Difficulties with those who frequent Seven Hills Park were among the topics addressed at the latest meeting of the Somerville City Council. ~Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Parker Garlough

The city council met on Thursday, August 22, to discuss a wide range of topics, including the E911 union, funding for the Argenziano school kitchen, drug use in Davis Square and Seven Hills Park, and support for senior Somerville residents.

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne spoke to congratulate the police dispatchers on their new union contract. A 3% cost of living adjustment will be applied retroactively from July 1, 2023. Step increases will be raised, bringing wages up to match those of the fire alarm operators. The contract also includes benefits such as increased vacation time, family leave, and sick days, including time off for preventative wellness care. The council approved $313,738 in funding for the collective bargaining settlement.

The contract also formalizes a name change from the Call-Takers Union to the Police Dispatchers Union, a title that is intended to convey greater respect and decrease misogynistic associations.

“It’s easy to pay a skilled professional less without even reflecting upon it when you label their complex work as simply answering a phone,” Ballantyne said.

Prior to the closure of the Winter Hill Community and Innovation School at Sycamore Street, it hosted the kitchen where food for the Somerville elementary schools was produced. After evaluating potential sites for relocation, has decided to place the production kitchen in the Albert F. Argenziano School. Construction will take place over the course of three weeks, which is planned for completion during winter break. Until then, students will continue to be served boxed lunches that can be prepared with the limited equipment currently available, just as they did during the previous school session.

The City Council unanimously approved $200,000 for the project.

Multiple councilors reported large numbers of complaints from constituents about open drug use and harassment from people in Davis Square and Seven Hills Park, many of whom are unhoused.

“I have seen the pattern shift in the park,” said Councilor Judy Pineda-Neufeld, who lives near Seven Hills Park and passes through it frequently to bring her son to daycare. “I have seen trash and needles continue up the path to the benches at the corner of Thorndike. Parents every day are asking me, ‘how do I make sure my toddler doesn’t pick up a needle in the park? How do I make sure that my child isn’t experiencing the level of verbal – and for some constituents, physical – harassment that they have experienced walking through the park?’”

The council discussed how to address the situation with compassion for the people residing in these areas, and take a thorough, results-focused approach. Councilor Davis said that police presence in the area has been consistent and non-aggressive.

“I sense that some folks who have spoken with me are waiting for me to say that we’ll have the police chase these people away and that will solve the problem,” Davis said. “It’s my opinion that that won’t solve the problem. That will simply push folks who are having a hard time to somewhere else.”

Several agenda items aimed to increase support for seniors residing in Somerville. The Equity, Gender, Seniors, Families and Vulnerable Populations Committee will discuss the feasibility of hiring a senior liaison, who would facilitate communication between Somerville’s administration and its senior residents. In addition, Somerville and Cambridge Elders Services will work with Denise Taylor, the Director of Communications and Community Engagement, to promote Somerville Public Library’s senior tech support program in order to reach a greater number of residents.

The council also recognized August 21 as Senior Citizen Day, sponsored by Councilor Strezo at the suggestion of constituent Mary Napolitano.