Agenda
- Spring Cleanup
- Porter Hotel
- Ears to the Ground
Spring Cleanup The cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, April 30, from 9:30 to 11:30am. Announcements have gone out to PSNA, Agassiz, Lesley, St. James's, the Ward Ten Democratic Committee, and various local merchants. John will distribute equipment from the parklet next to the Red Line station and will coordinate activities from there. Lesley has been notified and will probably produce a group of students. DPW has been notified about bag pickup, and Christopher's about the post-cleanup lunch. Si Shapiro mentioned that the Somerville Rotary was conducting a food pantry at Star Market on April 30. It would be a good thing to drop off some appropriate food before or after the cleanup.
Porter Hotel On March 8, the developer of the Porter Hotel presented to the Planning Board their proposed solutions for masking the Eversource transformer in the park and the mechanicals on the roof. The Planning Board wanted to see more options, and continued the hearing until May 3. In our discussion we agreed that it was time to get on with the hotel; further delay would serve no good purpose. At the same time this should not set a precedent for future development. Various ways for the developer to compensate the community for the loss of the park were suggested including murals, trees, and street furniture. (Added after the May 3 hearing:) John Howard raised the above points at the Planning Board hearing; other citizens supported them. After a lengthy discussion of options for screening the rooftop equipment, the Planning Board voted to allow the project to go forward.