Episode 463 – Cambridge InsideOut: May 12, 2020 – Still Inside more than Outside
This episode was broadcast on May 12, 2020 at 6:30pm. Topics: The Empty City; closing of streets; mandatory face masks and social distancing; Coronagendas; carefully restarting construction; Catching Up with the City Council; FY2021 Budget; To Tweet or Not to Tweet – Councillors and the City Charter; access to recycling. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
The City of Cambridge today issued an emergency order requiring that face coverings be worn in all public places, businesses and common areas of residential buildings. The order takes effect at 12:01am on Wednesday, April 29, and applies to everyone over the age of five years old, with exceptions in alignment with guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control or Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Violations may be punishable by a $300 fine.
“While we are grateful to those in Cambridge who have been heeding our previous mask advisory and taking this issue seriously, we are concerned about the number of residents who continue to shop, walk, run and bike throughout the city without proper face coverings,” said Mayor Siddiqui and City Manager DePasquale in a joint statement. “We must all do our part in flattening the curve and make sure we are preventing the further spread of COVID-19. This mandate emphasizes the importance of wearing a face covering, not as an option, but as a requirement in our effort to combat this pandemic together.”
The order applies to everyone over five years old “without limitation, when on, in or about” public places, defined as:
The mask requirement also applies to anyone working in or visiting an essential business, as well as shoppers and consumers. Masks must remain on throughout shifts or visits to those businesses. The businesses covered under the order, include:
In residential buildings of two or more units, masks will be required prior to entering any common area, including:
Residents are reminded to serve as positive community role models by wearing their masks during this order. The Cambridge Police Department will be focused on educating violators and may issue warnings to those residents who do not cooperate. For those who willingly refuse to comply, they may be subject to a $300 fine.
The full text of the emergency order can be found here.
As a reminder, face covering is not a substitute for physical distancing and regular hand washing, which remain among the most effective ways to slow the spread of COVID-19. The single most effective way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home.
The City is committed to identifying new resources to help residents and businesses navigate this difficult time. For more information and to sign up to receive updates on COVID-19, please visit the City’s dedicated information page: https://www.cambridgema.gov/covid19
While we all strive to "level the curve" and hope for the best, City Council business continues even as most other businesses do not (at least for now). Springtime is usually the season of hope and renewal and that’s rarely been more relevant than this year – at least for those of us who have not lived through World Wars or civil wars (which always struck me as a oxymoron).
Here are the items on this week’s agenda that I found most noteworthy:
Manager’s Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to an update on COVID-19.
Manager’s Agenda #4. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $215,450 from Free Cash to the General Fund Human Service Programs Other Ordinary Maintenance account to support the Homeless Shelter / Local Restaurant Community Meals Program.
While people can debate whether every action has been the right choice, there is no question that the City Manager and City departments have really been responsive in dealing with this horrible crisis. I’m looking forward to how we go about the transition from crisis to manageable threat. In any case, a lot of practices adopted during this crisis will persist for a very long time. Don’t go expecting a handshake from anyone any time soon, and I expect that masks and gloves may become a regular practice on all public transportation for the foreseeable future.
Charter Right #1. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with the relevant City departments to give the Council a financial impact summary on how the local Covid-19 response will be impacting the City’s free cash and ability to budget looking into July 1, 2021, and to report back to the City Council in a timely manner. [CHARTER RIGHT EXERCISED BY COUNCILLOR SIMMONS ON APR 6, 2020]
Communications & Reports #5. A communication was received from Anthony Ivan Wilson, City Clerk, responding to a question regarding parliamentary procedure.
Pointless kerfuffle. The issue is whether the latter (Apr 6 Order #1 which asks about the effect on next year’s budget and free cash) duplicates the former (Mar 30 Order #5 which asks about current year’s/next year’s budget and free cash). The City Clerk is correct, but the City Council has filed repeated orders on various topics in the past regardless of what the rules may say.
Order #1. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to appoint and convene a Small Business Recovery Advisory Committee. Councillor Simmons, Vice Mayor Mallon
Order #2. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to appoint and convene a COVID-19 Advisory Committee to review the impact of the pandemic on local communities of color, to propose ways to better disseminate information on Impact to Communities of Color. Councillor Simmons
I think the real distinction here has more to do with income levels and job categories than anything else. Some people can avoid public transportation and work from home and maybe have a good health plan and enough savings to ride things out. Others don’t have such luxuries.
Order #3. That in absence of revised City Council goals for the new term, the most recent approved goals are used in all Council business, particularly the budgetary process. Councillor Carlone, Councillor Simmons, Mayor Siddiqui
One would hope that they would at least pencil in the one additional goal of providing sufficient resources to continue to deal with the Covid-19 crisis and its effects on residents and businesses. I really don’t want to see a lot of resources dedicated to things that are fundamentally optional when there are necessities that have to be addressed right now.
