FOUR COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE APPOINTEES SUBMITTED TO ALDERMEN

The

typical process used in other Massachusetts towns and cities that have adopted

the Community

Preservation Act (CPA) has the executive or legislative body unilaterally

nominate the public-member appointees for their Community Preservation

Committee, which is tasked with evaluating needs in open space and outdoor

recreation, affordable housing, and historic preservation, and making

recommendations on how CPA revenues should be spent. The act, which Somerville

voters overwhelmingly approved adopting in November 2012, will raise an

estimated $1.5 million in funding annually via a property tax surcharge and

state matching funds.

The

City of Somerville instead held an open process led by a Planning Team

consisting of three members of the Committee for a Stronger Somerville, the

grassroots coalition that campaigned for passage of the

CPA, and three City employees with area expertise. Each candidate submitted

along with their application a cover letter answering three questions, a

resume, two references and a 150-word summary of their qualifications, which

was posted to the City's website for public review and comment.

Incorporating

public feedback into its review, the Planning Team narrowed down the initial

tremendous response of 35 applicants to 11 finalists. Following an interview

with each finalist, the Team checked the references of their preferred

candidates before selecting four finalists that together represent a depth and

breadth of knowledge in the areas covered by the CPA. The names of the selected

members were then provided to Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, who will submit them

to the Board of Aldermen on Thursday, Nov. 14 where they will be referred to

the Confirmation of Appointments Committee (meeting not yet scheduled). If

moved forward by that committee, the appointments will go before the full Board

for final approval at its meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 26.

The

four appointees are (in order of length of term):

• Uma Murugan (3-year term):
  
  Director of Projects and Fund Development for Urban Strategies, Inc.,
  
  developing plans integrating human services with mixed-income housing, schools,
  
  community improvements and neighborhood services. Previously Chief Program
  
  Officer at Employment Connection, Inc. and Architect with Proencon Engineering
  
  Services in Chennai, India. Masters degree in social and economic development.
  
  Participant in the Somerville Academy for Innovative Leadership (SAIL), member
  
  of SAIL Education subcommittee.

• Elizabeth
  
  Duclos-Orsello
  
  (2-year term): Director of American Studies program and Faculty Fellow for Service-Learning at Salem State University. Scholar of American history and culture. Board member of the North Shore
  
  Community Development Coalition, Trustee at the House of the Seven Gables and
  
  Beverly Historical Society. Worked as Consulting
  
  Scholar for Old State House Museum and Nichols House Museum in Boston. Affiliated faculty at Center for
  
  Economic Development and Sustainability. Former Fulbright Scholar and Visiting
  
  Lecturer at L'Université du Luxembourg,
  
  Lecturer and Thesis Director at Harvard University Program in History and
  
  Literature, adjunct faculty at Boston University American and New England
  
  Studies Program.

• Ezra Glenn (1-year term):
  
  Lecturer in MIT's Department of Urban Studies & Planning. Served in City's
  
  community development office under Mayors Mike Capuano, Dorothy Kelly-Gay and
  
  Curtatone, and as Director of Community Development for the City of Lawrence.
  
  Has worked as a consultant in over 25 cities and towns on land use, open space,
  
  affordable housing, and infrastructure planning (including drafting
  
  Somerville's 2005 Open Space & Recreation Plan). Current board president of
  
  Somerville Community Corporation, former board member of Mystic River Watershed
  
  Association, Agassiz Cooperative Preschool, and Massachusetts Chapter of the
  
  American Planning Association.

• Courtney Koslow (1-year term):
  
  Development director at Beacon Communities, developing affordable housing. Previously
  
  worked for six years for the Somerville Community Corporation as Senior Project
  
  Manager and as Special Assistant for Policy at Massachusetts Housing
  
  Partnership. Served as member of Somerville Climate Action, City of Somerville Zoning
  
  Advisory Committee, City of Somerville Transportation Research Innovation and
  
  Policy Task Force, MassDOT Green Line Extension Design Working Group and City
  
  of Somerville Parking Solutions Task Force. Founder of Somerville Parking
  
  Advocacy and Reform Coalition.

"I am thrilled that this rigorous and thorough

process that included public review and feedback has resulted in four

outstanding candidates for the Committee Preservation Committee, and I'm

pleased to present them to the Board of Aldermen for further review and

approval," said Mayor Curtatone. "We have such a great diversity of expertise

among our residents and we're using that strength to guide CPA funds toward the

best possible uses, making our city more affordable, expanding our open space

and outdoor recreation, and preserving the deep history of our community."

The

four appointees, if approved by the Board of Aldermen, will join the committee

that also includes ex officio members Michael Capuano of the Planning Board;

Michael Fager of the Conservation Commission; Dick Bauer of the Historic

Preservation Commission; City Parks and Open Space Director Arn Franzen; and

Paul Mackey of the Somerville Housing Authority. Committee members serve

three-year terms, but initial appointments to the committee have been

staggered.

The

Planning Team that reviewed the applications for the committee consisted of: Meridith

Levy, Deputy Director, Somerville Community Corporation; Chris Mancini,

Executive Director, Groundworks Somerville; Ellen Shachter, Senior Attorney,

Greater Boston Legal Services; Candace Cooper, Assistant Director of Personnel,

City of Somerville; Dana LeWinter, Director of Housing, City of Somerville; and

Hayes Morrison, Director of Transportation & Infrastructure, City of

Somerville.

To find out more about the CPA and Community

Preservation Committee, please visit the following websites:

http://www.somervillema.gov/cpa

http://www.communitypreservation.org/