Plague Report (Apr 5)

There were 122 new COVID positive tests today (the largest daily jump in over two months), and the 7-day daily average increased slightly to 71.1. The all-time high was 380.6 on Jan 9 (giving a current 81.3% reduction from peak). The daily high water mark was 620 cases with an onset date of Jan 4. The total number of residents who have tested positive is now 21,848. The Omicron variant has been the primary cause of the recent surge with a relatively small but very frustrating recent bump attributable to the BA.2 subvariant which has been detected in wastewater samples locally and now makes up most of the new cases in New England. The Cambridge total increased by 122 today in addition to 44 yesterday and 76, 46, 63, 100, 88, 93, 47, 28, 43, 41, 94, and 46 in recent days. The large Omicron wave crested weeks ago, but the BA.2 variant is continuing to thwart further decreases in reported infections as wastewater data and other evidence indicate. Time will tell how long this latest bump in the road will continue. The percentage of positive tests (measured over the last two weeks) increased to 1.94% (previous rates 1.63%, 1.71%, 1.56%, 1.09%, 0.87%) - still quite low. Most importantly, the effects of the virus appear to be much milder than previous variants.

The mask requirement for indoor public places was lifted beginning Mon, Mar 14, and masks are no longer required in municipal buildings as of Mon, Mar 28. Masks became optional for all students and staff in the Cambridge Public Schools beginning Mon, Mar 14. (more information)

Click on graph above for latest Cambridge data.

Apr 5, 2022 Breakdown of Cases:
21848 tested positive (total) - an increase of 122 from the previous day
161 confirmed deaths - 83 in long-term care facilities, 78 in general community

Thanks to vaccinations, even though the 7-day averages were dreadful
the impacts were not as bad as they could have been.

City of Cambridge Covid Information     Harvard University COVID-19 data     MIT COVID-19 data

The surge in new positive tests was due to a combination of the Delta variant and the Omicron variant.
High vaccination rates have helped to blunt what might have been a larger surge and far more deaths.

Covid Cases by Age Group - through Apr 2, 2022

MWRA Biobot wastewater data - Apr 4, 2022

MWRA Biobot recent wastewater data - North System - Apr 4, 2022
Note the recent modest rise due to the BA.2 variant - still increasing.
Further note that the 7-day average once reached as high as 8644 and has now risen only to 313, but it's rising.

Featured items on the April 4, 2022 Cambridge City Council agenda

Short agendas are as welcome as the flowers in springtime. There are Net Zero policy orders this week, though I’m sure they’ll be a few agenda-come-latelies before the night is through. Here are the things I found interesting:

Manager's Agenda #1. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $50,000 from Free Cash to the General Fund Inspectional Services Department Other Ordinary Maintenance Account to provide funds to implement a pilot of SMART Box and SMART Pipe rodent control technology in the City. This appropriation also is in response to Awaiting Report Item Number 22-12.
pulled by Mallon; Order Adopted 8-0-1 (Toner ABSENT)

Zap those rats!

Manager's Agenda #2. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 21-69, regarding a report on creating a uniform process for aiding the resettlement of refugees in Cambridge. [Uniform Resettlement Process response] [New Resident Overview]
pulled by Siddiqui; Placed on File 8-0-1 (Toner ABSENT)

Manager's Agenda #5. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 21-63, regarding food insecurity. [Food Insecurity response] [ARPA Funds Food Insecurity opinion]
pulled by Siddiqui; Placed on File 9-0

