St. Mark’s Area Civic Association
Minutes of the May 31, 2016 Meeting
The meeting was called to order at 7:08. There were 65 souls present.
Father Linh Nguyen introduced himself to those present. He told us that he came to Dorchester in 1984. Fr. Nguyen welcomed us to the church. He needed to leave for a wake and said that he would come back sometime when he could stay longer.
Officer Mike Keaney gave the police report for the month. He also reported that the annual bike rodeo will be held in the parking lot of the McKeon Post on Saturday, June 18 from 10:00 to 1:00. There will be raffles and demonstrations of bike safety. Prizes will be given to the kids who attend. Captain Connolly has been in DC for a police captain meeting. He reminded us that with the new tracking system in place for a year now he can’t pull statistics like he used to. He did note that the percentage of domestic violence cases seems to have dropped a little. There were questions about the problems on Santuit street with heated arguments that spill over into the street. Mike noted that one of the people has warrants outstanding in Lynn. He also reminded us that there is no party line for the summer; so call 911 if you need to report problems.
Shelly Goehring talked about the Community Preservation Act (CPA) that Andrea Campbell mentioned last month. The Community Preservation Coalition is working with civic associations and Main Street groups. The proposal is to have a 1% accessment on the current tax bill with exemptions and exceptions all of which are outlined at their website www.comunitypreservation.org. The proposal will be on the ballot in November.
Sy Vo and Stuart Schreier presented their request to build a two-family house on the vacant lot at 57 Samoset Street. A number of concerns were raised about the size of the house (7 bedrooms) as well as parking concerns. The lawyer Stuart Schreier noted that most abutters are against the proposal. After a question and answer period and a discussion, the proposal was rejected with a vote of 1 yes and 22 no.
Colleen Queally of 59 King Street re-presented her request to expand her driveway from 12 to 16 feet in width. After a question and answer period and a discussion, the proposal was rejected with a vote of 9 yes and 14 no.
Mike Oliver of St. Mark’s ESOL (English as a Second Language) program spoke about the program that also includes citizenship classes for 200 people and other programs. Mike is looking for volunteers and passed out business cards to those who were interested in volunteering. Mike may be reached at 617-288-8515 or [email protected].
The meeting adjourned at 9:10.
Respectfully submitted,
Doug Shaheen
Secretary, SMACA
