CSHCA Meeting Minutes – April 3, 2023

President: Elizabeth Doyle
Vice-President: Eileen Boyle
Minutes: Doreen Miller
Special Guest: Joel Richards, Candidate for City Council, District 3
Number in attendance: On zoom – 37, In-person – 12

Police Updates (Sgt. Golden)

  • The announcement of the death of Officer Keaney’s wife was made.
    • Details of the wake and funeral can be found here.
    • Membership voted to donate $100 towards the Kaitlin Keaney Scholarship Fund
  • The mailbox at 127 Savin Hill Avenue is not safe to use.
    • Mail has been stolen. Checks washed and rewritten for large amounts are cashed a month or so later.
    • This is a problem across the city.
    • A special investigation is underway to catch the criminals.
    • For any bills or mail containing checks, use your local post office.
  • March 23, 8 AM, 18 Thornley Street – Two windows of cars were smashed and the cars rummaged through.
  • March 28, East Cottage Street and Dorchester Avenue – there was a breaking and entering of the new building site. A drinking spot was discovered. Two homeless persons, who had warrants out, were arrested.

Upcoming Neighborhood Clean-Ups

  • Friday, April 14, 1-5 PM, One Boston Day (Des Rohan)
    • This clean-up is being sponsored by the John Hancock Investments in collaboration with CSHCA. There are twenty volunteers so far.
    • Meet at the Gulf Station on the corner of Columbia Road and Dorchester Ave.
    • The crew will work their way from Columbia Road to Savin Hill Avenue and end at McConnell Park. The focus is on trash. Liaison Ross Cochran will check into the city’s providing equipment and supplies.
    • If you want to join the effort or know of some properties along the way that need cleaning, contact Des at bc92@comcast.net, or call him at 617-388-5322.
  • Saturday, April 22, Earth Day, Savin Hill Park and Pattens Cove, 8:30 Am – 3 PM
    • Bill Walczak is heading the Savin Hill Park group. Meet at the top of the hill for supplies.
    • Alix Giannetti is heading the Pattens Cove group. Meet at the end of Davitt Street.
    • Please join us in making our neighborhood shine.
  • Saturday, June 10, Malibu & Savin Hill Beaches, and Morrissey Waterfront Clean-Up.
    • Save the date! This is being sponsored and organized by Surfriders, an organization dedicated to cleaning up beaches and shorelines. More information will be provided as we get closer to the date.
    • A rain date of June 11 is planned.
  • Other areas of concern include:
    • The strip of trees between the beach and Old Colony Terrace: there are lots of downed and dead trees that need to be removed. DCR is responsible for Morrissey Boulevard.
    • The highways through Dorchester: they are a complete disgrace, filled with trash that washes into the waters and onto our beaches.
      • Our representatives need to be held accountable.
      • Evergreens should be planted along the highway to catch trash and cut down on noise and fine particulate pollution.
    • The homeless encampment by the gas tank: squatters there have been removed.

Meet Joel Richards, Candidate for City Council, District 3

  • He is a teacher and pastor with two children and a third on the way. He lives with his wife and family in a triple decker in Fields Corner.
  • His campaign platform includes:
    • Improving Boston Public Schools.
    • Making the T safe and reliable.
    • Improving our neighborhoods and street lighting.
    • Making housing affordable and family friendly.
  • Questions and Concerns from the membership
    • Rising real estate taxes are becoming unaffordable for many, especially seniors on fixed income, making it hard for them to remain in their homes.
      • With all the current development and additional housing being built, one would think the overall tax base would be coming down, which it is not.
      • Joel believes an overhaul of the tax base is long overdue. It should be updated to provide reasonable taxes based on one’s age and length of time in the home. Long-time residents and elderly homeowners need to be grandfathered in at a specific rate. The determination of the tax base should be multi-faceted.
    • Transportation, specifically public transportation, is a disaster.
      • Joel will hold politicians and stakeholders responsible.
      • We need to get more funding for the T and provide more free buses to encourage usage and to speed up boarding times.
    • The housing problem with rising rents and taxes is forcing people out of the city.
      • Joel believes we need to get more creative.
        • We could allow more homeowners to add units to their existing home or property,
        • have lotteries for vacant and new units,
        • and hire people to work with owners to navigate the ZBA process to expand their homes.
    • Eileen Boyle voiced concern about overdevelopment in residential neighborhoods that is eliminating green space and yards and adding to congestion. She used Pearl Street as an example whereby one-families are being converted to multi-unit buildings of 6 or even more, using every last square inch for building structure and hard top. There seems to be no consistent zoning, no balance, no ration of lot size, and no oversight of green buffers.
      • Joel promises to work with every housing justice group in the city to address these issues.
      • For more information or to get involved in his campaign, visit Joel’s website.

Update on the Vacant Lots along Dorchester Avenue (Eileen Boyle)

  • Eileen shared a letter she drafted to Mayor Wu, Ross Cochran, Arthur Jemison, At-large City Councilors, and our reps requesting the city purchase the lots to create much needed municipal parking for the local businesses.
  • The three vacant lots are on the corners of Dorchester Ave and Pearl Street, Roach Street, and Dewar Street.
    • The lots are privately owned.
    • The City should take the initiative to get the owners to the table for negotiation.
    • Ideas include
      • Try to get this accomplished through a Main Streets Program.
      • Create a Merchants Association to address the issue of the lack of public parking leading to double parking that backs up traffic.
      • See if lot owners would be willing to temporarily rent out their lots for a low-cost fee to local businesses for customer parking.
    • Membership voted to approve the idea of the E-board editing and sending the city this letter.
    • The E-board members will review, make edits to the letter, and send it out next Wednesday, April 12.
  • Julie Ryan from Councilor Frank Baker’s office will look into what can be done with these lots and get back to us.