The referenced Order #9 from Sept 13, 2021 provides a lot of reference points such as the fact that “approximately 45% of Cambridge Public Schools students register for the free or reduced lunch programs each year”. It also elevates Boston initiatives such as the “Raised Beds Program” (since re-branded as “Food Justice” which includes “Food Forests” and “Urban Farming”). [It's funny how many things are being re-branded as “Justice” these days.] These are all wonderful initiatives that provide great outdoor experiences for residents. My concern has more to do with proportionality, i.e. the fact that the cumulative effect of all of these initiatives in terms of actually providing food is so minimal. Indeed, if you use Google Maps to view all of the referenced garden sites in Boston, it seems that in total they cover less ground than The Fenway Victory Gardens that began as actual “victory gardens” during World War II. I also think about the deranged local political climate in Cambridge where the notion that a house lot being used as a garden might be seen as a lost opportunity for high-density residential development. Indeed, it was not so long ago that a relatively large community garden at the intersection of Broadway and Boardman Street was dramatically reduced in size in order to provide a token parklet and parking for the affordable housing re-use of the old Squirrel Brand factory.

The joint communication from CDD, DPW, and the Public Health Department also seems to include a recommendation that in the 14 community gardens in Cambridge, the City should be “more strongly enforcing a 5-year term limit for garden plots.” Ever since that policy was first proposed perhaps 20 years ago I have thought it to be both short-sighted and contrary to the idea of “community” in community gardens. A better policy would be to simply require that a percentage of garden plots turn over each year rather than enforce an eviction of all longer-term gardeners whose well-being may actually depend on their gardens. The City’s approach is both bureaucratic and insensitive. In truth, because people are always moving in and out of Cambridge, there’s already a natural turnover of a percentage of garden plots, so all that’s really necessary is to ensure that there is sufficient turnover. By the way, the City used to play essentially no role in the city’s community gardens. That changed when gardeners requested water supply, and that apparently meant that the City gained some jurisdiction.

Since the referenced Sept 13, 2021 policy order was primarily about using the ARPA windfall for addressing food insecurity, it is perhaps worth emphasizing that access to affordable food won’t significantly be impacted by raised planter beds so much but rather by access to discounted food provided through stores and other food markets that have the means to efficiently deliver those goods in quantity year-round. Expanding the number of garden beds is a welcome gesture, but it can only go so far.

Manager's Agenda #8. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $915,000 from Free Cash to the Public Investment Fund Public Works Extraordinary Expenditures account to fund the procurement of five pieces of equipment for use in snow and ice operations.
pulled by Nolan; questions why John Deere hybrid vehicles not chosen; DPW Dep’y Comm. John Nardone explains; Nolan questions purchase because fossil fuel vehicles will soon not be permitted, suggests leasing instead; Zondervan suggests using bio-diesel fuel; Nardone says they already do; Order Adopted 9-0

On the Table #9. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of the Emergency Management Performance Grant from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency in the amount of $39,600 to the Grant Fund Fire Extraordinary Expenditures account which will be used to support the purchase of a new vehicle for the Emergency Preparedness and Coordination office. [Charter Right – Nolan, Mar 7, 2022; Tabled – Mar 21, 2022]

Councillor Nolan continues her audition for Purchasing Agent. I’ll be shocked if there’s not yet another inquisition about why we’re not recommending the purchase of all-electric (or horse-drawn) snow plows, tractors, and salters.

Manager's Agenda #9. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 21-45, regarding the feasibility of waiving dog license fees. [Dog License Fees] [Dog Fees Order] [Dog License Fees Municipal Code Amendment]

Apparently, the dog-lovin’ State Legislature passed enabling legislation 20 years ago (~140 dog years) to exempt anyone over the age of 70 from paying a dog license fee, so this is just a matter of voting to accept that provision. The City Council also wanted to have the fee waived for low-income residents even if that entails more complicated and time-consuming bureaucracy. There’s also this chilling reminder: “No part of the fee shall be refunded because of the subsequent death, loss, spaying, castration, removal from the Commonwealth or other disposal of the dog. Nor shall any part of the fee paid by mistake be refunded.” Woof, woof.
pulled by McGovern; Order Adopted 9-0 (to accept provisions of the state enabling legislation); Ordinance amendment passed to 2nd Reading 9-0; McGovern says they'll bring up a low-income fee waiver later

On the Table #2-3. Appointments and Reappointments to City Boards & Commissions on hold while City Council pipes in Muzak to appointees.

