Ward 1 Community Meeting on Thurs., May 16

You're invited to the Ward 1 Community Meeting with Mayor Curtatone and Alderman Bastardi hosted by the City's ResiStat program.

Please join us for the meeting on Thursday, May 16, 7-8:30 p.m., and don't miss the Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m. at the Cross Street Center, 165 Broadway.

WHERE'S WARD 1?
Somerville's Ward 1 includes East Somerville, Assembly Square and Inner Belt. To look up which ward you live in, click HERE.

WHAT WE'LL COVER:

• Assembly Square Update
• Green Line Extension
• Chuckie Harris Park
• East Broadway reconstruction
• And other neighborhood and City improvements and initiatives
• Also throughout, Q&A with Mayor Curtatone and Alderman Bastardi

Get updates. Give Feedback. Eat.

This is your chance to hear about the latest city news impacting your neighborhood and to share your feedback, concerns and ideas. You might even meet a few neighbors too. Come early for the Meet-and-Greet and you can talk directly with City representatives and staff as well. In short, we're inviting you to be a part of your community. Oh, and we're serving pizza and refreshments too.
Don't live, work or play in Ward 1? There are five more ResiStat meetings this spring, check the schedule HERE to find a meeting you might want to attend.

Thursday, May 16, Presentation 7-8:30 p.m.
Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Cross Street Center, 165 Broadway

WHO:

• Mayor Joe Curtatone 
• Ward 1 Alderman Maureen Bastardi
• Chief of Police Thomas Pasquarello 
• And other city project and program directors

For more information, contact Community Engagement Specialist, Meghann Ackerman at mackerman@somervillema.gov or 617-625-6600 x 2120.

Graduates of Somerville's first resident leadership class set sail for community engagment

When was the last time an idea “rewired” your brain or completely changed the way you thought?  As the Somerville Academy for Innovative Leadership (SAIL) was wrapping up this weekend that was the feedback that came in from some of the 20+ class participants.

SAIL dealt with adaptive leadership, which requires a pretty dramatic shift in the way you’d think about leadership. Being top banana doesn’t make you a leader; it makes you an authority figure. Leadership is an action anyone can take, but it can be risky. Adaptive leadership is all about asking tough questions, getting to the root of problems, and sometimes embracing a little chaos to create change.

Adaptive leadership also encourages giving the work back so that people own the solutions they create. In that spirit, we’re giving the work back to the first graduating class of SAIL. In exchange for the 26 hours of class time with leadership expert Hugh O’Doherty, we’ve asked each of the SAIL-ers to give back 30 hours of community engagement.

Given the diverse interests of the group, which included everything from beautification to affordability to recreational water use, we’re sure we’ll have many exciting projects, programs, and volunteer efforts to report on soon.

Why close down a street for SomerStreets?

SomerStreets events are fun street festivals, but there’s an ulterior motive as well. Each one is designed to make it easy for everyone to get outside and moving. By closing the roads to cars and opening them to you, we're hoping to make it an active, healthy day for you and your friends or whole family. We spread events along the closed roadway so you can stroll, bike, skate, jog, or silly walk between entertainments. Or you can just come to make use of the open road and bike or skate in a car-free area all you want. 


So, why do this? In recent years, a significant shift has occurred in the thinking on how to promote active lifestyles. Instead of just reminding people that being active is good for health and well-being, cities like Somerville are changing their infrastructure and offerings to make being active and healthy easier and more fun for residents. We build better crosswalks to promote walking. We add bike lanes to promote cycling. We build and improve our parks to provide space for outdoor activities from baseball to gardening. SomerStreets is just one more piece of this overall effort to make the best, active use of our 4.1-mile-square city.

Starting this summer, join us for the Fourth Annual SomerStreets series and take advantage of car-free streets in your neighborhood. All events run from noon to 4pm and are help rain or shine.

Carnaval
Sunday, June 2, 2013
East Broadway (McGrath Highway to Pennsylvania Avenue)
Activities will include:
•              Motion Parade with Mayor Joe Curtatone (meet at 11:45am at the Cross Street and Broadway)
•              Music on two stages - Cross Street and East Broadway Library
•              Farmers’ Market
•              Arts and Craft vendors
•              Free Family Fun Activities
•              Scavenger Hunt
                                    

Seize the Summer
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Highland Avenue (Walnut Street to Cedar Street)       


Shore Drive
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Shore Drive


Going Green on Route 16
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Route16 (Dilboy Field to Broadway)       


MonsterMashed Up
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Somerville Avenue

Join us for Spring 2013 ResiStat (Updated)

Do you want to talk about transit, parlé about parks, or zero in on zoning? Then please join us at your neighborhood ResiStat meeting. Every meeting will be packed with information about City-wide and Ward issues, along with plenty of time for questions and answers.

