May Day at City Hall – Noteworthy agenda items for the May 1, 2017 Cambridge City Council meeting
The real action this week commences Tuesday at 9:00am with the first of the two FY2018 City Budget Hearings. Here’s the lineup for the May 2 hearing:
| Mayor’s Office Executive – Leadership Employees’ Committee on Diversity Domestic & Gender Based Violence Prevention Initiative Equity and Inclusion Public Information Office Tourism City Council |
City Clerk Law Finance Admin. Budget Personnel Assessing Purchasing Auditing |
Treasury/Revenue Information Technology Employee Benefits General Services Election Commission Public Celebrations Reserve Animal Commission |
Fire Department Police Department Traffic, Parking & Transportation Inspectional Services License Commission Weights & Measures Electrical Emergency Communications |
Here are a few items from the City Council meeting’s relatively brief agenda that caught my eye:
Manager’s Agenda #4. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $240,000 of Virtual Net Metering (VNM) credits to the General Fund Public Works Other Ordinary Maintenance account to cover invoices related to the VNM agreement for the photovoltaic project known as “Summer Street Solar.”
As the communication states: "Under the agreement the City will receive monthly checks from Eversource representing the value of the credits and will pay the solar developer 85% of the credits received. Checks will be deposited into a revenue account. … The City executed this and other virtual net metering agreements as part of the strategy our energy broker recommended to help finance the procurement of 100% renewable energy. … The 2008 Massachusetts Green Communities Act created incentives for solar developers to work with municipal entities to develop projects. The municipality executes an agreement with a solar developer to purchase the entire output of a commercial scale solar array at a set price per kWh and then effectively sells the entire output of the array to the utility in return for net metering credits equal to a higher price per kWh. … The City has signed five VNM contracts for close to 6 megawatts of solar, including, most recently, rooftop arrays at Alewife MBTA and the route 128 MBTA facility in Westwood.
Resolution #5. Resolution on the death of Arvilla Sarazen. Councillor Toomey, Mayor Simmons
I was saddened to see this notice of the death of Arvilla Sarazen. I have crossed paths with Arvilla countless times over the years – in East Cambridge, at events of the Cambridge Democratic City Committee, at the Cambridge Senior Center where she often worked at the front desk, and elsewhere.
Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to confer with the necessary stakeholders to determine the practicality of buying the Tokyo site and converting it into affordable housing units. Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Devereux
Let’s not forget that this idea was first introduced at the Oct 20, 2014 City Council meeting. What has happened since then? Is the property actually for sale now or is this just wishful thinking?
Communications & Reports from City Officers #1. A communication was received from Mayor E. Dennis Simmons, regarding Policy Order #13 from Apr 24, 2017 Meeting.
This communication illustrates Mayor Simmons’ capacity to look at a broad range of possible consequences of the vote on an Order that most of her colleagues probably barely read before giving it their stamp of approval. As the Mayor clearly states, "I very much believe that taking steps to move toward 100 percent renewable energy by 2035 is a laudable goal, and communities across the globe need to be taking more aggressive and coordinated actions to protect our environment." She continues, "That said, I believe that the City Council must be more mindful in how we work toward this goal. It would be irresponsible of us as a governing body to create policies in service of any specific goal without pausing to contemplate and acknowledge the impacts they may have on various aspects of our community. There is always the danger of doing the right thing the wrong way, and we must be mindful of the fact that enacting policies too broadly can potentially create negative unintended consequences for segments of our community. In this case, I am specifically thinking about the impact that Policy Order #13 may have upon the small business community of Cambridge, and upon individual homeowners."
The current City Council has repeatedly shown a tendency to vote for populist measures that appeal to whatever group can mobilize people to show up at City Hall. Whether these city councillors actually read and understand what they are voting for – especially any broader consequences and the impact on homeowners and small businesses – remains to be seen. – Robert Winters