The Elizabeth Peabody House was honored with a citation commemorating its 125 years in operation during the latest meeting of the Somerville City Council.

By Joe Creason

The Somerville City Council held a regular meeting on April 22 to review orders of business and hear reports from the Councilor-led committees pertaining to the various sectors of municipal management.

Thursday’s meeting began with a citation submitted by Ward 4 Councilor Jesse Clingan and the mayor, commending the Elizabeth Peabody House on its 125 year anniversary. The organization has been a long-standing advocate for education and affordable childcare in the community.

“It’s an important milestone not just for our organization but for the community as a whole, which has supported both our work and mission for so long,” said EPH Board Member Louise Coughlin.

A resolution from City Councilor At-Large Kristen Strezo called for the Council to support the I AM bill, a piece of legislation in the works at the Massachusetts State House that would increase access to disposable menstrual products in public schools, homeless shelters and prisons.

“While the public school system here in Somerville does provide free menstrual products to students, that is not always the case throughout the Commonwealth,” Strezo said.

An order was submitted declaring the cooperation of the mayor, chief of police, director of SPCD and the City Council in collaboration with community advocates and the state delegation, with the intention of applying maximum pressure on the Massachusetts State Department of Transportation to expedite the implementation of traffic safety improvements.

“The corridor of death is what The Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets is calling the passage of McGrath Highway and Mystic Avenue,” said Ward 5 Councilor Mark Niedergang.

Niedergang recounted an incident from only the past week, where a 74-year-old veteran was inflicted with life threatening injuries after attempting to cross the busy thoroughfare from the Stop & Shop lot to the Foss Park side of McGrath Highway.

According to Niedergang, the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation had been working with Somerville to put a cross walk in that specific location. “There are other projects in the Mystic Avenue area, that even if all goes well, are not slated to be completed for another 3 to 4 years,” Niedergang said. “We know people are going to get killed or seriously injured on these roadways in the interim.”

Ward 2 Councilor J.T Scott’s report from the Finance Committee highlighted the FY22 Sewer Water Rate Proposal, a policy set in motion to address the expected raise for water utility rates in order to fund much needed infrastructure renovations.

Somerville must proactively tax and raise rates to provide funding for renovations to its water and sewer infrastructure if it is to maintain compliance with state government regulations, according to Scott, who says that if Somerville does not meet regulatory compliance, there is a concern that the state will issue an order of consent and use its authority to set rates for the city.

This could see water and sewer rates rise to a 4.5% affordability threshold. “Here in Somerville, that would mean an average annual rate payment of over $4,400, which would be nearly a four-fold increase and that’s a situation no one wants to find ourselves in,” Scott said.

According to Scott, the city is proposing a 7% increase in rates for water and a 10% increase in rates for sewer. The Sewer and Water Department is also requesting $100,000 for a pilot project on financial assistance.

The needs-based assistance program would offer direct rebates to the sewer and water bills of those on low or fixed income.

Contractors working with Comcast and Verizon submitted grant location applications to install conduit along Broadway and several intersecting streets. Installations should take no more than a day and contractors do not foresee the installations blocking multiple lanes of traffic.