The Council met on Monday and passed funding requests for renovations to Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and discussed leaf blowers and the City’s support of military personnel serving in war-zones. The Council postponed the Special Presentation by the Neighborhood Safety Task Force. This discussion will be part of the December 10 City Council meeting. The Governor signed the bill addressing the permitting issues affecting land-locked tidelands that were raised in a Supreme Judicial Court decision in February regarding the North Point development.

 

The City Council does not meet next week. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for December 3. The Council’s Ordinance Committee meets next Wednesday, November 28 for a public hearing on the Cott Petition and a hearing on amending the Municipal Code regarding CORI screening.

 

The GAC meets next Tuesday and our guest is State Senator Anthony Petruccelli. The meeting and luncheon will be held at noon in the Chamber Board Room, 859 Massachusetts Avenue.  If you plan to attend please RSVP to Terrence Smith at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at (617) 876-4213 by noon on November 26.

The 2007 Government Affairs program is sponsored by Genzyme.

 

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 GAC Meeting with Senator Anthony Petruccelli

State Senator Anthony Petruccelli will be our guest at the November GAC meeting and luncheon.  Senator Petruccelli was elected in July to fill the seat held by former Senate President Robert Travaglini.  Senator Petruccelli is an East Boston native and previously served in the State House of Representatives.  His Senate district includes East Cambridge and Kendall Square, Area 4, Cambridgeport, Central Square and Riverside in Cambridge as well as East Boston, Winthrop, and Revere.

 

The meeting and luncheon will be held at noon in the Chamber Board Room, 859 Massachusetts Avenue. If you plan to attend please RSVP to Terrence Smith at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at (617) 876-4213 by noon on November 26.

 

Mark your calendar for Wednesday January 23 for the 2008 Leaders Event. Meet your elected representatives and senior officials from state and local government. We may also have some special guests. Watch this space and the Chamber website for more information.

 

 

The Council met on Monday and passed funding requests for renovations to Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and discussed leaf blowers and the City’s support of military personnel serving in war-zones. The Council postponed the Special Presentation by the Neighborhood Safety Task Force until the December 10 City Council meeting. The discussion was postponed due to the City Manager, who co-chaired the Task Force with the Mayor, being out with an illness. This discussion will be scheduled for a meeting during December.

 

The Council passed two City Manager Agenda items authorizing funding for renovations of Cambridge Rindge and Latin (CRLS) High School. The first, City Manager Agenda Item 9, is relative to the appropriation and authorization to borrow an additional $33,218,025 to finance this project. The second, City Manager Agenda Item 10, is relative to the appropriation of a grant award of $28,026,975 from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for this project. A public meeting will be held on this project on Monday November 26 at 6:00 at CRLS.

 

The Council had two versions of proposed leaf blower amendments to the Noise Ordinance on the agenda for Monday. The City Manager’s version, City Manager Agenda Item 15, provided greater flexibility in when and who could use leaf blowers than an amendment, City Manager Agenda Item 16, drafted at the request of the City Council. (To view the amendments go to the view attachment link at the bottom of the City Manager’s transmittal.)  The discussion on Monday focused on clarifying issues, identifying areas of common agreement, and requesting additional information prior to completing the process of amending the Noise Ordinance to add regulations specific to leaf blowers.

 

The Council substituted a previous version of the amendment, drafted by the Leaf Blower Task Force and submitted to the Council earlier this year, with the language in City Manager Agenda Item 16. The Council then changed the definition section, to reflect the language in City Manager Agenda Item 15, changed the dates when the use of Leaf Blowers would be allowed to March 15 to June 15 and September 15 to December 31, added the enforcement section included in City Manager Agenda Item 15 and amended the proposal to allow for commercial leaf blower operators to work in residential neighborhoods if they have met certification requirements and been certified by the City Manager. The Council requested information on certification standards and a number of other issues in City Council Policy Order 4.

 

In discussion the Council asked Department of Public Health staff for information on health and environmental impacts of the use of leaf blowers. Department of Public Health staff reported that the major impact is the effect on hearing from prolonged use of this equipment. This is generally an issue for leaf blower operators and users are recommended to wear ear-plugs along with other safety equipment.

 

The Council asked about respiratory, air quality and global warming issues raised by some in regards to this proposal. The Department of Public Health staff reported that there is no significant research to suggest that these devices have known impacts in any of these areas. The Council asked about a comment made that California had banned the equipment statewide and staff reported that some localities have banned leaf blowers but that there was no statewide ban in California.

 

The Council asked for a response to City Council Policy Order 4 by the next meeting on December 3. City staff said they would try to meet that deadline but that a response would probably not be available until the meeting on December 10 at the soonest.

 

As most have seen in the media an action by the City’s Election Commission on Election Day has become something of a national media sensation. The short-story is that local Boy Scout Troop 45 placed boxes at all 33 voting locations to collect items to be sent to US military personnel overseas. On Election Day, in response to a complaint, the Election Commission had the boxes removed. The Council had previously passed an order commending the Boy Scouts for this project (October 22, 2007 City Council Resolution 36) and on Monday passed City Council Policy Order 3 asking that the City Manager to work with departments to place collection boxes at Police Station and Fire Stations throughout the city, as well as City Hall and City Hall Annex and all Libraries.

 

Cambridge Vice Mayor Timothy Toomey, Jr. wrote a column for Tuesday’s Boston Herald regarding this issue and the support the City has given and continues to provide to military personnel. Cambridge is, as far as can be determined, the only community in the country that provides full salary and benefits to City staff who have been called-up to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Governor Signs Chapter 91 Reform Bill

Governor Patrick signed a bill last week that addresses issues raised in a Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decision regarding permitting of projects in landlocked tidelands. The SJC decision was in regard to the North Point development but raised issues for communities across the Commonwealth. According to a Boston Globe story the legislation clarifies the exemption granted by the State in past developments and requires a public benefits review for future developments.