Portions of Somerville High School that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 will be getting much needed repairs following the BOA’s unanimous decision to allocate $2.6M for the renovations.

By Ariana Mackey

Aldermen unanimously approved the Finance Committee’s request during the BOA’s Jan. 23 meeting to appropriate $2.6 million towards the repair of the Somerville High School auditorium, kitchen and cafeteria.

The bond amount includes paying for architectural and engineering services to repair the damage to the school from Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. The auditorium has not been fit for use since then, and the lunches for the students have been prepared at the Winter Hill Community School and then shipped to the high school out of necessity.

This bond proposed by the mayor will allow the high school to be completely functional again. After being proposed at the Dec. 12 BOA meeting, it was then referred to the Finance Committee following the board’s Jan. 16 meeting.

Also approved was the grant of $7, 086 for the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services’ S.A.F.E. program. The grant will be used to teach elementary school students the hazards of fire and how to be as safe as possible at school and in their own homes.

Several motions were made during last Thursday’s meeting.  A few of the motions proposed by the board were for the commissioner of public works to complete various tasks, such as repairing potholes in the area of Pearl Street and Wesley Avenue, as well as ones on Porter Street and Highland Avenue. It was also proposed the water fountain at the East Somerville Library should be repaired or replaced and low-hanging wires on Hawthorn Street and on the corner of Broadway and Wisconsin Avenue should be raised.

Discussed also in this part of the meeting was that the director of traffic and parking should increase enforcement of parking permits regarding the issue on Illinois Avenue as well as install a “SLOW – CHILDREN” sign.

Under reports of the committees this week, there were nine requests for the reappointment of Housing Authority employees as special police officers for 2014. They included Harold Curtis Jr., Shawn Brady, Sean Browne, Michael Cabral, Jose Colon, Michael DeBethencourt, Michael Eastman, Wayne Gabaree and James Lawson.

Communications of the mayor this week included a request for the dedication of Symphony Park for open space and recreational use in perpetuity. The park is currently undergoing a community design process using a $400,000 grant.

A supplemental item discussed and approved was a request for the administration to work with the board in order to make revisions to the SomerVision plan. They wish to provide more detailed goals with regard to housing being more affordable and the creation of mixed-housing units, specifically in housing with more than two bedrooms.

A permit for the American Cancer Society to hold its annual Relay For Life from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at the Zero New Washington Street Dog Park was approved.

For late items of this meeting, it was unanimously approved that the board should amend its rules in order to establish a procedure for the joint sponsorship of items. One of these provisions is that no more than five aldermen can sponsor an order and only the original sponsor’s name will be identified with the order. Co-sponsors must be filed with the clerk of committees but will not be identified by name until the meeting of the order’s announcement.

Also stated is that the communications department has arranged with the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation to post the agreement with city cable-TV providers online. Residents of the city are now able to read the contracts with their city’s cable.