The City Council has apparently scheduled a Government Operations meeting on Tues, Apr 12 at 10:00am to discuss new guidelines for Boards and Commissions appointments. That should prove interesting, especially the wealth of intention floating between the lines of all that is said and not said. Perhaps they’ll settle on something similar to the rather chilling call of the meeting for this week’s two scheduled meetings of the City Council’s Ad-Hoc Committee to appoint the Preliminary Screening Committee for the hiring of the City Manager to discuss the reputation and character of applicants for the City Manager Preliminary Screening Committee. [I considered applying, but now I’m glad I didn’t.]

Resolution #6. Congratulations George R. Greenidge, Jr, American Sociological Association’s Community & Urban Publicly Engaged Scholar Award Recipient 2022.   Councillor McGovern

I first met Chip Greenidge as a student in a summer program over 30 years ago. He’s a good guy (my highest compliment, by the way). Perhaps I’ll try to dig out the tattered T-shirt we got that summer with our names on it.

Charter Right #1. The Ordinance Committee met on Feb 9, 2022 to conduct a public hearing on proposed amendments to the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (2021-26). [Charter Right – Zondervan, Mar 28, 2022] [Committee Report]
Tabled - Zondervan (voice vote)

Communications & Reports #3. A communication was received from Mayor Siddiqui and Councillor Nolan, transmitting a report from the Climate Crisis Working Group.
Pulled by Nolan; Referred to Health & Environment Committee (voice vote)

For starters, the word “reccomendations” is actually spelled “recommendations”. Sorry about the petty correction, but when it appears at the top of the title page it’s rather off-putting. Regarding the content, there are a lot of interesting suggestions, but the overriding words are “ban” and “mandatory” rather than “encourage” or “incentivize”. Apparently, at least for those who drafted this report, the age of “choice” must give way to the new age of “require” in every which way. - Robert Winters

Comments?

Out Like a Lion – March 28, 2022 Cambridge City Council Agenda

Spring is springing and the turf wars continue. This week features a citizens petition to modify the Bicycle Safety Ordinance and with it a golden opportunity for city councillors to double-talk their way to stardom. Here are some of the agenda items that I found interesting this week:

Manager's Agenda #1. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to an update on COVID-19.
Placed on File

Manager's Agenda #3. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 22-11, regarding Riverbend Park opening and potential expansion.
pulled by Nolan; likely will leave Mem. Drive closed continuously through weekend starting either Friday evening or Saturday morning; Placed on File

Charter Right #2. An application was received from Mathew Marshall, requesting permission for a curb cut at the premises numbered 221 Columbia Street; said petition has received approval from Inspectional Services, Traffic, Parking and Transportation, Historical Commission and Public Works. No response has been received from the neighborhood association. “ [Charter Right – Simmons, Mar 21, 2022]
Interesting that the loss of one or two parking spaces at this location due to a curb cut gets so much pushback when elsewhere hundreds of parking spaces are being permanently removed for “quick build” bike lanes that impact businesses, health care providers, day care facilities, churches, and more.
Petition Denied (voice vote, but unanimous)

On the Table #3-9. Appointments and Reappointments to City Boards & Commissions on hold while City Council pipes in Muzak to appointees.

On the Table #10. Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of the Emergency Management Performance Grant from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency in the amount of $39,600 to the Grant Fund Fire Extraordinary Expenditures account which will be used to support the purchase of a new vehicle for the Emergency Preparedness and Coordination office. [Charter Right – Nolan, Mar 7, 2022; Tabled – Mar 21, 2022]

Councillor Nolan continues her audition for Purchasing Agent.

Communications #3. A communication was received from Annette Osgood and Jeanne Oster, regarding a petition signed by over 1,050 names requesting changes to the Cycling Safety Ordinance.
pulled by Nolan; Placed on File (voice vote); Azeem notes that he would consider taking it up in Transportation Committee but makes clear now that nothing will come of it.

