General Membership Meeting Minutes, February 5, 2024

02/05/2024 CSHCA General Meeting

President: Bill Walczak
Vice President: Eileen Boyle
Treasurer: Des Rohan
Minutes: Doreen Miller
Special Guests: Dolores Randolf and Nicholas Pirez from Boston Water and Sewer Commission
Number in attendance: 30 (in person); 43 (Zoom)

Bill gave the overview of the agenda.

The January Minutes were approved.

Police Report (Officer Keaney)

• Jan. 14, 7:17 PM, Larceny in front of 168 Savin Hill Avenue. In the victim’s attempting to sell a camera for $600, the buyer presented phony money and made off with the camera in a dark Honda Civic.
• If you are looking to sell an item to a stranger, plan to meet at a local police station to ensure a legit transaction.

Boston Water and Sewer Commission (Dolores Randolf and Nicholas Pirez)

• BWSC gave updates to the new Stormwater Program, which begins April 1, 2024.
• Reasons for the changes:
  • Storm water increases costs.
  • It is a more equitable way to share costs as adding an impervious surfaces category to bills will create 7,800 new accounts to help pay for this charge, for example, by being able to charge parking lots, which previously had no water bills.
• How is the ERU calculated?
  • One ERU is equivalent to 2,164 square feet.
  • All properties with 1-6 units will be charged 1 ERU or $8.98 per month.
  • Non-small residential properties are charge per number of ERUs. These include:
    • Condos
    • 7 or more units residential
    • Institutional
    • Commercial and Industrial
• 60% of customers will see a reduction in their bills.
• Three ways to reduce your bills include:
  • 30% Discount for elderly (over 65) and disabled customers
  • 30% Credit for customers that reach standards for stormwater retention and infiltration
  • 5% Credit for K-12 education program
  • Grants up to $4,000 for property owners through the Green Stormwater Infrastructure Assistance Grant Program.
• BWSC has a convenient online bill estimator tool at BWSC.org/stormwater
• BWSC is investing $62 million over three years to filter and clean stormwater run-off.
• Catch basins around the city are cleaned once per year.
• The program is revenue neutral.
• Or further questions and information contact:
  • Telephone: 617-989-7899
  • Email: stormwaterinfo@bwsc.org
  • Website: bwsc.org/stormwater

Frank Baker Tribute

• Former City Councilor Frank Baker was thanked and acknowledged for his 12 years of service.
• He was presented with two City Council T-shirts and a gift card to D-Bar.
• President Bill Walczak and former President Elizabeth Doyle thanked him and his office for having provided “the best constituent services.”
• Frank Baker
  • Credited his hard-working staff and promised to remain involved in the community, especially in light of all the changes coming to the area in terms of infrastructure and massive development projects.
  • Pointed out the discrepancies between the $18 million developers offered the Allston/Brighton area to relocate artists and create a Harvard Education portal for job training, and the $750,000 offered to the CSHCA from Center Court.
  • Highlighted the need to push developers for more of what we would like to see in terms of usable community space, job training programs, etc., via a Columbia Point Education Portal.

Letter to City and State Officials Concerning Graffiti  – Membership approved sending a letter requesting the city and state to give us a schedule on graffiti removal, especially along highways.

Public Health Committee (Eileen Boyle)

• Eileen Boyle is heading up a new Public Health Committee and will reach out to Mike Keamy to work with her.
• The focus will include but not be limited to:
  • Planting evergreens along the highway to reduce noise and air pollution.
  • Getting trash picked up along roadways and highways.
  • Providing rodent control measures in our area.
  • Advocating for more green/open space and parks, especially as new developments are scheduled to come online.
  • Working towards cleaning up our waterways.
  • Getting more street trees planted throughout our area.
• Anyone who is interested in public health is welcome to join.
• Send your ideas to Eileen Boyle.

Morrissey Boulevard Commission Update and New Government Affairs Committee (GAC) (Jake)

• Jake is forming a new Government Affairs Committee of CSHCA.
• GAC Mission Statement: Ensure Columbia-Savin Hill’s community interests are represented at the city and state level. We partner with city and state agencies to drive outcomes and, if necessary, engage the community to advocate for change.
• The Morrissey Commission Purpose focuses on:
  • Transportation, resiliency, infrastructure, and multi-modal needs along Morrissey Boulevard.
  • The evaluation and recommendations for resiliency and infrastructure improvements for pedestrians, motorists, bicyclists, and transit users along Morrissey and at Kosciuszko Circle.
• The deadline for completion is June 1, 2024.
• Meeting #2 (of 4 total) focused mainly on the Central portion by the beaches and the need for a berm or wall to hold back flood waters.
• Members on the Commission are dissatisfied with the pace of the meetings and materials covered if they are to keep to a June 1 deadline. They propose adding their own 3.5 meeting to cover more ground.
• Community comments and requests included but were not limited to:
  • The need for an interactive online portal for community feedback
  • Greater notice for upcoming meetings
  • Addressing greater air and noise pollution with a raised roadway
  • Aesthetics (such as the blocking of water views) and the configuration of the roadway with bike lanes and pedestrian crossings, and even a public boat launch.
  • The integration of a new Beades Bridge and configuration at K-Circle
• To-do Items for the GAC
  • Work with elected officials to encourage the Commission, led by MassDOT, to wide their aperture in accordance the Commission’s legal charter.
  • Gather ideas from the community on how to improve Morrissey Boulevard comprehensively.
  • Partner with MassDOT and civil engineering experts to create viable options including but not limited to a 7-foot berm/wall.
• How to help/get involved
  • Come to the next Morrissey Commission Meeting, date and time TBA.
  • Join the Government Affairs Committee (jake@wachman.com)
  • Read the Morrissey Boulevard Report posted to the CSHCA website news section.
  • Send feedback and ideas for Morrissey corridor.

CSHCA letter to Jemison Regarding Squares and Street Initiative

• Bill read the content of the letter outlining our concerns and requests, which include:
  • Density and zoning
  • Ambiguous language
  • A lack of BPDA’s greater vision as it pertains to Article 80.
• The letter requests the delay in the implementation of Squares and Streets until these issues are addressed and corrected.
• The membership voted to approve sending the letter.
• A representative from BPDA rose to speak in favor of the changes. However, comments in the chat show members are leery of trusting the BPDA.
• Councilor Fitzgerald’s office sent a letter requesting an extension of the deadline for decision making regarding Squares and Streets.
  • It seems the city wishes to approve of the new structure/program before doing the requisite studies!
  • He promises to work with the new Government Affairs Committee (and Jake).
  • Members are encouraged to get involved.

Concerns with Membership Voting Procedures

• There were several comments in the chat about voting procedures and people on Zoom not being able to vote properly on items.
• This should be rectified at future meeting by using proper Google forms for voting items so that people on Zoom can have their votes counted properly.
• Also, are we sure only paid members, both in-person and on Zoom, are voting?

Community Benefits Committee (Don Walsh)

• The committee continues to work on the processes for accepting and the spending of the promised $750,000 donation from Center Court.
• People are encouraged to come to their next meeting: Thursday, February 22, 7 PM at Savin Hill Yacht Club on Morrissey.

Planning Committee (Kristine Hoag)

• There will be an abutters’ meeting at 33 Crescent Avenue, on Wednesday, February 7, 6 PM. The owners are proposing to raze a two-family and erect a 3-story, 9-unit building.
• The proposal for 243 D Savin Hill Avenue has been deferred to the March 4^th meeting.

The next General Membership meeting: Monday, March 4, 2024, 7 PM, in person at the Boys and Girls Club and on Zoom.