The City of Somerville is launching a COVID Ambassador program to deliver information about vaccines, safety protocols, and support services directly to residents and businesses in their neighborhoods. 

The City developed this initiative in partnership with Block by Block, a national organization that deploys ambassador teams to meet a range of needs in cities around the country. 

Celebrate Pride in Somerville this month at the City’s annual flag raising and Big Gay Dance Party. 

First, join Mayor Curtatone and the Somerville High School Gender and Sexuality Awareness Alliance (GSA) on Wednesday, June 9, at 3 p.m. to raise the Pride flag in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride Month and LGBTQ+ Youth Pride. The ceremony will take place on the City Hall concourse at 93 Highland Avenue. Mayor Curtatone, Somerville LGBTQ+ Liaison Jack Treanor, Somerville High School teacher and GSA Advisor Julia Post, and a GSA student representative will speak at the event. 

In honor of National Garden Week, the City of Somerville Health and Human Services Department is hosting a Growing Gardeners workshop for residents who are brand new to gardening.

Growing Gardeners participants will learn how to plant, assemble, and maintain their own portable milk crate garden that will work well in any small outdoor space. Crates may include a variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. All supplies will be provided. Participants should have no previous experience – this class is designed to grow a new group of gardeners in the city!

Please join the City of Somerville and the Somerville Bicycle Committee for a one-hour virtual workshop called Bike Network Planning: Lessons for Somerville. This workshop will be led by Mike Lydon, an internationally recognized planner, writer, speaker, and advocate for livable cities. Lydon is a Principal at the design firm Street Plans and is working with Somerville as it develops its approach for planning a citywide bike network.

Somerville landlords and realtors are invited to join the City’s Office of Housing Stability for a virtual workshop about the benefits of renting to Section 8 tenants. Learn how Section 8 ensures stable rental income, how higher payment standards can lead to higher rent receipts, and how landlords and realtors can qualify for additional incentive payments and technical support through the City’s SomerVIP program.

This event is Thursday, June 24, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Register to attend at somervillema.gov/OHS.
 

Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone will submit a request to the Board of Health (BOH) this month that would revise and extend the City’s current residential eviction moratorium for 90 days, until September 15.

All City buildings will reopen to the public on Monday, July 12 with limited staffing. Both visitors to City buildings as well as staff will be required to wear face coverings while inside the buildings. Staff will be available on a walk-in basis in all departments for quick transactions like paying a bill or picking up a document. For matters that will take longer, residents will need to schedule an appointment with City staff. Many City services are also available online and, whenever possible, residents are encouraged to continue to use online services.

The Finance Committee meeting scheduled for Monday, June 15, has been cancelled pending action by the state legislature to extend the authorization permitting remote meetings in compliance with the Open Meeting Law.

On June 16, Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation allowing cities and towns to continue holding meetings virtually. The Somerville City Council will continue to hold ongoing Finance Committee and full City Council meetings on the fiscal year 2022 budget virtually. All planned budget meetings begin at 6 p.m. and can be viewed by visiting the “Meeting Schedules and Streaming” tab at www.somervillema.gov/citycouncil or tuning into GovTV (channel 13 on RCN and 22 on Comcast).

The schedule for the remaining budget meetings is as follows:

The City of Somerville’s annual SomerMovie Fest returns this year with a series of seven family-friendly films being shown in parks around Somerville. Learn more at www.somervillema.gov/SomerMovieFest