Order #4. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with the Public Health Department to develop and implement stricter public health regulations to protect our grocery store workers. Vice Mayor Mallon, Mayor Siddiqui
Absolutely, but not just because of an anecdote or two. Sometimes I think Twitter and neighborhood listservs are the primary source of Cambridge public policy.
Order #5. That the City Council go on record in full support of this petition and of Harvard graduate students as they courageously stand up for their needs in a time of crisis. Councillor McGovern, Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Zondervan
Order #7. That the City Manager examine expanding the City’s jobs programs for those unemployed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Carlone
Order #8. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to repurpose the War Memorial facility into only a COVID-19 testing and temporary quarantine site for unhoused individuals awaiting their test results. Councillor Zondervan, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler
One week the War Memorial facility is set aside as an emergency shelter primarily to prevent infection, and now this Order calls for it to be used only as a COVID-19 testing and temporary quarantine site. It will be interesting to hear from City Management on this, but it sure seems like a couple of city councillors are making a career out of second-guessing city management and those in charge of public health and public safety.
Communications & Reports #1. A communication was received from the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority, transmitting the 2019 Annual Report.
Communications & Reports #6. A communication was received from Councillor Quinton Zondervan, transmitting thoughts on planning for the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I won’t comment on the particulars, but I do appreciate that we are at least beginning to think of next phases to this thing. Unlike some of the foolishness I hear from Washington, D.C. about "reopening the country" as though it was some kind of on-off switch, any rational person needs to understand that this will have to be an extended transition during which some aspects of normalcy will take longer than others and some things will likely change permanently. – Robert Winters
March 15, 2020 – The City of Cambridge has been deeply immersed in dealing with the containment of the Coronavirus crisis. We have closed schools, libraries, Department of Human Services Programs’ preschool and afterschool programs, youth and senior centers, and a number of other public facilities, and we have cancelled all permitted events. We will be closing City municipal buildings to the general public at 5 p.m., Monday, March 16, 2020, until further notice. City Hall will remain open for the City Council meeting, but all City departments at City Hall will be closed to the public starting at 5:00pm on Monday, March 16, 2020.
Our workforce is incredibly committed and responsive to ensuring the City can safely meet the needs of our community. We are particularly appreciative of our Public Health Department, City leadership team, and Public Safety officials in dealing with overall emergency preparedness. There have been many excellent questions raised over the last week and we wanted to address action steps we will undertake over the next week:
Aggressive social distancing is a proven public health strategy. It is the key to saving lives and resuming our lives in the future. The City has enlisted and will continue enlisting experts in matters of infectious disease, communication and emergency response and preparedness. We will communicate regularly and strongly encourage the public to regularly visit www.cambridgema.gov/covid19 for updates and resources.
We need our entire community, in collaboration with state and federal agencies, to be involved in mitigating and slowing this pandemic. We know that the current situation will worsen before it improves. We want to ensure the public that the City’s team, your elected officials, and our community partners are thoughtfully approaching this rapidly evolving pandemic. We are committed to addressing the challenges and needs of the community today and into the future. Because of careful strong City management and sound fiscal policies set by the City Council, the City is in a financial position to strategically use our free cash reserves to support our COVID-19 pandemic response. We are here for you today and we are confident the Cambridge community will, as always, rise to the occasion to respond this challenge.
This episode was broadcast on Mar 10, 2020 at 5:30pm. Topics: Covid-19, Harvard, MIT; Presidential Primaries; paper ballots & verifiable voting; voting standards – state or federal; ballot access. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Mar 10, 2020 at 6:00pm. Topics: Fresh Pond Apartments affordability extended; real estate transfer tax proposals; regulating gas/electric/telecom – mandates vs. choice/rights; Broadband and Cable TV – Where’s Popeye?; dearth of local State Rep/Senate candidates. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Feb 25, 2020 at 5:30pm. Topics: Goin’ to meetings; ideologues vs. practicalists; baseball makes it real; the return of the AHO; political power, nonrepresentation and ABC-CresA-CCC-ORC; tales of CCA; surveillance & laryngoscopes. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Feb 25, 2020 at 6:00pm. Topics: MBTA & bikes & buses & compromise; Manager’s contract and broadband feasibility; Carlone’s billions on the table; Prop 2½ and the levy limit; tax classification; condo sweet tax deal; discontinuing library fines; garbage limits; the Forgiving & Courteous City; absentee landlords, rats and the Lechmere of the future. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Feb 11, 2020 at 5:30pm. Topics: Voting & Elections & Cheating; election standards, voting machines, voter registration, early voting, Presidential primary, noncompetitive elections, broken political systems, ranked choice voting; Tree Cutting Moratorium extended. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
This episode was broadcast on Feb 11, 2020 at 6:00pm. Topics: Welcoming Community Ordinance; Council rhetoric and misunderstanding; Charter Rights and Charter Wrongs; Foreign Policy Committee? history of and possible changes to City Council subcommittees; Full-Time City Council Aides, political patronage, Incumbency Protection Program; City Manager contract. Hosts: Judy Nathans, Robert Winters [On YouTube] [audio]
Here are the little nuggets that I found comment-worthy this week:
Manager’s Agenda #6. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a home rule petition to the state legislature that would lower the voting age to sixteen (16) in municipal elections.
