In
my January 28th opinion piece ("Budget Situation: Tough but
Survivable"), I reported that I'd received some criticism for being too
optimistic about the City's fiscal situation.

I'm guilty as
charged, especially when it comes to our short-term budgeting. Let me
add a note of caution, however, by being more specific: FY2009 –
current budget year that ends June 30th – is going to be tight, but I
am confident we can cope without major structural adjustments. On the
other hand, FY2010 will require some very tough choices and a
willingness to embrace creative solutions, both one-time and permanent.
Our goal will continue to be avoiding cuts in core services. Over the
past five years, we've made real progress in improving service quality
and delivery, and it would be a shame to undercut that those
achievements by rolling back programs and personnel, especially in
public safety, education, public works or parks.

But, between
now and June 30th, we have to absorb nearly $3 million in state aid
cuts while coping with the added costs of a heavier-than-average winter
storm season and escalating health insurance costs. But the steps we
have already put in place – leaving some positions vacant; freezing
salaries; saving money where we can on energy and materials; delaying
or deferring some capital projects – will allow use to close the gap. I
want make special note of the fact that we have been working closely
with the School Committee and Superintendent Pierantozzi to put
together a similar austerity program for the School budget. I also want
to thank the Board of Aldermen for taking a proactive and collaborative
approach to revising this year's budget: they've paid close attention
to the details and helped make possible a year without layoffs,
furloughs or other major disruptions.

In fact, if we were
facing just one bad year, we'd be fine, which is more than you can say
for many other communities in Massachusetts. Some cities and towns have
already begun to lay off personnel and close facilities. If it seems as
if Somerville has been slower to take similarly harsh action, it's
because we really don't have to in this fiscal year. One big reason is
that we're careful to use conservative fiscal assumptions. So far in
FY2009, our revenues have been running two percent higher than
projected; and we have underspent our budget to date by two percent.
That gives us a little more room to maneuver than is available to many
cities and towns.

But as we start the planning process for the
new budget that will go into place on July 1, 2009, we are facing a
much more challenging situation. In addition to more local aid cuts,
the state budget will see reductions in other areas of spending that
directly support cities and towns, including library aid, police career
incentive salary supports, and more. To help compensate for the added
strain that all these changes will put on municipal budgets, Governor
Patrick has proposed local-option hotel and meal taxes, as well as the
closure of the 1913 telecommunications property tax loophole. The state
estimates that these changes could bring Somerville another $3.4
million per year – but these proposals have not yet been approved by
the legislature and, even if they become law, they will take time to
implement. Cities and towns will not see the added revenue until well
after the new fiscal year is underway.

And then there is the
problem of escalating health care costs. We are working hard to control
our health care expenditures, but restrictive state rules require us to
negotiate changes in plan design and co-pays with our collective
bargaining units. If current trends remain unchanged, the result will
be that, in FY2010, our projected increase in health care costs ($3.1
million) will – for the first time in our history – exceed the total
projected increase of our property tax revenues as allowed by
Proposition 2¬Ω ($2.3 million).

Even with added local option
revenues from the state, it's likely that we'll have to come up with
over $8.5 million in combined cuts and new revenues for FY2010. That's
equivalent to over seven percent of the city's non-School budget. $8.5
million is more than half the combined personnel budgets for our police
and firefighters: it's too much of a hit to be absorbed by cuts alone.

Of
course, budget cuts will be part of the solution, but a gap of that
size means that everything else is on the table. We'll need both to cut
costs and enhance revenues if we want to maintain our core services.

On
the cost-cutting side, we have to be ready to look at layoffs, wage
freezes, furloughs, hiring and overtime restrictions, added health care
contributions from union workers (non-union workers already pay 20
percent). It will also mean reducing consumption of energy and
materials, and any additional savings we can wring out of pooled or
restricted purchasing policies. And it will require us to look at our
work practices to become ever more efficient and cost-effective.

On
the revenue side, it means looking at every fee and fine in our books
to see if there's a better way to enforce and collect the charges we
impose – and whether or not any of them need to be increased.

The
budget discussion this year will be very public and very open, and we
will be seeking input not only from our Board of Aldermen, but from
residents and fiscal experts alike. Over the next few weeks, I will be
bringing a budget presentation to local ResiStat meetings, and we will
be setting up an online budget form to take comments and suggestions
from the public.

