President: Bill Walczak
Vice President: Eileen Boyle
Treasurer: Des Rohan
Minutes: Doreen Miller
# In attendance: 20 (in-person); 54 (Zoom)
Announcements
- Two issues in need of city attention:
- Two parking spots on the Savin Hill bridge are reserved for Ride Share, which has gone bankrupt and no longer exists. The signs need to be removed.
- Between 5-6 trees in the newly renovated McConnell park are dead due to lack of proper maintenance and need to be replaced under the warranty of the company that planted them.
- Bill can organize an informational meeting about heat pumps for those who are interested. Contact him if you would like to learn more.
Police Report (Officer Keaney)
- 3/16, 10:40 PM, 401 Morrissey Boulevard. An attempted breaking and entering was reported. The homeowner was home at the time. The suspect was recorded on Ring camera. He walked away after being confronted by the owner.
- 3/17, between 2:20-4 PM, 65 Grampian Way. Items from the unlocked car of an out-of-town visitor were stolen. Items were pinged on 93 Northbound. Keep your cars locked!
- 3/23, between 9-10 AM, 21 Doris Street. A man was robbed of $500 by a former drug dealer. A detective is handing the case.
- The last 6 months have been the quietest in memory.
- In answer to a question on package thefts, this is happening everywhere. Thieves follow the truck and make off with the goods. Generally, companies will replace stolen items. Do report these thefts to the police for the record.
Administrative
- The March minutes were approved.
- The treasurer reports $24,444.48 in the account as of 2/28/24.
Updates from Representative Dan Hunt
- The $14 million extension of the Neponset Greenway from Victory Road to Morrissey Boulevard will be completed by the end of summer/early fall, 8-12 months ahead of schedule.
- The dead trees and limbs in Patten’s Cove will be taken care of by the summer. Southline has taken over management of the park.
- $5 million for the field house on Mt. Vernon Street has been approved. The annual budget will be voted on July 31.
- Based on recent SCOTUS rulings, our gun laws will need to be recodified and the number of allowed bullets in a clip reregulated.
- The gate by the Dorchester Yacht Club seems to be working well. Summer will be the real test.
- Dan has been in conversation with the new DCR commissioner about Patten’s Cove, and the boardwalk and trash barrels at Savin Hill Beach.
- When asked why trash barrels are considered seasonal, Dan replied it is due to the fact that DCR is underfunded and understaffed.
- Updates on the Morrissey Commission
- Various stakeholders own different parts of the roadway, which complicates things. DCR owns the roadway while MassDOT owns the Beades Bridge.
- Two meetings were held and two more are scheduled. The next meeting will take place on 4/23, 6 PM at Cristo Rey High School. Be sure to attend!
- With regards to the graffiti on the wall adjacent to the train tracks, suggestions for more permanent solutions include:
- More secure fencing
- An art installation
- Planting of ivies along the wall
- The JFK T station is in dire need of repair and updating.
- Send your questions to concerns in an email to Dan Hunt.
Today’s Tour of the Graffiti and Trash Problem along the Highway
- Bill shared a slideshow highlighting the areas along the highway and train tracks that are plagued by growing mounds of trash and graffiti.
- Some of the tagging is seen all over the state, so the perpetrators are not local.
- Graffiti goes up immediately after an area has been cleaned.
- Some solutions to deter graffiti include:
- Installing spiky fences
- Planting of vines
- Securing fencing
- Building a new wall
- We need to prevail on the highway department to clean up the trash along the roadways that includes the berms and shoulders.
- The House of Corrections program for roadway clean-up is still functioning and needs to be directed towards neglected areas.
Committee Reports
Safety Committee (Jennifer Deabler)
- There was no meeting in March, but the next meeting is April 23.
- Walgreen’s continues to be an issue.
- They are being ticketed by the city every week as a problem property.
- They are not paying the fines.
- Speed Humps
- We continue to push for speed humps around Savin Hill Park. Even though we have the most 311 calls, we are last on the list for speed humps to be installed in 2027 – too long to wait.
- The city claims that 12 speed humps per day are being installed around the city.
- People on Buttonwood Street would also like to see speed humps to slow down cars.
- Bill will follow up with Franklin Hodges about getting speed humps sooner.
- The committee is encouraged to create a list of spots where speed humps are needed throughout the CSHCA area.
- We were told that Eversource will be installing a speed hump near the courts.
