City Council — Regular Meeting, June 5, 2023

City Manager's Agenda (7)

• CMA 2023 #149A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to amendments to the FY24 Submitted General Fund Budgetbudget
• CMA 2023 #150Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $117,500, to the Grant Fund Emergency Communications Extraordinary Expenditures account for acquisition of equipment and upgrades to the City of Cambridge Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
• CMA 2023 #151Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $32,500, to the Grant Fund Emergency Communications Extraordinary Expenditures account for acquisition of equipment and upgrades to the City of Cambridge Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
• CMA 2023 #152Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $100,000, to the Grant Fund Emergency Communications Extraordinary Expenditures account for acquisition of replacement radio consolettes to continue to enhance interoperable communications between Metro Boston Homeland Security Region (MBHSR) jurisdictions
• CMA 2023 #153Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the transfer of $70,000 from the General Fund Traffic, Parking and Transportation Salary and Wages account to the General Fund Traffic, Parking and Transportation Travel and Training (Judgment and Damages) account to cover current and anticipated medical services and/or prescription reimbursement costs for the remainder of the fiscal year for Traffic and Parking personnel injured in the performance of their dutiestransit-traffic
• CMA 2023 #154Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the transfer of $35,000 from the General Fund Veterans Travel & Training (Benefits) account to the General Fund Veterans Other Ordinary Maintenance account to cover costs related to a re-imagined Memorial Day and Decoration Day
• CMA 2023 #155A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to AR 23-29, regarding amendments to the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance. PASSED TO A SECOND READING IN COUNCIL JUNE 5, 2023 TO BE ORDAINED ON OR AFTER JUNE 26, 2023climate📖 read 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF

Communications (69)

69 resident communications received for this meeting — bike lanes (48) · transit traffic (31) · police safety (16) · budget (9) · housing general (7). Individual letters are summarized in the city's agenda and are not republished here, by policy.

Policy Orders (15)

• POR 2023 #99That the City Manager is requested to direct the appropriate City staff to establish a new phone number and email address for Inclusionary Tenants to utilize for complaints and emergency issues as they arise, ensuring that their voices are heard and their concerns are addressed in a timely and effective manneraffordable-housingtenants-rent
• POR 2023 #100Recognizing June 19, 2023 as Juneteenth in the City of Cambridge, and in urging all Cambridge residents to reflect upon the meaning of this important daylabor📖 read
• POR 2023 #101That City Manager is requested to adjust the Health Alliance Budget to ensure that all services provided to the City of Cambridge by the Health Alliance for Public Health Department needs and staff are fully funded, and to adjust the Capital Budget to ensure all necessary repairs are made to the Windsor Street Clinic. POLICY ORDER FROM FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT MAY 16, 2023 AND MAY 18, 2023budget
• POR 2023 #102That the City Manager is requested to increase the Affordable Housing Trust budget in FY24 by 7.1% to equal the increase of the overall city budget, increase the Affordable Housing Trust budget by $20 million through a free cash appropriation, outside of the FY24 budget, and engage in creating a 3-year plan to increase the Affordable Housing Trust budget to 10% of the overall City budget. POLICY ORDER FROM FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT MAY 16, 2023 AND MAY 18, 2023affordable-housingbudgethousing-general
• POR 2023 #103That the City Manager is requested to direct the Community Development Department to provide further study on the proposed changes by the Franklin Petition, as well as a careful review of the language to remove any potential conflicts and ambiguities and is requested to direct the Law Department to provide guidance on any legal issues and questions raised by CDD and the Planning Board by the Franklin Petition
• POR 2023 #104That the City Manager is requested to work with appropriate City staff, leadership of other impacted communities, state and congressional delegations and other appropriate officials to advocate and lobby for solutions to aircraft noise
• POR 2023 #105That the City Manager is requested to convene a working group, including representatives from the LGBTQ+ community, city officials, and other relevant stakeholders, tasked with establishing plans for a citywide celebration to mark the 20th anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• POR 2023 #106That City Manager is requested to ensure adequate funding to fully repair the irrigation system in Danehy Park immediatelytrees📖 read
• POR 2023 #107That the City Manager is requested to direct the appropriate City staff to refresh and repaint the crosswalk and benches if necessary, in the colors of the Trans Flag, the Pride Flag, the Bi Flag, and the People of Color Pride Flag, and light City Hall up in rainbow colors in recognition of Pride Month for the month of Junetransit-traffic
• POR 2023 #108That the City Manager is requested to direct the Fire Department, the Police Department, Emergency Communications Department, Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department, the Department of Public Works and the Harvard Square Business Association to determine if permanent automatic bollards could be feasible in the area of Winthrop Streetpolice-safetytransit-traffic
• POR 2023 #109That the Transportation and Public Utilities and Neighborhood & Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts & Celebration Committees work with the City Manager and appropriate city departments and staff, to hold a joint hearing to receive input from city staff and the community to review the effectiveness and develop recommendations on methods to collect data and establish measurable benchmarks and standards as it relates to the Cycling Safety Ordinanceartsbike-lanestransit-traffic📖 read
• POR 2023 #110That the City Manager is requested to work with the appropriate departments to provide a legal opinion on whether the city could, without violating state law, use traffic cameras, regulated under the Surveillance Ordinance, to inform motorists of potential traffic violations or dangerous actions, without issuing any citations or formal warningspolice-safetytransit-traffic
• POR 2023 #111That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to increase the Affordable Housing Trust budget in FY24 by 7.1% to equal the increase of the overall city budgetaffordable-housingbudgethousing-general
• POR 2023 #112That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to increase the Affordable Housing Trust budget by $20 million through a free cash appropriation, outside of the FY24 budgetaffordable-housingbudgethousing-general
• POR 2023 #113That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to engage in creating a 3-year plan to increase the Affordable Housing Trust budget to 10% of the overall City budgetaffordable-housingbudgethousing-general