The actual number of petioners appears to be approximately 878 when duplicates are purged. There's also the unhinged cyclist who wrote: “Fuck you disgusting pieces of shit Up yours cagers. I hope you and your cars burn.”

Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to direct the City Solicitor to draft language to enable the Cambridge Police Department and Department of Public Works to donate abandoned bicycles to charitable organizations as outlined under MGL 30B Section 15(g).  Vice Mayor Mallon, Mayor Siddiqui, Councillor Carlone, Councillor McGovern, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Toner, Councillor Zondervan, Mayor Siddiqui
Adopted as Amended

Order #2. City Council support of the MIT Graduate Student Union.   Councillor Azeem, Councillor Zondervan, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor McGovern
Order Adopted

Order #3. That City Council remind the residents of Cambridge that regular street cleaning begins again on April 1, 2022 and that all residents can sign up for automatic alerts and reminders from the City of Cambridge for the remainder of the year.   Councillor Toner
Order Adopted

Order #4. City Council support urging the Massachusetts Legislature and the residents of Cambridge to oppose House Bill 1234 and the proposed 2022 state ballot initiative and ensuring that the rights of workers remain solid and strong for generations to come.   Councillor McGovern, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Zondervan, Councillor Azeem, Councillor Carlone, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Toner, Councillor Zondervan, Mayor Siddiqui
Order Adopted as Amended

My favorite phrase in this Order: “The Commonwealth of Massachusetts enjoys a long and distinguished history in the fight for workers’ rights and protections from exploitation from capitalists and corporate interests…”. Alas, life in The Peoples Republik.

Also, there are these Budget Hearings now scheduled in the Merry Month of May:

Tues, May 10

9:00am   The City Council's Finance Committee will meet to conduct hearing on FY 2023 City Budget.  (Sullivan Chamber and Zoom)

Budget Overview Mayor’s Office Executive - Leadership Executive - Housing Liaison     Executive - Diversity Executive - DGVPI Executive - Equity and Inclusion     Public Information Office Tourism

Housing Liasson     City Council City Clerk Law Finance Admin. Budget Personnel Purchasing Auditing

Assessing Treasury/Revenue Information Technology     General Services Employee Benefits Election Commission Public Celebrations Reserve Animal Commission

Community Safety (new) Fire Department Police Department Traffic, Parking & Transportation Inspectional Services License Commission Electrical Emergency Communications

Wed, May 11

6:00pm   The City Council's Finance Committee will meet to conduct hearing on FY 2023 School Budget.  (Sullivan Chamber and Zoom)

Tues, May 17

10:00am   The City Council's Finance Committee will meet to conduct hearing on FY 2023 City Budget.  (Sullivan Chamber and Zoom)

Cambridge Health Alliance     Public Works Water Community Development Historical Commission

Peace Commission / PRAB     Cable TV Debt Service Library Human Services

Women’s Commission Human Rights Commission     Veterans’ Services MWRA Cherry Sheet

City Overview Section Financial Summaries Section Revenue Section Public Investment Section

Thurs, May 19

9:00am   The City Council's Finance Committee will meet to conduct hearing on FY 2023 City Budget (if needed).  (Sullivan Chamber and Zoom)

Comments?