Can we get through FY2010 without major cuts to
core services? I continue to believe that the answer is "yes," – but
we'll need the help of the legislature, the cooperation of our unions,
at least some stabilization of the regional economy – and a
disciplined, unified approach to managing our finances. And – as my
critics will tell you – I'm an optimist. So stay tuned.

While it was tremendous publicity for Somerville, it
might have been better if it hadn't been so secret – there still would
have probably been the same preparation, probably the same amount of
people hoping to catch a glimpse of the band, probably no serious
incidents, probably a lot of the same things would have gone the way
they did. Probably.

One thing that would have most definitely
been better – local media and radio and VJ Sway might have been able to
remember the event was in Somerville and not Boston. That would have
been nice.

"When
I was a kid," used to be the beginning of statements made by our
parents, but I hear it coming out of my own mouth more and more lately.
I can't believe that I now qualify to talk about "the good old days."
When did that happen?

A recent reckoning came to me thanks to
Facebook – I got a chance to see old photos up close as I posted them
to the popular time consuming online site. I look at these photos and
say to myself "what the Hell happened to the last 30 years?" Well, it
went by in a flash. As David Bowie said: "Turn and face the strange, ch
ch changes!" I'm turning, and facing, and boy are they strange.

I
am in an okay place, despite watching every cent for the first time in
my life, but I am reminiscing a lot more lately for some reason. I know
I am not mellowing out, because I am still a hot headed big mouth blow
hard (sometimes). I am just doing a lot of looking back lately, and
here's what I see – I am almost 56 years old and I am basically a kid
stuck in an aging body. I think that goes for lot of my Somerville
friends as well. We are still kids at heart.

Growing up in
Somerville was a blast and we will always carry that sense of youthful
humor. We laugh over the same silly things that have been amusing us
for decades. We gather every so often and talk about our high school
days, the cool cars we drove, and tell the same funny stories that we
now have down to an art. We drive our kids to kung fu, hockey,
basketball and the mall.

Sometimes our kids roll their eyes when
we start talking about the old days, but I notice they also enjoy some
of the crazy tales. We limit the time they spend on the computer, but
increase our own surfing time. We see our bills going up and our cash
flow going down. And finally, we have officially become our parents.
And if I have become my father, I have the right to voice my opinion,
just like he did.

I now make silly comments to the cashiers at
Johnnie's and Shaw's about the amount my food purchase comes to. I say
dumb stuff like "Jeez, these kids have to eat EVERY day?" The cost of
eating is eating my heart out. They look at me like I am a deranged old
coot, which may not be too far fetched! If you've seen me lately, you
will agree that I am definitely not starving, so I am finding a way to
continue eating my share at least. I constantly have to watch my ch ch
changing…waistline. I wish that when I shop I could get back more ch
ch change!

I may have to call up the "boys" and see if anyone
wants to put the old band back together and go out and do some gigs for
some extra cash. I am pretty sure I can still rock, although I may have
to keep a chair and some ben-gay close to my piano. I have also
considered dusting off my real estate license and trying to do some
rentals. I was pretty good at that when I worked with Jackie Veri. I
even sold a condo! I have always lived beyond my means, and now I am in
the same flimsy mortgage boat that many of us are in.

Some
changes I don't like so much are out of state drivers on cell phones
speeding through pedestrian crosswalks, while said pedestrian is half
way across. Seems to be more of these banana heads all the time. And if
you beep at them to show your displeasure at their careless disregard
for law and safety, they usually flip you half a peace sign.

Another
not so wonderful change that has occurred is that my new mustache is
very grey. I wonder why it doesn't match my hair? I look like a cross
between Don Amece (Cocoon, Trading Places) and Tony Orlando (before he
went on the Slim Fast diet). But with the changing of the season, I
have vowed to take longer walks with the dog, hit the gym more and eat
less (ok, and try not to lie as much).

I wish we didn't have to
wait so long for the weekend. Thankfully Spring is right around the
corner, bringing with it a fresh new start, full of hope. As a matter
of fact, I'm full of it right now.

