City Updates

Join City staff on Wednesday, December 12, at 6 p.m. at the Central Library, 79 Highland Ave. for the fourth in a series of public quarterly meetings where updates about parking changes, new data collection, and strategies for impact mitigation will be discussed. All interested persons are encouraged to come including residents and local business owners, as well as City and school staff. 2019 meeting dates will be announced soon.

Mayor Joseph A Curtatone is pleased to announce the launch of a new community process to update SomerVision: Somerville’s Comprehensive Plan 2010-2030 and create SomerVision 2040.

Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone is not expected to attend public events or work from his office at City Hall for the next few weeks due to a severe case of the shingles virus. 

Mayor Curtatone was recently hospitalized with the shingles virus, which is the same as the virus that causes chickenpox. The illness, which nearly one-third of adults experience in their lifetime, is not life-threatening though it can be quite painful, and in rare cases, the inner ear and facial nerves are affected, as is the case with Mayor Curtatone.

The Somerville Historic Preservation Commission (SHPC) has extended the deadline to submit nominations for the 2019 Preservation Awards. Applications will be accepted through Monday, December 10.

During its annual celebration in honor of Historic Preservation Month in May 2019, the Commission will honor Somerville residents who performed significant restoration or maintenance efforts on designated historic buildings, or on non-designated buildings erected before 1967.

Learn more at www.somervillema.gov/PublicCharge

Please note: The ceremonial Menorah Lighting on the City Hall Concourse on December 9 has been changed to 5:30 p.m.

Join Mayor Curtatone and City staff for Somerville’s annual holiday celebrations, kicking off on Thursday, December 6, with the Christmas Tree Lighting and visit from Santa Claus, on the City Hall Concourse. Also part of the 2018 events are a ceremonial lighting of a Menorah on the City Hall Concourse on Sunday, December 9 at 4:30 p.m., and the Somerville Arts Council’s Illuminations Tour on December 15.

Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper, and Director of Parks & Recreation Jill Lathan announced this month that, following approval by the Somerville School Committee of a draft Memorandum of Understanding, the Somerville Parks and Recreation Department will take over operations and programming at the Kennedy School pool, formerly operated by the Somerville School District. The shift in management hopes to bring more oversight of pool operations, streamlined processes for events and programs, and additional support to existing staff.

The City of Somerville is developing a campus plan for Central Hill, home to City Hall, Somerville High School, the Central Library, and Central Playground. Please join us on Thursday, November  1, at 6 p.m. for a meeting in the High School cafeteria to help shape the plan. Our project consultants, SMMA, will present a conceptual design for Central Hill that incorporates the feedback from the last public meeting on September 25 and the survey responses from 187 residents. We welcome your feedback to help further refine the design for the campus.