Springing into Inaction – March 21, 2022 Cambridge City Council Agenda

It looks like a pretty light agenda this week. Here are a few notable items:

Manager's Agenda #7. A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to recommendations for the block rates for water consumption and sewer use for the period beginning Apr 1, 2022 and ending Mar 31, 2023. [Order]
pulled by Nolan; Zondervan wants to quit our own water supply and switch to MWRA; City Manager disagrees w/Zondervan claim we have PFAS "contaminated water"; City Engineer Kathy Watkins and DPW Commissioner Owen O'Riordan provide expert information re: sewer system improvements; Carlone asks about advantages of AAA bond ratings; Azeem asks about relationship between rates and consumption, long-term projections on capacity vs. population growth; Order Adopted 9-0

Charter Right #10. That the City Manager is requested to amend all existing Community Host Agreements previously issued by the City by reducing the Impact Fee to 0.05% of Gross Revenue and to refrain from placing this burden upon any future HCAs that may yet be issued. [Charter Right – Zondervan, Feb 28, 2022; Tabled Mar 7, 2022]
Removed from Table 8-0-1 (Carlone ABSENT); Simmons explains her amendments, Zondervan amendments; Amendments Adopted on voice vote; Order Adopted on voice vote; Reconsideration Fails 0-9

Resolution #2. Happy 100th Birthday to Marion A. Sullivan.   Councillor Simmons

Resolution #14. Resolution on the death of Lawrence Hudson.   Mayor Siddiqui, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Toner

Order #1. That the City Manager is requested to work with the Police Department to look into specific pedestrian safety interventions that can be placed at the intersection of Broadway and Highland Avenue.   Vice Mayor Mallon
pulled by Mallon; notes recent motor vehicle accident and claims many near-accidents (but this is really just hazardous for pedestrians); Adopted as Amended (voice vote)

Order #2. That the City Manager is requested to direct the Community Development Department to immediately convene an Alewife Overlay District Zoning Proposal Working Group.   Councillor Toner, Councillor Nolan, Councillor Simmons, Vice Mayor Mallon
pulled by Toner; Carlone explains that an urban design plan should precede any approval of zoning changes, bemoans fact that City Council continues to leave this out; Zondervan wants at least 50% housing in this area; Adopted as Amended (voice vote)

Communications & Reports #2. A communication was received from Vice Mayor Mallon, transmitting a memorandum regarding updates on the City Manager search. [memo] [timeline] [outreach] [leadership profile] [application for Initial Screening Committee]
Placed on File as amended (voice vote)

Late Order #5. That the City Council supports H.3457/S.2307 in Mass. General Court re: regulation of e-bikes.   Councillor Azeem, Vice Mayor Mallon, Councillor Zondervan, Councillor McGovern
Order Adopted (voice vote)

Note: This was the first meeting in two years where all 9 councillors were physically present.

Comments?

Nominations Sought for 2022 Outstanding City of Cambridge Employee Awards
Submission deadline is Monday, April 11. In-person ceremony scheduled for Friday, May 13.

Mar 15, 2022 – Cambridge City Manager Louis A. DePasquale is seeking nominations for the 2022 Outstanding City Employee Awards program which recognizes employees for exemplary performance and contributions that go above and beyond job requirements.

Cambridge city government is made up of dedicated employees who strive to provide a high level of quality services to all our residents. The annual awards ceremony provides a special opportunity to give extra recognition to a number of exemplary individuals who will be honored. This event will be held on Friday, May 13, at 10:00am, at Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue.

Criteria for determining outstanding performance include:

• Demonstrated strong leadership and a high level of commitment to the city and its residents;
• Demonstrated outstanding customer service to the public and/or fellow employees;
• Developed an innovative or creative solution to a problem;
• Made superior contribution to the success of a project, completing work on time and within budget;
• Donated significant time to activities that benefit the Cambridge community;
• Encouraged and valued community involvement;
• Demonstrated an exceptional ability to work in a multicultural organization;
• Consistently contributed to better city operations.

All City employees are eligible for nomination. Anyone who lives or works in Cambridge may nominate one or more City employees for recognition. Please submit a separate nomination form or letter for each employee. An employee may not nominate themself or their own supervisor or department head for recognition.

Nominations are due by Monday, April 11, 2022 and can be submitted online through the related news story at www.cambridgema.gov. Alternatively, a signed nomination letter may be submitted via email to Maryellen Carvello in the City Manager’s Office, mcarvello@cambridgema.gov, to the Personnel Department via fax to 617-349-4312, or in-person or via email to the to the Personnel Department, Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, 3rd floor.