Resolutions (8)

• RES 2023 #162Resolution on the death of Laura Rauscher
• RES 2023 #163Congratulations to Maria Ricardo on her 95th Birthday
• RES 2023 #164Thanks to Louis A. Elisa For speaking at Memorial Day Observance
• RES 2023 #165Thanks to Dr. Jill Kasper for her service at the Cambridge Alliance and best wishes in her future endeavors
• RES 2023 #166Condolences to the Family of Mary-Catherine Deibel
• RES 2023 #167Congratulations to Bishop Brian C. Greene
• RES 2023 #168Congratulations to Erinn Pearson for 21 Years of Simply Erinn's
• RES 2023 #169Resolution in Honor of the Day of Portugal

Applications & Petitions (2)

• APP 2023 #33An application was received from Michael Monestime of the Central Square Business Improvement District requesting permission for thirty (30) temporary pole banners along Massachusetts Avenue, Hancock Street, Inman Street, Pleasant Street, Prospect Street Essex Street, Pearl Street, Norfolk Street, Brookline Street, Douglas Street and Sidney Street announcing In Central I Can from June 1, 2023 through December 30, 2023📖 read
• APP 2023 #34An application was received from John Connolly of Harvard Art Museum requesting permission for twenty three (23) temporary pole banner along Quincy Street, Broadway to Harvard, Cambridge Street, Hovey to Felton, Massachusetts Avenue, Trowbridge to Remington Street, Massachusetts Avenue and Hotel Veritas to Plympton announcing Open to Everyone from July 2023 through November 2023arts📖 read

Other Business (5)

• AR-23-37Report on the policy for releasing the names of officers involved in any use of force incident, up to and including those incidents resulting in injury or death
• AR-23-38Report on the legal opinion whether Cambridge could permanently switch to the MWRA water supply
• AR-23-39Report on the legal opinion whether the City could fund affordable housing construction through a bond issueaffordable-housinghousing-general

• an update regarding legislative activity 📖 read 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF
• information from the School Committee

Committee Reports (5)

• Finance Committee hearing of 2023-05-09 — Accepted [Unanimous]
• Finance Committee hearing of 2023-05-10 — Accepted [Unanimous]
• Finance Committee hearing of 2023-05-16 — Accepted As Amended [Unanimous]
• Committee hearing of (unknown date) — Order Adopted [Unanimous]
• Public Safety Committee hearing of 2023-05-23 — Accepted [Unanimous]