDGEMA.GOV/PUBLICCOMMENT.
YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL WRITTEN COMMENTS FOR THE RECORD TO THE CITY CLERK AT CITYCLERK@CAMBRIDGEMA.GOV.
WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION AND YOU CAN SIGN UP UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF PUBLIC COMMENT.
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.
WE WILL GO TO ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE BODY.
JUST WANTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THERE'S GONNA BE A PUBLIC SAFETY HEARING, UH, TOMORROW, 120 TO 2PM ON PRAB.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS, COUNCILLOR ZUCI? UH, TOMORROW, TUESDAY THE 10TH, UH, FROM 6:00 TO 8:00 THERE'LL BE ASHLEY ANGELS.
IT'S A FUNDRAISER FOR THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.
AND THEN ON THURSDAY FROM 6:00 TO 8:00 THERE'LL BE A ZOOM ABOUT CENTRAL SQUARE UP ZONING.
SO PEOPLE MAY WANNA JOIN THAT.
UH, TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE IS COMING UP, SO I WANT PEOPLE TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT.
ALSO, WE'RE GETTING, YOU KNOW, HERE'S JUST A SEASON.
WE, WHAT DOES MY DAUGHTER CALL IT? THE, UM, THE GIVE ME SEASON, CHRISTMAS AND THE HOLIDAYS.
SO SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY'S COMING UP, THAT'S NOVEMBER 28TH, BUT I WOULD, LET'S ENCOURAGE PEOPLE NOT TO WAIT TILL NOVEMBER 28TH TO START THEIR CHRISTMAS AND HOLIDAY SHOPPING.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE'LL HAVE A MEETING BEFORE THEN, BUT IT'S WORTH MES - ME- MENTIONING DECEMBER 20TH, IN- INMAN SQUARE'S GONNA HAVE THEIR HOLIDAY MARKET.
BUT AGAIN, JUST TO SORT OF, BECAUSE IT'S SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY'S COMING UP AND IT'S ONE DAY AND THAT'S NOVEMBER 20TH, BUT GET YOUR SHOP ON NOW.
UH, WEDNESDAY IS VETERANS DAY.
SO FOLKS SHOULD KNOW THAT CITY, UM, OFFICES, LIBRARIES, SENIOR CENTER, ET CETERA, ARE, WILL BE CLOSED.
UM, NO PARKING METERS, UH, WILL BE IN EFFECT.
UM, BUT WE ARE ALSO HAVING, UM, A VETERANS DAY, UH - OBSERVANCE.
OBSERVANCE AT THE SHERIDAN COMMANDER STARTING AT 10:30, BUT THE, THE OBSERVANCE WILL START OFFICIALLY AT 11:00.
UM, FOOD WILL BE SERVED AND A CHANCE TO GATHER AND HONOR THE VETERANS FROM OUR CITY AND BEYOND.
THANK YOU, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN.
ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS? HEARING NONE, WE'LL MOVE TO PUBLIC
[PUBLIC COMMENTS]
COMMENT.PUBLIC COMMENT MAY BE MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL LAWS CHAPTER 30A, SECTION 20G AND THE CITY COUNCIL RULES 23D AND 37.
ONCE YOU'VE FINISHED SPEAKING, THE NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE CALLED.
INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ALLOCATE THE REMAINDER OF THEIR TIME TO OTHER SPEAKERS.
WE ASK THAT YOU STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD AND THE ITEM ON THE AGENDA THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING ON.
WE HAVE 15 SPEAKERS WHO'VE SIGNED UP AND EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS APRIL BOSS.
OH, YOU JUST HAVE TO TURN THE MICROPHONE ON.
I'M A RESIDENT OF BAYSTATE ROAD IN CAMBRIDGE.
I'M, I'VE LIVED HERE FOR 14 YEARS.
UM, I'M A MOTHER OF TWO SMALL KIDS.
I BROUGHT ONE OF MY KIDS TO SEE CIVIC DUTIES TONIGHT.
AND THEN I'M ALSO A DAUGHTER OF A CONTRACTOR, A SECOND GENERATION CONTRACTOR.
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UM, AND I'M GONNA READ FROM NOTES BECAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE I GET THE CIRCUMSTANCES RIGHT.UM, I'M GONNA BE SPEAKING TONIGHT, UM, IN REFERENCE TO POLICY ORDER 2026206.
UM, I KNOW THAT, UM, COUNCILOR ZUCI WANTS TO WITHDRAW IT, BUT I HOPE WHATEVER HAPPENS TO THIS ORDER TONIGHT, THAT THE OVERSIGHT CONVERSATION CONTINUES.
I GREW UP UNDERSTANDING THAT CONSTRUCTION IS ESSENTIAL TO GROWING COMMUNITIES.
I'M NOT HERE TO OPPOSE DEVELOPMENT.
I'M HERE BECAUSE WE CAN BUILD HOUSING WHILE MAINTAINING HIGH STANDARDS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
AT 40 THORNDIKE, ASBESTOS RELATED DEMOLITION PRACTICES RESULTED IN STATE ENFORCEMENT.
NEAR J STREET, DEMOLITION WAS HALTED OVER PERMITTING ISSUES LAST SUMMER.
THESE ARE REMINDERS WHY OVERSIGHT MATTERS.
I LIVE BESIDE PB412, THE BIRCH STREET AND BAYSTATE ROAD DEVELOPMENT.
TODAY, THE PLANNING BOARD'S APPROVAL WAS OFFICIALLY FILED, INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS AND NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS.
I APPRECIATE THOSE CONDITIONS, BUT ON SEPTEMBER 17TH, MASS DEP RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION IDENTIFYING CONTAMINATION AT THIS PROPERTY, INCLUDING VINYL CHLORIDE, A KNOWN HUMAN CARCINOGEN.
19 DAYS LATER, PLANNING BOARD APPROVED THE PROJECT.
I'M STILL SEEKING RECORDS SHOWING WHEN THE BOARD LEARNED ABOUT THAT FILING AND HOW IT WAS CONSIDERED.
MASS DEP ALSO CONFIRMED ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION WAS UNDERWAY JUST LAST WEEK.
THE PLANNING BOARD'S APPROVAL IS ON RECORD.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION CONTINUES.
NEARBY ARE HOMES, SCHOOLS, AND A DAYCARE, INCLUDING TOBIN MONTESSORI AND DARBY VASSELAINE.
I'M NOT SAYING ANYONE HAS BEEN EXPOSED.
I'M ASKING WHAT PROTECTIONS WILL BE IN PLACE BEFORE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS.
MASS DEP OVERSEES ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP.
CAMBRIDGE OVERSEES CONSTRUCTION PERMITTING.
RESIDENTS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BECOME ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATORS LIKE I HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
PLEASE EMAIL US THE REMAINDER OF YOUR COMMENTS.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SUZANNE BLIER, FOLLOWED BY YOUNG KIM.
I DO NOT SEE SUZANNE IN THE ZOOM.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS YOUNG KIM.
PLEASE CONSIDER MY SUBSTITUTE POLICY ORDER.
MY REASONS ARE EXPLAINED IN MY EMAIL AND THE PERMITTING PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM THAT I PREPARED LIKE I WAS APPROACHING CODE REVIEW DURING MY WORKING DAYS WHEN I WAS WORKING ON THE DEFENSE CONTRACT, UH, ALL MY LIFE.
LET ME OF, UH, SO PLEASE LOOK AT MY FLOW DIAGRAM AND, UH, PLEASE REVIEW, UH, CONSIDER MY, UH, OPTION.
LET ME OFFER A IMPROVED SCENARIO.
A PUBLIC AS OF RIGHT DETERMINATION WOULD SERVE ALL STAKEHOLDERS, MOST IMPORTANTLY THE COMMUNITY WHERE, WHETHER THE RESIDENTS ATTENDS THE MEETING OR NOT.
READING THE AGENDA MATERIAL WOULD LET NEIGHBORS KNOW WHAT IS COMING DOWN, BUT NOW SOMETIMES THEY WAKE UP AND THEY SEE BULLDOZER START TEARING THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR TO YOU.
ONCE THE DEVELOPER GETS A GREEN LIGHT, THEY CAN APPLY TOGETHER THE NECESSARY ASBESTOS REMOVAL, TREE REMOVAL AND DEMOLITION PERMIT AS THE PROPERTY HISTORY CALLS FOR.
THEY WOULD HAVE AN INITIAL CONCEPT, EVEN THOUGH PLANS MAY EVOLVE.
WHILE THOSE APPLICATIONS ARE REVIEWED, THE DEVELOPER CAN BEGIN DESIGN AND PREPARE THE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION.
ONCE PERMITS ARE YOU ISSUED, AUTHORIZED WORK CAN PROCEED WHILE DESIGN AND BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW CONTINUES.
THIS IS THE INTEGRATED MODEL THAT I AM ASKING YOU, UH, UM, TO, UH, THE HYBRID METHOD THAT I WANT TO CONSIDER.
YOU HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY BRING ABOUT MEANINGFUL REFORM TO, UH, MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE IMPACT AND THE GAPS IN THE ZONING ORDINANCE.
SO PLEASE CONSIDER MY CO - UH, UH, UH, SUBSTITUTE PR.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS ROB VAN DENABIEL, FOLLOWED BY GLENNA WYMAN.
HELLO, ROB VAN DENABEL, 40 INMAN STREET.
UH, I'VE BEEN A CAMBRIDGE RESIDENT FOR 12 YEARS.
I'M ALSO CO-FOUNDER OF A GROUP CALLED CAMBRIDGE LOVES WILDLIFE, A GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION OF MORE THAN 60 CAMBRIDGE CITIZENS UNITED AGAINST THE USE OF RODENTICIDES IN OUR CITY AND ELSEWHERE.
I'M HERE TODAY TO VOICE SUPPORT FOR POLICY ORDER FOUR TO FILE A HOME RULE PETITION, UM, ALLOWING FOR THE POTENTIAL BAN OF RODENTICIDES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, AND POLICY ORDER SEVEN TO UPDATE THE PET SHOP ORDINANCE TO INCLUDE, UH, FISH AND CRUSTACEANS.
I'M APPRECIATIVE OF THE COUNCIL
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AND THE DPW FOR THEIR WORK ON THE RODENTICIDE ISSUE OVER THE PAST YEAR AND EAGERLY ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE THE ALL IMPORTANT NEXT STEP IN THE CITY'S EFFORTS TO REDUCE THE RODENT POPULATION WHILE PROTECTING OUR WILDLIFE AND PETS.AS HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED, NON-POISONED PEST MANAGEMENT, INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT, IPM, IS THE ONLY SAFE AND PROVEN METHOD OF RODENT CONTROL.
AS A MEMBER OF THE CITY'S WASTE REDUCTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE, I'VE ACTIVELY SUPPORTED THE EXPANSION OF THE FOOD WASTE DIVERSION PROGRAM, WHICH UNDERPINS A KEY IPM STRATEGY OF ELIMINATING FOOD SOURCES FOR RODENTS.
ELIMINATING THE DISTRACTION OF THESE INEFFECTIVE POISON BAIT TRAPS WOULD HELP EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AND PROVIDE INCENTIVE FOR RESIDENTS TO EMBRACE THE ROLL- ROLLOUT OF THE FOOD WASTE DIVERSION EXPANSION IN THE COMING MONTHS.
REGARDING PO- POLICY ORDER SEVEN, I WILL SUMMARIZE BY QUOTING FROM WORLD ANIMAL PROTECTION NONPROFIT GROUP, WHICH STATES THAT FISHES ARE OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD BUT ARE SENTIENT, COMPLEX BEINGS WHO DESERVE OUR RESPECT AND COMPASSION, BANNING THEIR SALE IN PET STORES IS A CRUCIAL STEP TOWARD PREVENTING CRUELTY AND PRESERVING BIODIVERSITY.
UH, AS A LOVER OF ALL LIVING THINGS OR ALL LIVING BEINGS, I URGE YOU TO PASS POLICY ORDERS FOUR AND SEVEN.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS GLENNA WYMAN, FOLLOWED BY KARA HOLMQUIST.
UM, I'M, UH, SPEAKING IN FAVOR OF PASSAGE OR SENDING TO THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE FOR PASSAGE OF THE, UH, CONDO CONVERSION PROPOSAL, UM, BY, SPONSORED BY COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND SUPPORTED BY MAYOR SIDDIQUI, UH, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN AND COUNCILLOR EL-ZUBI.
UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
UM, IT'S ALREADY BEEN, UH, PASSED OR IT IS BASED ON ONE THAT HAS BEEN PASSED IN SOMERVILLE, SO, UH, THE CONCEPTS OF IT HAVE BEEN VETTED AND APPROVED IN SOMERVILLE, OUR SISTER CITY, AND, UM, IT'S HIGH TIME THAT WE, UH, A- ALLOW THESE PROTECTIONS, UM, SO I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.
AND I ALSO WANTED TO URGE THE CITY COUNCIL TO, UH, SUPPORT, UH, NUMBER FOUR AND NUMBER SEVEN WITH REGARD TO, UH, RAT POISONING AND, UH, THE SALE OF FISH AND CRUSTACEANS IN, UM, PET SHOPS.
AND, UH, AND ALSO NUMBER FIVE HAVING TO DO WITH TRAFFIC CALMING AND SAFETY MEASURES OF MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES, UH, IN THE CAMBRIDGE COMMON, WHICH I FEEL I'VE BEEN CLOSE TO A VICTIM OF SOMETIMES, UM, WALKING, ESPECIALLY AFTER DARK.
THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH, AND, UH, APPRECIATE THE WORK OF EVERYBODY.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS KARA HOLMQUIST, FOLLOWED BY MICHAEL RO- ROGROVE.
UM, MY NAME IS KARA HOLMQUIST.
UM, MY NAME IS KARA HOLMQUIST.
I WORK FOR THE MSPCA ANGEL, AND I'VE WORKED WITH CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH ON THE ISSUE OF RESTRICTING ANTICOAGULANT RODENTICIDES.
CAMBRIDGE HAS ALREADY ACTED TO RECOGNIZE THE HARM THAT THESE POISONS CAN CAUSE WILDLIFE AND PETS.
UM, MANY CITIES AND TOWNS, AFTER THEY'VE PASSED A LOCAL ORDINANCE, UH, OR AT THE SAME TIME, HAVE ALSO PASSED A HOME RULE PETITION, AND WE HAVE SEEN THAT THERE'S ABOUT 30 HOME RULE PETITIONS PENDING IN THE LEGISLATURE.
THE LAST ONE TO JOIN THIS LIST WAS SOMERVILLE.
AND THERE'S LANGUAGE RIGHT NOW PENDING IN THE STATE HOUSE IN THE MASS READY ACT THAT IF PASSED, WOULD HAVE ALL OF THESE HOME RULES AUTOMATICALLY ADOPTED.
SO I THINK THERE'S A REAL INCENTIVE AND THIS IS VERY TIMELY TO DO NOW.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO SUPPORT POLICY ORDER NUMBER SEVEN.
UH, THE MSPCA WORKED WITH THE CITY IN 2017 WHEN IT PASSED THE SECOND ORDINANCE IN THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS TO END THE SALE OF COMMERCIALLY BRED ANIMALS IN PET SHOPS.
AND IT WAS BASED ON THE FACT THEN AND IS NOW THAT ANIMALS WHO ARE SOLD IN PET SHOPS USUALLY ARE SOURCED FROM LARGE SCALE COMMERCIAL BREEDERS THAT PUT PROFIT OVER WELFARE.
AND SINCE IT'S PASSED, MORE THAN A DOZEN OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE FOLLOWED CAMBRIDGE'S LEAD.
UM, WHEN CAMBRIDGE PASSED THE ORDINANCE IN 2017, IT WAS THE STRONGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE IN THE STATE AND, AND EVEN IN THE COUNTRY.
AND SINCE THEN, SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES, NOTABLY ARLINGTON AND SOMERVILLE, HAVE INCLUDED ADDITIONAL ANIMALS TO THEIR ORDINANCES, AND, AND THAT INCLUDES FISH AND CRUSTACEANS THAT ARE NOW BEING CONSIDERED.
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HEAR ABOUT THESE MEASURES AND, AND DOGS AND CATS CERTAINLY GAIN A LOT OF ATTENTION, BUT THE SMALL ANIMALS REALLY SUFFER TOO, AND MAYBE EVEN SUFFER MORE BECAUSE THEY DON'T COST AS MUCH AND THEY TEND TO BE NOT AS VALUED, BUT YET ARE SENTIENT.UM, AND NOT ONLY CAN THEY BE RAISED AND ARE RAISED IN COMMERCIAL FACILITIES, UM, THEY CAN ALSO BE TAKEN TO THE WILD AND RELEASED INTO THE WILD.
SO THANK YOU FOR, UM, UPDATING THAT ORDINANCE AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF POLICY ORDER FOUR AND SEVEN.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MICHAEL ROGOV, AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO SIP - SKIP SPEAKER SUZANNE BLIER.
UM, I'M NOT USED TO HAVING TWO WHOLE MINUTES, UH, SO NO NOTES TODAY.
UM, THERE'S A COMMON THREAD THROUGH MANY OF THE POLICY ORDERS TONIGHT.
UM, I LISTED POLICY ORDER ONE.
I WANNA THANK COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER, UM, AND, AND THE OTHER THREE SUPPORTING COUNSELORS, UM, REGARDING, UM, UH, TENANT PROTECTIONS.
UM, I, I TRUST Y'ALL TO TAKE IT TO ORDINANCE COMMITTEE AND HAMMER OUT ALL THE DETAILS THERE.
