These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City of Somerville website.
Gilman Square reactivation
Gilman Square City Redevelopment Parcels Civic Advisory Committee, 5:30 to 7 p.m Thursday. Neighbors are invited to talk urban renewal at Gilman Square, including the long-term possibility of acquiring nearby private property to repurpose into community space. The committee, in partnership with the organization CultureHouse, recently turned the nearby Homans Site into a pop-up park offering summer programming for residents. On Thursday, members will draft a letter to the Somerville Redevelopment Authority. Watchable via Zoom videoconferencing.
Council calls for traffic enforcement
City Council, 7 p.m. Thursday. Police are asked to more consistently issue speeding tickets and protect pedestrian safety by council president Ben Ewen-Campen. Data from a citation dashboard shared by Ewen-Campen showed that officers issue speeding tickets for only about 5 percent of traffic stops. Councilors will hear several minor financial requests from Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, some to go toward a contract agreement with the emergency service dispatchers’ union and funding for artists and educational sites through the Arts Council. At Somerville City Hall, 93 Highland Ave., Central Hill and watchable online and by Zoom videoconferencing.
Fitness center in Davis Square
Planning Board, 6 p.m. Oct. 3. A special permit is asked to open a Republic Fitness gym near Davis Square at 393 Highland Ave. The company seeks to bypass zoning laws that restrict businesses to less than 10,000 square feet on a single floor. The street-level site sold for almost $5 million in 2011 and was formerly a Rite Aid, but has been empty since early 2020. There’s a Republic Fitness in Boston and the same owners run the Healthworks women’s gym in Cambridge’s Porter Square. Watchable via Zoom videoconferencing.
Progress on waterfront park
Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3. Learn about the next stage in state and city efforts to revitalize Blessing of the Bay Park, one of Somerville’s only waterfront green spaces. Officials will present ideas for the space’s main greenway, to run parallel with Shore Drive and link nearby bike trails. Watchable via Zoom videoconferencing.
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