Saint Mark’s Area Civic Association (SMACA) Meeting
May 31, 2022 7:00pm
Basement of St. Mark’s Church
Minutes by Kendra Beaver, Secretary
Attendees (including speakers): 20

Police Report — Officer Mike Keaney
● New Commander at District 11: Shawn Burns
● May 3: Man arrested for a robbery in progress outside of Adams St & a robbery on Dix St
● May 20: Officers stopped a man waving a gun at 1800 Dorchester Ave
● May 30: Three suspects arrested near Hemenway Park who had a bag of guns and ran away
from the police
● Numerous arrests by Shawmut Station this past month
City Councilor Frank Baker
● Focused on Columbia Point peninsula’s potential for job training opportunities
● Thinks of the biotech industry looking to come to Dorchester as the future of Boston
○ The industry has identified 20M square feet they want to develop, e.g. Training space in
the old Globe building & the old Bay Side site
○ Arguing with the industry that folks can succeed in these jobs with the right training
even without an associates degree
● In response to a member question asking if he would work with the school systems regarding
the trades: “I think we need to invest more money from our linkage program towards brick and
mortar job spaces”
● Member comment: Concerned about Dorchester Bay City (traffic, housing, etc.)
○ Good group of people working on that plan; resiliency, job training, housing, and
transportation are the foci; the developer will put $10M into the STASH program; we
want to have units in Boston/Dorchester that those residents can move into; how do we
take city/CDC assets and use money from the development?
● Member question: What specifically are you doing to ensure that current residents aren’t being
pushed out of their communities by increased developments?
○ The Councilor stated he is not in support of rent control after a member suggested it;
“City councilors don’t have much control over rents”; claimed he can push for increased
affordable housing units in developments
● Member question: What do you or don’t you support regarding development? There have been
projects which abutters, neighbors, and local civics have voted against that you still supported
(e.g. 4-6 Ashmont St)
○ “I’m supportive of development and density because I believe it drives business”
● Member comment: What do you say to someone like me who’s 72 years old who needs a car to
get around and who has lived in and been committed to our community for 35+ years but can’t
find a place to park anymore?
○ “That’s unfortunate” but it’s nice to be able to walk to our restaurants; density will keep
us safer
● Member comment: Developers are pushing people out who have been here for decades with a
car… Why is it so hard to demand parking?
1
○ We shouldn’t block every development without parking
● Member comment: If we had the appropriate size building in the appropriate size lot, all the
dominoes would fall into place
Enrique Pepin, Executive Director of the Office of Neighborhood Services (ONS)
● ONS’ job is to have representatives for each neighborhood; Dorchester has three
● ONS’ job is to attend the meetings of all 220 civic associations in the city and bring your
comments back to the Mayor to understand the questions, opinions, necessities, failures, & the
good things happening in your neighborhood to improve the quality of life
● ONS is the “bridge between [residents] and City Hall/the Mayor”
● SMACA’s liaison, George Huynh, is our main contact
● Member: Concerned about increased & burdensome property taxes during the pandemic
● Member expressed concern that “each [development] project is a silo” and that with a master
plan for the neighborhood, people would feel more comfortable and heard; argued for rezoning
with extensive community input
● The City just hired a new chief of planning; ONS is looking to have “future of zoning” meetings
in each neighborhood and is working with multiple civics to plan
● Member expressed need for increased investment in our public transportation
○ MBTA bus network redesign meetings are happening now
Elected Officials & Representatives
● Lisa Sersei from City Councilor Erin Murphy:
○ Reminder about Love Your Block grants
○ Assistance for homeowners: Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT)
still has funding available
○ If you’re in need of recycling pick up/new cans, contact their office
○ SuccessLink is still hiring for youth summer jobs
○ Councilor Murphy cares about
○ public and mental health awareness in our community, as well as homelessess
○ Learn about how to recycle your textiles in Boston
○ Keep an eye out for upcoming hearings about athletics in our schools
○ There has been an uptick in 311 calls in regards to rodents → any time you call 311, be
sure to get a reference number to track your report
Community Announcements & Discussion
● DorchFest: Sat. June 4th from 11:30 - 4pm
● Dorchester Day Parade: Sun. June 5th from 1 - 4pm
● Dorchester 5k run is at noon on Sunday; starts from the Blarney Stone
● Check out the Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA) project tracker (no ZBA updates)
● Member question about a group of people interested in improving the subway cap?
○ Original group doesn’t function much anymore; difficult to make progress since it’s
state land which requires state representatives’ buy-in
Meeting adjourned around 8:30pm