Attractions at Monday's (June 5) City Council meeting

CITY MANAGER’S AGENDA
15. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 06-32, regarding a report on surveying middle school students and their families about after-school programs.

[Not much for them to do on this, but this is the sort of thing that can produce a lot of chatter from The Nine.]

17. Transmitting communication from Robert W. Healy, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 05-160, regarding a report on making wireless internet access available throughout the City.

[I'm posting this mainly to give everyone a taste of what the City is considering. The listed objectives seem to indicate that the City wants to offer only a "basic" level of service and to "work with existing ISP's" to steer people who want better transfer rates toward those ISP's. This strikes me as an attempt to navigate around potential legal issues by providing a lesser service that does not compete too greatly with the major ISP's.]

Abridged Version of Statement
The group has outlined the following objectives:
1. To provide residents of, and visitors to, the City of Cambridge with "basic" wireless access to the Internet via inexpensive and pervasive technology throughout the City, such access to be provided at no cost to residents and visitors. A priority for deployment would be Public Schools, Housing, Libraries, Squares, and Parks.

2. To supplement, not compete with, the products and services of commercial interests, such as existing Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) and coffee shops and hotels that provide Internet access for a fee.

3. To provide a "basic" level of wireless service sufficient for World Wide Web access, checking email, and similar activities at speeds higher than those available via dial-up Internet access, but without the expectation of the speed and reliability of a broadband or DSL connection.

4. To leverage existing City infrastructure (such as the fiber network and existing Internet connections) as well as that of other participating private entities (e.g. building access for mounting wireless antennas and repeaters).

5. To work with existing ISP’s doing business in the City to help those residents and visitors who desire higher speed Internet access (e.g. for such purposes as streaming video or transmitting large files like photos or music) to purchase such commercial access at attractive rates.

6. In addition to providing free wireless access, it is the goal of this committee to find sources to subsidize or loan wireless computer equipment to low income residents.

7. To extend the wireless footprint of MuniMesh infrastructure subscribers and providers (such as the Roofnet project at MIT). This will afford participating University students a similar level of access to what they have on their campus wireless systems, and Municipal employees to access their departmental services.

Initial prototype deployment
Initial prototypes and "proof of concept" deployment is being done by the City’s Information Technology Department in collaboration with MIT using wireless mesh technology connected to the MIT network. The City will leverage its fiber network and Internet access as well. Cambridge Housing Authority and Health Alliance are participating and offering prime rooftop locations for installation of antenna. The Museum of Science (MOS) has offered use of its network, contacts and locations. When appropriate, MOS will integrate the wireless mesh technology deployed in the City of Cambridge with the Charles River Wireless Collaboration and Waltham Watch City Wireless initiatives. Harvard is interested in participating. They, as of now, have a closed secure network not open to the public. It is under consideration to open it for public use at a later time. They are considering providing locations for mesh antenna installations.

The cost to deploy mesh access points is significantly lower than the cost to provide typical commercial wireless access point products (primarily because each access point does not have to be directly connected to a network). It is expected that the number of mesh antenna will be 100 for initial deployment.

Locations for installation of the mesh antenna will be a mix of public and private buildings also to be determined.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
[Any of these could be moved and voted on at this meeting. Item #3 expires on June 13, so they'll have to take it up this week or next or just let it expire (or possibly re-file it, but there's really little more to say on the matter. Item #4 had its Ordinance Committee hearing on May 31 and the report has not yet been filed for that meeting, but they could vote on it now. Item #5 is still being discussed in committee, so it will likely remain under Unfinished Business for a while.]

3. Ordinance Committee report on the zoning petition filed by the Neighbors and Abutters of Blessed Sacrament (NABS)/Alan Zimlicki et al. with regard to yards, open space, parking and special permit criteria for the redevelopment of existing buildings. The question comes on passing to be ordained on or after May 8, 2006. Petition expires June 13, 2006.