I'M NOT A TENANT RIGHTS ATTORNEY, SO, UH, SPEAKING TO THE SPECIFICS IS NOT MY FORTE, BUT I THINK THEY'RE HAVING, UM, MONETARY SUPPORT DURING TENANT DISPLACEMENT, A LOT OF THE OTHER PROVISIONS AROUND NOTIFICATION CAN BE REALLY, REALLY POWERFUL AND REALLY, REALLY HELPFUL IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, SPEAKING AS A RENTER FOR THE LAST, I DON'T KNOW, UM, FOR OVER A DECADE.
UM, I ALSO WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT NOT LISTED TO, UH, COUNCILLORS FLAHERTY AND SIMMONS FOR THEIR POLICY ORDERS, UH, PARTICULARLY REGARDING SHERMAN STREET, BUT ALSO MICROMOBILITY.
WELL, I'LL JUST SPEAK TO THAT ONE.
THE PUBLIC WAY, UH, IS ALL OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY, AND THAT AREA ON SHERMAN STREET BY CABARET COMMONS, BY THE ENTRANCE TO HANAHY PARK IS VERY DANGEROUS.
IT'S VERY DANGEROUS, NOT JUST FOR THE OLD FOLKS WHO LIVE THERE, FOLKS WITH, UM, WITH, UM, UH, UH, MOBILITY DISABILITIES, BUT ALSO FOLKS WHO...
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THAT AREA.
THERE'S A LOT OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE ACCESSING THE PARK, AND ONE OF THE KEY THINGS ABOUT THE PUBLIC WAY IS THAT IT'S NOT TRULY ACCESSIBLE UNLESS IT IS ACCESSIBLE FOR, UH, THE MOST VULNERABLE AMONG US.
AND I THINK THAT'S A COMMON THREAD THROUGH NOT JUST POLICY ORDER ONE, BUT ALSO FOUR AND SEVEN.
SO THANK YOU, UH, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN FOR THAT.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SUZANNE BLIER, FOLLOWED BY DARIA SANTOLONI.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND THANK YOU FOR CALLING ON ME LATE.
UM, SO A COUPLE OF THINGS, UH, ON PERMITTING OF TREES AND BETTER TRACKING, I STRONGLY SUPPORT THAT AND THANK, UM, THE CITY COUNCILORS SUPPORTING THIS AND ALSO, UH, DPW.
ON CONDO CONVERSION AND TENANTS, I STRONGLY SUPPORT THIS.
WHAT I'D ALSO LOVE TO SEE, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT PART OF THIS PARTICULAR FRAMING, WE DO NEED A LIST OF RENTAL UNITS AND PEOPLE.
UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS WE DON'T HAVE THAT AS A CITY, AND I'M HOPING WE CAN GET SOMETHING ALONG THE SAME LINES OF THIS IN TERMS OF LEASE TERMINATIONS OF PEOPLE WHOSE, UH, HOMES ARE POTENTIALLY BEING TAKEN, UH, TO, UH, DEMOLISH OR OTHERWISE IN THE NEW, UH, UPZONING.
I STRONGLY SUPPORT THE BAN ON, UH, RODENT ASIDES AND, UM, I'M, I'M MI - MORE MIXED ON FISH, JUST THAT'S ME, I GUESS.
UM, AND THEN ON TRAFFIC CALMING, I AGREE WITH THAT, BUT I'D ALSO LOVE TO SEE NO SCOOTERS OR BIKES ON SIDEWALKS EXCEPT BY YOUTH.
THAT'S WHERE I'M SEEING A LOT OF THINGS THAT COULD ALSO CHANGE, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE, AND, UM, HAVE A NICE EVENING.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS DARIA SANTELLONI, FOLLOWED BY LAURA KIESEL.
UM, I'M DARIA SANTELLANI, AND I LIVE AT 33 ROGERS STREET IN CAMBRIDGE.
TONIGHT, I'M PROVIDING A COMMENT ON BEHALF OF THE MYSTIC RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION AND AS A CAMBRIDGE RESIDENT OF SEVEN YEARS ON POLICY ORDER FOUR ABOUT FILING A HOME RULE PETITION ALLOWING THE BAN OF ANTICOAGULANT RODENTICIDES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.
SINCE 1972, THE MYSTIC RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION HAS WORKED TO PROTECT AND RESTORE THE HEALTH OF THE MYSTIC RIVER AND WATERSHED, ENSURE THAT WATERSHED COMMUNITIES CAN ACCESS THE RIVER AND ALL IT HAS TO OFFER, AND ENGAGE IN ADVOCACY EFFORTS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF STAKEHOLDERS AND DECISION MAKERS.
I WANT TO EXPRESS OUR STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE CITY COUNCIL'S PROPOSED HOME RULE PETITION, ALLOWING THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE TO BAN ANTICOAGULANT RODENTICIDES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.
DURING THE PAST THREE YEARS, SEVERAL OF THE EAGLETS HATCHED ON THE MYSTIC AND TWO MATURE ADULT FEMALES HAVE DIED DUE TO SECOND GENERATION ANTICOAGULANT RODENTICIDE OR ESCHAR POISONING.
AND IT'S NOT JUST THE EAGLES, RAPTORS, OWLS, AND OTHER IMPORTANT PREDATORS AND PETS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO HAVE DIED DUE TO THIS POISONING.
WHILE ESCHARS CAN ONLY BE USED BY PROFESSIONAL PESTICIDE COMPANIES,
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IT HAS BECOME VERY COMMON FOR BUSINESSES AND MUNICIPALITIES TO DEPEND ON IT FOR RAT CONTROL.UM, IN THE HIGHLY URBANIZED AREA OF THE MYSTIC WATERSHED, THE NEAR UBIQUITOUS APPLICATION OF ESCHAR RODENTICIDES HAS MADE IT A DOMINANT SOURCE OF WILDLIFE POISONINGS.
IN FACT, OF 43 RED-TAILED HAWKS THAT WERE SAMPLED FOR A REPORT ISSUED IN 2020, THE TUFTS WILDLIFE CLINIC FOUND THAT 100% 43 OUT OF 43 WERE POISONED BY ESCHARS.
IT TOOK 50 YEARS AFTER OUTLINING DDT FOR BALD EAGLES TO RETURN TO THE MYSTIC, AND WE NEED ALL OF OUR WATERSHED CITIES AND TOWNS TO REQUEST AND MOVE FORWARD, MOVE TOWARDS REMOVING THESE HARMFUL RODENTICIDES SO THEY DON'T KNOCK THEM OUT AGAIN AND POLLUTE THE FOOD CHAIN.
SO WITH THIS GROWING EVIDENCE OF THE DANGER OF ANTICOAGULANT RODENTICIDES AND THE EXISTENCE OF NUMEROUS ALTERNATIVES, WE URGE THE FILING OF THIS HOME RULE PETITION.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LAURA KIESEL, FOLLOWED BY KIT LILLY, AND THEN ANDREW KIM.
I AM SPEAKING TONIGHT, UM, FOR MYSELF AND ON BEHALF OF, UM, THE NONPROFIT, I AM A FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF SAVE MASSACHUSETTS WILDLIFE.
I LIVE IN EAST ARLINGTON, RIGHT ACROSS THE BORDER FROM CAMBRIDGE.
I'M SPEAKING IN SUPPORT OF POLICY ORDERS BOTH NUMBER FOUR ON RODENTICIDES AND FILING A HOME RULE PETITION TO BAN THEM IN CAMBRIDGE'S BORDERS, AND ON NUMBER SEVEN, TO EXTEND THE PET SALE BAN TO FISH AND CRUSTACEANS.
SAVE ARLINGTON WILDLIFE WORKED ON BOTH OF THESE, UM, HERE IN ARLINGTON.
WE WERE THE FIRST, UM, COMMUNITY TO FILE A HOME RULE PETITION, AND AS MENTIONED, ABOUT 30 OTHER MUNICIPALITIES HAVE SINCE FOLLOWED SUIT.
WILDLIFE DON'T ADHERE TO MUNICIPAL BORDERS, SO THOSE BALD EAGLES THAT NEST HERE IN ARLINGTON THAT, UM, WE'VE LOST TO THESE RODENTICIDES HAVE BEEN FOUND, UM, TO TRAVEL OFTEN TO OUR BORDERING MUNICIPALITIES, INCLUDING CAMBRIDGE.
MK WAS SPOTTED JUST DAYS BEFORE SHE DIED AT FRESH POND, UM, EATING THERE.
MY ORGANIZATION ALSO FUNDED THE TESTING OF DOZENS OF ANIMALS IN AND AROUND ARLINGTON, INCLUDING IN CAMBRIDGE, AND FOUND TWO ANIMALS THAT DIED IN CAMBRIDGE'S BORDERS, A RED-TAILED HAWK AND A JUVENILE SKUNK CONFIRMED TO HAVE DIED FROM THESE POISONINGS.
UM, I ALSO WANNA SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF THE POLICY ON THE PET SALES.
WE WERE THE FIRST TO EXTEND IT TO FISH.
WE WERE INSPIRED BY CAMBRIDGE'S COMPREHENSIVE BAN, UM, BUT WE DO HOPE THEY WILL EXTEND IT TO FISH.
I REGULARLY SHOP AT THE CAMBRIDGE PETSMART, AND I, I SEE ON A ROUTINE BASIS BETAFISH DEAD AND DYING IN THOSE TINY CUPS.
I HAD PURCHASED ABETA FISH FROM CAMBRIDGE AT ONE POINT A FEW YEARS AGO, AND, UM, HE DIED A VERY SAD DEATH DUE TO THE BREEDING THAT CAUSED HIM TO NOT BE ABLE TO EVEN SWIM TO THE TOP OF HIS TANK BECAUSE HIS FINS WEIGHED HIM DOWN.
SO I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE, UM, THIS EXTENDED TO THEM AS WELL, SINCE THEY ARE SENTIENT, AND OVER ONE MILLION FISH FROM THE PET SALE TRADE ARE RELEASED INTO OUR WATERWAYS AND BECOME INVASIVE SPECIES AS WELL.
SO THIS WAS ALSO AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION MEASURE.
SO THANK YOU FOR TAKING MY COMMENTS.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS KIT LILLY, FOLLOWED BY ANDREW KIM.
I LIVE AT 58B HAMMOND STREET, AND I WANTED TO SPEAK ON POLICY ORDERS FOUR AND SEVEN.
UH, REGARDING POLICY ORDER FOUR, UH, I BELIEVE IT'S BEEN MENTIONED THERE'S, THERE'S A NUMBER OF, I THINK UP TO TWO DOZEN SIMILAR PETITIONS PENDING IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE.
CAMBRIDGE HAS ALREADY BANNED THE USE OF THIS ANTICOAGULANT RODENTICIDE ON CITY PROPERTY, BUT OBVIOUSLY ANIMALS DO NOT RESPECT BORDERS LIKE WE DO AND BOUNDARIES, AND SO WE NEED TO ADDRESS THIS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY AS WELL.
THESE RODENTICIDES ARE A PRETTY HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE.
THEY PREVENT THE CLOTTING OF BLOOD AND CAUSE THE ANIMAL WHO INGESTS IT, WHETHER IT BE A PET OR A TARGET RAT, TO INTERNALLY BLEED AND CAUSING DEATH.
PETS, OBVIOUSLY, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED, CAN INGEST THIS, AND NOT ONLY IS THAT HORRIBLE, BUT IT ALSO CAUSES THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF CARE ON, YOU KNOW, THAT...
TO, TO HELP THESE CREATURES RECOVER, AND IT PLACES A UNDUE BURDEN ON THE OWNERS.
SO I AM URGING, UH, COUNCIL TO PLEASE SUPPORT POLICY ORDER FOUR.
REGARDING POLICY ORDER SEVEN, I THINK WAS MENTIONED BEFORE, IN 2017, CAMBRIDGE BECAME THE SECOND MUNICIPALITY IN MASSACHUSETTS TO PASS THE ORDINANCE BANNING THE SALE OF MOST COMMERCIALLY BRED ANIMALS IN PET SHOPS.
AND SINCE THEN, 16 MORE CITIES AND TOWNS HAVE PASSED THESE.
WHEN CAMBRIDGE ACTUALLY PASSED THE ORDINANCE, THIS WON'T SURPRISE YOU, WE WERE
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THE STRONGEST IN THE STATE AND IN THE COUNTRY.NOW, ARLINGTON AND SOMERVILLE HAVE SINCE PASSED MORE COMPREHENSIVE MEASURES, WHICH DO INCLUDE FISH, AND THIS POLICY ORDER NUMBER SEVEN WOULD UPDATE OUR ORDINANCE TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE OFFERING AS MUCH PROTECTION AS OUR NEARBY CITIES.
SO PLEASE, UH, SUPPORT THIS POLICY ORDER NUMBER SEVEN.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS ANDREW KIM, FOLLOWED BY NEIL MILLER.
I DO NOT SEE ANDREW IN THE ZOOM.
WE WILL GO TO NEIL MILLER, FOLLOWED BY HEATHER HOFFMAN.
HI, UH, NEIL MILLER, 425 MASS AVE.
I WAS, UH, CALLING IN TO SPEAK ABOUT THE CITY MANAGER'S AGENDA ITEM AROUND THE ERP MODERNIZATION.
UH, I THINK THAT IT'S CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.
I SENT AN EMAIL WITH SOME MORE INFORMATION, UM, BUT A FEW THINGS THAT I THOUGH, UH, JUST WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, THE MANAGER'S UPDATE NOTED THAT HE EXPECTS IT TO, UH, THE PROJECT TO TAKE AROUND FOUR YEARS TO UPDATE THE CITY'S ERP SYSTEM, UM, THE ESTIMATED COST OR THE BUDGET THAT IT'S ANTICIPATING IS AROUND 20 MILLION DOLLARS, AND THE WORK TO PLAN OUT THIS PROJECT IS BEING LED, IT LOOKS LIKE, BY A PRIVATE ADVISORY FIRM.
UM, NONE OF THESE THINGS ARE NECESSARILY PROBLEMATIC, BUT IT, UH, FOR A PROJECT THAT'S IMPORTANT THAT LETS THE CITY DELIVER ON ALL OF THE PROMISES THAT, UH, THAT WE MAKE TO RESIDENTS, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
SOME QUESTIONS THAT I HOPE, UM, WE CAN ASK AS WE'RE MOVING THIS PROJECT FORWARD IS WHETHER THE CITY HAS ENOUGH IN-HOUSE IT CAPACITY TO GUIDE THE VENDOR'S WORK AND ALSO PICK UP FROM THE VENDOR AFTER MODERNIZATION IS DONE.
UH, FOR A CONTRACT OF THIS SIZE, HIRING ANOTHER EMPLOYEE INTO THE CITY, FOR EXAMPLE, IS WELL WORTH IT IF IT CAN SAVE EVEN FIVE TO 10% ON THE CONTRACT.
UH, NUMBER TWO, DOES THIS CONTRACT ALSO COVER PRODUCT REFINEMENT AND USER TESTING? UH, BEST PRACTICE FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS FOR THE SOFTWARE TEAM TO INTERACT REGULARLY WITH END USERS INSTEAD OF GOING AWAY INTO SOME BACK OFFICE FOR FOUR YEARS TO BUILD EVERYTHING FROM A LONG LIST OF SPECIFICATIONS WHEN THE NEED MIGHT CHANGE.
AND LASTLY, UM, IF THERE ARE ANY CUSTOM MODIFICATIONS THAT CAMBRIDGE IS LOOKING FOR IN THIS PROJECT VERSUS WHAT OTHER MUNICIPALITIES USE, UM, THERE'S AN RFI BEING ISSUED, AND ONE THING THAT THE CITY COULD ASK IS WHETHER VENDORS THINK A MORE OUT OF THE BOX APPROACH CAN HELP US REDUCE COSTS.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO THANK COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER AND THE COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERING STRENGTHENING TENANT PROTECTIONS, UM, BY LOOKING AT OUR RULES AROUND CONDO CONVERSIONS.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS HEATHER HOFFMAN, AND THEN WE WILL GO BACK TO SKIP SPEAKER ANDREW KIM.
HELLO, HEATHER HOFFMAN, 213 HURLEY STREET.
FIRST, I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT TREES.
WE SAY THAT WE CARE ABOUT TREES, BUT WE DON'T.
WHEN WE PASSED THE TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE, DPW SENT POSTCARDS TO EVERYBODY, NOT SAYING TREES ARE PROTECTED, BUT SAYING, "HERE'S HOW YOU CUT THEM DOWN." THAT ATTITUDE HASN'T CHANGED, AND IT NEEDS TO.
TREES DO SO MANY THINGS THAT YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT.
WHY DON'T WE ACTUALLY PROTECT THEM? WITH RESPECT TO, UM, TRAFFIC CALMING FOR NOT CARS.
I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT, AS YOU ALL KNOW, AND I CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THAT PEOPLE'S MINDSETS DO NOT CHANGE WHEN THEY SWITCH FROM FOUR WHEELS TO TWO OR ONE.
WE NEED TO THINK VERY CAREFULLY ABOUT HOW TO MAKE IT SO THAT PEDESTRIANS CAN GET AROUND, SO THAT PEOPLE ON WHEELS DO NOT GO PLOWING INTO OTHER PEOPLE ON WHEELS, ET CETERA.
SO THAT WOULD BE A, A GREAT IMPROVEMENT IF YOU INCLUDED THAT.
UM, WITH RESPECT TO WHAT, UH, APRIL BOSS AND ROB SAID EARLIER, YES, I AGREE WITH THEM.
UM, WITH CONDO CONVERSIONS, I WAS HAPPY TO HEAR AT LEAST SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO GO ON AND ON ABOUT HOW THE RENT THEY'RE SO
[00:30:01]
OPPRESSED IN CAMBRIDGE AND WE NEED TO BUILD, BUILD, BUILD SO THEY'LL HAVE SOMEWHERE TO LIVE, SHOW UP.BECAUSE WHILE THIS MAY NOT BE PERFECT, IT'S AN IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU TALKING ABOUT FOOD ACCESS.
