These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City Calendar and in the city’s Open Meetings Portal.
City Council election forum, I
City Council forum, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. A lively forum and debate among six to 10 candidates is promised in an attempt to connect people running for office with new voters in an atypical location (and sponsor): Lamplighter Brewing, 284 Broadway, The Port, Cambridge.
Gold Star Mothers park update
Community meeting, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. In anticipation of renovations, the city did environmental testing of soil beneath the former basketball court and found contamination; follow-up tests confirm that similar contaminants are in areas throughout the park. This meeting reviews soil test results and discusses next steps. Representatives of the city and Cambridge Department of Public Health will be available to share information and answer questions. In the community room of Millers River Apartments, 15 Lambert St., East Cambridge.
School Committee election forum
League of Women Voters of Boston and Cambridge, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. A forum for Cambridge School Committee candidates, with light refreshments offered and recording by Cambridge Community Television. At the Cambridge Public Library’s Central Square Branch, 45 Pearl St.
City Council election forum, II
City Council forum, 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Listen to council candidates speak and ask them questions on the cafe patio, an attempt to connect people running for office with new voters in an atypical location (and sponsor): Cafe Zing, 25 White St., Porter Square.
Setting property tax rates
City Council property tax rate classification hearing, 6:30 p.m. Monday. A regular council meeting pauses – as another did two weeks ago – so city staff can present what residential and commercial property owners can expect to pay this year per thousand dollars of assessed value. There was little reaction to a proposal to raise residential rates 5 percent, to $6.67 from $6.35, but an outcry (and a delay in voting) followed one to see commercial rates jump 22 percent, to $14.07 from $11.52. Commercial payers provide around two-thirds of the tax levy, but both tiers of rates are the lowest in the area. The council meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Flu and Covid shots clinic, I
Department of Public Health, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday. Everyone 6 months and older can get free vaccines this fall. More clinics are Oct. 23-24 and Oct. 29-30 at various locations. Bring an insurance card if you have one to the Citywide Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square.
Out-of-school time report
Human Services & Veterans Committee, noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday. This committee run by vice mayor Marc McGovern and councillor Ayesha Wilson hears city manager Yi-An Huang and staff present the result of years of work on kids’ out-of-school time options and how they were affected by Covid and its aftermath. “While Cambridge is fortunate to offer more affordable OST options than many communities, significant challenges remain” for space, good pay, complication enrollment and barriers for kids with special needs, Huang says, previewing “a road map for first shoring up the existing out-of-school time system and then for phased expansion over the next several years.” The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Cambridge Street and Mass. Ave.
Planning Board, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Big doings as members look at Cambridge Street and Massachusetts Avenue zoning petitions based on the recommendations of monthslong processes called the Our Cambridge Street Study and the Mass Ave Planning Study – between the two, they ran October 2021 to this May – to give the major traffic corridors such things as more housing; better support for local retail and organizations; and improvements to walking, bicycling and streetscape elements. A City Council committee saw some of the work June 17 and approved. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
City Council election forum, III
City Council forum, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. A lively forum and debate among six to 10 candidates is promised in an attempt to connect people running for office with new voters in an atypical location (and sponsor): brewery taproom Lamplighter CX, 110 N. First St., North Point, Cambridge.
Demolition at 221 Mount Auburn
Public meeting, 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Demolition plans, an anticipated construction schedule, dust management strategies, air quality and vibration monitoring expectations and other public health and safety discussions are expected as the $20 million razing of a dangerous building nears for the 66-unit Riverview condos, 221 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. The meeting is watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Flu and Covid shots clinic, II
Department of Public Health, 4:30 to 7 p.m. Oct. 23. Everyone 6 months and older can get free vaccines this fall. More clinics are Oct. 24 and Oct. 29-30 at various locations. Bring an insurance card if you have one to the King Open School, 850 Cambridge St., Wellington-Harrington. Free.
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