Here are a few highlights from this weeks City Council meeting:
- City councilors Sam Seidel and David Maher want the city to provide support services for the owners of the estimated 160 buildings in the Alewife area which are not included on FEMA’s revised flood plain maps and now need to buy flood insurance. Meanwhile, City Councilor Craig Kelley wants the city to investigate FEMA’s findings to make sure their new flood plain maps are accurate.
- Mayor Denise Simmons wants another sister city for Cambridge, and it’s in Portugal. Simmons wants the city of Oeiras to be Cambridge’s newest sister city. But Cambridge already has a sister city in Portugal: Coimbra. Cambridge also already has a total of eight sister cities, including Cambridge, England; Gaeta, Italy; San Jose Las Flores, El Salvador; Yerevan, Armenia; Cienfuegos, Cuba; Galway, Ireland and Tsukuba Science City (Yatabe), Japan. The partnerships between sister cities are supposed to build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development. Cambridge delegations have traveled to meet with officials in a sister city in the past.
- The City Council voted down a proposal for the Planning Board to delay Just-A-Start’s permit applications for its Windsor Street housing, 5-3. City councilors Tim Toomey, David Maher and Craig Kelley voted in favor of the measure, while Henrietta Davis, Brian Murphy, Ken Reeves, Sam Seidel and Denise Simmons voted in opposition. City Councilor Marjorie Decker was absent from the meeting. City Councilor Craig Kelley wanted to delay the project to give the City Council time to come up with a citywide recommendation for affordable housing. Some residents have complained affordable housing isn’t evenly distributed across the entire city.
- City Councilor Henrietta Davis wants the City Manager to form a group to celebrate that Prevention Magazine named Cambridge the best walking city in the U.S. Davis also wants the group to promote even more walking in the city.
- City Manager Bob Healy renewed Darleen Bonislawski’s appointment as an election commissioner. She is slated to serve in the post for four more years.
- Mayor Denise Simmons wants Cambridge to work with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation to allow a welcome banner for the visiting architects coming to Boston May 14-18 for the American Institute of Architects’ annual convention.