I WILL POINT OUT THAT GROWING YOUR OWN AS HAPPENS WITH THE, UM, HURLEY STREET NEIGHBORHOOD FARM IN MY BACKYARD IS ALSO A GOOD THING.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS ANDREW KIM.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST AMERICA AND THE DEACON OF COMMUNICATIONS AND BELONGING AT OLD CAMBRIDGE BAPTIST CHURCH.
UH, I'M HERE TO TALK TODAY, ACTUALLY, NOT ABOUT POLICY ORDER NUMBER FIVE.
UM, UH, SORRY, UH, THE, THE NUMBERS MIXED UP.
POLICY ORDER NUMBER ONE, UH, AND WE'LL SPEAK ON, UH, FOUR, SEVEN AND SIX ACTUALLY.
UM, ON, UH, POLICY ORDER NUMBER ONE, I RECOMMEND THAT THE, THE COUNCIL, UM, ACCEPT THIS ORDER.
THIS IS A VERY COMMON SENSE TENANT PROTECTION, UH, POLICY ORDER THAT ALSO, UM, INCLUDES, UM, MANY, UH, SOLID PROTECTIONS FOR, UH, TENANTS WHO DO NOT WISH TO, TO STAY IN A, A HOUSE OR A BUILDING THAT IS BEING CONVERTED TO CONDOMINIUMS. UM, AND IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE POLICY ORDER THAT THE COUNCIL PASSED, UM, LAST MONTH, UH, ABOUT TENANT NOTICES UPON SALE OF THE HOUSE, UH, THAT THEY ARE LIVING IN, INCLUDING ALSO, UH, OPTIONS TO BUY.
UM, TO POLICY NUMBER SIX, UH, I AM EXCITED TO SEE, UH, FURTHER TRAFFIC CALMING BE EXPLORED IN, UH, SHERMAN STREET AS SOMEONE WHO BOTH WALKS, RUNS, BIKES, AND DRIVES ON THAT STREET, UM, ESPECIALLY AROUND THAT AREA THAT IS THE MAIN ACCESS POINT FOR DANAHEE PARK AND HAS A LOT OF KIDS AND, UM, PEOPLE WITH LIMITED MOBILITY MOVING AROUND THERE.
UH, I WOULD LOVE FOR THE COUNCIL TO FURTHER EXPLORE WAYS TO MAKE THAT STREET MORE, UH, ACCESSIBLE AND SAFE FOR BIKERS AS WELL.
UM, TO POLICY O- ORDERS NUMBER FOUR AND SEVEN, I THINK THESE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT POLICY ORDERS, UH, TO MAKE US MORE NEIGHBORLY TOWARDS OUR MORE THAN HUMAN NEIGHBORS.
AND I ENCOURAGE THE COUNCIL TO PASS THEM.
OUR FINAL SPEAKER IS JAMES WILLIAMSON.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, GO AHEAD.
UM, SO I WANNA SPEAK, UH, ABOUT BICYCLES, UH, MY FAVORITE TOPIC.
UM, THERE'S A, UH, AN, A, AN ALLOCATION OF ANOTHER ONE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS FOR RENTAL BIKES THAT ARE CALLED BLUE BIKES BECAUSE, UM, I GUESS THE HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY, BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD, ARE ADVERTISING WITH THOSE BIKES.
IT'S KIND OF ODD THAT A, A MAJOR HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY WOULD BE PROMOTING BICYCLING WITHOUT PROVIDING HELMETS OR THERE'S NO REGUL - THERE'S NO, NOBODY HAS TO WEAR HELMETS.
UH, THEY DON'T BOTHER TO PROVIDE THEM.
UM, I REMEMBER TIM TOOMEY BRINGING THIS UP, BUT OF COURSE NOBODY LISTENS.
UM, THE THING ABOUT THIS, UH, IS THAT IT'S A MAJOR SUBSIDY FOR BASICALLY, UH, RICH WHITE PEOPLE.
UM, UH, I'VE TRIED TO DO SOME RESEARCH ON THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE USAGE, HEAVY USAGE AROUND MIT AND, AND HARVARD SQUARE.
UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST RICH WHITE PEOPLE, IT'S FUTURE RICH WHITE PEOPLE, GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO ARE GO ON, GONNA GO ON TO BE, UH, SUCCESSFUL IN, IN THE NEW ECONOMY.
OH, WELL, I, I THINK WE SHOULD PROBABLY ADD TOURISTS AND, UH, CRACK HEADS WHO HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO POP THE BIKES OUT OF THE DOCKS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT THE CAMBRIDGE POLICE DEPARTMENT COLLECT, UH, STOLEN, UH, OR ABANDONED BLUE BIKES AND, UH, THEY CALL THE COMPANY AND THEY DON'T BOTHER TO COME AND PICK THEM UP.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE PROVIDING EVEN MORE OF THESE FREE DEVICES.
AND, UM, SOME OF THEM ARE EVS.
WELL, CAN WE FIX POTHOLES? WOULDN'T THAT BE A BETTER STEP IF WE WANNA PROMOTE BICYCLING IN THIS CITY? THE RODENTICIDES, CRUSTACEANS,
[00:35:01]
HOW ABOUT FIXING SOME POTHOLES? THANK YOU, JAMES.MADAM MAYOR, THAT'S ALL WHO SIGNED UP.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SPOKE DURING, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT ON A MOTION BY COUNCILLOR ZUCI TO CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT.
THAT'S ALL NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
WE DO NOT HAVE A SUBMISSION OF THE RECORD AND THERE ARE NO RECONSIDERATIONS, SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE CITY
[CITY MANAGER'S AGENDA]
MANAGER'S AGENDA ITEMS. PLEASURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL.COUNCILLOR ZUCI? UH, SEVEN AND NINE, PLEASE.
COUNCILLOR ZUCI POLLS SEVEN AND NINE.
COUNCILLOR NOLAN? UH, NUMBER EIGHT.
AND NUMBER EIGHT IS PULLED BY COUNCILLOR NOLAN.
AND COUNCILOR ZUBI? PULLING SIX.
COUNCILOR AZUBI PULLS FOUR AND SIX.
SO, SO FAR WE'VE PULLED SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, AND NINE.
COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY? NINE'S BEEN PULLED.
HEARING NO ONE ELSE ON THE OTHER BI - ITEMS, WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL ON ITEMS NUMBER ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE.
COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER? YES.
YES, THAT'S NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
THE BALANCE OF THE CITY MANAGER'S AGENDA HAS BEEN ADOPTED.
WE ARE GOING TO GO TO CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX.
THIS IS A COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED FROM YAN WONG, CITY MANAGER, RELA- RELATIVE TO AWAITING REPORT 26-41 REGARDING A FOOD ACCESS REPORT.
I WILL GO, THIS WAS PULLED BY COUNCILLOR ALZUBI.
COUNCILOR ALZUBI, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
THANK YOU THROUGH MADAM MAYOR.
I WOULD JUST LOVE TO MOVE A MOTION TO REFER THIS TO THE HUMAN SERVICES AND VETERANS COMMITTEE.
I'M GONNA BE DIVING MORE INTO FOOD ACCESS WORK IN THE CITY, UM, BECAUSE IT'S A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN NEED.
SO THERE WILL BE A COMMITTEE HEARING SOON, MOST LIKELY IN EARLIER 2027.
COUNCILOR ALZUBI YIELDS AND THERE IS A MOTION TO REFER CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM SIX TO THE HUMAN SERVICES AND VETERANS COMMITTEE.
ON THAT, WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL.
IT'S ALL NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM SIX HAS BEEN REFERRED.
WE'RE GOING DOWN TO NUMBER SEVEN.
THIS IS A COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED FROM YAN WONG, CITY MANAGER, RELATIVE TO WAITING REPORT 26-52 REGARDING ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC ACCOUNTING SYSTEM FOR TREE REMOVAL DATA.
THIS IS PULLED BY COUNCILOR ZUCI.
COUNCILOR ZUCI, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT BACK ABOUT, UM, BETTER TRACKING TREES.
I FEEL LIKE THIS IS A GOOD START, BUT WE NEED MORE.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, W- WE NEED TO BEGIN TO LIST THE REASONS FOR REMOVAL IN OUR TREE PERMIT DATA SET.
UM, I'M SORRY, LET ME JUST REMOVE THIS.
UH, IT'S GREAT THAT THE CITY BY THE END OF THE YEAR WILL START TRACKING, UH, INDIVIDUAL TREES AND NOT JUST THE OVERALL PERMIT BECAUSE, UH, WE NEED TO BE TRACKING THE HEALTH OF OUR TREES.
I, I FEEL AS THOUGH WE'RE, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT HOW WE LOVE OUR TREES AS, UM, SOME SPEAKERS TONIGHT HAVE SAID, BUT THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDIN- ORDINANCE INCENTIVIZES TAKING THEM DOWN, UM, NOT ONLY ON DEVELOPERS' PROPERTY, BUT ALSO ON NEIGHBORING PROPERTY AND STREET TREES TOO.
SO WE'VE GOTTA FIX THIS AND WE'VE GOTTA BETTER DOCUMENT THIS DATA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT IF, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WE CAN PRESERVE OUR TREES.
UM, UH, ALSO, THE REPORT SAYS THAT THE CITY
[00:40:01]
CAN'T CONNECT TREE REMOVAL DATA, UH, TO PERMIT DATA BECAUSE IT WILL BE TIME-CONSUMING, SLOW THINGS DOWN, AND COULD BE CONFUSING, BUT I THINK THIS IS ACTUALLY A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO DO.AND THEN IT ALSO SAYS THAT WE'LL CONSIDER, THE CITY WILL CONSIDER PROTECTING THE CRITICAL ROOT ZONE, WHICH WE DON'T DO AT ALL AT THIS TIME, UM, WITH A STRENGTHENED TREE ORDINANCE.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I THINK THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, UM, AND IT'S IRRESPONSIBLE FOR THE CITY NOT TO BE TRACKING, UM, THE IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT ON, ON TREE, TREE ZONES.
AND I, I WANTED TO JUST SHARE, UM, I RECEIVED A LETTER EARLIER TODAY, UM, FROM SOME MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PLANTING.
I ENCOURAGE THEM C - TO WRITE THE WHOLE COUNCIL, BUT THEY WROTE, "I AND MANY MEMBERS OF OUR PUBLIC POLICY SUBCOMMITTEE ARE IN STRONG SUPPORT OF COLLECTING THIS ADDITIONAL DATA, UH, ABOUT TREE REMOVALS AND AUTHORIZ- AUTHORIZING THIS WORK, INCLUDING ADDED STAFF TIME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
SINCE THE RECENT REZONING CHANGES, IT HAS BECOME EVIDENT THAT MATURE TREES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY ARE BEING REMOVED AND ARE BEING JEOPARDIZED AT AN ACCELERATED PACE.
COLLECTING ADDITIONAL DATA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND CROSS-REFERENCING THIS WITH PERMITTING WILL PROVIDE THE CITY WITH CRITICAL INFORMATION ON THE TREE IMPACTS AND MORE GRANULAR INFORMATION ON THE REASONS FOR THE REMOVALS.
IN ADDITION, WE ARE IN SUPPORT OF STRENGTHENING THE TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE ON MATTERS SUCH AS IDENTIFYING AND PROTECTING CRITICAL ROOT ZONE AREAS.
THIS SHOULD GO HAND IN HAND WITH RESPONSIBLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS." THIS IS A CRITICAL ISSUE THAT'S BEFORE US.
AGAIN, WE, WE SAY WE LOVE THE TREES, BUT WE'RE TAKEN...
A, A LOT OF THEM ARE, ARE FALLING QUICKLY AND I JUST, UM, MANY NEIGHBORS WERE VERY UPSET ABOUT THE LOSS OF THE EXTRAORDINARY, UH, LITTLE LEAF LINDEN AT 85 NORMANDY AVENUE.
UM, APPARENTLY WHEN THE DEVELOPER WAS ASKED WHY HE TOOK IT DOWN OR WH- WHY HE CHOSE TO DEVELOP IN STRAWBERRY, UH, IN, IN THE CAMBRIDGE HIGHLANDS, HE SAID, SAID, "BECAUSE I LOVE ALL THE TREES." BUT THIS TREE WAS IN HIS WAY, UM, IN PRODUCING LUXURY CONDOS.
SO I, AGAIN, I APPRECIATE THE, THIS, UM, PRELIMINARY REPORT BACK, BUT I WANNA SEE MUCH, MUCH MORE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE SAY WE LOVE OUR FISH, WE LOVE OUR CRUSTACEANS.
WELL, MANY OF US LOVE OUR TREES TOO, AND EVEN BELIEVE THEY'RE SENTIENT BEINGS.
SO I, I THINK WE, UM, PLEASE, LET'S STRENGTHEN OUR TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
AND I, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY RESPONSE BACK.
UM, I, I, I KNOW IT, IT WOULD, IT WOULD ADD ANOTHER STEP TO CONNECT TREE REMOVALS TO BUILDING PERMITS, BUT COULD YOU SPEAK MORE TO, TO THAT? MANY COMMUNITIES DO DO THAT, AND IT SEEMS LIKE, UM, IT WOULD HELP US KEEP TRACK OF THINGS.
YEAH, UH, THROUGH YOU, MADAM MAYOR.
UH, THANK YOU, COUNCILLOR, FOR THOSE, UM, THOSE POINTS.
UM, I DO WANNA SAY THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY, REALLY IT'S THE IT DEPARTMENT THAT'S DOING ALL THE WORK, BUT, UM, IF YOU'VE BEEN INTO THE, UH, TREE MAP ANY, AT ANY POINT TODAY, THEY'VE ALREADY STARTED TO MAKE SOME CHANGES THERE.
AND, UH, WITHIN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, WE EXPECT A NEW MAP TO BE GOING UP, UH, THAT DOES A LOT OF WHAT YOU'VE ASKED FOR.
SO IT'S, IT'S, UM, REALLY GETTING DOWN TO THE TREE LEVEL, WHICH IN THE PAST HAD BEEN DOWN TO THE PERMIT LEVEL.
SO THOSE CHANGES ARE ALREADY HAPPENING, UM, AND WE EXPECT THEM TO HAPPEN FAIRLY QUICKLY.
UH, WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT.
WE THINK WE'RE CLOSE ON A DRAFT PROPOSAL WITH, UM, SOME OF THE TREE ORDINANCE STUFF.
WE ARE LOOKING AT CRITICAL ROOT ZONES, BUT IN ALL HONESTY, THOSE CRITICAL ROOT ZONES WE'RE LOOKING AT REALLY HAVE TO DO WITH PUBLIC SHADE TREES AND NOT NECESSARILY PRIVATE PROPERTY ISSUES, UH, WHERE IT'S A PRIVATE PROPERTY LINE ISSUE.
UM, BUT WE ARE STILL LOOKING AT THAT WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT, AND HOPEFULLY WE HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS UP TO THE COUNCIL ABOUT THAT.
THE ONE THING I DO WANNA SAY, AND THIS REALLY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, IS THE TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE DOES NOT STOP ANYBODY FROM TAKING A TREE DOWN ON THEIR PROPERTY.
IT JUST MEANS THEY HAVE TO FILE A PERMIT, UH, THEY NEED TO GIVE US A REASON.
THEY HAVE TO MITIGATE THAT TREE, WHICH COULD BE PLANTING OTHER TREES ON THEIR PROPERTY OR PAYING INTO A TREE FUND, BUT IT DOES NOT STOP PEOPLE FROM THEIR ABILITY TO TAKE TREES DOWN ON THEIR OWN PROPERTY.
[00:45:01]
CLEAR.THAT HASN'T CHANGED, UH, ANY OF THE NEW ZONING HASN'T CHANGED THAT EITHER.
SO I, I DO THINK THAT THERE'S SOME FOLKS OUT THERE STILL CONSIDERING THAT THIS IS GONNA STOP TREES FROM COMING DOWN WHEN PEOPLE HAVE THEM ON THEIR PROPERTY.
THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT NOW.
SO I'LL COME BACK TO YOU, COUNCILLOR ZUZI, IF YOU HAVE MORE LATER.
WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE TO COUNCILLOR NOLAN FOR YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
THANK YOU TO THE STAFF FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER, UM, FOLLOWING UP ON, UH, WHAT IS IN THE MEMO AND COUNCILLOR ZUZI JUST SAID THAT WE, WE DID GET AN EMAIL, AND I BELIEVE IT...
YES, IT WAS SENT TO AT LEAST THE CITY MANAGER, NOT SURE IF YOU SAW IT, BUT FROM THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PLANTING, AND THEY ARE IN FAVOR OF US TRYING TO COLLECT THIS ADDITIONAL DATA.
SO I WANNA UNDERSTAND, IS THAT IN PROCESS AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA DO OUR BEST TO AT LEAST COLLECT MORE DATA? YEAH, I...
WE ACTUALLY DO ALREADY HAVE THAT DATA.
AND AS WE, AS WE ACTUALLY GO INTO, UH, GETTING OUR TREE MAP BACK, YOU KNOW, TO WHERE IT SHOULD BE, FOLKS, IF THEY LOOK BACK AT THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, SOME OF THAT STUFF MAY MISS SOME INFORMATION, BUT THAT'S NOT BECAUSE WE DIDN'T PUT IT IN.
WE'RE ASKING NEW QUESTIONS NOW THAT WE HADN'T IN THE PAST.
SO THERE COULD BE SOME BLANKS ON THAT, BUT WE HAVE THE INFORMATION.
I THINK WHAT THIS DOES IS CLARIFY THINGS MORE ON A TREE LEVEL THAN ON A PERMIT LEVEL.
YOU COULD ALWAYS GET INTO THE PERMIT.
IT WILL GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION YOU WANTED.
YOU HAD TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE SEARCHING.
