President: Bill Walczak
Vice President: Eileen Boyle
Treasurer: Des Rohan
Minutes: Doreen Miller
Special Guests: Zach Stanley, Executive Director of Bioversity; DYC Lawyer from Buchanan and Associates
Number in attendance: 25 (in person); 30 (on Zoom)
Bill Walczak
- Introduced himself as the new president, giving us his background, experiences, and intentions to work with everyone.
- Thanked
- The outgoing president Elizabeth Doyle for her contributions and efforts.
- All the local merchants who contributed to our holiday festivities.
- Gave a short synopsis of the start of the civic association in 1967 with the first president being
Tom Casey and recognizing Dolores Miller as having led as president as well. - Announced the
- Proposed BPDA Squares and Streets Draft Zoning Initiative, which will take power away from local community groups in the decision-making process of development in the city. The public comment period is open until 1/28. People are encouraged to leave comments. The link can be found HERE.
- Planning Committee meeting has been moved to Wed., 1/10, at 7 PM on Zoom.
- A new bookstore is opening in Fields Corner in June at 1463 Dorchester Avenue. It will offer books underrepresented in conventional bookstores. Construction begins this week. Coffee and pastry and hopefully beer and wine will be offered.
- Acknowledged the presence of
- Hunter Flamm, representing Rep. Dan Hunt
- Liam Remus, constituent service provider, representing Councilor Fitzgerald.
- City Councilor John Fitzgerald
- He introduced himself and is still putting together his team.
- Liam Remus is his constituent service provider.
- Julie Ryan, from former Councilor Baker’s office, is staying on as a contact person.
- He is ready to hit the ground running and will try to attend as many CSHCA meetings as possible.
- He introduced himself and is still putting together his team.
Administrative
- The General Meeting minutes from December were approved.
- The Treasurer reports approximately $25,000 in our account.
Police Report (Officer Keaney)
- 12/16, 6:25 PM, Columbia Road and Buttonwood Street. A traffic stop led to the arrest of the driver, whose car was unregistered and uninsured, and who was in possession of crack and fentanyl.
- 6:40 PM, 7 Savin Hill Avenue. Vandalism to a Support for Israel sign was reported. Someone had taped a “genocide” sticker over the sign. It is being investigated.
- 12/27, 1114 Dorchester Avenue. Breaking and Entering. Two suspects, identified by the owner, were arrested. Damage was done to the two front windows. Screwdrivers and other B&E paraphernalia were found on the suspects.
- Recently, Dorchester Ave and Roach Street, a 33-year-old male was in the possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. He was arrested.
- Thanks to all the people who contributed toys and helped gift wrap for the C-11 Toy Drive. 227 kids were at the party.
- About the recent roll-over on Morrissey Boulevard:
- The state police are investigating.
- The car was stolen in Jamaica Plain.
- Two people died, a third critically injured, and the 4th will survive.
Special Guest from Buchanan and Associates representing the Dorchester Yacht Club (DYC)
- Article 97 of the MA Constitution guarantees citizens the right to clean air and water.
- The clean-up of Savin Hill and Dorchester Bays will benefit boaters entering and exiting and people using Savin Hill Beaches.
- The Problem:
- Sandy sediment from the beaches has been accumulating for decades under the Beades Bridge, making passageway more dangerous.
- 27 culverts from nearby roadways currently drain into the basin with no treatment, leading to high levels of toxic pollution.
- On July 4, 2023, an Amazon truck crashed spilling oil into the basin. As of 11/8/23, 9 drums and 2.5 tons of oily solids have been removed.
- DYC forced MA DEP to do a clean-up. Additional water test results are pending.
- The Neponset Superfund Site and Boston Gas have been long-time contributors to the toxic pollution.
- Water testing shows very high, unsafe levels of mercury, chlordane, PCBs, and dieldrin.
- The Solution:
- Short-term: Remove sand from under the bridge so water can flow more freely.
- Long-term: Dredge the remainder of the basin and keep it clean with improved treatment technologies. Hold polluters accountable.
- Work together with the community to address the problem. Contact information: community@dorchesteryachtclub.com. Get involved by:
- Taking photos and sending them your written experiences of problems.
- Signing up for periodic e-mail updates.
- Showing up at the upcoming Morrissey Commission meeting to comment.
- Contacting state reps and senators to push for funding.
- Questions and Comments
- Don Walsh of the Community Benefits Committee has invited the DYC to unite forces and work with his committee and the CSHCA to address the issue. Potential financial resources from the Center Court donation might be used toward this end.
- Someone asked about the dangers of dredging and the use of mollusks to clean the water.
- The use of mollusks will clean certain toxins, but not all types.
- Dredging if done properly is a good solution to improving water flow.
- The sand accumulating by the bridge belongs on the beaches.
- The clean-up of the rest of the bay will be based on localized decisions. Studies will show the types of toxins present and how best to dispose of them on a spot by spot basis.
- Pleasure Bay has two inlets and outlets for water flow. Would that work here? – It is not feasible for this location.
- When can we expect dredging to begin? Sooner rather than later. A new bridge is proposed for 2028.
- When did DYC first test for run-off toxins from the highway?
- In the early 80s, high levels of contamination were found.
- Recent tests show similar levels of toxic pollution still present.
- Should people be swimming there? – That is a personal choice.
- A motion was made and passed to support the DYC efforts and invite them to join forces with the CSHCA on this issue.
