• 1) BROADWAY THEATER UPDATE
• 2). "FINAL" MEETING ON MAGOUN SQUARE CVS STORE
• 3) COMMENTS DUE ON TWIN CITY EXPANSION, IKEA
• 4) FOR FUN...SCAT OPEN HOUSE
• 5) MASS. HIGHWAY TO REBUILD CROSS STREET BRIDGE
• 6) HEARING ON SNOW AND STREET CLEANING - AGAIN
• 7) MORE NEWS ABOUT GOVERNMENT
• 8) ONE-WAY PATTERN CHANGED AGAIN FOR BAY STATE ROAD
• 9) LOGAN EXPANSION UPDATE, HEARING
• 10) CELEBRATE GROUNDHOG DAY WITH PANCAKES, POLITICS
• 11) PUBLIC HEARING ON SCHOOL HEAD LICE POLICY
• 12) SOMERVILLE BRAINTEASER QUIZ

Steve Post introduced George Cole of GLC Consulting, a real estate development consulting firm retained by OHCD to do a financial feasibility analysis of the proposals. There was considerable discussion of this topic and of the impacts and features of each plan. A summary of the GLC analysis, which is quite interesting, is available from Project Manager

Carrie Sousa at (617) 625-6600, ext. 2500; csousa@ci.somerville.ma.us. Carrie took extensive notes at the meeting, which should also be available.

The Task Force will meet to make their final deliberations and to vote on Thursday, Jan. 24, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Aldermen's Committee Room on the second floor of City Hall - and will be open to the public.

Small groups of neighbors and city officials have met regularly since the last CVS meeting. Many excellent ideas have been put forward for making this project workable, attractive, neighborhood-friendly, and a positive contribution to the envisioned revitalization of Magoun Square. CVS, off to a reasonably good start, has the chance to provide a corporate model for "getting to yes" on a Somerville development proposal.

The public still has a brief time left to comment on the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) filings for two major Somerville projects along the McGrath Highway ( Route 28) corridor. Comments on both the proposed doubling in size of the Star Market at Twin City Mall and on the proposed IKEA are due on Friday, January 25, 2002. Comments should be addressed to:

Robert Durand, Secretary
Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
Attention: MEPA Office
[name of EOEA Environmental Analyst for project]
251 Causeway Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114
    
Please note that the EOEA # is required on all comments; otherwise, the MEPA Office will ignore them. The projects are identified as:

EOEA# 12672
Project Name: IKEA at Assembly Square
EOEA Environmental Analyst: LeAndrea Dames
Agent: Gregory Carrafiello, Fort Point Associates,

Agent's phone #: (617) 357-7044

EOEA# 12527
Project Name: Twin City Plaza - Star Market Expansion
EOEA Environmental Analyst: Janet Hutchins
Agent: W. Sterling Wall, Daylor Consulting Group,
Agent's phone #: (781) 849-7070

You can get your own copy of the documents which the developers have filed with MEPA by calling the developers' agents. Since time is so short, it may be best to view the documents at the city's Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD). Contact OHCD at (617) 625-6600 ext. 2500.

I'm sorry for the short notice; I've had little enough myself; it will be a challenge to prepare my own comments. It also appears that EOEA won't take comments by e.mail. Would someone out there volunteer to be the contact for collecting comments to hand-deliver to the EOEA office on deadline day?

History and Significance
Several months ago, the Traffic and Parking Commission decided to change the one-way pattern on Bay State Avenue between Broadway and Kidder Avenue from southbound to northbound. This seemingly small change, controversial at the time, became more so after implementation, altering traffic counts (both up and down) on a whole complex of residential streets, and tortuously complicating driving routes through the changed one-way system of the neighborhood. Traffic counts did drop substantially on one block of Bay State, making the change very popular there.

A neighborhood group formed and did an extensive survey about community reaction to the change. Going door to door, they spoke personally to hundreds of people on the affected streets. They kept the pressure on Traffic and Parking staff to gather actual data on impacts of the change. This group also contacted me, and I began to work on the matter, looking at numbers, talking to people, testifying at one Commission hearing, and submitting a letter to the last Commission hearing (if you'd like a copy of the letter, I'll send it on request.)

The Traffic and Parking staff, Todd Blake in particular, deserves credit for his continued study and analysis of neighborhood traffic counts and patterns. The Commission is to be commended for being open-minded and flexible in response to the growing body of data. I may have helped in some ways. The key to change here, however, was the existence of a hard-working, dedicated group.

Lessons to be Learned
Several individuals gathered facts, organized their neighbors, met together and turned out for public meetings, spoke eloquently and reasonably, and persevered. They studied, and presented to the Commission, a number of well thought out alternatives to a traffic decision they understood to be misguided and unfair. In the end, they got satisfaction.

For the Future
I know of several individuals and groups across the city who have started to study and work on neighborhood traffic issues. The volume and speed of commuters in residential neighborhoods is a citywide problem. Perhaps we need a loose network of residents who are interested in traffic-calming improvements and other strategies for relief. I am willing to be a contact person for anyone who is interested.

I strongly supported the authorization, arguing that the amount required worked out to about seventy-five cents per Somerville household. I believe that people are willing to invest such amounts in the interests of preventing more noise. The Board voted to appropriate the funds to retain Golden's representation, and Somerville's motion to intervene was granted.

Status and Future
Constituent and "Somerville at Large" reader Allison Steiber kindly volunteered to read through a sheaf of city memos and court documents distributed to Board members, and prepared a short status report, which I'll forward on request. She alerts us that on Friday, Jan. 25, at 2:00 p.m. in Courtroom 6 on the 15th floor of the McCormick building in Post Office Square, there will be a hearing on a motion that Judge van Gestel recuse himself from the case, on the grounds of his former law firm's ties to Massport. For more details, call Allison at (617) 625-8075, or check Communities Against Runway Expansion's website, www.stop1432.com.

The food is bountiful and lovingly prepared, and the company excellent. The cause is also an excellent one: the Friends of Paul Duhamel is a group whose mission is to improve the public schools of Somerville and reduce the drop out rate. Paul Duhamel was a minister, organizer, activist, School Committee man, and widely beloved member of this community, in whose memory the Friends got together to carry on good work.

Politics
At 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 2, Somerville's Democratic Ward Committees will hold their annual caucuses, in which all registered Democrats may participate. Party members may seek nomination as delegates to the State Democratic Convention, or simply come to vote for delegates. The convention this year will nominate the party's candidates for governor and lieutenant governor.

I hope to be elected a delegate from Ward Five, and ask those of you registered Democrats who live in the Ward to come to the Brown School that morning to vote for me. The caucus will be held in the basement of the Brown School, entrance on the Josephine Avenue side. It is important to be punctual, the doors are locked promptly at 10:15. Thank you in advance for attending; I'll see you there.

Pressure Point
One area in which Ms. Seufort could probably use support is in persuading the School Department to introduce an informational program to tell parents more about the early signs of pest infestations in their children. Better communication and cooperation between home and school could lead to earlier detection of communicable conditions, slow their spread, and stop recurrences. Please turn out, or send testimony, if you can help with this important public health issue.

"I...am quite sure that those who come after us will blame us for sacrificing such a spot to the demands of business...."

a) Whose words are these?
b) In what year?
c) About what Somerville "spot"?
d) 'Sacrificed' when?
e) To what "demands of business"?
f) Under what Mayor?

For those who haven't a clue, I encourage creative guessing. In the absence of an outright winner, the author of the most original and entertaining answer will win the lunch. Correct and winning answers will be printed here. Happy keyboarding!