- Crosswalks are also needed to safely access our neighborhood parks.
Public Health Committee (Mike Keamy)
- More trees are needed along Dorchester Avenue.
- Business and homeowners need to request a tree in front of their property via 311.
- Encourage business and homeowners you know to request a tree.
- If anyone is willing to go house to house or business to business with Mike, let him know. mzkeamy@gmail.com
- Evergreen trees are needed along the highway to absorb noise and pollution.
Beautification Committee (Julianna K)
- The first meeting will take place this month. An email with possible dates has gone out to committee members.
- The committee will help with the 40th Annual Clean-up at the location across from the Wildlife Garden along the highway.
Events Committee (Michelle Miller)
- This Saturday, 4/6, is the 40th Annual Savin Hill Clean-up from 8:30 AM – 3 PM. The three locations are
- Savin Hill Park
- Patten’s Cove
- Across from the Wildlife Garden all along Savin Hill Avenue.
- Membership approved a request for $350 for gravel ($250) and refreshments ($85).
- Coffee is being donated by The Daily.
- Tools will be provided.
- Savin Hill Beach Cleanup sponsored by Surfrider is scheduled for June 9, 9 AM – 12 PM. More information is to come.
- Dorchester Day Parade Float, 6/2
- Please volunteer to be part of a sub-committee to plan for this event. This involves planning for the decoration of the float, theme-based costumes, and hand-outs.
- You can contact Michelle Miller or Alix Giannetti, chairs of the Events Committee.
Government Affairs Committee (GAC) (Jake)
- Squares and Streets Initiative
- A new zoning plan for neighborhoods is being proposed by the city.
- The committee met with Amiee Chambers and reviewed the concerns outlined in the CSHCA letter approved by membership.
- It is a relatively good plan that demands neighborhood people being active in the process, and non-conforming conditions will not be allowed everywhere.
- The committee would like to see a tightening of regulations within the plan, so that we do not rely solely on the good intentions of the current administration.
- There is still a lot of opposition, especially in Jamaica Plain.
- Most people do not trust the ZBA to do the right thing based on past experience.
- Amiee said that they were aware of this and that internal conversations were taking place to address these concerns.
- The zones in the plan are allegedly designed based on transit metrics. No other metrics are being considered at the moment.
- Article 80
- This process continues to be non-transparent with poor BPDA follow through.
- It misses many deficiencies.
- GAC will continue to monitor this.
- Morrissey Commission
- GAC feels that the commission is not living up to its vision and has failed to make progress towards that vision.
- Meetings have been poorly advertised with short notice, and due to this poorly attended.
- There are two meetings left, which GAC feels is not enough to address all the issues.
- The GAC will hold the commission accountable.
- The next Morrissey Commission meeting is on 4/23, at 6 PM at Cristo Rey. Be sure to attend!
- The GAC has scheduled three 30-minute meetings on Zoom to plan and strategize for the upcoming Morrissey Commission meeting. The zoom links are on the CSHCA calendar.
- Wed. 4/3, 7 PM
- Tues. 4/9, 6:30 PM
- Wed. 4/16, 7 PM
- We are asking the city to work with us on comprehensive planning.
Community Benefits Committee (Don Walsh)
- We are almost there! Bill and Don met with the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation (DBEDC) to work out details of how the $750,000 donation from Center Court will be handled/spent.
- DBEDC will be in charge of handling the funds.
Planning Committee (Kristine Hoag)
- 243D Savin Hill Avenue will be deferred to next month’s meeting due to a lack of time.
- James Christopher gave updates on 20 Pearl Street.
- 20 Pearl Street wishes to legally convert from a 2-family to a 3-family and rent out as a 3-family. They have been paying taxes on this property as a 3-family for years.
- There are no other future plans at this time.
- Some neighbors expressed concern that the process does not feel transparent and that questionable changes to the home were being made. ISD checked out work being done and found no violations.
- Membership voted on this proposal:
- Support 30
- Oppose 17
- Invalid 8
Annual Election Nominations (Mike Szkolka)
- An email was sent out to membership concerning all open E-Board positions: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, IT Manager, and five At-large positions.
- He encouraged members to step up to the plate to run for a position. If you are interested, email Mike or any member on the E-Board.
- Voting will take place in May with the new E-Board in effect in June.
The next CSHCA General Membership Meeting: Monday, May 6, 2024, 7 PM. Details on the CSHCA calendar.