SO THIS WILL MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT EASIER FOR FOLKS TO LOOK AT THAT INFORMATION.
AND, AND AGAIN, JUST TO REMIND US ALL, WE CARE ABOUT TREES BECAUSE IT IS LITERALLY PUBLIC HEALTH.
CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WHICH ARE DENSE, DENSE URBAN ENVIRONMENTS LIKE NEW YORK CITY HAVE ESTABLISHED MAY BE FOLLOWING OUR LEAD AT 30% TREE CANOPY.
SO WE CARE ABOUT THIS NOT JUST FOR THE AESTHETICS, BUT FOR LITERALLY THE, THE HEALTH OF OUR CITY.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE RECOGNIZE THAT BECAUSE SOMETIMES PEOPLE SAY, "WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT TREES INSTEAD OF PEOPLE?" IT'S LIKE, "I CARE ABOUT TREES BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT PEOPLE." SO I KNOW WE KINDA KNOW THAT, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO REITERATE THAT.
UM, AND, AND ON THAT TREE MAP, I WILL SAY SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO A MUCH BETTER JOB OF IS HAVING TREES STORED.
YOU KNOW, I'VE SIGNED UP TO TAKE CARE OF THE TREE IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE, BUT LAST TIME I LOOKED, YOU KNOW, ONLY ABOUT 2% OR 5% AT THE MOST OF ALL THE TREES ACROSS THE CITY THAT ARE PUBLIC TREES HAVE STORAGE, WHICH MEANS IT PUTS MUCH MORE, MORE OF A BURDEN ON OUR STAFF.
SO I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT BE PART OF OUR, YOU KNOW, LET, LET, LET'S MAKE IT A COMPETITION SO THAT MORE PEOPLE DO THAT BECAUSE THE MORE THAT THAT OFFLOADS FROM THE STAFF, FIRST OF ALL, THE TREES LIVE LONGER AND IT ALSO MEANS THE STAFF CAN THEN PAY ATTENTION TO OTHER, UM, THINGS.
MY, UM, QUESTION WOULD BE ON...
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT UPDATING THE, UM, TPO, THE TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE FOR A WHILE NOW.
DO WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF TIMING? I MEAN, THERE'S A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT CAME UP OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, AND I KNOW WE'RE WORKING ON IT, AND I KNOW WE KEEP THROWING THINGS ONTO LEGAL AND DPW, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT WHETHER YOU HAVE SOME TIMING ABOUT WHEN THOSE, UH, CHANGES MIGHT COME BEFORE US.
YEAH, THROUGH MADAM MAYOR, WE ARE ACTUALLY HOPING TO GET SOMETHING UP TO THE COUNCIL BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT AND, AND REALLY HOPE ALL OF US DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN PRETTY QUICKLY TO ADDRESS THIS, AND I'M GLAD THERE'S ALSO THE LEGAL QUESTION.
WE'VE GOTTEN A FEW FROM VARIOUS PEOPLE TO SAY, JUST LIKE ME, IF MY NEIGHBOR DOES SOMETHING THAT, UH, COMPROMISES THE ROOT BALL FOR THE TREE ON MY PROPERTY, THEN I KNOW THE CITY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO DO TOO MUCH, BUT AT LEAST ADVISE PEOPLE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ENSURING THAT WE PAY ATTENTION TO ALL THIS.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE UPDATES, AND THANKS FOR YOUR WORK, AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD ON THIS.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? HEARING NONE, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND DO A ROLL CALL ON ACCEPTING THIS REPORT AND PLACING THIS ON FILE FOR CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
YES, THAT'S NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.
THIS IS A COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED FROM YAN WONG, CITY MANAGER, RELATIVE TO A PROGRESS UPDATE ON THE MODERNIZATION OF CAMBRIDGE'S ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SOFTWARE SYSTEMS. THIS WAS PULLED BY COUNCILLOR NOLAN.
COUNCILLOR NOLAN, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
UM, VERY HAPPY TO SEE THIS UPDATE HERE, AND AS, UH, MANY PEOPLE KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TRYING FOR A LONG TIME THAT WE HAVE A, A LEGACY SYSTEM THAT IS SO ANTIQUATED THAT PEOPLE SOMETIMES WONDER IF CAMBRIDGE IS IN THE 21ST CENTURY WITH SOME OF OUR, UH, SOME OF OUR SOFTWARE.
SO REALLY GLAD TO SEE THIS MOVING FORWARD.
[00:50:01]
AND BE ASSURED AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO, UM, MAKE THIS AS COST-EFFECTIVE AND AS FUTURE-PROOF AS POSSIBLE THAT, THAT, FOR INSTANCE, THE AP AUTOMATION, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE IN THE NEW SOFTWARE SYSTEM? 'CAUSE IF NOT, YOU KNOW, WHY WOULD WE BE SPENDING, UM, TIME ON IT? UM, HAVE WE DECIDED ON THE MORE COST-EFFECTIVE, YOU KNOW, LESS CUSTOMIZED BUT MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL TRAINING? ONE OF THE ISSUES WITH PEOPLESOFT OVER TIME, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LEGACY SYSTEM THAT GETS SO CUSTOMIZED THAT IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO THEN, TO THEN TRANSFER OVER.AND IT CERTAINLY IS, UM, I WOULD SAY IN THE CITY DNA, SADLY, UH, THAT WE GO FOR THE MOST EXPENSIVE, THE MOST, NOT JUST GOLD LEVEL, BUT TITANIUM AND PLATINUM LEVEL THINGS, WHICH IS GOOD IF WE NEED THAT.
BUT IF WE CAN MAKE DUE WITH SILVER OR BRONZE LEVEL AND COST EFFECTIVENESS AS WELL AS, UM, UH, UM, THE, THE, THE TIME THAT IT TAKES TO DO THIS, I, I WONDER IF THAT NEW MENTALITY IS PART OF THIS EFFORT BECAUSE IT'S AN ASTONISHING AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR, UM...
AND I UNDERSTAND IT TAKES A LONG TIME, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU'RE COMING OFF OF...
I DID TALK TO A COUPLE SOFTWARE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLESOFT HAS THIS QUESTION THAT MAPPING OUT THE EXISTING, UM, FEATURES OF OUR VARIOUS SYSTEM ACROSS THE BOARD IS VERY CHALLENGING, WHICH MEANS THE NEXT TIME WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO BE KIND OF OFF THE SHELF.
THERE'S SOFTWARE OUT THERE THAT IS EXPLICITLY FOR MUNICIPALITIES.
SO IF THAT MAKES SENSE, IT'S A QUESTION.
UM, SO THE, UM, IN TERMS OF STANDARDIZATION WITH, UH, A LOT OF THE NEW ERP PLATFORMS THAT ARE CLOUD-BASED, THE WAY THAT THEY DO BUSINESS IS THAT THEY, THEIR, THEIR CUSTOMERS, UM, WORK WITH THEM BASED ON PROCESSES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ORGANIZATION, IN OUR CASE, MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.
UM, AND CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF MUNICIPAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS THAT, UH, CONTRACTS THAT A LOT OF THESE CLOUD PROVIDERS HAVE, THEY'VE WORKED THROUGH A LOT OF THE CREATING OF BEST PRACTICES SO THAT WHEN WE, WE MOVE TO A CERTAIN, UH, A NE- NEXT GENERATION PLATFORM, A LOT OF THOSE BE- BEST PRACTICES ARE ALREADY THERE.
WE DON'T HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S CRITICAL TO, UM, TO REDUCING COSTS BECAUSE THE CUSTOMIZATIONS OF OLDER PLATFORMS AND LEGACY PLATFORMS ARE REALLY WHERE A LOT OF THAT, THAT COST INCREASE CAME FROM.
THE MAINTENANCE BECAME UNBEARABLE BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY DIFFERENT CUSTOMIZATIONS.
AND WE HAVE THAT WITH PEOPLESOFT, BUT THAT WAS THE WAY PEOPLE, FOLKS DID THINGS BACK THEN.
YOU KNOW, THE, YOU BOUGHT THE PLATFORM AND THEN YOU CUSTOMIZED THE HECK OUT OF IT SO THAT IT FIT YOUR PROCESSES PERFECTLY.
IN MODERN, UH, ERP SYSTEMS, IT'S MUCH DIFFERENT NOW, WHERE THOSE BEST PRACTICES THAT, UM, WERE, WERE GLEANED FROM DOING BUSINESS WITH OTHER MUNICIPALITIES AND STATE GOVERNMENTS, UM, NOW IT'S MUCH EASIER TO JUST JUMP ONTO THE OUT OF THE BOX FUNCTIONALITY THAT HAS BEEN CREATED OVER YEARS, UH, TO SAVE THAT CUSTOMIZATION AND THAT MAINTENANCE MOVING FORWARD.
SO A- AGAIN, WE NEED A NEW MENTALITY.
WE'RE IN A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD OF FINANCE AND ENSURING THAT WE ARE BEING WAY MORE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT.
TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT IS THAT WE'RE APPROACHING THIS MAYBE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY THAN WE WOULD HAVE IN THE PAST, IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT WE DO NEED A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SOME OF THESE, THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.
WE DON'T NEED EXACT CUSTOMIZATION.
I KNOW SOME OF THE CLOUD-BASED CAN THEN BE MORE OFF THE SHELF BECAUSE AS MUCH AS WE THINK WE'RE TOTALLY SPECIAL, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE'RE A CITY AND WE HAVE ALL THE, THE CODE, THE WATER UTILITY, LIKE EVERY...
THERE'S HUNDREDS OF CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT ARE, THAT HAVE THE SAME KIND OF ERP.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF, IF, UH, ANYONE ON THE TEAM WANTS TO ADDRESS THAT, BUT A- AGAIN, AND PARTICULARLY AS FINANCE CO-CHAIRS, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN IN OUR POWER TO BE JUDICIOUS STEWARDS OF OUR FUNDS.
THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION AND THROUGH YOU, MAYOR SIDDIQUI.
I MEAN, THAT IS WHY WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY SPENDING SOME TIME AT THIS POINT FOR US TO REALLY UNDERSTAND ALL OF OUR REQUIREMENTS, TO PUT TOGETHER A REALLY STRONG, UH, RFP THAT WILL GO OUT.
UM, AS WE SAID, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE'RE USING AI TOOLS AND OTHER EFFICIENCIES TO HELP JUST THE PROCESS, UM, UH, THE IMPLEMENTATION, UH, GO FASTER, HOPEFULLY LESS THAN FOUR YEARS, AND TO BRING THAT COST DOWN.
A LOT OF THAT COST IS ONE-TIME COST, THE IMPLEMENTATION.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR CURRENT SYSTEM, PEOPLESOFT, IS, IS, IS EXTREMELY INEXPENSIVE RIGHT NOW, OKAY? VERY, VERY INEXPENSIVE AS COMPARED TO WHAT WE'LL BE PAYING
[00:55:01]
FOR MORE MODERN CLOUD-BASED, UM, UH, UH, LICENSE AGREEMENTS.NOW, THE, THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLESOFT IS, IN SOME WAYS, EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE FOR US BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE NOT AUTOMATED, RIGHT, THAT WE'RE DOING INSIDE SYSTEMS, UH, THAT WE'RE DOING MANUALLY.
UM, SO I THINK WE'RE, WE'LL BE BALANCING, BUT I THINK IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY IS EXPENSIVE AND IT IS GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE, AND WE CAN'T REALLY GET AROUND THAT, AND WE REALLY CANNOT CONTINUE TO BE ON OUR LEGACY S- SYSTEM, PEOPLESOFT, BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO BE MOVING INTO AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE FAR MORE THINGS ARE AUTOMATED THAN THEY ARE TODAY.
AND SO I THINK THAT THAT IS ALSO SOME OF THE, UH, IMPACTING THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT IT WILL TAKE US TO ACTUALLY COMPLETELY MODERNIZE.
SO, YES, YOU MENTIONED OUR AP MODERNIZATION, UM, WHERE WE'VE MOVED TO A, UM, AN AUTOMATED WORKFLOW, ONE THAT HAS SOME AI EMBEDDED INTO IT, HELPING US BE MUCH, MUCH MORE EFFICIENT IN PAYING OUR, UH, VENDOR BILLS.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL SPECIFICALLY BE ON NOVELLO WHEN WE ULTIMATELY MOVE INTO A NEW FINANCIAL SYSTEM, BECAUSE THE SYSTEM WE BUY MAY ACTUALLY HAVE AN EMBEDDED SYSTEM, AND SO WE WOULD TRANSITION INTO THAT, BUT I DON'T SEE US EVER GOING BACK TO PAYING OUR VENDOR BILLS BY, BY HAND.
AND SO, UH, I MEAN, I JUST THINK THIS IS JUST A BIG INFLECTION POINT FOR US.
UM, BUT I WILL SAY THAT GOING FORWARD, I THINK WE WILL ACTUALLY BE SPENDING MORE FOR OUR BUSINESS SYSTEMS, BUT I HOPE WE WILL BE GETTING, UH, FAR GREATER, GREATER DATA A - YOU KNOW, ANALYTICS OUT OF THOSE SYSTEMS, OUR...
WE'LL BE FAR MORE AUTOMATED, AND I CERTAINLY KNOW THAT RAY HAS LOTS OF OPINIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WILL BE HAPPENING THROUGH THE, THE MODERNIZATION OF, UM, THE HUMAN RESOURCE, UH, AND PAYROLL AREAS.
WELL, WE CAN COME BACK IF THERE'S MORE QUESTIONS I HAD.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO PICK UP ON MORE OF NEIL MILLER'S QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I THOUGH THEY WERE REALLY GOOD.
HE, HE WAS JUST ASKING, SO DOES THE T - 20...
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT THING THAT WE'RE EMBARKING ON.
UM, WILL THE 20 MILLION COVER ENOUGH STAFF TO OVERSEE THE TRANSITION, BUILD IN USER TESTING, AND, UM, ARE WE CHECKING TO SEE WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING, OTHER COMPARABLE CITIES? AND THEN I, I WOULD LO- LOVE TO HEAR FROM CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER, UH, RAY CATCHINGS ABOUT SOME OF HER OPINIONS ABOUT THIS.
I'LL TAKE THE, THE SORT OF FINANCIAL SIDE OF THAT THROUGH YOU, MAYOR SIDDIQUI.
SO YES, OUR $20 MILLION BUDGET, UM, IS ALL ENCOMPASSING IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, ANY ADDITIONAL S- STAFF THAT WE MAY NEED TO HIRE, UM, DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION, UH, PROCESS, AND CERTAINLY THE ENTIRE IMPLEMENTATION, YOU KNOW, THE USER ACCEPTANCE TESTING, THE CONFIGURATION, THE DETERMINATION OF, YOU KNOW, OUR BUSINESS PROCESSES AND HOW WE WANT TO MODERNIZE THEM AND HOW THEY WILL LOOK IN THE NEW SYSTEM, THAT WILL ALL BE WORK DONE, DONE INTERNALLY OURSELVES, OUR, OUR OWN STAFF, OUR OWN, OUR OWN EXPERTS, UM, DETERMINING HOW THOSE WILL WORK, AND WE WILL BE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH BOTH A SYSTEM INTEGRATOR AS WELL AS THE PLATFORM, NEITHER OF WHICH HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AT THIS POINT.
SO OUR TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY FIRM IS MERE...
IS A, IS A CONSULTING FIRM THAT IS HELPING US REALLY IN THIS GATHERING OF INFORMATION TO PREPARE OURSELVES TO WRITE AN RFP THAT REFLECTS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE, UM, WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN A SYSTEM VERY SPECIFICALLY.
AND YES, WE'RE DEFINITELY HAVE DONE SOME WORK TO SEE WHAT OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS HAVE DONE, UH, IN, UH, MASSACHUSETTS AND BEYOND.
THAT WAS PART OF WHAT'S PART OF OUR RFI PROCESS.
SO I DID, I DID HEAR THAT TESTIMONY, AND I WILL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE ABSOLUTELY CONSIDERING AND OUR, AND OUR ADVISORY FIRM IS REALLY SORT OF PREPARING US, UH, TO GO OUT TO BID, UH, NOT ACTUALLY THE PROVIDER, UM, NOT, NOT THE CONSULTANT THAT WILL BE WORKING WITH US DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION.
WE WILL BE DOING THAT THROUGH A PROCUREMENT PROCESS AS WELL.
BUT I'LL LET, UM, MS. CATCHINGS.
UM, I THINK THIS IS A TREMENDOUS INFLECTION POINT, UH, SIMILAR TO WHAT, UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UH, CLAIRE WAS SAYING.
AND WE ARE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME, NOT ONLY SORT OF PEELING BACK THE ONION ON OUR EXISTING PROCESSES, BUT TRYING TO USE THE NEXT 12 MONTHS TO JUST BE READY, UM, FOR WHAT IS COMING IN 18 MONTHS FROM NOW.
AND SO EVEN THAT IS TAKING A TO WORK WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS.
[01:00:01]
UM, IT'S LOOKING AT OUR DATA DIFFERENTLY, OUR PROCESSES DIFFERENTLY.AND SO, UH, WHILE WE'RE WORKING WITH BARRY DUNN, WHO IS OUR ADVISORY FIRM NOW, UM, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A FULL TEAM, UH, FROM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENTS TO, TO TRY TO MAKE SURE WE STAY ON TASK WITH WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND ALSO IMAGINING THE FUTURE STATE, WHICH IS ULTIMATELY GONNA MAKE IT MUCH EASIER TO RUN THE BUSINESS OF THE CITY THROUGH OUR PEOPLE, UH, WHICH IS REALLY HARD TO DO IN SOME CASES RIGHT NOW, IN MOST CASES.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ON A, A REALLY...
IT IS A LONG TRAJECTORY, BUT WE ARE, UH, THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO KIND OF MOVE THROUGH EACH PHASE OF THAT.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, SO FAR WE'RE DOING A, A PRETTY GOOD JOB WITH WHERE WE ARE.