Below is the schedule for this spring's meetings. Please note, the Ward 7 meeting is currently being rescheduled and we will be updating the schedule soon. Hope to see you there.

Ward 2: Union Square South, Somerville Ave. & Beacon St. areas, and the Lincoln Park and Perry park areas
Wed., May 2, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.
Argenziano School Cafeteria, 290 Washington St. 

Ward 6: Greater Davis Square, SW Ball Square
Thurs., May 2, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6 to 6:30 p.m.
Somerville Community Baptist Church, 31 College Ave.

Ward 1: East Somerville, Assembly Square, Inner Belt
Thurs., May 16, 7 to 8:30 p.m.Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.
Cross St. Center, 165 Broadway

Ward 4: Winter Hill, Ten Hills, Mystic River, Mystic View

Thurs., May 30, 7 to 8:30 p.m. 

Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Healey School cafeteria, 5 Meacham St.

Ward 3: Union Square North, Prospect Hill, Spring Hill, Central Hill

Wed., June 11, 7 to 8:30 p.m. 

Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Somerville High School cafeteria, 81 Highland Ave.

Ward 5: Magoun Square, NE Ball Square, Cedar & Lowell St. areas, NW Porter Square

Tues., June 18, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Meet-and-Greet with refreshments from 6:30 to 7 p.m.
John F. Kennedy Elementary School cafeteria, 5 Cherry St.

How do you measure good parks?

A big yard is hard to find in Somerville, so neighborhood parks and playgrounds serve as surrogate yards for many residents. Above is a map that shows the locations of our parks and playgrounds (click here for a map that also includes dog parks and community gardens) along with the concentration of youth living in different neighborhoods. Certainly, youth aren’t the only ones using the parks, but it’s an interesting mash up.

There are other things we could look at, like:

·         How would you rate your access to parks?

·         How often do you go to the park?

·         Do park features match your needs?

·         Who uses the parks in your neighborhood?

Feel free to answer any of those questions in the comments section and to suggest your own way of looking at parks.

SomerStat Visitors

SomerStat and ResiStat attract a lot of visitors to Somerville. Whether it is academics, local government leaders, reporters, or engaged citizens, they all have something in common: an interest in using data to improve how government works.

In addition to the press enquiries that frequently make it to our office, we have had the privilege of hosting groups of people from all over the world. These are always excellent opportunities to exchange ideas, and talk about how data is transforming policy in far-off places like Tiznit, Jakarta, (and Revere).

More recently, we started keeping a map of where people traveled from to visit Somerville and discuss SomerStat.  


As always, if you or anyone you know is interested in attending either a SomerStat or ResiStat meeting to learn more about the work we do, please don't hesitate to reach out. We love having visitors.

Help us plan the Spring 2013 ResiStat meetings

For some, spring is a time of renewal and rebirth. For others, it marks the start of allergy season. At ResiStat, it means it’s time to plan another round of community meetings.

Right now we’re locking in dates and locations, so stay tuned to find out when ResiStat will be in your neighborhood. In the meantime, we want your help to plan the meetings. If you have a few minutes, please fill out our short survey about potential agenda items for this season’s meetings. Once you’ve done the serious stuff, check out the pizza survey below it. We’re going to use the data we get to place pizza orders this time around, so make your voice heard.

Please spread the word about the upcoming ResiStat meetings to friends and neighbors. We hope to see you there.

Calling All Leaders

All current and aspiring community leaders are invited to sign up for the Somerville Academy for Innovative Leadership (SAIL), a program established by Mayor Joe Curtatone to provide free adaptive leadership training.

Adaptive Leadership is an approach that looks for the root cause of issues and involves all stakeholders in problem solving. This "bottom-up" leadership style has been adopted by many organizations, including: Microsoft, the United States Department of Justice, the New York City Fire Department, and the Stonewall Organization. Oh, and the City of Somerville.

Leadership expert Dr. Hugh O’Doherty, a Senior Associate at Cambridge Leadership Associates, has already been working with City of Somerville managers and department heads on adaptive leadership skills. Now it’s time to offer these same cutting-edge skills to you.

