(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

By Chris Dwan

Somerville has dozens of committees, commissions, working groups, and task forces who advise the city on various topics. Attending meetings of these groups, whether as a visitor or a full member, is one of the best ways to get involved with local government, meet city staff, and connect with local folks who share your interests.

It’s important to note that I am writing here only as myself, not speaking on behalf of any committee or the city itself.

What We Make It

I was in the first wave of people appointed to the Urban Forestry Committee when it was re-instantiated in 2019. One of the things that surprised me at our first meeting was the amount of flexibility we had in figuring out how to work together. The committee had a mandate from the City Council to advise the city on planting and maintenance of trees, and not much else in the way of guidance. Over the years we have settled on a few patterns, which may eventually become either bylaws or just a “run book” that sets expectations for new members.

One of the most successful of those patterns is making space for “resident concerns” near the top of every agenda. Part of the purpose of these advisory committees is to be a space where community members can interact with domain experts, local activists, and city staff. We usually get around a half dozen people showing up either out of general interest or to surface questions, ideas, and concerns.

Concerns can come with strong emotions, even on a topic as seemingly noncontroversial as trees. In part because of this, the Mayor recently asked all committee members to sign a code of conduct affirming our intention to treat participants and attendees with respect. The chair is responsible for keeping discussions respectful and on topic.

Given how caustic political conversations can be, particularly online, it’s refreshing to have a forum where the ground rules support vigorous, yet respectful discussion.

How to Advise

The Tree Preservation Ordinance specifies that UFC is an advisory committee. It took time to figure out what it meant to “advise the city,” particularly on topics where some committee members disagreed with the approach that the administration was taking. Committee members are appointed and serve at the pleasure of the Mayor. It’s reasonable to ask whether our job is to be a friendly group of domain experts or more of a group of activists pushing the city to do more and better.

We didn’t know, at the beginning, whether the UFC could be independent and forceful enough to be seen as useful by the activist community. It could easily have turned out to be something of a mouthpiece for the administration, which I think would have been a lost opportunity. In conversation with members and chairs of other city committees, this is a common concern. Committee members are volunteers, and people don’t like to have their time wasted or to feel complicit in decisions with which they disagree.

From the beginning, it was important to me that the committee should be able to push back on the Mayor, not just refine pre-ordained decisions.

It quickly became clear that merely talking about a topic in the meeting and then approving notes on the conversation in the minutes was not terribly impactful. Who, after all, reads the minutes? To overcome that, we adopted a practice of writing memos that would be posted on the city’s website, and sent to various government agencies. We have weighed in on artificial turf, on the proposed removal of trees at 90 Washington Street, on gas leaks on Somerville Ave, and even on how green infrastructure can support traffic safety.

Committee members also organize activities like the adopt-a-tree program and create educational materials about species we recommend for planting and a field identification guide to Somerville’s “most wanted” list of weeds. We have even gotten a little allocation of money in the city budget, which mostly goes towards native plant giveaways at Arbor Day and other events.

History is made by the people who show up

All of this happened because people decided to show up and contribute their time, energy, and expertise. Several committees are currently looking for new members, including the Commission for Women and the Commission for Persons With Disabilities. The complete list of openings are listed on the city website.

If you are curious about any city committee, I encourage you to show up to a meeting or two. City committees follow Open Meeting Law, which means that agendas and access instructions are posted on the city website several days in advance.

The Americans With Disabilities Act requires the city to provide support for people who require assistance accessing the venue or the materials, and there is also support for translation and interpretation services. If you have a specific need, it’s a good idea to let the staff supporting the committee know ahead of time so they can schedule the right resources. In a perfect world, everything would be available everywhere all at the same time — but we don’t live in a perfect world.

If you are curious about city stuff and want to get involved, I highly recommend showing up to a meeting or two.