COUNCILOR ZUCI? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? HEARING NONE, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND ACCEPT THE REPORT AND PLACE THIS COMMUNICATION ON FILE.
FOR CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL.
THAT'S NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM EIGHT IS PLACED ON FILE.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM NINE.
THIS IS A COMMUNICATION TRANSMITTED FROM IAN WONG, CITY MANAGER, RELATIVE TO AN UPDATE ON ONGOING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT EFFORTS.
THIS WAS PULLED BY COUNCILLOR ZUCI.
COUNCILLOR ZUCI, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR SIDDIQUI.
UM, I WAS THRILLED TO GET THIS, UM, REPORT.
UM, AND AS, UH, AND I'M EXCITED THAT DEPUTY CITY MANAGER KATHY WATKINS WILL BE OVERSEEING THIS OVER THE LAST NINE TO 12 MONTHS, UH, UH, LEADING AN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP, UH, WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT.
UM, I DID A TABLETOP EXERCISE AT THE MASS MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION, UH, CONFERENCE LAST JANUARY.
AND I, WE, WE TALKED, I TALKED WITH THE CITY MANAGER, UH, ABOUT THIS VERY ISSUE AT THAT TIME BECAUSE, UM, WE EACH ASSUMED DIFFERENT ROLES AS WE SAT ALONG THE TABLE.
AND I WAS JUST IMPRESSED AT EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU'RE PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE IN EVERY WORST SCENARIO, THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT ASPECTS TO CONSIDER.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE LEARNED AT THAT CONFERENCE WAS WE NEED, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO SPECIFY THE LINES OF COMMAND AND COMMUNICATION, CONSIDER THE LOCATION OF THE COMMAND CENTER, STOCKPILE AREAS FOR DIESEL FUEL AND SANDBAGS.
UM, CONSIDER EMERGENCY SHELTERS WHERE THEY'LL BE WITH COTS AND FOOD.
IDENTIFY VULNERABLE RESIDENTS AND PLAN FOR THEIR TRANSPORTATION TO THOSE SHELTERS.
DEVELOP, DEVELOP MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS WITH NEIGHBORING DEPARTMENTS OF PUBLIC WORKS AND NONPROFIT PARTNERS.
DRAFT PREEMPTIVE FINANCIAL AUTHORIZATIONS AND DEVELOP A CONTACT LIST TO BE UPDATED ANNUALLY.
SO I'M SURE YOU'LL BE THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THESE THINGS OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
AND I, I, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT SEEMS PRETTY CLEAR WE'RE GONNA HAVE FLOODING AND SEVERE WEATHER IN THE FUTURE, AND IT'S NOT IF, BUT WHEN WE WILL NEED TO RESPOND, UM, PROMPTLY.
AND SO I, I JUST, I THANK YOU FOR THIS REPORT AND, UM, FOR YOUR INVESTMENT IN, IN EXPLORING THIS.
COUNCILOR SERENA WHEELER, AND THEN COUNCILOR AZUBI.
THANKS, MADAM MAYOR, THROUGH YOU.
THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSES SHOULD WE NEED THEM.
AND I THINK THE, THE CHALLENGE HERE IS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE THE PROCESSES SET UP BEFORE WE ACTUALLY NEED THEM AND HOPE WE DON'T ACTUALLY NEED THEM.
UM, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS I THINK WAS ANSWERED IN THE REPORT, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, WHO'S ON THE EMERGENCY WAR ROOM TEAM? I'M GLAD TO HEAR.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A COUPLE.
THERE'S THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP LED BY DEPUTY CITY MANAGER W - UH, WATKINS, AND THEN THERE'S A CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC SAFETY/PUBLIC HEALTH PARTNERS GROUP.
UM, IT'S HELPFUL TO KNOW THAT THOSE, THOSE EXIST AND, AND ARE MEETING REGULARLY.
UM, THE TABLE TALK EXERCISES WAS ALSO HELPFUL.
IF THERE'S ANY MORE INFO TO SHARE ABOUT THAT, UM, WOULD BE INTERESTED.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO, UM, BE INTERESTED IN THE, HAVING THE COUNCIL INVITED TO THOSE JUST TO, TO WATCH OR, UH, SEE THOSE PIECES BECAUSE I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IN BOTH UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE CITY IS DOING AND THEN BE ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM RESIDENTS AND CONSTITUENTS ABOUT, HEY, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE EVENT OF A, OF A FLOOD, IN THE EVENT OF A HEAT WAVE? UM, ONE QUESTION I HAD WAS, UH, JUST ABOUT THE CITY'S, UM, RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MASSACHUSETTS EMERGENCY MANASEN - MANAGEMENT AGENCY AND FEMA.
I IMAGINE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THE CITY CANNOT BE PREPARED TO RESPOND TO EVERY SINGLE EMERGENCY OURSELVES.
THERE ARE THINGS WE'D HAVE TO CALL IN FOR MORE RESOURCES WITH.
[01:05:01]
WHAT, WHAT THAT CONVERSATION BOTH LOOKS LIKE NOW IN TERMS OF PREPAREDNESS AND THEN IN THE EVENT OF EMERGENCY, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR TALKING TO MEMA AND FEMA, WHAT KIND OF RESOURCES AND SUPPORT WOULD WE EXPECT AND, UH, UM, ANY MORE INFO YOU CAN SHARE ON THAT? UM, THROUGH MAYOR SIDDIQUI, MAYBE I'LL START AND THEN I'LL LOOK TO, UH, CHRISTINA TO FILL IN SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, CHRISTINA JACOBY'S REALLY BEEN LEADING THIS WORK WITH US IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY PULLING TOGETHER THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND SO MUCH OF THE WORK FALLS UNDER THE WORK THAT THEY DO ON A REGULAR BASIS AND ALSO THE TYPE OF WORK AND TRAINING AND ORGANIZATION THAT THEY REALLY LEAD.UM, AND I JUST WANNA GO BACK TO ONE OF THE POINTS YOU MADE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, REALLY YOU WANNA DO 80 TO 90% OF THIS WORK ON THE PREPAREDNESS SIDE.
SO WE ALL TALK ABOUT LIKE WHAT'S THE RESPONSE, BUT IT'S REALLY, IT IS ON THAT PREPAREDNESS SIDE.
AND SO I THINK WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE CHRISTINA REALLY BE TAKING MORE OF A LEADING ROLE IN TERMS OF PULLING TOGETHER DEPARTMENTS.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PORT, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANNA BE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT IS THAT THERE IS A LOT OF REALLY GOOD WORK THAT'S GOING ON ACROSS THE CITY.
WE'VE HAD FLOODING EVENTS, WE SORT OF KNOW HOW TO RESPOND TO THOSE.
WE HAVE FIRE, WE HAVE POLICE EXPE - YOU KNOW, EVENTS, WE KNOW HOW TO RESPOND TO THOSE, BUT WE DO FEEL LIKE THERE IS SOME OVERARCHING SORT OF CONNECTIVE TISSUE THAT WE REALLY NEED TO BUILD UP ON.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE LEANING INTO, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY LOOKING AT HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THOSE PIECES ARE CONNECTED AND THAT THERE ARE, UM, CLEAR REPORTING STRUCTURES, THERE ARE CLEAR COMMUNICATION STRUCTURES THAT DON'T DEPEND ON THE TYPE EVENT.
'CAUSE I THINK THE OTHER THING ABOUT THIS WORK IS THAT, YOU KNOW, SO MUCH WE TALK ABOUT WHAT DO YOU DO IN A FLOOD EVENT OR WHAT DO YOU DO IN THIS EVENT? AND, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES FALL TO DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, BUT THE OVERALL RESPONSE IS REALLY PRETTY MUCH THE SAME IN TERMS OF HOW DO YOU RESPOND AND HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE THAT RESPONSE.
SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO REALLY LEAN INTO THIS WORK AND THINK ABOUT THAT.
AND, UM, CHRISTINA OR BECKY, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MEMA AND FEMA IN TERMS OF, I KNOW WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH THEM OVER THE YEARS AND AT VARIOUS PHASES.
UM, SO THE CITY HAS A DESIGNATED EMERGENCY MANAGER, DIRECTOR WHO IS THE DEPUTY CHIEF COLIN WALSH FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THAT'S WHO'S ON RECORD AS THE CITY'S EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR.
UM, HE WOULD BE THE LIAISON WITH EMERG - UH, WITH MEMA TO DO THOSE CONNECTIONS TO SERVICES.
UM, THERE'S ONGOING WORK THAT HAPPENS WEEKLY, MONTHLY, LOCAL, UM, EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEES.
UM, BUT HE WOULD BE THE ONE TO ACTIVATE FOR US THROUGH THAT CHAIN AND THEN MEMA WOULD ACTIVATE FEMA ON OUR BEHALF.
UM, AND THEY KEEP IT REALLY TIGHT BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT MANY PEOPLE CALLING FROM ONE COMMUNITY ABOUT ALL THINGS.
UM, BUT WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, RESOURCES THAT THEY BRING EVEN FOR, UH, THE SPECIAL EVENTS THAT WE DO FOR 4TH OF JULY.
THEY'RE AT THE TABLE WITH US FOR, UH, THE CARNIVAL AND DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE ABLE TO TAP INTO THEIR RESOURCES QUITE OFTEN.
UM, AND WE HAVE A GOOD LIAISON TO, IN OUR, IN OUR REGION.
AND THEY DO HOST A LOT OF TRAININGS THAT WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AS WELL.
COUNCILOR ZBEYNOR, WHEELER-YIELDS.
WE'LL GO TO COUNCILOR ALZUBI AND THEN COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY.
THROUGH MADAM MAYOR, IT'S GREAT TO GET AN UPDATE ON THIS AS WELL.
I'M CURIOUS BECAUSE I SAW POINT SEVEN AND EIGHT AND WAS WONDERING WHERE OUR INCIDENTS, LIKE WHAT WE SAW IN MEMORIAL DRIVE IN LIKE THIS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PROCESS.
HOW ARE YOU ALL THINKING THROUGH THAT PIECE? IS IT FALLING UN - FALLING UNDER SEVEN, EIGHT? IS IT A MIX OF BOTH? H - CURIOUS TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT.
SO WHAT WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, UNDER SEVEN IS A LOT OF THE SPECIAL EVENTS.
SO THAT IS MORE OF THE SORT OF PREPARED EVENTS LIKE CHRISTINA MENTIONED, 4TH OF JULY AND THOSE KINDS OF EVENTS.
SO THOSE ARE PLANNED EVENTS THAT WE HAVE MORE PREPARATION FOR, UM, AND THEY'RE NOT SORT OF A POLICE RESPONSE KIND OF EVENT.
UM, AND THEN EIGHT IS REALLY ON, UM, REALLY FOCUSING ON BUILDING UP THE COMMUNITY AND ENGAGING IN ADVANCE.
AGAIN, SORT OF BUILDING UP CAPACITY IN THE COMMUNITY, WHICH IS ONE WHERE PUBLIC HEALTH REALLY HELPS AS WELL.
AND SO I THINK PART OF THIS CONNECTIVE TISSUE IS REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REALLY CONNECTING AGAIN WITH PUBLIC HEALTH AND REALLY ENGAGING THEM, UM, BECAUSE THEY ALSO HAVE A REALLY CRITICAL ROLE TO PLAY.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE MEMORIAL DRIVE INCIDENT, I THINK THAT IS ONE THAT FALLS MORE CLEARLY UNDER THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY ARE SORT OF THE CLEAR LEAD FOR THAT.
UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS, AND I DON'T KNOW IF CITY MANAGER WANTS TO WEIGH IN A LITTLE BIT MORE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON WITH THE POLICE AND WITH COMMUNICATIONS AND WITH, YOU KNOW, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, I MEAN, UM, OUR VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS ABOUT HOW WE'RE RESPONDING AFTER THOSE EVENTS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE CLEAR PROTOCOLS FOR THOSE TYPES OF EVENTS.
BUT THAT'S REALLY NOT AS ADDRESSED IN THESE TWO SPECIFIC SECTIONS.
UM, THROUGH YOUR MAYOR SADIE, I THINK THAT'S RIGHT.
UM, I THINK THE MEMORIAL DRIVE SHOOTING WAS A, WAS A HORRIBLE EVENT, BUT ALSO ONE THAT WAS, UM,
[01:10:02]
OVER VERY, VERY QUICKLY.UM, I DO THINK THAT, UM, ONE OF THE PIECES OF WORK THAT WE ARE TRYING TO EXTEND, SO IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK AT SORT OF POINTS ONE THROUGH EIGHT, THERE'S A PRETTY ROBUST STRUCTURE FOR, UH, ESPECIALLY PUBLIC SAFETY PREPARATION ON NATURAL HAZARDS, CYBERSECURITY, UM, SPECIAL EVENTS.
UM, I THINK AS WE MOVE INTO, UH, CREATING A MORE FORMAL STRUCTURE, ESPECIALLY ACROSS, UH, THE CITY ON OTHER EVENTS THAT COULD HAPPEN, UM, I THINK THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT.
SO SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS IF YOU, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO BACK EVEN FURTHER TO, UM, THE MARATHON BOMBINGS WHERE THAT WAS NOT JUST A SINGLE INCIDENT AND THEN IT WAS OVER, IT ACTUALLY EXTENDED OVER A MUCH LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
I THINK THAT'S AN AREA WHERE WE WOULD WANNA BE MORE CLEAR WHO WE WOULD ACTIVATE AND HOW WE WOULD CREATE A STRUCTURE TO COORDINATE ACROSS, UH, COMMUNICATIONS, ACROSS PUBLIC SAFETY, ACROSS, UH, TRAFFIC AND HOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT MANAGING STREETS.
AND SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING THROUGH, LIKE, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS WE WANNA PREPARE FOR? UM, I WOULD SAY JUST LOOKING OUT AT THE NEWS AND THE THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, CYBERSECURITY AND THE IMPACTS ACROSS OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UH, IS SOMETHING WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER COMMUNITIES.
UM, EVEN, UH, CYBERSECURITY INCIDENTS THAT HAVE RESULTED IN SCHOOLS CLOSING.
AND SO HOW DO WE CREATE A DECISION FRAMEWORK FOR WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS? UM, AND, AND I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A PIECE OF THE NEW WORK THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO LEAN INTO.
COUNCILOR ZUBI? YEAH, THANK YOU.
THAT'S VERY HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND.
SO THANK YOU FOR ELABORATING ON THAT.
I DEFINITELY THINK IN GENERAL, COMMUNICATIONS MATTER AT THE VERY BARE MINIMUM, EVEN ACROSS, LIKE, WHETHER IT'S, LIKE, THESE MORE ISOLATED INCIDENTS OR, LIKE, THE LARGER, UM, SITUATIONS WITH, LIKE, THINGS LIKE FLOODING OR PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS.
AND I REALLY HOPE THAT THAT'S NOT LOST IN THE WORKING GROUP OVER THE NEXT NINE TO 12 MONTHS, BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM A LOT OF RESIDENTS IS THE COORDINATION BETWEEN THE CITY, THE MANAGEMENT OF BUILDINGS AND RESIDENTS CAN BE DIFFICULT AT TIMES.
AND I KNOW THERE'S A GAP BETWEEN THAT COORDINATION ACROSS, UH, THOSE THREE GROUPS.
AND THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL THERE.
UM, I ALSO JUST WANTED TO RAISE A QUICK POINT OF ENCOURAGING DISCUSSION ON, LIKE, EXISTING EMERGENCY PROCEDURES, LIKE, AT SPECIFICALLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING SITES, UM, ESPECIALLY THROUGH CHA.
UH, BE CURIOUS, AND THIS CAN BE OFFLINE TOO, YOU KNOW, THE DISCUSSIONS AROUND SAFETY PLANS OR SITE PLANS ON FILE WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, EVACUATION PLANS.
UM, ARE THERE REGISTRIES FOR RESIDENTS WHO NEED ANY ASSISTANCE? IS THAT MANAGED BY THE MANAGEMENT OF THE BUILDING AND THEY'RE IN COORDINATION WITH THE CITY? LIKE, CURIOUS JUST TO HEAR, UM, HOW THOSE CONVERSATIONS GO WHEN THE TIME COMES, BUT I KNOW THAT'S A NINE TO 12 MONTHS FROM NOW, SO I'LL YIELD.
WE HAVE COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY AND THEN COUNCILLOR NOWAN.
AND, UM, NOT THAT I HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH THIS, BUT I DID WORK WITH KURT SCHWARTZ, WHO WAS THE HEAD OF MEMA, AND HIS COMMUNICATION STRATEGY WAS PRETTY EASY BECAUSE HE WAS BROADCAST ON THE NEWS WHENEVER THERE WAS A SERIOUS WEATHER EVENT.
UH, AND I THINK AS MAYOR SIDDIQUI AND I FOUND OUT WHEN, UH, WE ATTENDED A RING TOWERS COMMUNITY MEETING ABOUT THE SHOOTING IN RUSSELL FIELD, UH, EVEN THAT, UH, WHICH WAS A, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A SERIOUS EVENT AND IT WAS A STRIKING EVENT FOR THAT NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE, UH, SCALE OF THINGS, YOU KNOW, A, A, A SINGLE ACTIVE SHOOTER IN A FIELD IN A NEIGHBORHOOD IS A, UH, MUCH LOWER DEGREE OF SERIOUSNESS THAN WHAT WE LEGITIMATELY FACE IN THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE WITH INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATS TRAVELING IN AND OUT OF OUR CITY ON A REGULAR BASIS.
TWO OF THE WORLD-CLASS UNIVERSITIES HERE, KENDALL SQUARE WITH EVERYTHING IT HAS TO OFFER FROM, YOU KNOW, BIOTECH AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
I, I, I THINK IT GOES, UM, SORT OF WITHOUT SAYING THAT WE'RE A VERY ATTRACTIVE TARGET, UH, AND THAT'S A FACT.