I guess I just want to be a
kid again – with no responsibilities, no bills, with parents who used
to fix everything for me. Yes, I have changed into my parents, and I am
quite happy about that. I am half mom and half dad. Today I will pay
bills, dust and cook a boiled dinner – later on I will slap on some Old
Spice, eat the boiled dinner and then watch TV. You can email Jimmy
directly with comments at jimmydel@rcn.com.

"It's hard to believe that it's all over," said Lynch
in reflecting on his successful high school hockey career. "I've had a
lot of great memories here on the team, and I've made a lot of friends
that I'm sure I'll have for the rest of my life. When I look back, I'll
have a lot of great memories I had with my coaches and teammates."

A
lifelong Somerville native, Lynch's passion for the sport developed at
the tender age of three where he would often watch various family
members compete at both the high school and collegiate levels.

"I
remember seeing my cousin and my dad skate around and play in leagues,"
said Lynch. "I just knew that playing hockey was just something I
always wanted to do. As soon as I started walking, I was anxious to
pick up some skates and hit the ice."

Only three years old,
Lynch's family enrolled him in a Learn to Skate Program, where he
slowly developed into a budding prospect. Following intense practices
with family and fellow friends, Lynch participated in the city's youth
hockey program, where he slowly emerged through the ranks and developed
into a solid forward.

Toiling through the Midgets, Mites and Pee
Wees, Lynch also learned valuable experience throughout his elementary
and middle school years as a member of various travel teams.

"It
was a lot of fun because I learned a lot from playing under my
coaches,' said Lynch "I made a ton of friends, and really experienced a
lot. It was just so much fun, and I just continued to fall in love with
hockey. It's something I did almost every day and I stuck with it, and
just tried to get better each and every day."

After completing
his middle school years, Lynch was faced with a decision to venture off
to preparatory and private schools. Following days of agonizing
uncertainty, Lynch decided to continue his high school education at
Somerville High, a move he hasn't regretted one bit.

"It was
tough because I had some offers from other local schools to play
hockey," said Lynch. "I probably could've played at either Matignon or
Malden Catholic, but I decided to stay here at Somerville and be with
all the friends I grew up and played hockey with. I'm happy I decided
to stay here at Somerville, and I never really thought twice about it."

During
his freshman season, Lynch saw limited action on the ice rotating
between forward and defense. As Lynch adapted to performing at the high
school level, the Highlanders struggled through a three-win season.

"It
was tough because we were losing a lot of games, and I was making some
adjustments between playing forward and defense," recalled Lynch. "We
had trouble clicking at times, and we went up against some tough teams
that season."

As a sophomore Lynch didn't see a lot of action, as the Highlanders continued to struggle through a six-win campaign.

"It's
tough sitting on the bench," said Lynch. "We had a lot of older guys on
the team, so all I could do is continue to work hard and learn from
them. There were times where I could've just walked away and quit the
team, but I just continued to hang in there because I loved the sport
and wanted to be with my teammates."

After experiencing a pair
of rough seasons, the Highlanders hired Mike Bertoni and the atmosphere
quickly changed on the ice and in the locker room.

"We knew that
when he (Bertoni) came on to coach us, there was just a different
feeling in the air," said Lynch. "He's (Bertoni) really motivated
everyone and brought out the best in the team. We just knew that things
were going to turn around and they did.

Led by goaltender Billy
Weiand, the Highlanders roared off to a 10-1-1 start before finishing
the season with an impressive 12-4-4 mark. Lynch was also shifted from
forward to defense, where he registered 12 points (2-10-12).

"I
just wanted to do anything to help the team win," said Lynch. "We all
bought into his (Bertoni's) philosophy and he was trying to experiment
with different things, and thought I would be a good fit on defense. It
was a lot of fun playing defense and I definitely enjoyed it."

Despite
posting a successful regular season, the Highlanders suffered a tough
1-0 shutout loss to Oliver Ames in the first round of the Division 2
South tournament.

"It was tough because we thought we could win
a couple of games and go pretty deep," said Lynch. "But we ran into a
hot goaltender, and we just couldn't find a way to get the puck by him."

While
the Highlanders finished the regular season off strong, Lynch suffered
the scare of his life when he was hospitalized at Children's Hospital
with double pneumonia for 18 days. For nearly three weeks, he was
incapacitated and breathing through a tube as doctors didn't think he
would be able to pull through.