SAIL kicks off with a six-session Art and Practice of Public Leadership course, which is open to all Somerville residents or employees of nonprofits based in Somerville that serve Somerville. Based upon a demonstrated interest in community engagement and leadership, 20 participants will be selected. Upon completion of the program, Mayor Curtatone will award participants with a certificate at a special ceremony to recognize their achievement. The course is free, but in exchange for this leadership training, the City asks that participants give back 30 hours of community engagement of their choice. Each participant will be able to choose their own activities from participating in public meetings or joining a board or commission to volunteering at a local nonprofit or starting a new community-based effort. 

Dr. O'Doherty, a Senior Associate at Cambridge Leadership Associates, teaches leadership at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, and has also taught leadership at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the McGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, and the University of Maryland. Also an expert in conflict resolution, he directed the Inter-Group Relations Project in his native Ireland where he brought together political and community leaders together to establish protocols for political dialog, and he has addressed the United Nations Global Forum on Re-Inventing Government.  

Persons interested in boosting their leadership skills and taking a more active role in the community are encouraged to apply for the program. To apply for SAIL, please visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SomervilleLeadership. For additional information, please contact Meghann Ackerman at 617-625-6600 ext. 2120 or resistat@somervillema.gov. 

SAIL will take place on two Saturdays (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) and four consecutive Thursday evenings (6:30-9 p.m.) from March 31 to May 4, 2013 at Tufts University. To fully benefit from the program, the City asks that participants commit to attending all sessions. 

Find a Fire Hydrant Near You..And Help Shovel?

Hardworking members of the Somerville Fire Department have been shoveling out fire hydrants as fast as they can. But with more than 1,500 hydrants in the City, they need your help. If you are able, here's a map of most (but not all) City hydrants. Senior planner Brad Rawson whipped this up today. Below are links to neighborhood maps. If you're more of list person, we've got a list too. But for now, if you can help, it could save a life. Thanks.

Ward 1 and 2 hydrants
Ward 2 and 3 hydrants
Ward 4 hydrants
Ward 5 hydrants
Ward 6 hydrants
Ward 7 hydrants

Map of Somerville Lots Where You May Park During a Snow Emergency

View Somervillle City Snow Lots in a full screen map

An astute resident asked us for this map. So, tada, here it is, the Lindsey Anne Hildebrand Honorary Where to Park in City Lots Map. During a snow emergency, parking will be allowed only on the odd-numbered side of the street (unless otherwise posted). Cars not moved from the even-numbered side of the street by the start of the emergency will be subject to ticketing and towing. 

BUT, residents may also park in any municipal lot or in designated school parking lots as soon as the emergency commences. Meters at these lots (and citywide) will not be in effect during the emergency. Check out the map above to find a lot near you. Parking guidelines and a list of these lots can be found at www.somervillema.gov/snow. If you prefer a list of lots, see below:

• Schools
  • Argenziano School (290 Washington Streer)
  • Capuano Early Childhood Center (150 Glen Street)
  • Kennedy School (5 Cherry Street)
  • Cummings School (42 Prescott Street)
  • Healey School (5 Meacham Street)
  • Brown School (201 Willow Avenue)
  • West Somerville Neighborhood School (177 Powder House Boulevard)
  • Winter Hill Community School (115 Sycamore Street)
• Municipal Buildings
  • City Hall Concourse (93 Highland Avenue)
  • Central Library (79 Highland Avenue)
  • West Branch LIbrary (40 College Avenue0
  • All metered municipal parking lots
• Municipal Parking Lots
  • Beuna Vista Lot Buena Vista Road (via Holland St. or Meacham Rd.)
  • Day Street Lot (Day Street)
  • Grove Street Lot A (Grove St. at Highland Ave, referred to as "Rite Aid Lot")
  • Grove Street LOt B (Grove St. east side, between Highland Ave. & Elm St., "Grove Street Lot")
  • Cutter Square Lot (Elm St./Summer St. at Cutter Ave)
  • Magoun Square Lot (Broadway at Medford Street)
  • Winter Hill Lot A (Broadway, noorth side between Fellsway West and Wheatland St.)
  • Winter Hiil Lot B (Broadway, north side between Wheatland St. Grand St.)
  • Union Square Lot (Off Washington St., entrance at Washington St./Bonner Ave.)
  • Prospect St. Lot (Prospect St. at Somerville Ave./Washington St.)
  • Mount Vernon St. Lot (Broadway between Mount Vernon St. and Mt. Pleasant St.)
  • Foss Park Lot (Foss Park at Broadway)
  • Veterans Memorial Skating Rink (rear (581 Somerville Avenue)