SO, AND I KNOW COLIN WALSH VERY WELL, AND I THINK HE'S A VERY PROFESSIONAL, CALM, COOL, AND COLLECTED LEADER WHO WOULD DO WELL IN EMERGENCY SITUATION.
BUT I THINK THAT OUR TASK WITH RESPECT TO, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED.
UH, I THINK THIS IS A VERY, VERY SERIOUS MATTER THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY, UM, BY THE CITY, AND WE SHOULD PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED.
UH, WE SHOULD PREPARE FOR THE THINGS THAT WE CAN'T IMAGINE, THE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS, UH, BECAUSE GOD FORBID, IT, IT, IT HAPPENS, UH, AND WE CAN ALL IMAGINE HOW IT COULD PRESENT ITSELF IN THIS CITY.
AND, AND I HOPE VERY, VERY MUCH SO THAT WE'RE,
[01:15:01]
UH, PREPARED AND READY TO REACT AND WE'LL DO SO PROFESSIONALLY AND, AND SWIFTLY.UH, BUT I THINK AS MAYOR SIDDIQUI AND I FOUND OUT, THE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY PRESENTLY IS, YOU KNOW, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF MOST RESIDENTS IS LACKING BECAUSE THERE ISN'T CLEAR CRITERIA, UH, ABOUT HOW, UH, TO MAKE A BROAD COMMUNICATION, UM, OUTREACH, UH, WHAT THE MECHANISM IS TO BE USED AND WHETHER OR NOT PEOPLE OPT INTO COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES IS AN ENTIRELY COMPLEX ISSUE THAT IS BEYOND THE SCOPE OF MY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES TO FIGURE OUT.
BUT THERE SHOULD BE, UH, A, A, AN EASIER WAY, UM, TO DO THIS.
AND, UH, AND FRANKLY, I, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY, UM, MORE IMPORTANT JOB FACING THE CITY THAN TO HAVE A VERY, UM, A, A VERY BUTTONED DOWN, SERIOUS, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN PLACE READY TO GO.
AND HOWEVER I CAN HELP, I'D LOVE TO.
BUT I, MY, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, IS THE SCOPE OF THIS, UH, YEAR'S, UH, EFFORT REALLY WHAT I'M ENVISIONING? IS IT BIG? IS IT, ARE WE LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC EVENTS? I MEAN, CYBERSECURITY AND, AND NATURAL, UM, HEALTH AND, AND, UH, WEATHER HAZARDS IS ONE THING, BUT ARE WE LOOKING AT THAT ONE IN A MILLION CHANCE THAT SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN, THAT AN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT COULD BE KIDNAPPED AT THE CHILDS HOTEL? SOMETHING INSANE LIKE THAT.
ARE WE LOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE, UM, SCENARIOS? UM, THROUGH YOU, MAYOR SIDDIQUI, UM, I WOULD SAY WE D - AT THIS POINT DON'T HAVE ANSWERS TO ALL THE QUESTIONS - YEAH.
BUT, LIKE, THAT IS THE POINT OF THE WORKING GROUP AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY THE FOCUS IS ON WHAT IS OUR STRUCTURE AND WHAT'S MISSING IN OUR STRUCTURE.
UM, AND SO I KNOW THE COMMUNICATIONS PIECE HAS COME UP A COUPLE TIMES AND, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY FELT LIKE IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HAVE THE COMMUNICATIONS, UM, GROUP ON THE WORKING GROUP, AND SO THEY'RE A KEY MEMBER OF THE WORKING GROUP, AS IS THE COMMISSION FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER PIECE THAT IS OFTEN SORT OF FORGOTTEN OR, YOU KNOW, SO CAN BE AN AFTERTHOUGHT AND REALLY NEEDS TO BE FOUNDATIONAL TO THE WORK.
AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY THINKING ABOUT THIS FROM WHAT'S THE STRUCTURE AND WHAT'S MISSING IN THE STRUCTURE AS WE GET OURSELVES ORGANIZED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN PREPARE AND RESPOND.
UM, AND AGAIN, I REALLY WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT WE HAVE REALLY GREAT DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE DOING THIS WORK, AND SO THIS IS SORT OF LIKE, WHAT'S THE MISSING PIECE? BUT IT'S LIKE, I DO WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW AND HAVE COMFORT IN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AN AMAZING FIRE DEPARTMENT, POLICE DEPARTMENT, EM- EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE DOING THE WORK DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
AND SO, BUT IT IS ABOUT WHAT'S THE MISSING PIECE THAT WE NEED TO ADD TO THAT.
SO I THINK WE'LL HAVE MORE DETAILS TO TALK ABOUT.
AGAIN, AND WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO THE COUNCIL WITH SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS AND UPDATES.
I THINK WE'VE GOT EXCELLENT PEOPLE AND EXCELLENT PLACE AND WE'RE VERY LUCKY.
THANK YOU, UH, THROUGH YOU, MAYOR SIDDIQUI, TO THE TEAM.
IT'S REALLY GOOD TO HAVE THIS ALL IN ONE PLACE.
UM, I DID WANNA UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE, UH, WORKING TO ENSURE WE'RE FOLLOWING ON BEST PRACTICES.
WHO ARE WE LOOKING AT FOR, UM, PEER CITIES, FOR NOT JUST PEER CITIES, BUT PROBABLY PEER, UH, METROPOLITAN AREAS BECAUSE OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS COORDINATED WITH OTHER CITIES AROUND US SINCE WE ARE NOT, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE BIGGEST CITY IN THE AREA.
UM, AND I THINK IN LINE WITH THAT, THE, UM, WHAT IS THE CONSULTANT ROLE AND HOW MUCH ARE WE PAYING THEM? AND, AND IS THIS A, A LONG-TERM PROJECT OR WHAT IS GOING ON? I NOTICED THERE'S A CONSULTANT AND GIVEN THAT WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE WITH THIS EXPERTISE IN THE CITY, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT, UH, WHAT LED TO THAT DECISION.
UM, THROUGH MAYOR SIDDIQUI, SO A COUPLE THINGS.
SO ONE IS WE'RE ABSOLUTELY LOOKING AT WHAT OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE DOING, AND I THINK CHRISTINA COULD PROBABLY SPEAK TO THAT.
SHE'S DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH IN TERMS OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE CITIES ORGANIZED, DO THEY HAVE A SEPARATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE, UM, AND HAS STARTED PULLING SOME OF THAT TOGETHER.
THE IDEA WITH THE CONSULTANT IS TO REALLY HAVE SOMEONE HAS THAT SPECIALIZED, HOW ARE PEOPLE ORGANIZED AND WHAT IS THE MISSING PIECE? UM, AND SO THAT IS REALLY THE FOCUS OF THAT WORK, IS A LITTLE BIT OF AN EVALUATION OF WHAT'S THE PIECES THAT ARE IN PLACE AND WHAT'S MISSING.
UM, AND I THINK THE ORDER OF MAGNITUDE IS ABOUT $75,000, AND THAT WOULD BE OVER, UM, THE COURSE OF THIS NINE TO 12 MONTHS.
SO IT'S NOT A LONG-TERM PLAN, BUT REALLY A FOCUS PLAN.
BUT CHRISTINE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO ANY OF THE SORT OF PEER CITIES OR WORK FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.
SURE, THROUGH YOU, MADAM CHAIR.
UM, SO WE'VE LOOKED AT A BUNCH OF, UH, LOCAL COMMUNITIES, SOMERVILLE, ARLINGTON, BELMONT, UM, EVEN ACROSS
[01:20:01]
THE COUNTRY, PORTLAND, UM, SEATTLE.THE, THE PROBLEM IS THAT THEY'RE ALL STRUCTURED A LOT DIFFERENTLY ACROSS, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THEY'RE IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, SOMETIMES THEY'RE IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, SOMETIMES THEY'RE STANDALONE, SOMETIMES THEY'RE OUT OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
UM, BUT WE DO HA - BEEN GATHERING SOME GREAT, UM, INFORMATION.
AND THE CONSULTANT HAS ABOUT OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE AND A DEDICATED, UM, TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS THAT HAVE DONE THIS WORK.
AND WE'RE REALLY HOPEFUL THAT, UM, THEY'LL COME IN, THEY'LL LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE, AND THEY'LL DO A GAP ANALYSIS AND KINDA LAY OUT A FEW OPTIONS FOR THE CITY TO CONSIDER ABOUT WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO NEXT.
UM, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT WORK HAPPENING.
AND WITH THE CONSULTANT, THAT'S THEIR INDUSTRY, SO THEY FOLLOW BEST PRACTICES, WHETHER NIMS, FEMA, AND ALL OF THAT.
SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE IN GOOD HANDS.
IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO ENSURE WE'RE DOING BEST PRACTICE TO, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE UNIQUE IN SOME WAYS AND NOT IN OTHERS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UM, HOPEFULLY, AND IF WE HAVEN'T, YOU KNOW, REACH OUT TO THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES.
I MEAN, WE'RE A MEMBER OF A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT HAS A, OFTEN A LOT OF REALLY GOOD WORK OR POLICY PAPERS OR, "HEY, I WANNA TALK TO SOMEONE WHO LOOKED AT THEIR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM." UM, I MEAN, I, I, I, I WANT US TO, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, I THINK, THAT MORE THAN, THAN, THAN SOMETIMES THE CITY HAS.
UM, AND THEN MOVING FORWARD, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE A GAP ANALYSIS, AND IT MAY BE THERE'S ALSO REDUNDANCIES, YOU KNOW, THAT WE HAVE DIFFERENT PEOPLE DOING THE SAME THING AND IT'D BE MUCH BETTER IF WE'RE ALL COORDINATED.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT REPORT.
UM, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE WORK, UNDERSTAND THAT IT CAN TAKE SOME, SOME, SOME TIME TO PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER, BUT HOPEFULLY THEN WE'LL BE BETTER OFF AS, UH, ALL OF US ARE SAYING THAT WE RECOGNIZE THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT THE CITY DOES.
DO FOLKS HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? I HAD JUST A FEW, UM, THOUGHTS.
SO THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL TO, TO SEE ALL IN ONE PLACE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING COULD ALSO HAPPEN, UH, IN OUR SCHOOLS.
AND SO I'M WONDERING WHERE THE SCHOOLS ARE IN ANY OF THIS AND THEIR TEAMS, UH, BECAUSE I THINK RELATED TO A POINT BY COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY, UH, AND I THINK THERE'S WORK BEING DONE ON THIS AROUND THE COMMS PIECE, UM, PARTICULARLY, UH, AFTER THOSE, UH, SHOOTINGS THAT HAPPENED DURING DAYTIME HOURS, UH, KIND OF THE COORDINATION BETWEEN SCHOOLS AND THE CITY.
AND SO I, I KNOW THAT JEREMY, UM, AND THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE IS, UH, LEADING THAT WORK AND SO ARE OTHERS, BUT I, AND I THINK THERE'S LIKE, IT'S LIKE, I THINK THERE'S MORE CLARITY ON LIKE WHEN IT'S THOSE TYPES OF INCIDENCES VERSUS THESE TYPES OF INSTANCES.
AND THEN THE OTHER BIG THING IS WE CAN HAVE ALL THESE PRO - THE PROCESSES AND THE WHO IS GATHERED AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND WHO'S IN THE ROOM, JUST ALL THAT STRUCTURE, BUT THEN THE COMMUNICATION IS THE BIG PIECE OF HOW PEOPLE ARE GETTING IT.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE AN UPDATED EDUCATION CAMPAIGN AROUND FOLKS SIGNING UP FOR 411 AND THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY PLUGGED INTO THIS, BUT IT'S ALSO A LITTLE BIT KIND OF SEPARATE, BUT RELATED.
SO I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT UP.
UM, BUT YEAH, I THINK MY QUE...
AND THEN THE THIRD POINT WOULD BE TO COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER'S POINT AROUND JUST MAKING SURE THAT COUNCIL AND WHOEVER THE MAYOR IS AT WHEN, WHENEVER THIS IS HAPPENING, YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IS INVOLVED WHEN THERE'S A SNOW EMERGENCY, THERE'S A SNOW NEED, SCHOOLS NEED TO BE CLOSED, WE'RE INVOLVED IN WHENEVER THERE'S, IS A SHOOTING.
SO IT'S LIKE, HOW DOES THAT INTERPLAY HAPPEN AND INCLUDING, UM, SOMEONE FROM THE COUNCIL AS PART OF JUST THAT, THAT EFFORT, BECAUSE IT'LL INHERENTLY COME, COME TO US.
UH, AND SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE, THE THREE THINGS, BUT I THINK MY BIG QUESTION WOULD JUST BE THE, HOW ARE WE THINKING AROUND THE SCHOOLS? SO I, UH, THROUGH MAYOR, UM, I WOULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT COMMUNICATION BECAUSE I THINK, UM, AND JUST TALK THROUGH, UM, LIKE THIS LAST SUMMER WE IMPLEMENTED SORT OF A, A MUCH MORE FORMAL ORGANIZED HEAT EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
AND SO, AND THAT CAME OUT OF THE WORK THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY HAD BEEN DOING.
UM, PUBLIC HEALTH HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN SORT OF LEADING THAT WORK, BUT WE DIDN'T ALWAYS HAVE CLEAR PROTOCOLS AND CLEAR COMMUNICATION.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS, AND THIS IS JUST LIKE A SLIVER OF AN EXAMPLE, BUT IN LEADING UP TO THE SUMMER, WE HAD CLEAR SORT OF THESE ARE THE COMMUNICATIONS, THIS IS WHEN THE COMMUNICATIONS ARE GONNA GO OUT, THIS IS WHO'S GONNA SEND IT OUT.
SO I THINK HAVING THOSE CLEAR PROTOCOLS IN PLACE THEN REALLY HELPS DURING THE EMERGENCY SO YOU'RE NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL EVERY TIME.
[01:25:01]
THAT IS PART OF THE WORK AND THINKING ABOUT HOW ARE WE OVERALL ANALYZED.UM, AND THEN THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT, I THINK IT SORT OF DEPENDS ON THE SITUATION.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE AS CRISP AN ANSWER AS WE SHOULD HAVE, AND I THINK THAT'S ALSO PART OF THIS WORK.
BUT I DON'T KNOW, CHRISTINA, IF YOU HAVE OTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT, BUT I THINK IN GENERAL, SOME OF THIS IS CLARIFYING SOME OF THOSE, WHAT'S THE SCHOOLS DOING, WHAT'S THE CITY SIDE DOING, AND HOW ARE WE OVERLAPPING ON THOSE? 'CAUSE THERE ARE THESE INSTANCES THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME ARE SORT OF PURELY SCHOOL AND THEN SOME ARE MUCH MORE COMPLICATED LIKE THE MORE RECENT INCIDENT.
SO I, I THINK OBVIOUSLY THIS IS OUR TIME TO GIVE YOU SOME FEEDBACK AND HEAR FROM US, SO, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO, I THINK, FUTURE UPDATES AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO FURTHER GIVE YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION OR, OR THOUGHTS, FEEL FREE TO LET US KNOW.
SO WITH THAT, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND PLACE THIS COMMUNICATION ON FILE FOR CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE AND DO ROLL CALL.
NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
WE ARE DONE WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S AGENDA ITEMS. WE MOVE ON TO
[POLICY ORDERS]
POLICY ORDERS.MADAM MAYOR? OH, UH, GO TO COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN, AND THEN COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER.
COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHE - UH, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN PULLS FOUR AND SEVEN.
AND WE'LL GO TO COUNCILLOR, UH, SABRINA WHEELER.
UH, WE'VE PULLED - I THOUGH IT WAS ONE.
AND WE'VE PULLED NUMBER FOUR AND WE'VE PULLED NUMBER SEVEN.
AND I HAVE A FEW OTHER HANDS UP.
COUNCILLOR ZUCI? UH, NUMBER FIVE.
AND THEN COUNCILLOR NOLAN PULLS NUMBER SIX.
SO WE'VE PULLED POLICY ORDERS NUMBER ONE, FOUR, FIVE, AND SIX, AND SEVEN.
AND WE'LL DO, GO AHEAD AND DO A ROLL CALL ON THE BALANCE OF THE POLICY ORDERS.
COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER? YES.
NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
THE RO - THE BALANCE OF THE POLICY ORDERS IS ADOPTED.
WE'LL GO TO POLICY ORDER NUMBER ONE.
THIS IS THAT THE PROPOSED LANGUAGE FOR AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING PROTECTION FOR TENANTS FACING DISPLACEMENT BY THE CONDO COOPERATIVE CONVERSION PURSUANT TO CITY'S AUTHORITY BE FORWARDED TO THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE FOR A HEARING AND REPORT.
THIS WAS FILED BY COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER, MYSELF, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN, AND COUNCILOR ALZUBI.
THROUGH YOU, AND THANK YOU TO THE CO-SPONSORS.
THIS POLICY ORDER INCLUDES LANGUAGE FOR A CONDO CONVERSION ORDINANCE, AND THE VOTE TODAY IS JUST TO SEND IT TO THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.
SOME OF THE WORK ON THIS STARTED, UH, BACK IN 2019 WITH THE TENANT DISPLACEMENT TASK FORCE THAT WAS APPOINTED BY COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN DURING HIS TIME AS MAYOR AND THAT WAS CHAIRED BY MAYOR SIDDIQUI.
IN MASSACHUSETTS, AS I'M SURE MOST OF US ARE FAMILIAR, MUNICIPALITIES ARE PREEMPTED FROM DOING A LOT OF THE TENANT PROTECTION, UH, BY THE SENATE STATE GOVERNMENT.