"I had this cold and I was just
fighting through it,' said Lynch. "Then one day, I had these awful
pains in my chest and I almost collapsed. I was rushed to the hospital
and put through all these tubes. They (doctors) didn't think I was
going to make it, but I got a lot of support from my family, friends
and coaches. They came up to check on me almost every day, and I even
got a call from Cam Neely."

Even as Lynch missed the tournament, he managed to place all things in perspective.

"It
was a real scary experience and it really forced me to realize how
fortunate I am to have great family and friends and coaches," said
Lynch. "I'm just very grateful to be alive and be playing hockey again."

After
six weeks of rehabilitation, Lynch returned to school and was cleared
to play athletics, where he played the last four games of the baseball
season.

"I really didn't think I was going to play again,"
said Lynch. "After all I went through; to go back out and play sports
again was just a victory in itself. I just tried to enjoy every minute
of it while I was out there."

Despite losing an abundance of
seniors to the cap and gown from last year's hockey squad, the
Highlanders remained upbeat regarding their return to the tournament.
After winning the Greater Boston League holiday tournament, the
Highlanders were on course for another bid to the playoffs. Instead
injuries and other issues led to a losing streak midway through the
season.

Needing to win three out of their final four games to
qualify for the tournament, the Highlanders' bid for a return fell just
short after a 4-2 loss to Melrose in the first round of the Winthrop
tournament.

"It's tough to come that close to the tournament,
and to fall just short," said Lynch. "I was hoping we would be able to
qualify in my senior year and have that experience, but we just
couldn't."

A three sport athlete, Lynch served as a valuable
member of the golf team, earning league all-star status and is also
slated to be penciled in as the Highlanders starting second baseman
come this spring.

"I'm definitely looking forward to be playing
baseball in the spring," said Lynch. "We've been practicing the past
few weeks in the gym, just trying to get loose and get ready for the
season when it starts."

As for future plans, Lynch is uncertain,
but intends on continuing his hockey career at some level, either in
juniors in college or at post graduate school.

"It's really all
going to come down to the economics," said Lynch. "I'd definitely like
to play hockey in college, but we'll see what happens. Hopefully it'll
all work out."

Somerville, Massachusetts, a city on the
outskirts of Boston and Cambridge, has often been called the "Paris of
New England." Maybe at one time, when the city was a down-at-the heels
old industrial town, it was said with tongue in cheek – but no more.
The UTNE READER opined that Davis Square is the hippest Square in the
country, and a study in the tony literary magazine GRANTA reported that
Somerville has more writers per-capita than Manhattan. In this charged
literary milieu, I am able to entertain my passion for interviewing,
more specifically: interviewing Poets and Writers. I happen to be very
lucky to be the Arts Editor for The Somerville News, and to have my own
column "Off the Shelf." This gives me a sort of license to tap the rich
lode of writers and artists who live in my burg. I have interviewed
people in my favorite café Sherman in the Union Square section of the
city, in my study on School St, on my Somerville Community Access TV
show " Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer," in the offices of The
Somerville News, and at my regular writers' group the "Bagel Bards," to
name a few spots. I decided to compile the many interviews I have
conducted in a collection "From the Paris of New England: Interviews
with Poets and Writers." (Ibbetson Street). Here is a review of the
book by Hugh Fox, who was a founding editor of the Pushcart Prize:

From the Paris of New England:

Interviews with Poets and Writers.

By Doug Holder

2009; 133pp; Ibbetson Street Press,

25 School Street, Somerville, MA 02143.

http://ibbetsonpress.com

http://lulu.com/ibbetsonpress

It's
really true, Somerville, Massachusetts, right next to Cambridge, is a
kind of New England Paris, all kinds of little eateries and galleries
and everything-else-ries, like an Asian market, a Peruvian cafe, you
name it. And what Holder has done here is to take the interviews he has
done with Somerville (and other fancy-wancy, avant-garde, or
no-guard-at-all) writers, bookstore owners, publishers, etc. and put
them together in a book — with photos.

