By Joseph A. Curtatone

(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)

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed a happy and healthy holiday season surrounded by family and friends. With 2017 now in full swing, it’s important to focus on all of our upcoming work and the goals we wish to achieve – and there’s plenty to be done that I’ll address in next week’s Midterm address at City Hall and in next week’s op-ed. Today, though, let’s pause and look back on 2016 to reflect on all we’ve accomplished together. This past year was certainly full of ups and downs, but Somerville reached its fair share of milestones. Let’s take a look back at just a few of those:

• After a scare in late 2015 when MassDOT and the Fiscal Management Control Board pressed pause on the Green Line Extension project, we took a historic step to enable the project to move forward. The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously in favor of allowing the City to bond for $50 million to contribute to the project. After fighting for the Green Line for all of 2016 – and decades before it – the project is back on track and moving forward.
• Thoughtful neighborhood planning is essential to ensuring that our entire community will benefit from all the opportunity the Green Line will provide. The approval of the Union Square Neighborhood Plan in May set into motion a community-driven vision for the next decades of growth in Union Square by establishing a blueprint for Union Square and Boynton Yards, which are key transformational areas within our SomerVision 20-year plan. This is a significant step in our intention to shape our own future according to community goals and needs rather than to let market forces shape it for us. In the coming year we will be working to finalize a plan for community benefits as well.
• Somerville received an award of $13 million from the Commonwealth’s MassWorks Infrastructure Grant program – the largest award in the program’s history – to complete upgrades to Union Square’s 120-year old water and sewer system. These upgrades will allow us to reduce legacy flooding issues for our homeowners and businesses, improve sewer service to more than 20,000 homes, and accommodate the development our Neighborhood Plan calls for in in Union Square.
• The City received additional grants from the Commonwealth to explore new workforce development strategies. The City’s own fabrication laboratory, the FabLab, opened in October to offer 21st century technology and digital fabrication skill training such as 3D printing and laser cutting. With fabrication programming being integrated into Somerville High School’s Center for Career and Technical Education classes, the FabLab will provide additional educational opportunity for students – and the community.
• Somerville Public Schools continued their charge upward in 2016. The most recent MCAS test results showed a continued district-wide upward growth trajectory as we continue rank as the top urban school district for student growth. Somerville High maintained its Level 1 status for the fourth straight year, and Brown School became the first SPS school to earn Commendation School status. Additionally, Powderhouse Studios was one of ten Super School winners out of nearly 700 proposals nationwide and will receive $10 million from the XQ Foundation over the next 5 years to establish innovative new learning opportunities for high school students.
• Funds from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) that our community voted overwhelmingly to support are now yielding results in our city. In addition to bolstering our Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the first CPA projects are now complete. Groundwork Somerville improved the schoolyard garden classrooms in eight of our schools. Prospect Hill Tower, our most historically significant landmark, was restored and reopened, and the tombs at Milk Row Cemetery were restored. The Community Preservation Act also awarded more than $5 million to 14 projects in 2016 that are underway, including $2.5 million for historic preservation and the addition of ADA access for the West Branch Library.
• In 2016, the number of walkers and cyclists in Somerville continued to increase. As a crucial safety measure to support this healthy trend, Somerville took advantage of the Commonwealth’s newly passed Municipal Modernization Act and lowered citywide speed limits to 25 mph, unless otherwise posted. The law also permits cities and towns to designate specific 20 mph safety zones for example near playgrounds, hospitals, and senior centers, which will be something we work toward in 2017.
• With impacts of climate change growing with each passing year, we conducted a climate change vulnerability assessment to understand where we are most at risk so that we can develop a plan to make Somerville more prepared. Many City initiatives this year aimed at mitigating climate change. We continued to increase the fuel efficiency of our vehicle fleet, an ordinance prohibiting plastic bags being given out at checkout counters went into effect, and we inspired more than 100 homeowners to sign onto our Solarize Somerville campaign.
• I’d be remiss to not mention the election when reflecting on the past year. While the outcome of the presidential race was not what many of us wanted or expected, it’s important to also highlight some of the positives that took place locally. Throughout the year, Somerville saw 8,200 new voters register in the City. Additionally, we had the fourth highest turnout in the Commonwealth for the first ever early voting period with 39.9 percent of people who voted in the election choosing to vote early, and you voted overwhelmingly in favor (72 percent) of building a new Somerville High School.

The progress listed above provides only a snapshot of all the ways that Somerville moved forward in 2016. We should take pride in our community’s ability not just to hope and envision a better future, but to listen to and respect one another’s differences and work through them – together – to make it happen. As we look forward, our past achievements can serve as a reminder and motivator of what we can do when we come together and work toward our community vision. It won’t be easy, but let’s work to make this year even better than the last.