THAT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE RENT STABILIZATION.
IT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE JUST CAUSE EVICTION.
BUT ONE AREA WE DO HAVE THE POWER TO ENACT PROTECTIONS FOR RENTERS IS IN BUILDINGS UNDERGOING CONDO CONVERSIONS.
THAT IS CASES WHERE A RENTAL BUILDING IS BEING CONVERTED INTO CONDOS, EITHER WHERE THE EXISTING RENTAL BUILDING IS BEING TORN DOWN AND CONDOS ARE BEING BUILT, OR IN CASES WHERE THE BUILDING IS STAYING PUT BUT THE UNITS ARE BEING CONVERTED FROM RENTALS TO CONDO OWNERSHIP UNITS.
UNDER THE MASSACHUSETTS CONDO CONVERSION STATUTE, CITIES AND TOWNS ARE AUTHORIZED TO LEGISLATE PROTECTIONS FOR TENANTS BEYOND WHAT THE STATE REQUIRES.
UH, OUR NEIGHBORS, BOSTON AND SOMERVILLE, HAVE ALREADY PASSED THEIR OWN CONDO CONVERSION ORDINANCES, AND THOSE ORDINANCES PR- PROVIDE EVICTION PROTECTIONS.
THEY PRO- PROVIDE A RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL AT FAIR MARKET PRICE.
AND IN SOMERVILLE'S ORDINANCE, THEY PROVIDE $14,000, UH, IN RELOCATION ASSISTANCE FOR TENANTS.
WE HAVE ALL HEARD CASES OF CAMBRIDGE RESIDENTS, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCING MASSIVE RENT CREASE, RENT INCREASES OR NOT BEING ABLE TO RENEW THEIR LEASE.
AND WHILE WE HAVE GREAT CITY STAFF IN THE HOUSING OFFICE, THEY OFTEN ARE NOT ABLE TO DO MUCH IF THE TENANT DOESN'T QUALIFY FOR ONE OF THE CITY'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS, BUT STILL CAN'T AFFORD TO RENT ANOTHER MARKET RATE APARTMENT.
UM, AND THIS ORDINANCE WOULD NOT SOLVE ALL OF THOSE ISSUES, BUT IT WOULD PROVIDE REALLY IMPORTANT SUPPORT FOR TENANTS AND RENTAL APARTMENTS UNDERGOING A CONDO CONVERSION.
IT'D PROVIDE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF LEAD TIME VIA EVICTION PROTECTIONS, A YEAR FOR MOST TENANTS AND, UH, EVEN LONGER FOR ELDERLY AND DISABLED TENANTS TO FIND ANOTHER APARTMENT.
IT WOULD PROVIDE THE RIGHT TO BUY THEIR UNIT AS IS CONDITIONED BEFORE THE PRICE GETS BID UP BY OTHER BUYERS OR INVESTORS.
[01:30:01]
AND IT WOULD PROVIDE REALLY MEANINGFUL RELOCATION ASSISTANCE AND ONE IS ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE PLACES TO RENT AN APARTMENT IN THE COUNTRY.MANY FOLKS DON'T HAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN THEIR BANK ACCOUNT, AND WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A NEW APARTMENT TO PAY FIRST AND LAST MONTH'S RENT, UH, WOULD BE REALLY SIGNIFICANT TO HAVE THIS KIND OF RELOCATION ASSISTANCE.
I HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT AND THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT ABOUT THIS.
I'VE ALSO BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THE SOMERVILLE OFFICE OF HOUSING STABILITY ABOUT HOW THEIR ORDINANCE FUNCTIONS.
UH, AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE SOMERVILLE OFFICE OF HOUSING STABILITY, ELLEN SCHACHTER, ACTUALLY LIVES IN CAMBRIDGE AND IS HAPPY TO PROVIDE ADVICE AS WE WORK OUT THE DETAILS OF OUR ORDINANCE, WHICH I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO.
UH, SO HOPING TO DISCUSS THIS MORE IN THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE.
UH, IF THIS IS DONE RIGHT, I THINK IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NEW TENANT PROTECTIONS, UH, CITY HAS ENACTED IN THE PAST FEW DECADES, AND I HOPE WE CAN MOVE THIS FORWARD.
COUNCIL MCGOVERN? UH, THANK YOU, MADAM, THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR, THROUGH YOU.
THANK YOU TO COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER FOR SPONSORING THIS, AND THANK YOU TO YOU, MADAM MAYOR, FOR YOUR WORK BACK IN 2018, 19, ONE OF THOSE, UM, ON THE TENANT PROTECTIONS TASK FORCE.
UH, NO, I, I, I JUST WANNA SORT OF REITERATE WHAT COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER SAID THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PROTECTION.
WE CERTAINLY SEE A LOT OF CONVERSIONS FROM RENTAL PROPERTIES TO CONDOS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS AMAZED ME.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS UNTIL, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW THIS NOW, BUT WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, I DIDN'T QUITE REALIZE HOW MANY TENANTS DON'T HAVE LEASES AND THEY'RE TENANT AT WILL.
AND ALTHOUGH THAT PROVIDES THEM A LITTLE BIT OF PROTECTION, IT DOESN'T REALLY PROVIDE THEM WITH THE PROTECTIONS THAT A LEASE HAS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE USED, WE HAD A NUMBER OF, OF, UM, PROPERTIES THAT WERE, UH, TURNED, UH, WERE CONDOIZED AND THE TENANTS DID NOT HAVE LEASES AND THEY BASICALLY WERE, YOU KNOW, WERE FORCED OUT.
UM, A LOT OF THEM WERE ELDERLY.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, W - IF WE CAN OFFER S- SOME MORE PROTECTION TO TENANTS, UM, TO PREVENT THAT OR AT LEAST EASE THAT TRANSITION, I, I, I THINK IT'S, IT'S SOLID, UH, AND JUST POLICY.
SO, UH, AGAIN, I JUST WANNA ISSUE MY SUPPORT AND, UM, WE WILL HOLD A ORDINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, AS SOON AS TIME ARRIVES.
THANK YOU, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN.
YEAH, I COULD JUST QUICKLY SAY, I THINK WE'VE ATTEMPTED TO DO THIS, UH, MANY YEARS IN THE PAST, WHETHER THAT WAS IN 2019, WHETHER THAT WAS IN 21, 22, UM, AND FOR VARIOUS REASONS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE COULDN'T ACCOMPLISH IT.
AND I HOPE THIRD TIME'S A CHARM IN MOVING THIS FORWARD, UM, ESPECIALLY NOW, UH, UH, AND I THINK, UH, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, IT, I THINK COULD BE, UH, REALLY, UH, IMPORTANT FOR, UH, OUR TENANTS AND THE ISSUES OF TENANT DISPLACEMENT.
SO LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSING THIS FURTHER, UH, IN ORDINANCE COMMITTEE.
SO ON A MOTION BY COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER TO REFER POLICY NUMBER ONE TO THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE AND PLANNING BOARD FOR A HEARING AND REPORT, WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL.
THAT'S NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
POLICY RULE NUMBER ONE HAS BEEN REFERRED.
WE MOVE ON TO POLICY NUMBER FOUR, THAT THE CITY MANAGER IS REQUESTED TO DIRECT THE LAW DEPARTMENT TO DRAFT A HOME RULE PETITION AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE TO REGULATE OR PROHIBIT THE APPLICATION OF ANTI-COLLAGEN R- RODENTICIDES, RODENTICI - I'M SAYING THAT WRONG.
UM, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN, MAYOR, MYSELF, COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER AND COUNCILLOR NOLAN SPONSORED THIS.
COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
AND I, I PRON - MISPRONOUNCE IT ALL THE TIME TOO.
UM, JUST A COUPLE QUICK THINGS, UH, UH, ON THIS.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CALLED IN AND, AND SPOKE.
UM, THEY SPOKE FAR MORE ELOQUENTLY THAN, THAN I TYPICALLY DO, UH, ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS.
BUT JUST TO BE CLEAR THAT, UH, THIS POLICY ORDER IS ASKING FOR A HOME RULE PETITION TO BE DRAFTED.
THAT HOME RULE WOULD THEN COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL.
UH, THEN ASSUMING THAT GETS APPROVED, IT WOULD GO TO THE STATE.
UM, THE STATE WOULD EITHER APPROVE OUR HOME RULE PETITION OR HOPEFULLY, UH, DEAL WITH IT IN, IN LEGISLATION AND OUR HOME RULE PETITION WOULD BE GRANDFATHERED IN.
UM, IT WOULD THEN COME BACK TO US TO DRAFT AN ORDINANCE AND THEN HAVE TO GO TO, THROUGH THE ORDINANCE PROCESS.
SO THIS HAS GOT A LONG WAY TO GO.
A LOT OF DISCUSSION, UM, UH, TO HAPPEN.
ALL WE'RE DOING TODAY IS ASKING FOR THAT HOME RULE TO BE DRAFTED.
AS YOU HEARD IN PUBLIC COMMENT, UM, 29 OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS.
WE, CAMBRIDGE HAS, UH, OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS HAS REALLY BEEN ON THE FOREFRONT OF ANIMAL RIGHTS LEGISLATION IN THE STATE AND HAS BEEN LEADING.
UH, IN THIS CASE, WE'RE FOLLOWING, UH, 29 OTHER COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND, AND SO WE WANNA JOIN THEM.
THERE'S DEFINITELY A BIG PUSH ACROSS THE STATE TO DO THIS FOR ALL THE REASONS YOU HEARD.
[01:35:01]
THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A SPECIFIC TYPE OF POISON, UH, THE ANTICOAGULANT THAT, THAT WAS PRETTY CLOSE.UM, THAT HAS REALLY HARMFUL SECONDARY EFFECTS.
SO AS YOU HEARD, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE RAT EATS THE, UH, EATS THE POISON, DOES NOT DIE RIGHT AWAY.
FIRST OF ALL, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW PEOPLE DON'T LIKE RATS.
I'M NOT A HUGE RAT FAN MYSELF, BUT IT IS TORTURE TO THEM TOO WHEN THEY DIE.
IT'S AN INCREDIBLY PAINFUL DEATH.
UM, BUT THEN A BIRD OR SOME OTHER, UH, ANIMAL WILL THEN EAT THAT POISON RAT AND THEN THEY DIE, UH, AS WELL.
UM, AND SO WHETHER IT'S HAWKS OR BIRDS OR EAGLES OR, OR EVEN FAMILY PETS THAT, UM, GET LET OUTSIDE, UM, THAT, THAT ALSO SUFFER.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT, THAT, UH, THAT THE RODENT PROBLEM IN CAMBRIDGE IS, IS A SERIOUS ONE, UM, AND WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY, UM, TO DEAL WITH THAT AND PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND WE NEED EFFECTIVE WAYS TO CONTROL RODENT POPULATIONS, WHICH WE DO.
UM, I DID TALK TO OUR RAT, ZAR, DAVE POWERS, AND HE SAID HE WAS FINE WITH THIS MOVING FORWARD FOR A HOME RULE PETITION.
HE SAID WHEN WE GET IT TO ORDINANCE EVENTUALLY THAT, UM, WE'LL HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW DOES ENFORCEMENT HAPPEN BECAUSE IT, IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT'S CHALLENGING, BUT, UM, DID SAY THAT HE WAS SUPPORTIVE OF THIS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, SO I, I HOPE WE MOVE THIS FORWARD, UH, AGAIN FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.
UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO, TO, TO PROTECT THE ANIMALS THAT LIVE IN OUR ECOSYSTEM.
SO I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT, MADAM MAYOR.
THANK YOU, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN.
COUNCILLOR NOLAN, YOU'RE NEXT.
AND THANK YOU THROUGH YOU TO, UM, COUNCILOR MCGOVERNOR LEAN ON THIS AND ALL THE ADVOCATES WHO HAVE COME AND WHO HAVE ASKED US OVER THE YEARS TO, AS A REMINDER, THE CITY HAS ALREADY BANNED THIS ON OUR OWN PROPERTY.
WE, THE CITY STOPPED USING THE ANTICOAGULANT RODENTICIDES AND WE PASSED A POLICY ORDER ON THAT AND YET WE CAN'T DO IT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WITHOUT THIS HOME RULE.
SO IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO MORE THAN WE HAVE DONE TO STOP USING THIS REALLY, UM, TOXIC, UH, MA - ITEM THAT, THAT HURTS NOT JUST AS, AS COUNCILOR MCGOVERN SAID, THIS ISN'T ABOUT SAVING THE RATS, THIS IS REALLY ABOUT THE WILD, THE WILDLIFE.
SO TO REMIND US ALL, WE'VE, WE'VE HAVE DONE WHAT WE CAN AND NOW WE NEED THIS HOME RULE.
SO IF THIS PASSES, I REALLY HOPE THAT, UH, THE STATE LEGISLATURE PUTS IT THROUGH AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE CAN GO AHEAD DO A ROLL CALL ON ADOPTING POLICY NUMBER FOUR.
NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
POLICE NUMBER FOUR IS ADOPTED.
THIS IS THAT THE CITY MANAGER IS REQUESTED TO CONFER WITH THE TRAFFIC PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DEPARTMENTS TO EVALUATE AND IMPLEMENT TRAFFIC CALMING AND SAFETY MENS - MEASURES FOR MICROMOBILITY DEVICES ON PATHWAYS WITHIN AND ADJACENT TO CAMBRIDGE COMMON.
THIS WAS FILED BY COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY AND THEN COUNCILOR SIMMONS.
IT WAS PULLED BY COUNCILLOR ZUCI.
BEFORE I GO TO COUNCILOR ZUSI, I'LL GO TO THE LEAD SPONSOR.
THIS IS A, UH, I THINK AN IMPORTANT POLICY ORDER.
ANYBODY WHO SPENT ANY TIME IN CAMBRIDGE COMMONS BY THE PLAYGROUND KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
UM, I DON'T WANNA BLAME HARVARD STUDENTS, UH, INDEPENDENTLY BECAUSE OF THIS, BUT EVERYBODY SEES THE E-SCOOTERS, THE, UM, OTHER SCOOTERS, THE E-BICYCLES RACING THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF CAMBRIDGE COMMON AND IT PREVENTS, PRESENTS A VERY SIGNIFICANT SAFETY HAZARD, ESPECIALLY FOR TODDLERS WHO ARE WANDERING AROUND THERE ON A BUSY SATURDAY MORNING OR OUT - EARLY AFTERNOON, OR SOME OF THE ELDERLY PEOPLE THAT LIVE RIGHT THERE, THE BOTTOM OF CONCORD AVE OR ON FALLON STREET.
IT IS A DANGER AND, UM, THERE SHOULD BE A SPEED HUMP OR RUMBLE STRIPS OR SOME OTHER TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES THERE TO, UH, IMPROVE THE SAFETY OF THAT AREA.
IT IS A DANGER, SO I HOPE THIS PASSES.
WE WILL GO TO COUNCILLOR ZUCI.
I WILL SUPPORT THIS POLICY ORDER.
I JUST WONDERED IF MICROMOBILITY DEVICES SHOULD BE, LIKE, NOT ALLOWED ON THE CAMBRIDGE COMMONS.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE EASIER TO ENFORCE THAN INTRODUCING TRAFFIC CALMING.
UH, AND I JUST CAN'T IMAGINE...
I MEAN, I THINK SCOOTERS MIGHT FLY, UH, OVER A SPEED HUMP OR A BUMP.
[01:40:01]
I JUST CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT SAFETY MEASURES YOU'D HAVE TO, UM, DISCOURAGE MICROBIL - MOBILITY DEVICES GOING FAST.IT WOULD JUST BE A LOT EASIER TO ENFORCE THEIR NOT BEING ALLOWED ON THE COMMON.
AND I JUST WANTED TO PICK UP ON, UM, ONE OF OUR S- SPEAKER'S COMMENTS ABOUT WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES OFF OUR SIDEWALKS AS WELL BECAUSE, UH, UM, THEY ARE A DANGER FOR OUR PEDESTRIANS.
SO I WILL SUPPORT THIS, AND I THANK YOU FOR SUBMITTING THIS, AND I HOPE TRAFFIC AND PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION WILL CONSIDER JUST DISALLOWING THE DEVICES ON THE COMMON.
ANYONE ELSE? HEARING NONE, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND DO A ROLL CALL ON ADOPTING POLICY NUMBER FIVE.
COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER? YES.
THAT'S NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
PAUSER NUMBER FIVE IS ADOPTED.
WE GO TO POLICY NUMBER SIX THAT THE CITY MANAGER IS REQUESTED TO DIRECT THE APPROPRIATE CITY DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, TO REVIEW EXISTING CONDITIONS ON SHERMAN STREET IN THE, THE VICINITY OF CADBURY COMMONS AND DETERMINE APPROPRIATE TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES OR ACTIONS TO REDUCE SPEEDING.
THIS WAS FILED BY COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY AND COUNCILLOR SIMMONS PULLED BY COUNCILOR NOLAN.
I'LL GO TO COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY FIRST.
SHERMAN STREET, AS YOU KNOW, UM, IS A, UM, ACTIVE STREET AND IT GOES RIGHT PAST ST.
PETER'S FIELD AND DANAHEE FIELD.
AND THE CADBURY COMMONS IS A, UM, SENIOR ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY, AND IT'S A MEMORY CARE FACILITY.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT CROSS THE STREET, PEDESTRIANS RIGHT THERE.
THERE ARE, UH, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY DIFFERENT BASEBALL TEAMS PLAY AT ST.
PETER'S, UH, BABE RUTH AND TRAVEL, UH, MAJOR LEAGUE TEAMS AND CITY LEAGUE TEAMS. UH, AND THERE'S LOTS OF PARENTS AND LOTS OF CYCLISTS AND THERE'S SEEMS TO BE A CONSTANT FLOW OF AUTOMOBILE TRAFFIC THERE, ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON.
