The City of Somerville, Cataldo Ambulance, and Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) formally launch their mobile COVID-19 testing unit in Somerville this week. The mobile unit, designed to lower barriers to testing and offer equitable access, is the next phase of the City’s COVID Action Plan to control the spread of the virus via testing, contact tracing, and safe isolation. The mobile testing unit will accept patients by appointment at roaming locations, as well as hold designated testing days for residents of senior housing buildings.

Somerville’s second Shared Streets route, which connects West Somerville and Davis Square, is set to open Tuesday, June 23. The Shared Streets initiative opens up low-volume or residential side-streets to pedestrians, cyclists, and other users while still allowing vehicle access for residents who live on the street or who need to use the street to get to their homes, first responders, delivery drivers, sanitation trucks, and street sweepers.

Pools, playgrounds, and splash pads will be opening in Somerville soon with new safety protocols in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The City is also putting summer face covering guidelines into effect. Effective immediately, face coverings are still required for people ages 2 and up at all times when in public both indoors and outdoors, with the exception that during the hot weather season masks may be removed temporarily when outdoors if a distance of at least six feet from others can be maintained. Medical and disability exceptions continue to apply.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone today announced that $1 million in Somerville Small Business COVID-19 Relief funds will be awarded to 123 local, small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funded by federal Community Development Block Grant monies, the Fund will issue forgivable loans to businesses in the city that collectively employ about 600 people.
 

All interested community members are invited to attend and speak at the Budget Public Hearing before the City Council’s Committee on Finance on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, at 6 p.m., for public input on the proposed FY 2021 municipal budget. Written testimony will also be accepted (see below).

Because of Governor Baker’s and Mayor Curtatone’s recent orders limiting the number of people that may gather in one place, this meeting will be conducted via remote participation, online in a webinar hosted on the GoToWebinar platform.

Learn more at https://www.somervillema.gov/FY21Budget

On Friday, June 19, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone submitted a proposed $262.7 million fiscal year 2021 budget to Somerville’s City Council that avoids the austerity measures being seen in cities and towns throughout the region. The FY21 budget preserves all City services and contains no layoffs or furloughs to City or School employees, while also making new racial and social justice investments.

Applications for this coming fiscal year’s Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds and the fiscal year 2021 Community Preservation Plan, which sets the funding allocations and priorities for the year, are now available. An estimated $630,000 is available for projects that preserve Somerville’s historic resources and/or expand and improve our parks and recreation land.

As part of a continuing conversation on systemic racism in Somerville, the City of Somerville is holding a virtual Town Hall Discussion on Race and Equity in Policing and launching a series of small group listening sessions for residents. Tackling systemic racism in Somerville requires input from diverse voices in our community, and both the Town Hall and listening sessions are meant to be ways for the City to get feedback, ideas, and suggestions from the community on how we move forward as well as to answer related questions.