4. Proposed amendment to the Cambridge Municipal Ordinance regarding creating a Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship. The question comes on passing to be ordained on or after May 8, 2006. Ordinance Committee hearing held on May 31, 2006.

5. Ordinance Committee report on the Concord/Alewife area rezoning petition, which was re-filed by the City Council. The question comes on passing to be ordained on or after May 29, 2006. Petition expires July 25, 2006.

ORDERS
2. That the City Manager is requested to join with the Mayors of Newton, Somerville, North Hampton and Chicopee to file a complaint with DTE on whether telecommunications companies are illegally sharing customer phone records with the NSA.   Councillor Murphy and Councillor Simmons

[Again, not much for The Nine to do on this, but it's the sort of Order that generally yields some speechmaking.]

8. That the City Manager is requested to update the City Council on the status of potential appointees to the Kids' Council.   Councillor Kelley, Councillor Sullivan and Councillor Simmons

[Matters related to this "Kids' Council" have produced some all-too-common agitation of late in one well-staffed and congenitally angry councillor. My sense is that this is an example of councillors wanting to wrest more authority over the workings of City departments (which is generally prohibited under the City Charter).]

12. Requesting from School Committee enrollment statistics of Cambridge school-aged children in private, parochial and Charter Schools and other related issues.   Councillor Kelley and Councillor Sullivan

[This appears to be a continuation of the line of questioning undertaken by Councillor Kelley during the recent FY07 Budget hearings. Though some believe the City Council should not be “meddling” in School Department matters, I personally appreciate all inquiries of this kind.]

15. Petition the Commonwealth of Massachusetts General Court to enact the attached home rule petition entitled “ AN ACT TO ENABLE SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD RESIDENTS OF CAMBRIDGE TO VOTE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS.”   Councillor Davis, Councillor Simmons and Councillor Murphy

[This proposal comes around periodically, and I'm sure it will bring out a crowd from the high school. It's always been a marginal proposal since all who would be affected will be able to vote very soon anyway. A related and more significant issue is the general decline in voting in all elections, especially municipal elections. However, a good case can be made that those who choose not to vote in local elections are, in fact, making a statement about the minimal importance of the election results. I would make the case that the relatively poor quality of candidates, the minimal role that they play, and their mediocre track record are prime causes for low voter turnout. As former Council candidate (and street performer and actor) Ian McKinnon once said, "Hire Better Actors."

On a related note, having recently wrapped up teaching a statistics course, I need to say that the absolute number of people who come out to vote isn't really that important, as long as those who do vote are a representative sample of all eligible voters of the city, especially in a city that uses proportional representation elections. Older people vote in much higher percentages than younger people. College students rarely vote in local elections. The "most likely voters" are a "city within a city" who are heavily targeted by candidates. If eligible voters actually voted in their true proportions and if they made some attempt to learn about all the candidates, we would likely have a better group of candidates and a very different group of elected officials than what we must currently tolerate.]

20. Dedication of an appropriate site to William “Bill” Frazier for all of his years of service to the City of Cambridge.   Councillor Sullivan

[My hat's off to Bill Frazier, Superintendent of the Sanitation Division at Public Works. Bill has worked for the City for almost six decades. While elected officials turn the spotlight on themselves at every opportunity, the people who really keep the city running are people like Bill Frazier. If you have a chance, send him a thank-you note.]

COMMITTEE REPORTS
1. A communication was received from Donna P. Lopez, Deputy City Clerk transmitting a report from Councillor Brian Murphy, Chair of the Public Facilities, Art and Celebrations Committee, for a meeting held on May 18, 2006 to begin discussions on future plans for the former Graham and Parks, Longfellow Schools and the Police Station.

[Not much to report, but the unknown future of the Graham & Parks building (a.k.a. "the old Webster School") on Upton Street, as well as the current Police Station after the Police Dept. moves to East Cambridge in a few years, will keep The Nine talking.]