Masterfully done,
Holder really brings the Somerville lit-world alive, alive, alive.
There's Louisa Solano, who ran the Grolier Poetry Book Shop for over
thirty years, talking about Robert Lowell, Philip Levine, Bukowski,
Kerouac, Ginsberg, Ed Hogan, there's poet Lisa Beatman, talking about
her recently published working-class-centered poetry (author of
Manufacturing America: Poems From the Factory), there's poet Martha
Collins who established the Creative Writing Program at U/Mass Boston
and who teachers Creative Writing at Oberlin College, there's Dick
Lourie, poet-musician-publisher (of Hanging Loose mag and publishing
house) talking about the old (and new) days in Somerville, Beat poet
and organizer Jack Powers, Eva Salzman, who has spent years and years
in England, there's poet Afaa Michael Weaver, a professor of Literature
at Simmons College in Boston talking about being an African-American
poet in a community that gives you the space to be eccentric, poet
Sarah Hannah, a professor at Emerson College in Boston, talking about
Ph.D.'s versus poetic creativity, there's poetic genius Lo Gallucio
talking about psychological problems and creativity, poet-publisher
Gloria Mindock who glories in the richness of cultural life in
Somerville, filled with writers, painters and actors…..

It
would take another book to just write about this book, that's how rich
it is. Interviews with Mike Basinski, Errol Uys, Lan Samantha Chang,
Miriam Levine, Mark Doty, Claire Messud, Ed Sanders, Robert Creeley,
it's a veritable Who's Who of artistic souls in Somerville. You go to
the Bagel Bard readings in Somerville, hang around with the Somerville
poet-artist gang, and it is like going back to Paris at the end of the
nineteenth, the beginning of the twentieth century.

*Hugh Fox is a founding editor of the Pushcart Prize and author of "Way, Way Off the Road: Memoir of an Invisible Man."

Breathe, Smell

The breath of the unshaven Russian on the other

side of the counter smells like decaying

rats in a trap

The beautiful woman at another counter has

blue eyes like marbles and yellow hair of a

distant sun but her perfume is

like rancid butter

Another man has the odor of a thousand

smoked cigars snuffed out and left in the closet

to grow putrid

There are times the nose wishes to be buried

in roses, greased by orange zest or trapped in

a pecan pie

The nose knows beauty and ugly

as for danger and safety the nose tells the eyes what

to look for

–Zvi A. Sesling

The 343 Summer Street property where the Dakota
Partners plan to build a 14-unit condominium development has remained
empty as a series of litigation has stalled the project. A suit by
abutter Dr. Mohamed Hanif Butt wound its way to the Massachusetts
Supreme Court, with Butt eventually losing. With the construction
permit on the brink of lapsing, the ZBA unanimously approved an
extension at the Feb. 18th meeting.

While Dakota now has until
March 2010 to begin work, their ongoing lawsuit against the city over a
proposed fire lane that would take down a public shade tree continues
to block progress.

In addition to Dakota's litigation against
the city, which the group used as the justification for hardship to
gain the permit extension, a lawsuit filed March 9th by residents Carol
Dempkowski, Nancy Iappini and George O'Shea alleges the ZBA overstepped
the boundaries of the city ordinance by giving the extension.

The
same group of neighbors has also called the proceedings leading up to
the decision into question. At two hearings on the project, they say
Assistant City Solicitor David Shapiro gave misleading information that
heavily influenced the board's decision in favor of Dakota.

After asking for a recording of the meeting, they found it cuts off immediately before the hearing on the project began.

"Quite
simply, the tape failed," said Tom Champion, executive director of
Somerville's communications department. "It was frustrating for us,
too."

Champion said that such a malfunction had never occurred in the year since officials started recording meetings.

"People
who feel passionately one way of the other will feel skeptical about an
error of this kind," he added. "All you can do is tell them it was an
accidental problem. No discussions happened that weren't in public
view. All the points were on public record."

The purported
malfunction has added fuel to criticism of the way the city has handled
the extension request. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the ZBA
say Shapiro made a critical mistake when he told the board at its Feb.
4 meeting that the Dakota Partners could apply for an extension only
once – a fact which several members cited in justifying their votes at
a meeting two weeks later.

"I'm not going to lie, I won't be
heartbroken if this thing doesn't get settled in court and expires in a
year," board member Richard Rossetti said. "Unfortunately, I have to go
with what the law says. For that reason, I'm going to lean toward
giving them the extra year."

