By Ryan DiLello

Somerville’s Public Health and Safety Committee gathered for a virtual meeting on Tuesday, July 11 at 6:00 p.m. The summary below captures the discussions around each item raised during the meeting.

That the Commissioner of Public Works replace the port-a-potties in and around Davis Square, including Seven Hills Park, regularly maintain them, and leave them in place regardless of complaints from neighbors.
There is currently a port-a-potty in seven hills park that DPW placed there on June 27th. Now, the contract on the port-a-potty is being transferred to the Department of Health and Human services. “We want to explore utilization, who’s using [the port-a-potties], and what needs are there. They also have to be removed in December for snow removal and that’s an important time for someone experiencing homelessness to have access.” Director of Health and Human Services Karin Carroll said. Under the current contract, the unit gets cleaned 3 times per week, which may not be sufficient, she added. DPW Commissioner Jill Lathan clarified that the port-a-potty would not be removed simply because of local complaints; “there is a process for that.” She clarified.

That the Director of Health and Human Services immediately secure space and open a warming/cooling center for people to seek shelter from the summer heat and winter cold.
At the moment, HHS Director Karin Carroll is meeting with various teams including SOIA and Emergency Management to identify the state of the city’s warming/cooling centers and services. “We pulled together a lot of players who maybe don’t traditionally meet around this… we talked about who does what and cleaning that up into a procedure that we can work from. It was a great first discussion. There’s also an urgency because we are about to hit summer. It’s good to have a threshold to look for in terms of temperature, humidity, days of sustained heat – all of these factor into the health effects… At this point, the cooling centers for the city are largely our existing buildings like the library but that may not work for everyone. We may want some more targeted efforts. I’d like to look at some of the data around heat-related illness calls to 911 and to see whether there’s any hot spots around town.” Director Carroll said.

Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, Aneesh Sahni added that the city’s Homeless Coalition received an ARPA grant to implement a similar program, opening more warming/cooling centers across the city.

Councilor Pineda Neufeld asked about a program to donate air conditioners to those in need. Director Carroll said the HHS would consider relaunching the program, but noted that very few air conditioners were donated in the past. The Director added that her team is examining the city’s buildings for the elderly to be sure they have proper cooling.

A significant part of the city’s strategy lies within communication and education – raising awareness about current cooling zones and ensuring people know the risks and dangers associated with heat.

That the Director of Health and Human Services move forward with an overdose prevention facility, using a mobile facility as an initial, immediate option until permanent brick and mortar locations can be opened.
Director Sahni shared that the advisory group is meeting regularly to finalize a program and a report summarizing their findings. The group received $500,000 in funding to continue their work. Director Sahni said, “it is absolutely a priority to make sure people are safely consuming, but we do not have a timeline yet on procuring a space.”

“Our COVID listening sessions are still in progress. We’ve completed five sessions and have five more to go and are hoping to wrap them up in the fall. At this time we do not have a report summarizing, but in response to the board order, our SOIA team has been running point at our sessions and will absolutely report to the council once we conclude our sessions.”

Regarding the session materials, Director Sahni said, “It has been broad in terms of topics – we’ve heard from residents how they’ve been impacted by COVID and what they’d like to see from the city.” Sahni indicated the listening session reports could produce some actionable items, but he was unsure of details at the time.

For residents interested in participating in a listening session, visit: Somervillema.gov/listeningsessions

That the ADA Coordinator discuss with this Council how the Administration is accommodating the needs of visually impaired residents through the use of braille in commissions and elsewhere.
Director Sahni shared that the ADA is currently in the process of procuring a braille machine and that he will have more to share in a future meeting, once the braille machine is in place.