May 7, 2008 GAC Update
The Council held a roundtable meeting on Cambridge demographics on Monday and held the second day of Budget hearings on Wednesday. The Council meets next Monday in a regular session.
The GAC met last Tuesday and heard about the work of the Cambridge License Commission from our guest Chairman of the Cambridge License Commission Richard Scali.
The next GAC meeting is Wednesday May 21 and our guest is James Scafide from the Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley.
Upcoming GAC Events
The 2008 Government Affairs program is sponsored by
Genzyme.
May GAC Meeting and Luncheon
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
James Scafide, Chief of the Business Technology and Economic Development Division of the Office of Massachusetts
Attorney General, will be our guest at the May GAC meeting and luncheon. He will discuss Attorney General Martha Coakley’s initiatives around job creation and economic development and is interested in learning what issues are of importance to the Cambridge business community.
Noon, Chamber Board Room
If you plan to attend please RSVP to Terrence Smith, Director of Government Affairs at
tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at 617-876-4213.
(Note change of date for the guest and that the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday)
June GAC Meeting and Luncheon
June 24, 2008
Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas will address the June GAC Meeting and Luncheon
Noon, Chamber Board Room
If you plan to attend please RSVP to Terrence Smith, Director of Government Affairs at
tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at 617-876-4213.
Richard Scali Addresses GAC
The GAC met on Tuesday, April 27 and heard a presentation from Richard Scali, Chair of the Cambridge License Commission. The License Commission issues more than 2,800 licenses annually for a wide variety of activities including hotels, restaurants, taxis, alcohol sales and gasoline storage. The City’s Consumer Division is also part of the License Commission. Mr. Scali focused on two major initiatives, the Clean Air Cab Program and changes to the Alcohol License Cap Policy.
The Cambridge Clean Air Cab Program works with the cab industry to hybrid cabs on the road in Cambridge. The License Commission provided $10,000 grants to the owner of these cabs for the switch to hybrid vehicles. This program is funded through a $30,000 donation from Whole Foods Markets and funds from the License Commission. Six Ambassador-Brattle Cabs, all with Whole Food advertising roof cabs, are currently on the road. The City is working with the cab industry to have 22 to 25 hybrid taxis on the road by next year. Mr. Scali reported that the City funds for this program come will be raised by auctioning two new taxi medallions. The City auctioned an accessible van taxi medallion recently and the winning bid was $385,000. The vehicles in use are Toyota Camry Hybrids.
Mr. Scali reported that in February the License Commission approved recommendations from the Alcohol Cap and Economic Development Task Force to make changes to the Alcohol License Cap Policy. The Task Force, which included Commission staff, staff from the City’s Economic Development Division, the City Council and members of the community, worked over the past year to identify opportunities to change the Alcohol License Cap Policy which was put in place in the mid-1980s.
Demand for alcohol licenses has increased over the past several years in Cambridge and the policy developed by the Task Force is intended to allow the Commission to better accommodate changes in the market. The new policy allows for the issuance of new licenses which have no value and are not transferable. Traditional licenses can be sold and the price of these licenses has increased greatly in high demand areas like Harvard Square. The new licenses will have annual renewal fees which will range from $2,450 for an establishment that serves beer 7 days a week until 1:00 a.m. to $6,320 for an establishment that serves all alcohol seven days a week until 1:00 a.m. These fees are higher than those required for traditional licenses.
During questions and answers Mr. Scali reported that enforcement issues are handled through a progressive discipline process which includes training of staff, reduction of hours of operation, and closings that can range from a week to a month. Only in the most extreme cases are licenses cancelled.
He was asked about rude taxi drivers and reported that the City works with the industry and individual cab drivers to address complaints. In some cases drivers have lost the right to drive a cab in Cambridge. Mr. Scali was asked about coordinating taxi services with Boston, Brookline and other area communities and reported that the concern is that Boston, with almost 2,000 cabs would dominate the market. Cambridge currently has 256 taxis.
Mr. Scali presented hand-outs on both the Clean Air Cab Program and changes in the Alcohol Cap Policy and copies are available from the Chamber. Thank you to Richard Scali for speaking at the April GAC and to all who attended.
The Council met on Monday and received the FY 09 Budget, received reports regarding the health of the life science industry in Cambridge, planning work to be completed regarding the re-use of church properties and encouraging aging in-place, and limits on the City’s ability to deny resident parking permits, The Council received a zoning petition to allow a hotel development, reconsidered two items from the April 14 meeting, and passed orders regarding flyers on utility poles, moving utility wires underground and banning trans fats. The Council received Committee reports on the budget, the Cambridge Energy Alliance and neighborhood and long-term planning.
Next Monday’s Council Meeting is a roundtable meeting on Cambridge demographics.
The GAC met yesterday and heard about the work of the Cambridge License Commission from our guest Cambridge License Commissioner Richard Scali. Look for a summary of his comments in next week’s GAC Update along with a report on the City Council Finance Committee hearings on the FY 2009 City Budget which begin Thursday May 1.
The next GAC meeting is Wednesday May 21 and our guest is James Scafide from the Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley.
For a listing of public meetings, visit the Public Meetings link or the Public Meeting Notices area of the City of Cambridge Web site.