A day after the meeting, Shapiro
sent an e-mail to the ZBA explaining that Somerville's one-year limit
was susceptible to legal challenges based on a 2002 decision by the
Massachusetts Attorney General's rejection of a similar ordinance
proposed in Swansea.

"While the Attorney General opinion does
not constitute case law," Shapiro's e-mail stated, "I do agree with the
rationale that an ordinance may not limit the number of extensions
where there is good cause to extend the permit."

The discussion
of the limit on the number of extensions, including the subsequent
e-mail clarifying Shapiro's position, are not included in a draft of
the meeting minutes provided to Nancy Iappini. Neither the Feb. 4 nor
Feb. 18 minutes have been posted on the city's Web site.

Iappini
said the botched meeting tape, combined with meeting minutes that omit
a majority of the points made by both sides, shows the city's lack of
oversight of the proceedings.

"We don't feel we had the
appropriate process met," Iappini said. "When meetings like that go
down, it's hard to be confident in the public process."

Just
after the lawsuit appealing the ZBA ruling was filed, the issue was put
on the March 18 meeting agenda as an "abutters' request to reopen
proceedings." The board will vote on whether to bring the matter up
again – which plaintiff George O'Shea, Iappini's husband, said could
lead to them dropping their suit.

"You have only twenty days to
make an appeal, and you had to hedge your bets," O'Shea said of the
decision to sue before seeing if the ZBA would consider a new hearing.
"Obviously it would be dropped if they opened it and changed their
mind, but we had to act."

Ras
na hEireann, which shares its Gaelic name with a cross-country race in
Ireland, attracted participants from all over Massachusetts, and about
30 from Ireland, where the Somerville event made news. The race was won
by Irishman Mark Carroll, who has been touted as Ireland's top long
distance runner, and who holds the country's record in the 5k. Carroll
came in at 14:22, or only 4 minutes and 38 seconds per mile, and the
large crowd at the finish line had to wait nearly a minute to see the
second-place finisher come in.

When organizer Paul Collyer, a
Somervillian of Irish descent, spoke of his plans to organize an Irish
race on the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day, people thought the
Somerville event wouldn't be able to compete with the parade held in
South Boston. But this year had the biggest turnout to date, with 1200
more runners than last year, and a larger crowd.

"People are
really starting to make this a yearly event," Collyer said, "more
people are using it as their St. Patrick's Day celebration."

Alderman-at-large
Jack Connolly, an avid runner who helped create the race in Somerville,
said that the idea behind the race was to mirror what's going on in
Ireland. "We wanted to make St. Paddy's weekend special, we don't need
a 3-hour parade," he said, noting that that people can drop by for 15
minutes to watch the race, or stay all day for the festivities.

After
the race ended, the crowds flocked to local bars, and long lines ran
out of The Burren, Redbones, Sligo and The Joshua Tree in Davis Square.
Bars from Magoun to Union Square were filled as well, said Collyer,
"every bar in Somerville was packed." There was a line coming out of
the Druid in Inman square as well. "We're bringing overflow business to
Cambridge instead of vice versa," he said with a laugh.

"Our
goal was to bring lots of people to Somerville, including residents,
and make it an attractive choice for people on St. Patty's," said
Alderman Connolly. "It's a huge economic uptick to businesses, and a
win for everyone."

It's also a win for youth athletic
organizations who will receive the proceeds from the event, which
Collyer estimated would be around $25,000. Somerville Track PAC, which
provides college scholarship money to Somerville High School Students,
is the main beneficiary, but money will also go to other groups such as
Somerville YMCA Learn to Swim, Somerville HS Soccer, and Toys for Tots.
All these organizations provided volunteers for the race, said Collyer,
and were very involved. "I like to work with high school teams, because
with cuts, their budgets get whacked first," he said.

Both
Collyer and Connolly contrasted the Sunday's celebration, which brought
in 20 police officers and resulted in no noted altercations, to the
South Boston Parade, which required as many as 600 police officers and
in past years has led to arrests and citations for disorderly conduct
and public drinking.