For more information, contact Maryellen Carvello at mcarvello@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-4300.

Mar 8, 2022 – Government Operations Committee - City Manager search (updated Mar 23)

This meeting of the City Council's Government Operations, Rules & Claims Committee focused on revisions to the proposed calendar for the City Manager search process, some discussion of how the Screening Committee that would select the priority candidates and finalists will be formed, and finalizing the job listing (Leadership Profile).

Cambridge City Manager Search

2022 Cambridge City Manager Leadership Profile (final revision of job posting)

Revised City Manager Search Timeline
(approx. 3-week delay from original timeline)

Outreach Efforts for Cambridge City Manager Search

Screening Committee composition (from Jan 26 meeting):

(4) City Council members

(3) Resident representatives (who have demonstrated advocacy in support of community needs)*

(2) Business related representatives (with demonstrated partnership experience, ideally from a large and a small business)

(1) Representative from the Cambridge School Committee or a senior School Department administrative representative

(1) Public Safety representative (Police/Fire departments)

(1) Person with demonstrated knowledge of municipal finance

(1) Health and Human Services/Public Health representative

(1) Representative with knowledge of City Planning and Development (experience in urban design and transportation issues preferred)

(1) Higher education/institutional partner

(1) Public art and/or recreational representative

(1) Affordable housing advocate

(1) Non-profit community representative

(1) Representative who advocates for the quality of our community’s civic and social wellbeing

Mar 21 communication from Chair Mallon of Gov't Operation Committee:
Dear City Council colleagues,

I am pleased to share the following updates on the City Manager search. We have since moved on from the community engagement portion of the search timeline, which culminated in the creation of the leadership profile, or job description. (As discussed at last week’s Government Operations meeting, we have made a slight adjustment to the timeline, but are still on track to complete our search by mid-June.) During the month of February we received community and employee feedback through:

• Employee Town Hall

• Employee Survey

• Department Head Meetings with Randi Frank

• 15 minute Employee drop-in sessions with Randi Frank

• Resident Town Hall

• 20 focus groups through Cortico

• Over 4,000 unique pieces of feedback from 700+ residents and stakeholders on the coUrbanize site

A first draft of the leadership profile was presented to the (gov ops committee members?) and public at the Mar 2nd Government Operations, Rules, and Claims committee meeting, where committee members suggested feedback and edits. To allow enough time for these edits to be made, a follow-up committee meeting was scheduled for Mar 9th and the final leadership profile was presented and approved. This editing process ultimately moved the timeline back by one week, but we are currently in the process of recruiting applicants with the profile. To capture a wide variety of applicants, both with traditional and non-traditional experience, Randi Frank LLC is distributing the leadership profile to a wide array of organizations around the country and world. For a complete list, click here.

While Randi Frank and her team receive applications, we need to identify an Initial Screening Committee to review candidates during the first round of interviews. The (Initial) Screening Committee will be made up of 15-19 individuals who are interested in playing yet another vital role in the City Manager search process, and ultimately help decide who moves on as a finalist. For those who need it, financial assistance, language translation (ESOL/ASL), and a brief interview skills workshop will all be available through our search partner, Randi Frank LLC. Those who are interested will need to be available from 9am – 5pm on the following dates:

Wednesday, May 4
Thursday, May 12
Friday, May 13

Applications will be accepted until 5:00pm on Thursday, Mar 31st.

Please access the application form here.

I encourage you all to share the self-nomination form with your networks and community as we want to capture a diverse array of Cambridge voices to be part of this next step in the process.

I will continue to keep you informed and updated on the progress of the search. As always, you can check the City’s dedicated webpage and subscribe to the coUrbanize site for updates sent right to your inbox.

Thank you, Alanna Mallon, Vice Mayor