Committee Reports

  • Events Committee (Michelle Miller)
    • The three clean-ups were already discussed at the meeting.
    • The Easter Egg Hunt was a success. The CSHCA got one new member and some donations.
    • The next Events Committee meeting will be in person, at McConnell Park, 6 PM on Tuesday, April 25.
  • Safety Committee (Jennifer Deabler)
    • There will be a Rodent Walk-through with ISD this Thursday, April 6, from 9:30 – 10:30 AM, meet at 90 Pleasant Street. Email Dianne Lescinskas with any names and addresses where there are rodent problems.
    • Representative Dan Hunt has been in contact with DCR to replace the fencing and remove trash along I-93 by the baseball field.
    • The missing jersey barrier along Morrissey Boulevard at the end of Fox Point Road is tied up with trying to determine who is responsible for replacing it.
    • John Ulrich from ISD will be coming to the next Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, April 18, to talk about rats and 311.
    • Speeding through the neighborhood continues to be a problem. The WAYZ app sends cars through our neighborhood as a cut through route. We are low on the Slow Streets waiting list. Councilor Baker’s office and our reps continue to work on this problem.
    • The corner of Sydney Street and Savin Hill Avenue continues to be a parking nightmare making the intersection dangerous.
      • The safety chairs have been working with business owners, our reps, C-11 and BTD to try to solve the problem.
      • Traffic calming measures are allegedly “in the works.”
      • Councilor Baker’s office will follow up with BTD as well as with Sgt. Golden to have officers ticket offenders.
    • The Savin Hill Bridge ongoing repairs should allow for the south side pedestrian sidewalk to reopen by the end of spring.  Ultimately, the whole bridge needs to be replaced.
    • At-large Councilor Mejia would like us to keep her in the loop and will assist us in any way. Her contact information is Julia.mejia@boston.gov, 617-635-4217.
      • She announced a Citywide Budget Pop-Up meeting on Thursday, April 13, 5-8 PM, at the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, 2300 Washington Street, Boston, 02119. All city residents are welcome to join to discuss what they would like to see included in next year’s budget. Please register at Eventbrite.
      • She reported that a Mental Health Awareness Initiative has been established at the Burke Public School due to an increase in violence there. This will provide students with support services in an effort to decrease violence.
  • Community Benefits Committee (Don Walsh)
    • We are looking at a potential $100 million in community benefits to mitigate adverse impacts on the local area where development is occurring.
    • The committee has come up with a list of 5 priorities for how to use that money that include:
      • Comprehensive Planning
      • Necessary Infrastructure
      • Beautification
      • Pedestrian Safety and Walkways
      • Public Space
    • Center Court, the developer of three parcels along Morrissey Boulevard, wants to give CSHCA $750,000 to use as we see fit. It is recommended we take the money with the following caveats:
      • Find a mechanism to receive and control/manage the money. Bill Walczak is looking into the various options.
      • Determine how we want to spend it.
      • We have 50 hours pro bono from a law firm to help us with this.
    • Our efforts to have officials come up with Comprehensive Planning for all the development in our area continue to be ignored by public officials.
      • A concerted effort to have individuals reach out to various stakeholders and public officials has generated no response.
      • Kristine Hoag is organizing a public meeting to address this concern and will invite all stakeholders, public officials, and the local press. James Christopher is creating a map of all the current and planned development in our area (including Glovers Corner) to present as a visual at this meeting.
    • The committee has narrowed down the list of names to call this expanded district of development. They will be discussed at their next meeting to make a final decision.
    • The next meeting will be Wednesday, April 19th, 7 PM at the Savin Hill Yacht Club on Morrissey.
  • Beautification Committee (Elizabeth Doyle)
    • The committee will meet in mid-April – email to be sent out – to plan for the Plant and Bake Sale in May.
  • Elections Committee
    • Expect an email from the elections committee to recruit people to run for a position in the upcoming CSHCA elections.
  • Treasurer’s Report – There is $26,109 in the bank.
  • Planning Committee (Kristine Hoag)
    • David Freed presented the plans for 37 Pearl Street.
      • The original plan went from 14 units and 7 violations, down to 8 units, and currently 6 units and three violations with respect to use, FAR, and zoning in a 2-family district.
      • Comments and concerns regarding density, green space, and design were mixed. Many were pleased that the original historic building was being preserved.
      • One abutter, who was present, expressed support and was pleased with the many concessions the developer made.
      • David stated that paved areas could use permeable pavers to prevent run off.
      • The vote by membership on this project was as follows:
        • For: 11
        • Opposed: 10
        • Invalid: 6
    • The next planning committee meeting is on Tuesday, April 11, 7 PM. The zoom link is on the CSHCA calendar.

Other Business 

  • There is an Open House on Wednesday, April 12, 6 PM at the Boston Collegiate Charter School on Sydney Street to discuss and present plans for JFK T station, Dorchester Ave, and K-Circle. 
  • Check the online CSHCA calendar for all meetings and events.
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