Special Guest Speaker Zack Stanley, Executive Director of Bioversity
- Housed in 4,000 square feet at the rear of Southline on Morrissey, Bioversity is a new non-profit that trains students for well-paying jobs in the growing bio-tech industry.
- The current 8-week course started today and meets Monday – Thursday from 9 AM – 3 PM. It is free of charge. Stipends are also offered to help students participate. The only requirements are a high school degree and an eagerness to learn. Eighteen students ranging in age from 21-48 are enrolled. Four are from Dorchester, four from Roxbury, two from Mattapan, five from other areas in Boston, and three from surrounding areas.
- The goal is to graduate 100 students in 2024 with rolling courses offered every 9-10 weeks. The second cohort will start on 3/11.
- For more information go to: https://bioversityma.org/
- Questions
- Is it CORI friendly? – If the employers are CORI friendly, the program is, too.
- Dianne Lescinskas asked if they would be interested in working with the NextGen program for high-functioning autistic people. He would look into it.
- Do you work with students in full-time jobs? It depends on the students and their schedules. It is up to each student to make it work.
Committee Reports
- Safety Committee (Dianne Lescinskas)
- Walgreens Update
- It is a problem property difficult to work with as management keeps changing.
- The committee chairs have reached out to ISD about ongoing problems and the need for ticketing.
- On a positive note, they did install new lighting on the property.
- Buttonwood Street Update
- The turn off from Columbia Road was blocked in October with the MBTA upgrades.
- In a recent walk-through with Matt Moran, the chairs witnessed speeding down the street.
- Speed humps are not planned until 2027.
- The chairs also had a smaller meeting with local reps.
- The area between JFK station and St. Mother Teresa church is now owned by the city.
- The city is conducting a traffic study for Buttonwood and Crescent Avenue, with an eye towards narrowing the section of Crescent near the T.
- Pleasant Street Update
- Phase one changes have been completed, and phase two is due to be completed this Spring.
- Speed humps, bump outs, and striping will be added to slow traffic.
- The Continued Push for Speed Humps in our Area
- 2027 is too long to wait.
- The Savin Hill/Grampian Way area by the tennis courts gets the most 311 calls in the entire city, yet the city still continues to deny us slow street safety measures.
- The committee has a draft letter to send to city officials to demand slow street measures. Their goal is to have all the Slow Down for Savin Hill signage people send the mayor and city officials an email.
- Walgreens Update
- Beautification Committee (Elizabeth Doyle)
- The wreaths will be taken down soon and dropped in Savin Hill Park by the basketball courts to be de-bowed. Volunteers are needed for de-bowing. The date is TBA.
- Julie Ryan offered to contact the Parks Department to let them know.
- Thanks to the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, Murphy’s Funeral Home, and Boomers for their generous monetary donations towards the wreaths. They will be acknowledged on the CSHCA website.
- Events Committee (Alix Giannetti)
- The next meeting is Tuesday, January 30, 7 PM. The zoom link is on the CSHCA calendar.
- The T-shirt order form is on the CSHCA website, Events Committee page.
- Community Benefits Committee (CBC) (Don Walsh)
- A motion to accept the $750,000 donation from Center court was read before being voted on.
- Voting results:
- In-person: in favor: 19; opposed: 0
- On Zoom: TBA
- Voting results:
- If approved, the money won’t be available until this summer.
- Precedent is set with other associations accepting similar large donations from developers. Cedar Grove and Union Square in Somerville were mentioned.
- The CBC is in the process of updating our 501-C4 and amending our by-laws to be able to accept and manage the money.
- The next meeting of the CBC is Thursday, January 18, 7 PM, at the Savin Hill Yacht Club on Morrissey. Agenda items include:
- Going over the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the $750,000
- Looking at the progress being made in updating our 501-C4 status.
- Going over management procedures and the by-law changes necessary to accept and manage the money.
- Deciding how we would like to see the money spent with full membership voting on specific line items.
- A motion to accept the $750,000 donation from Center court was read before being voted on.
- Planning Committee (Kristine Hoag)
- Southline recently gave updates to their scaled down plans for a 5-story 130-foot-tall building. These plans were met with consternation. They would like to present at a future general meeting.
- The ZBA date for the 164 Savin Hill Avenue proposal is tomorrow, 1/9, at 9:30 AM. This development was opposed by the general membership.
- The next Planning Committee meeting has been moved to Wednesday, 1/10, 7 PM on zoom. 243D Savin Hill Avenue wants to present their unchanged proposal, which was opposed by general membership in December 2019. No votes will be taken. It is for informational purposes only.
- Councilor Fitzgerald has promised that someone from his office will be at ZBA meetings.
- Morrissey Commission Update (Jake W.)
- The next meeting will be in February at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute.
- It will be well publicized in advance.
- Everyone is encouraged to attend and voice their comments.
- Should the MBTA as part of that corridor be involved as well? That point can and should be raised at the meeting.
New Business for Future Meetings
- How can we get local associations to join forces and work together on common issues?
- Discuss proposed changes to the BPDA and ZBA that will take away decision-making power from local community associations on development in their communities. How can we get ahead of or work around this if it passes?
- Acknowledge the contributions of former Councilor Baker at the February meeting.
- February Meeting Guest Speaker: Boston Water and Sewer – Change in how residential water and sewer bill is calculated which will now include an assessment on how water run-off will be added to your bill. Details on how this may impact your water bill and programs and grants available to reduce your bill as a result of this change can be found HERE.