The Council met in its final meeting of the year on Monday and passed changes to the refuse and litter ordinance and voted to purchase the Mt. Auburn VFW for a new Youth and Community center. The Council also thanked outgoing Councillor David Maher for his service as a member of the City Council and School Committee and Mayor Michael Sullivan for his term as Mayor.

GAC members may be interested in a series of Real Estate Professional Roundtables the Chamber is sponsoring with Russell & Cole LLP. 

Last Friday Mayor Sullivan and City Manager Healy announced the City’s implementation of the Cambridge Corporate Emergency Access System.

Upcoming GAC Events

The 2005 and 2006 Government Affairs program is sponsored by Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.

Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Leaders Event January 25, 2006
Every other year following the municipal elections the Chamber hosts an event that brings elected officials, senior City staff, and the business community together for the Cambridge Leaders event.  The event is scheduled for Wednesday January 25, 2006 at the Hotel Marlowe, 25 Edwin Land Blvd., Cambridge from 5:30 to 8 p.m.  The price for Chamber members is $45.00 and the non-members price is $90.00.  Prices require registration and payment at least two business days in advance.  No walk-ins will be admitted.

Thank you to our sponsors Adams & Rafferty Attorneys at Law, Cambridge Savings Bank and Comcast Cable Communications, LLC.

Register at http://www.cambridgechamber.org/chamber/viewevent.html?id=133

2006 GAC Program
I am in the process of scheduling GAC events for 2006. I am planning on holding luncheons in our Board Room in February, March, and April and having an Executive Speaker Luncheon in May.  I am planning on inviting the new Mayor and/or Vice Mayor to be our guest at the February meeting once elected by the Council.  The GAC will also co-sponsor an Executive Speaker luncheon in March with the Women in Business Committee.  Please contact me if you have suggestions for GAC programming by e-mail at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at 617-876-4213.

February GAC Meeting and Luncheon
The February GAC meeting and luncheon is scheduled for Tuesday February 28, 2006 at noon in the Chamber Board Room.  Guest to be announced

Up-Coming Chamber Events

Real Estate Professional Roundtable

The Chamber, in association with Robinson & Cole LLP, is sponsoring a series of Round Tables for Real Estate professionals.  The first roundtable will be held on Wednesday January 11, 2006 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the Chamber’s Conference Room at 859 Massachusetts Avenue.  The topic is The First Steps to Understanding Cambridge Zoning: The Ordinance, Maps, Districts, Policies, and Organizational Structure and the presenter will be Carla M. Moynihan, Counsel, Robinson & Cole, LLP. The cost is $10 for Chamber members, $40 for non-members.  For more information and to register go to http://www.cambridgechamber.org/chamber/viewevent.html?id=141

December 19, 2005 City Council Meeting

The Council met in its final meeting of the current term on Monday.

Thank You Maher and Sullivan
As is traditional at the final meeting the Council honored David Maher, who is leaving the Council after three terms, and Mayor Michael Sullivan, whose term as Mayor expires on January 2, 2006. Councillor Toomey praised Councillor Maher for his focus on using his office to help people during his time on the Council and on the School Committee. Councillor Toomey mentioned Maher’s work as co-Chair of the Ordinance committee during the City-wide rezoning process and praised the service of the Maher family to this community including Maher’s father’s service on the City Council and the Cambridge Police Department.

Councillor Galluccio, the most recent Mayor on the Council, had the responsibility and honor of thanking Mayor Sullivan for his efforts during the current term as Mayor.  Galluccio noted that during the term Mayor Sullivan has well represented the City and has been most helpful to his colleagues.  Galluccio noted that during his term Mayor Sullivan worked to keep the entire Council in the spotlight never commanded the center of attention in a way that suggested his colleagues were anything but equals on the Council.

Changes to the Refuse and Litter Ordinance
The Council voted to enact several changes to the refuse and litter ordinance primarily focused on residential collection.  The time trash barrels, which must meet certain standards for rodent resistance, can be put out is 6:00 p.m. the day prior to collection.  Residents who put out bags not in barrels must use bags meeting certain standards and may not place those bags out until 6:00 a.m. the day of collection.  The ordinance will go into effect on April 3 after an extensive education and communication campaign.  The City Manager reported that DPW is working with retailers to provide rodent resistant barrels at a discount to residents.

Expect to see continued enforcement of the existing regulations as they pertain to commercial property owners over the next several months.  In April when the new ordinance goes into effect expect a greater focus on storage as well as when trash is placed on the curb and how it is contained. I suggest that owners of residential rental properties check out how trash is currently being handled and stored and make sure that proper barrels are provided for tenants and inform tenants about the new regulations.

Mt. Auburn VFW Purchased for Youth and Community Center
The City Council voted an Order of Taking to acquire the Mt. Auburn VFW building at 688 Huron Avenue.  The City will use this site for a new VFW facility and a youth and community center.  The next step is design and construction.

Members of three dance groups that use the facility on three nights a week have come forward asking for preservation of the existing dance space, which accommodates approximately 400 people. The City Manager has been reluctant to incur additional costs this would require in both construction and operation and he has also expressed concern about the City’s interest in operating such a facility.  He also raised a number of legal issues, in response to a Council order, in a report to the Council.  Copies of the Managers Report and the Taking Order are available at:

http://www.cambridgema.gov/cityClerk/cmLetter.cfm?item_id=5514

http://www.cambridgema.gov/cityClerk/cmLetter.cfm?item_id=5511

Next Council Meeting January 2, 2006 at 10:00 a.m.
The inaugural meeting of the new Council will be held on Monday January 2, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. At this meeting the Council will be sworn into office and the newly sworn-in Councillors will take the first vote to elect the Mayor and the Vice Mayor.

Cambridge Corporate Emergency Access System

On Friday, December 16 at 10:00 a.m. Mayor Michael A. Sullivan and City Manager Robert W. Healy announced that they have taken steps to ensure that businesses in Cambridge remain operational wherever possible in the wake of an emergency or disaster, by implementing the new Corporate Emergency Assessment System (CEAS). 

The CEAS program was designed by the Business Network of Emergency Resources (BNet), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to establishing practical, effective emergency and crisis management solutions through partnerships between local government and business.

CEAS is a credentialing program that operates in conjunction with local government; the program gives companies the ability to access their workplace quickly following an emergency event that results in travel or access restrictions. By allowing businesses to initiate a reentry and recovery process as quickly as possible, companies can maintain core IT systems, meet regulatory requirements and secure critical data and records in the aftermath of an emergency; all with the aim of continuing the functions of business throughout or soon after a disaster.

For more information about CEAS contact David O’Connor, Director of Cambridge Emergency Management, at 617-349-4842 or oconnor@cambridgema.gov.

For a listing of public meetings, visit the Public Meetings link or the Public Meeting Notices area of the City of Cambridge Web site.