Collyer seems excited by the event's
success, and noted that it is one in a series of recent high-profile
Irish events Somerville, including the U2 concert at Somerville
Theater. He's also proud of Somerville's "ability to go head-to-head
with with the larger parade." Poking fun at the rivalry, he joked
"people go 'South Boston who?'"

Brickbottom Gallery residents lined up to
take the microphone during the comments period and told the Executive
Office of Transportation (EOT) that the project – complete with glaring
lights in their windows – would kill the quality of life for the 150
families that live there, thwart the site's potential for the creative
industry, and divert dollars away from a commercial tax base.

The
impassioned pleas were followed by rounds of applause in the high
school auditorium that was nearly filled to capacity with Somerville
(and a few Cambridge) residents and city officials.

City officials were also unanimously against the maintenance facility proposal and urged the EOT to look for alternative sites.

"We
already have the commuter line and cargo lines right next to us, and
that is something that we can get used to," said Ramon Bueno, a 20-year
resident at Brickbottom. "But having a maintenance facility will
jeopardize our health, our quality of life, the air pollution…We have
families. We fear a loss of value…We should not take on this
permanent burden."

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone was quick
to say that a blog comment, "community path design running along the
Green Line Extension in exchange for building a maintenance facility"
was false. Nothing is final yet-though much of the angst that night was
over the reported action of the EOT "shoving the project down our
throats," as one Brickbottom resident described it. The project also
involves building a community path parallel to the extension, from
Cedar Street in Somerville to North Point in Cambridge.

The
EOT wants to build a "support facility" to store and maintain Green
Line vehicles that serve the extension. The EOT has recommended that a
mid-sized maintenance facility be constructed at the Yard 8 parcel 50
feet away from Brickbottom because the site is the best size and
location. Read the EOT's Support Facility Report at
www.mass.gov/greenlineextension.

EOT project managers defended
the facility, stating that few other parcels existed – if any – in the
city to build. They said that the EOT would incorporate mitigating
features like window treatments to mange vibrations and lights directed
downwards.

There's also the argument that building a
non-taxable facility will cut off chances for commercial development at
the Inner Belt. Brickbottom resident Susanna Darling questioned why a
tax revenue study has not been conducted for Yard 8.

Still
others pointed out that Somerville is relying on state aid right now –
which is also being cut. "We only have two areas to build
(commercially) and one of those spots is the inner belt," said Bill
Shelton, a Union Square resident. "Developers will not want to build
anything by a maintenance facility."

He also urged residents
to be informed with their battle. "If all we do is say 'no,' we can't
get what we want," he said. "People must educate themselves to find
creative solutions.

Yard 8 concerns dominated, but residents
did have a few other comments. Ward 3 Alderman Thomas Taylor said the
Union Square location is too far up Prospect Street and should be moved
closer to the square.

Ron Newman of Davis Square said that the
community path is important. The path in Davis Square is a key driver
for pedestrians to get to the T Stations there. But the path along the
Lowell Street, Gilman Street and Brickbottom stops should be
reevaluated as they needed a better interface with the path.

East
Cambridge resident Alan Green said that the Lechmere relocation is a
concern because people will have to cross many lanes of the O'Brien
Highway to get to the trains. He added that the EOT needs to hold more
meetings in Cambridge and involve citizens there more. Planners
acknowledged that the Lechmere issue is "a complicated one" and the EOT
is aware of neighborhood concerns. The EOT vowed to hold more meetings
there.

The Green Line Extension must be completed by
the end of 2014, or else the EOT will have to pay penalties. The
project – which has been in the works for 40 years – is still in the
infant stages. The EOT must apply for funding and create the final
plans. In the short term, in the spring of 2009, EOT expects to submit
a draft Environmental Impact Report detailing the transportation and
environmental impacts, followed by a public comment period. Preliminary
engineering plans will commence this summer, Victor said.

The
Extension consists of two branches. The "mainline," the longer of the
two lines, will travel north from a relocated Lechmere Station to
Mystic Valley parkway/Route 16. The shorter of the two lines will veer
off to Union Square.

The pros of the project-which residents and officials congratulate-include the following:

o
It will operate in existing railroad rights-of-way, reducing the need
to purchase or take local property and limit construction.

o The branches will open many neighborhoods to new development

o It will connect residents to jobs and services

o It will improve air quality and reduce traffic and congestion