By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

Last Thursday, members of the Ward 6 community with members of the city government held its fall ward meeting at the Somerville Community Baptist Church. The meeting, one of two for the year, focused on issues affecting the neighborhood and future plans for Davis Square.

Various members of the city government were in attendance along with the mayor of Somerville, Katjana Ballantyne. In her opening remarks, the mayor focused on the diversity of Somerville and the importance of diverse voices for the community.

“Historically underrepresented voices need to be sought out and amplified in all our shared decision-making. Long-time residents and newcomers must have opportunities to find common ground on our shared goals and priorities,” Ballantyne said.

Another significant topic covered in the meeting focused on the rising cost of energy prices ahead of the winter. Emily Sullivan, Climate Change Program Manager for the Office of Sustainability and Development outlined their plans.

One of the initiatives pushed by the city is called the Community Choice Electricity Program, which is a city initiative to offer stable energy prices for residents. According to Sullivan, most energy used is “regional, local, the energy that therefore supports regional clean energy products, or projects and jobs in New England and a bit of New York.”

Moreover, current renters do not need to receive approval from their landlords to enroll in the program.

For months now, the discussion of the Davis Square redevelopment has been in full swing and this meeting was certainly full of it. Community members raised concerns regarding the displacement of longstanding local businesses in the area.

Rachel Nadkarni, Intern Economic Development Director, addressed some of the concerns raised by the residents. “Some of my colleagues were out walking around again yesterday just to make sure we’re checking in with all of the businesses who are going to be affected. Most of the businesses do have a game plan for what they’re looking for and what their next steps are going to be,” Nadkarni said.

According to Captain Jim Donovan, from the Somerville Police Department, there has been a citywide increase in crime of about 10% since 2021. Ward 6 saw a smaller increase of only about 5% in the past year.

Recordings of this and previous ward meetings can be found on the City of Somerville’s YouTube and website. Ward meetings are finished for 2022 with the next set of meetings slated to start in the spring.