Finance Committee

City of Somerville, Massachusetts City Council Finance Committee Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 25, 2025 6:00 PM The meeting took place remotely via Zoom and was called to order at 6:00 PM by Chair Wilson and adjourned at 6:25 PM on a roll call vote of 5 in favor (Councilors Mbah, Burnley, Clingan, Scott and Wilson), none against and none absent. Others present: Alan Inacio – Planning Board Senior Accountant, Ben Demers – Economic Development Planner, Kimberly Hutter – Legislative Liaison, Peter Forcellese – Legislative Clerk. . Roll Call Present: City Councilor At Large Jake Wilson, Ward Two City Councilor Jefferson Thomas (J.T.) Scott, Ward Four City Councilor Jesse Clingan, City Councilor At Large Willie Burnley Jr. and City Councilor At Large Wilfred N. Mbah 1. Committee Approval of the Minutes of the Finance Committee Meeting of February 11, Minutes 2025. (ID # 25-0209) RESULT: ACCEPTED AYE: City Councilor At Large Wilson, Ward Two City Councilor Scott, Ward Four City Councilor Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. and City Councilor At Large Mbah Appropriations 2. Mayor's Request Requesting the appropriation of $500,000 from the Community Preservation (ID # 25-0170) Act Fund Open Space Reserve for the renovation of Quincy Street Park. Mr. Inacio explained this is one of the final projects for CPA funding. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: City Councilor At Large Wilson, Ward Two City Councilor Scott, Ward Four City Councilor Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. and City Councilor At Large Mbah Grant and Gift Acceptances 3. Mayor's Request Requesting approval to accept and expend a $1,000,000 grant with no new (ID # 25-0173) match required, from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities to the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development Economic Development Division for 14-16 Sewall Street acquisition. Page 1 of 3 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes February 25, 2025 Mr. Demers explained the funds would be used for land acquisition and to support the Land Trust. Councilor Clingan expressed his pleasure in seeing a program for home ownership being brought forward. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: City Councilor At Large Wilson, Ward Two City Councilor Scott, Ward Four City Councilor Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. and City Councilor At Large Mbah 4. Mayor's Request Requesting approval to accept and expend a $2,500,000 grant with no new (ID # 25-0174) match required, from MA Executive Office of Economic Development to the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development Economic Development Division for the 299 Broadway redevelopment project. Planner Demers explained the funds will be used to create civic spaces. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: City Councilor At Large Wilson, Ward Two City Councilor Scott, Ward Four City Councilor Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. and City Councilor At Large Mbah 5. Mayor's Request Requesting approval to accept and expend a $54,400 grant with no new (ID # 25-0158) match required, from the Mass Cultural Council to the Arts Council for the Local Cultural Council grant program. Discussed with ID# 25-0159 The Administration has submitted a memo explaining this item. (See Referenced Documents) RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: City Councilor At Large Wilson, Ward Two City Councilor Scott, Ward Four City Councilor Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. and City Councilor At Large Mbah 6. Mayor's Request Requesting approval to accept and expend an $18,300 grant with no new (ID # 25-0159) match required, from the Mass Cultural Council to the Arts Council for unrestricted operating support. Discussed with ID# 25-0158 The Administration has submitted a memo explaining this item. (See Referenced Documents) RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: City Councilor At Large Wilson, Ward Two City Councilor Scott, Ward Four City Councilor Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. and City Councilor At Large Mbah Page 2 of 3 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes February 25, 2025 Prior Year Invoices 7. Mayor's Request Requesting approval to pay prior year invoices totaling $1,312.50 using (ID # 25-0169) available funds in the Department of Racial and Social Justice Translation Services Account for Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services. The Administration has submitted a memo explaining this item. (See Referenced Documents) Councilor Burnley asked if there is a protocol to consolidate purchases from a vendor and Liaison Hutter clarified that vendors are notified of changes through RSJ for consistency and that there are internal and external procedures in place, however there is no set protocol. Chair Wilson inquired about a policy to deal with invoices that are misbilled to the wrong department and Liaison Hutter replied that she didn’t have an answer but would follow up with staff. Councilor Mbah questioned whether every department has its own translation service contract and Liaison Hutter explained that services are primarily streamlined through SOIA, although RSJ also has a contract She acknowledged that some departments may still have contracts, but differences among them are unclear. Councilor Burnley mentioned that SomerViva has been used as a consolidated space for translation services and he believes that a separate contract exist, as well. Chair Wilson noted that the Office of Housing Stability also has a separate contract for translation services and noted that the translation services budget line in several departments was reduced, possibly suggesting a centralization of the service. RESULT: RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED AYE: City Councilor At Large Wilson, Ward Two City Councilor Scott, Ward Four City Councilor Clingan, City Councilor At Large Burnley Jr. and City Councilor At Large Mbah Referenced Documents: • Finance - 2025-02-25 RSJ Prior Year Invoices Memo (with 25-0169) • Finance - 2025-02-25 Arts Council Grants Memo (with 25-0158, 25-0159) Page 3 of 3