AND, UH, AGAIN, IT'S A DANGEROUS, UM, AREA.
AND I HOPE THIS PASSES AGAIN UNANIMOUSLY AND WE SHOULD LOOK AT ALL OF THE APPROPRIATE TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES IN THAT LOCATION, INCLUDING MAYBE, UM, ADDITIONAL LIGHTS OR SPEED HUMPS OR WHATEVER IS NECESSARY.
THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR SIDDIQUI, THROUGH YOU TO, UM, COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY INCIDENTS UNDERSTAND BRINGING THIS FORWARD.
I DID REACH OUT TO THE, UM, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND THE GOOD NEWS IS THEY'RE ALREADY WORKING ON THIS.
UM, THE ENGINEERING HAS, HAS MADE THE SITE VISIT.
THEY'RE LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF WAYS TO ADDRESS THE, THE ISSUES OF SAFETY, UM, BASED ON THE, THE SITE CONDITIONS.
THEY'RE NOT SURE EXACTLY WHERE THEY WOULD GO, BUT IT, IT'S CERTAINLY ON THE RADAR.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS IT'S ON THE RADAR IS WHEN YOU LOOK UP THIS INTERSECTION, GIVEN THAT WE NOW HAVE A FULL LIST OF THE INTERSECTION, UM, SAFETY, THIS INTERSECTION ITSELF IS 140 OUT OF ABOUT THE 250.
HOWEVER, BECAUSE IT'S PROXIMITY TO THE SENIOR CENTER WITH SENIORS RIGHT THERE AND RIGHT ACROSS FROM A VERY ACTIVE FIELD, IT IS WHY, UM, UH, IT HAS RAISED UP TO THIS LEVEL AS, AS NOTED IN THE POLICY ORDER BY, UM, COUNCILLORS FLAHERTY AND SIMMONS.
AND ALSO THAT'S WHY THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION INDICATED THAT THEY WERE ALREADY DOING THIS WORK ON IT.
SO HAPPY TO SUPPORT IT AND GLAD TO KNOW THAT, UM, THE WORK IS ALREADY ONGOING AND THEN WE MAY BE ABLE TO SEE SOME, UH, IMPACT ON, ON THIS, UH, SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
ANYONE ELSE ON THIS? HEARING NONE, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND DO A ROLL CALL ON ADOPTING POLICY RULE NUMBER SIX.
NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
WE GO ON TO POLICY NUMBER SEVEN.
THIS IS THAT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE PET SHARP ORDINANCE TO INCLUDE FISH AND CRUSTATIONS BE REFERRED TO THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE FOR A HEARING.
THIS WAS FILED BY COUNCILOR MCGOVERN.
AND COUNCILLOR NOLAN, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR.
THROUGH YOU, UM, LIKE POLICY ORDER NUMBER ONE TONIGHT, THIS IS ASKING THAT, UH, WE SEND THIS TO THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.
AS YOU HEARD IN PUBLIC COMMENT, IN 2017,
[01:45:02]
UH, WE PASSED WHAT WAS AT THE TIME NATIONALLY THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ANIMAL WELFARE POLICY, UH, IN THE COUNTRY.UM, AS THE LEAD ON THAT, UM, WE DID NOT INCLUDE FISH AND CRUSTACEANS AT THAT TIME, WHICH WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE.
UM, THERE IS, UH, A GREAT DEAL OF RESEARCH.
I, I KNOW WE'RE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, RAISED TO BELIEVE THAT FISH ARE DISPOSABLE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T FEEL PAIN, BUT THERE'S ACTUALLY A LOT OF RESEARCH TO SHOW THAT THEY DO.
UM, THEY ARE LIVING ANIMALS WITH SPECIFIC NEEDS FOR CARE AND HOUSING AND HANDLING AND THE FACT THAT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY LIVE IN WATER AND, AND WE'VE SORT OF BEEN RAISED TO NOT THINK OF THEM AS, AS, UH, LIVING ANIMALS.
UM, THEY DESERVE THE SAME PROTECTION AS ALL OTHER ANIMALS, UH, DO.
AND SO, UM, WE'D LIKE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO UPDATE OUR, OUR POLICY, BRING IT IN LINE WITH SOME OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT FOLLOWED US AND NOW SURPASSED US, UM, IN INCLUDING FISH AND CRUSTACEANS, UM, IN THEIR POLICIES.
UH, AND ALSO, THERE WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT I LEARNED JUST IN THIS, IN MY, OVER THE LAST MONTH OR SO THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING WITH PEOPLE ABOUT THIS, ABOUT, UM, THE WHOLE ISSUE AROUND THE FISH THAT GET RELEASED IN, INTO NATIONAL, UH, NATURAL HABITATS AND THAT BECOME INVASIVE SPECIES AND THEN HURT OUR ENVIRON - UH, OTHER, OTHER ANIMALS IN, IN THE ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS OUR ECOSYSTEM.
UM, THAT WASN'T REALLY S - WHERE MY, WHERE MY HEAD WAS AT WHEN I STARTED THIS, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER, ANOTHER REASON TO LOOK AT THIS.
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S ALSO THAT MOST OF THE FISH AND CRUSTACEANS THAT PET STORES SELL ACTUALLY COME FROM OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE THEY ARE TAKEN FROM THEIR NATURAL HABITATS THERE.
SO IF YOU TAKE SOMETHING LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, A HERMIT CRAB, WHICH I NEVER, I NEVER KNEW, UM, BUT I DID HAVE THEM AS PETS, UM, THEY ACTUALLY CAN'T BREED IN CAPTIVITY, SO THEY GET TAKEN OUT OF THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES AND THEN SENT TO THE UNITED STATES TO PET STORES AND THEN JUST, YOU KNOW, SELL THEM ON BOARDWALKS AND WHEREVER AND THEY, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEM AND THEY DIE AND THEY FEEL PAIN AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST NOT KIND.
SO I HOPE THAT WE WILL F - PUT THIS FORWARD AND, UM, UPDATE OUR POLICY.
THANK YOU, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN.
YEAH, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW I'M GONNA VOTE ON THIS.
I MAY VOTE PRESENT BECAUSE I, UM, I, I KNOW THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE RELEASING FISH INTO PONDS AND OF COURSE WE WANT PEOPLE RESPECTING ALL LIFE, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT A LOT OF CHILDREN TAKE, YOU KNOW, THAT CAN'T HAVE A CAT OR CAN'T HAVE A DOG, HAVE A GOLDFISH, AND IT'S THEIR FIRST PET, IT'S THEIR FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF SOMETHING.
AND THEN I ALSO THINK OF MY BROTHERS WHO BOTH, UH, WERE REALLY INTO FISH TANKS.
UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE LOVE HAVING FISH TANKS, AND IT, AGAIN, IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO CONNECT WITH THE NATURAL WORLD WITHIN THEIR HOME AND SORT OF MARVEL AT OTHER SPECIES.
UM, SO I, I REALIZE I DID A LITTLE, UM, GOOGLING AND I, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S ONLY...
I, I WAS WONDERING INITIALLY, LIKE, IS THIS A PROBLEM IN CAMBRIDGE? IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ONE STORE, PETSMART IN CAMBRIDGE HIGHLANDS THAT MIGHT SELL FISH.
YOU KNOW, IF THOSE FISH ARE NOT WELL CARED FOR, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A PROBLEM AND I WOULD HOPE THEY WOULD STOP SELLING THE FISH AND, AND, UH, AND, AND THAT, THAT WOULD BE BAD.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS A PROBLEM, MAYBE YOU CAN ANSWER THAT.
BUT, UM, I, I DO THINK, UH, FOR MANY PEOPLE THAT, UH, ARE OUT ALL DAY, AND AGAIN, CAN'T ASSUME THE RESPONSIBILITY OF A CAT OR A DOG, I THINK THEY DELIGHT IN HAVING A FISH AND, UH, LEARNING ABOUT A WHOLE NOTHER ECOSYSTEM.
SO AGAIN, I, I THINK I'LL PROBABLY BE VOTING PRESENT, UM, AND THAT'S NOT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK CRAYFISH HAVE BIG HEARTS, BUT, UM, BUT BECAUSE I, I FEEL AS THOUGH THERE'S A PLACE FOR A KID TO HAVE A FISH.
HE GOT A FISH IN NEW YORK CITY.
HE CAN'T HAVE A CAT OR A DOG, AND HE REALLY ENJOYED HAVING A FISH, UM, AND HE TOOK GOOD, GOOD CARE OF THAT FISH.
ANY OTHER THOUGHTS ON THIS? YES, COUNCILLOR NOLAN.
JUST TO REMIND US ALL, THIS IS SENDING IT TO ORDINANCE, WHICH MEANS THERE'LL BE A CHANCE TO DECIDE WHETHER WE AS A CITY, UM, WANT TO ADD THIS TO THE, TO THE BAN.
SO IT, IT, I, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY'S, UM, SET ON ANYTHING.
I THINK AT THAT POINT, WE'LL HEAR AND UNDERSTAND THE, HOW THIS MAKES SENSE.
[01:50:01]
YEAH.MADAM MAYOR? YES, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN.
AND I'LL JUST SAY QUICKLY TO, UH, COUNCILLOR ZUZI, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE PASSED THIS IN, IN 2017, A LOT OF PEOPLE SAID THE SAME THING ABOUT OTHER ANIMALS BECAUSE SOME CITIES HAD BANNED DOGS AND CATS AND RABBITS, UM, BUT WE EXPANDED THAT TO INCLUDE OTHER SMALLER ANIMALS LIKE HAMSTERS AND GUINEA PIGS AND, UM, AND PEOPLE SAID, "OH, THEY'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SO CUTE AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE A CHILD'S FIRST PET." UM, UNTIL WE HAD THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE AND YOU ACTUALLY HEARD HOW THOSE ANIMALS WERE TREATED EVEN BEFORE THEY GOT TO THE PET STORE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, MICE, IF A PET STORE WANTED TO ORDER, WANTED TO SELL 100 MICE, THEY WOULD ORDER THREE TO FOUR TIMES THAT MANY BECAUSE SO MANY DIED BEING SHIPPED TO THE PET STORE.
LIZARDS THAT WERE BEING SHIPPED TO THE PET STORE THAT WOULD COME TO THE PET STORE WOULD HAVING EATEN DEAD LIZARDS THAT WERE ALSO BEING SHIPPED WITH THEM.
SO THIS WHOLE INDUSTRY IS HORRIBLE FOR ANIMALS.
AND IT, UNTIL WE HAD THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE AND WE HEARD FROM PEOPLE WHAT ACTUALLY IS GOING ON, THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE SAYING, "OH, WE SHOULDN'T DO THIS.
JUST DOGS AND CATS ARE OKAY, BUT THE SMALLER ANIMALS, YOU KNOW, WHO CARES UNTIL WE HEARD THE EVIDENCE." SO I WOULD HOPE THAT WE WOULD AT LEAST GIVE THIS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO ORDINANCE SO WE CAN HEAR THE EVIDENCE, UM, AND I CAN HAVE PEOPLE COME IN AND TALK ABOUT IT AND THEN PEOPLE CAN MAKE UP THEIR MIND.
COUNCILOR MCGOVERN YIELDS, ANYONE ELSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK BEFORE I GO BACK TO COUNCILLOR NOLAN? COUNCILLOR NOLAN? JUST A QUICK ADDENDUM.
I FORGOT TO SAY, IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T GET THEM, IT JUST MEANS THAT YOU CAN ONLY GET, FOR INSTANCE, RIGHT NOW OUR BAN IS IF YOU GO TO THOSE PET STORES, YOU CAN GET A CAT OR A DOG OR A MALE, BUT IT HAS TO ONLY BE CERTIFIED FROM A NONPROFIT OR A SHELTER OR RESCUE ORGANIZATION, WHICH IS, WHICH IS TO PROTECT AND ENSURE, AS COUNCILOR MCGOVERN SAID, THAT THE CONDITIONS ARE SUCH THAT, UM, THEY ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THIS, UH, THE, THE, UH, ABUSES THAT WE'VE HEARD OF.
SO I JUST WANNA, WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT.
SO HEARING FROM NO ONE ELSE, THE MOTION HERE IS TO JUST REFER THIS TO THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE SO WE CAN DO A ROLL CALL.
EIGHT MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, ONE VOTING PRESENT.
COUNCILOR NUMBER SEVEN HAS BEEN REFERRED.
WE'RE GOING ONTO THE CALENDAR.
[CALENDAR]
WE HAVE THE POLICY ORDER WHERE, COUNCILLOR ZUCI, YOU EXERCISED YOUR CHARTER RIGHT.THIS WAS THAT THE CITY MANAGER IS REQUESTED TO CONFER WITH RELEVANT CITY STAFF TO CONSIDER AN INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS IN WHICH DEMOLITION AND TREE REMOVAL PERMITS ARE REVIEWED WITH AND ISSUED CONCURRENTLY WITH THE BUILDING PERMITS ISSUING DEMO- DEMOLITION AND TREE REMOVAL PERMITS IN CONJUNCTION WITH BUILDING PERMITS.
COUNCILOR ZUCI? UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR SIDDIQUI.
UM, I STILL THINK THAT THIS IS A REAL ISSUE AND I AM, UH, YOU KNOW, MANY, MANY CITIES HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF VACANT LOTS, INCLUDING SEATTLE, CHICAGO, DETROIT, PITTSBURGH, AUSTIN, ATLANTA, NEW YORK CITY, DALLAS, NEW ORLEANS, ST.
AND, UM, SO I DRAFTED THIS POLICY ORDER REALLY WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT CAMBRIDGE, WHICH, UH, ALL OF A SUDDEN HAS MANY, MANY, UH, HAS HAD MANY DEMOLITIONS HAPPENING, DOESN'T END UP WITH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE HIGH COST OF, UM, BUILDING NOW, DOESN'T END UP WITH A BUNCH OF, UM, VACANT LOTS.
BUT THEN I MET WITH, UM, THE HEAD OF ISD, PETER MCLAUGHLIN, OUR COMMISSIONER, AND WITH OUR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, KATHY WATKINS, AND THEY SHARED INFORMATION THAT SUGGESTS THAT AT THIS POINT, UM, ALL OF THE, ALL BUT ONE OF THE DEMOLITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PERMITTED HAVE ALSO HAD, UM, PERMIT APPLICATIONS ARE IN FOR THOSE PROPERTIES, EXCEPT FOR LIKE 322 PROSPECT STREET WHERE THERE HASN'T BEEN A DEMO YET, AND BOTH THE DEMO AND THE PERMIT ARE ON HOLD.
BUT THEY'VE CONVINCED ME THAT IT'S, THAT THIS ISN'T A PROBLEM YET.
AND, UM, SO I WILL BE WITHDRAWING THIS POLICY ORDER BECAUSE I THINK PERHAPS THIS IS PREMATURE.
I HOPE THAT IT'S NEVER A PROBLEM FOR THE CITY, UM, BUT I THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD WATCH FOR.
[01:55:01]
UM, THE IDEA OF, I STILL FEEL THAT CONNECTING TREE PERMIT REMOVALS TO BUILDING PERMITS WOULD BE VERY USEFUL SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF OUR ZONING ON OUR TREES.UM, SO AGAIN, I WILL WITHDRAW THIS POLICY ORDER.
I THANK, UM, MAYOR SIDDIQUI AND COUNCILLOR NOLAN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SUPPORTING ME WITH THE POLICY ORDER, AND I HOPE I'LL NEVER HAVE TO REINTRODUCE IT.
COUNCILOR ZUCI YIELDS AND SHE WILL BE MAKING A MOTION, UH, TO WITHDRAW.
AND SO WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL ON THAT.
THAT'S NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
THAT POLICY ORDER IS WITHDRAWN BY COUNCILLOR ZUCI.
WE DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING ELSE ON THE CALENDAR.
THERE ARE NO APPLICATIONS AND PETITIONS.
COUNCILLOR SIMMONS MAKES A MOTION TO PLACE ALL THOSE COMMUNICATIONS ON FILE.
NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
ALL THOSE COMMUNICATIONS ARE PLACED ON FILE.
WE ARE ONTO THE CONSENT RESOLUTIONS.
[RESOLUTIONS]
THERE ARE THREE RESOLUTIONS.WOULD COUNSELORS LIKE TO POLL ANY? HEARING NONE ON A MOTION BY COUNCILLOR SIMMONS TO ADOPT THESE THREE RESOLUTIONS MAKING THEM UNANIMOUS UPON ADOPTION.
COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER? YES.
YES, THAT'S MY MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
THOSE RESOLUTIONS ARE ADOPTED.
[COMMITTEE REPORTS]
ONTO COMMITTEE REPORTS.THERE'S ONE COMMITTEE REPORT FROM THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING ON OCTOBER 22ND ON ROBO - ON THE EMERGENCE OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.
HEARING NO ONE ON, ON THIS, ON A MOTION BY COUNCILOR MCGOVERN TO ACCEPT THE REPORT AND PLACE IN THE, PLACE IT ON FILE, WE'LL DO A ROLL CALL.
NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE THAT COMMITTEE REPORT IS PLACED ON FILE.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS
[COMMUNICATIONS FROM OTHER CITY OFFICERS]
FROM OTHER CITY OFFICERS.THERE'S ONE, A MOTION BY COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN TO PLACE THAT COMMUNICATION REPORT FROM OTHER CITY OFFICERS ON FILE.
THAT'S NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
THE COMMUNICATION REPORT FROM OTHER CITY OFFICERS IS PLACED ON FILE.
WE DO NOT HAVE ANY LATE RESOLUTIONS.
WE DO NOT HAVE ANY LATE POLICY ORDERS ON A MOTION BY COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY TO ADJOURN.
COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER? YES.
NINE MEMBERS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.