As I said last April when this idea had its day in committee: "As for lowering the voting age for municipal elections to 16 years old, my belief is that the minimum voting age should be the same across the entire Commonwealth and not vary from town to town. If you want to make the case for this, try to convince the state legislature to do it statewide or pursue other matters." As the City Solicitor notes in her message, the City Council submitted home rule petitions in 2002 and 2006 to be permitted to lower the municipal voting age to 17, and neither of those petitions was approved. The current petition asks to drop the voting age even lower.
Manager’s Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, recommending the appointment of the following person as a member of the Cambridge Housing Authority Board of Commissioners for a term of 5-years, as recommended by the Greater Boston Labor Council: Louis Bacci, III.
That makes two appointments to the Cambridge Housing Authority Board in as many weeks. As noted last week, the CHA Board is one of only two City boards where appointees require City Council confirmation, so the appointment of Louis Bacci (who presumably will succeed Anthony Pini) will likely be referred to the Housing Committee for a formal hearing – maybe even a two-for-one deal along with appointee Gerald Clark. [Members of Cambridge Boards & Commissions (updated Jan 24, 2020)]
Manager’s Agenda #8. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the Mayor’s recommended appointments of the following member of the Family Policy Council, effective Feb 3, 2020 for the 2020-2021 Council term: Vice Mayor Alanna Mallon and School Committee Member Ayesha Wilson.
Resolution #4. Retirement of Mary Hart from her role as Chief Information Officer for the Information Technology Department. Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Carlone, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Toomey, Councillor Zondervan
Though it’s been corrected in the revised agenda, this resolution initially went in with 9 co-sponsors. Heaven forbid that there would have been a conspiracy among a majority of councillors in defiance of the Open Meeting Law on this purely congratulatory resolution. [Some rules are just plain silly.] I’m a bit curious if retiring "from her role as Chief Information Officer" for IT is the same as retirement from working for the City. In any case, look for the City Council to step up in their call for Municipal Broadband – especially in light of Communications & Reports #2 (below).
Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to review the roles, responsibilities, and compensation of City Council Aides with an eye toward designating this as a full-time position. Councillor Simmons, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Carlone
I dispute the foundation of this Order, specifically the assertion that "This role has, in the ensuing years, greatly expanded and evolved, with Council Aides managing the schedules of their Council members, conducting constituent intakes and triage, planning and participating in Committee hearings, representing their Council member in public and private meetings, serving as liaisons between their Council members and other elected officials, and serving as an additional conduit between the municipal elected officials and their constituents, in addition to their originally outlined duties." Is the new practice of having stand-ins for city councillors something that should be celebrated and rewarded? City Council committees may need additional support to function optimally, but not individual councillors. Let’s also not forget that the primary route to a job as a City Council aide is to work in the election campaign of the councillor. Finally, I will note that efforts to grow this particular form of political patronage have often coincided with mayoral elections and proposed extensions of a city manager’s contract. Again, see Communications & Reports #2 (below).
I will also note City Hall parking that was once open to anyone working in City Hall (except for Monday evenings) is now exclusively for city councillors on all days and all hours regardless when any councillors are in the building.
Order #3. That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with the Department of Public Works and any other relevant City departments to update the Council on the plans for the Cambridge Recycling Center. Councillor Toomey, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councillor Zondervan
As one of the people who argued for the continuation of the Recycling Center after the City began curbside recycling (July 1991) and who recommended some of the features of the current setup, I’m quite interested in how this resource may evolve. Whether the City moves toward having a mobile Recycling Center or a better layout for the DPW Yard, this question is fundamentally linked to the long-term plans for the DPW Yard and whether it will remain at 147 Hampshire Street or be relocated. I sure appreciated being able to bring some heavy scrap metal there this weekend.
Order #5. Improvements to STR Ordinance to Enhance Compliance. Councillor McGovern, Councillor Carlone
Perhaps this is what you get when you choose to have an ordinance go into effect on April Fools Day.
Communications & Reports #2. A communication was received from Councillor Simmons, transmitting a letter from City Manager Louis A. DePasquale, who is serving formal notice of his desire to enter into formal negotiations with the City Council to extend his contract with the City beyond January 2021.
I’m glad to see that Louis DePasquale wants to continue as City Manager. He deserves an extension simply on the merits of his job performance. That said, I can well imagine more than a few pet projects of individual councillors getting funded in this budget cycle. Just sayin’. – Robert Winters
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