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)

A monthly look at ways to get involved with your city: Don’t just live in Somerville, be Somerville!

Spring ResiStat Meetings

ResiStat meetings are a twice-yearly series of community meetings where residents have the opportunity to interact with the mayor, aldermen, leaders from the Somerville Police Department, City staff—and neighbors. We’ll be sharing the latest city and neighborhood updates as well as the data-based problem solving discussions that help drive decision making at City Hall.  There are three meetings remaining and all meetings take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. with free pizza and socializing beginning at 6. The presentations from the other ward meetings can be found at www.somervillema.gov/resistat. The remaining meetings are:

• Ward 1: Wednesday, May 30, at the East Somerville Community School, 50 Cross St.
• Ward 4: Thursday, May 31, at the Healey School, 5 Meacham St.
• Ward 3: Tuesday, June 5, at Somerville High School, 81 Highland Ave.

Central Hill Campus Plan Meeting, May 31

With construction of the new Somerville High School underway, the City of Somerville is developing a Central Hill Campus Plan. The plan will explore integrating the high school, library, and other civic buildings on the site; improving accessibility for all abilities within the campus; enhancing the user experience on the site; celebrating the history of the site, including final locations for all of the existing memorials currently on the site; achieving city-wide sustainability goals; and mitigating storm water impacts.

Join the City for a community discussion about the plan. Pizza will be provided. More information is available at www.somervillema.gov/departments/central-hill-plan.

Where/when: Thursday, May 31, at 6 p.m. in the Somerville High School Cafeteria, 81 Highland Ave.

Submit Comments on the Davis Square Neighborhood Plan by June 1

Over the past five years the Somerville community has worked to envision the future of Davis Sq. Now, there’s another opportunity to weigh in, with the recent release of The Davis Square Neighborhood Plan. To submit comments, please email planning@somervillema.gov by Friday, June 1. To read the plan and learn more about the public process, visit www.somervillebydesign.com.

Short-term Rentals Community Discussions, June 14 and 21

With the growing popularity of home-sharing and short-term rentals, the City is revisiting its policies and regulations. Join us for a community meeting where City staff will review current short-term rental regulation and lead a discussion about future regulation options.

When/where: Thursday, June 14, at 6 p.m. at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland St. and Thursday, June 21, at 6 p.m. at the Argenziano School, 290 Washington St.

Tufts Partnership Agreement Survey

The City of Somerville will soon be renegotiating a partnership agreement with Tufts University and held a community meeting earlier this week to discuss how we can best strengthen that partnership. If you were unable to make it to the meeting, there’s still a way to share your thoughts by completing the Tufts Partnership Agreement Survey at www.somervillema.gov/tufts. All of the themes and key issues from this survey and the community meeting will be summarized (without attribution) for City staff in advance of the City’s conversations with Tufts, and that summary will become publicly available.

City Alerts

Get important City notifications regarding snow emergencies, construction, detours, and other public safety matters delivered to your phone (voice and text) and/or your email inbox. Sign up for alerts at www.somervillema.gov/alerts. 

City Newsletter 

For weekly updates on city cultural and civic events, new services and programs, and more, sign up for the City e-newsletter at www.somervillema.gov/newsletter.

City Calendar

Look up city events and meetings (as well as agendas and minutes) 24/7 on the City calendar at www.somervillema.gov.