Please join the City of Somerville and the Somerville Bicycle Committee for a one-hour virtual workshop called Bike Network Planning: Lessons for Somerville. This workshop will be led by Mike Lydon, an internationally recognized planner, writer, speaker, and advocate for livable cities. Lydon is a Principal at the design firm Street Plans and is working with Somerville as it develops its approach for planning a citywide bike network.

Somerville landlords and realtors are invited to join the City’s Office of Housing Stability for a virtual workshop about the benefits of renting to Section 8 tenants. Learn how Section 8 ensures stable rental income, how higher payment standards can lead to higher rent receipts, and how landlords and realtors can qualify for additional incentive payments and technical support through the City’s SomerVIP program.

This event is Thursday, June 24, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Register to attend at somervillema.gov/OHS.
 

Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone will submit a request to the Board of Health (BOH) this month that would revise and extend the City’s current residential eviction moratorium for 90 days, until September 15.

All City buildings will reopen to the public on Monday, July 12 with limited staffing. Both visitors to City buildings as well as staff will be required to wear face coverings while inside the buildings. Staff will be available on a walk-in basis in all departments for quick transactions like paying a bill or picking up a document. For matters that will take longer, residents will need to schedule an appointment with City staff. Many City services are also available online and, whenever possible, residents are encouraged to continue to use online services.

The Finance Committee meeting scheduled for Monday, June 15, has been cancelled pending action by the state legislature to extend the authorization permitting remote meetings in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.

On June 16, Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation allowing cities and towns to continue holding meetings virtually. The Somerville City Council will continue to hold ongoing Finance Committee and full City Council meetings on the fiscal year 2022 budget virtually. All planned budget meetings begin at 6 p.m. and can be viewed by visiting the “Meeting Schedules and Streaming” tab at www.somervillema.gov/citycouncil or tuning into GovTV (channel 13 on RCN and 22 on Comcast).

The schedule for the remaining budget meetings is as follows:

The City of Somerville’s annual SomerMovie Fest returns this year with a series of seven family-friendly films being shown in parks around Somerville. Learn more at www.somervillema.gov/SomerMovieFest

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Cities of Medford and Somerville announce the implementation of a municipal dedicated bus lane pilot between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. on weekdays on  Mystic Avenue (Route 38). Painting and signage along the entire stretch – from Main Street in Medford to Wheatland Street in Somerville – has been completed and the dedicated bus lane will officially become operational on Monday morning, June 21, 2021.

The Somerville Board of Health (BOH) approved a proposal at its June 17 meeting that revises and extends the City’s current residential eviction moratorium for 90 days, until September 15. The BOH also approved ending the commercial eviction moratorium and allowing landlords and their agents to enter residential units for non-emergency reasons, with 48 hours advance written notice to tenants, an opportunity to reschedule where necessary, and provided that COVID protocols are followed. The City’s emergency declaration will remain in effect throughout this 90-day period.

The City of Somerville and its contractor, Simple Recycling, are making several changes to Somerville’s curbside textile recycling service to improve the program for residents and the environment. 
 
Each year, only 15 percent of all unwanted clothing in the United States is donated or recycled, while approximately 14.3 million tons of clothing (or about 80 pounds per person) ends up in landfills. These process adjustments will make recycling textiles even easier and make the “pink bag” program even greener.