St. Mark’s Area Civic Association

Minutes of the May 26, 2015 Meeting

Officer Mike Keaney gave his police report.   Crime was down 24%.  He reiterated that on June 20 the police are hosting a bike rodeo to teach bike safety to kids in the Florian Hall parking lot.  The police will give away excess gifts left from Christmas and are hoping to get bike helmets donated to give away as well.  The event is from 10:00 to 1:00.  There will be no party line this summer.  People should call 911 to report any noise problems.  There will be extra personnel available to deal with noise from 8:00 pm to 4:00 am Thursday through Sunday.

Councilor Charles Yancey spoke about the goings on at the City Council.  The budget proposal is $2.6 billion for the next year.  He got the city to pay for bullet proof vests  There were questions from the audience about the lack of affordable grocery stores.  Councilor Yancey brought up the requirement for city employees to live in Boston.  Another question posed was “What can be done with residents with income too low to afford market rates or too high to qualify for special programs?”  He spoke of snow removal and the enforcement of even/odd parking during the removal of snow.

Van Le , Interim Director of Viet Aid and Evelyn Darling, Director of Community Development spoke about a proposal for the Odwin Learning Center property in Peabody Square.

President Doug Hurley read a statement seeking volunteers for the Dorchester Day Parade.  Contact [email protected] for more information.  He also mentioned that the Dix Street proposal and the Epiphany School update would be on the June agenda.

Fr. Dan Finn was unable to attend the meeting; so President Doug Hurley showed the award that the civic association was giving to him.  It is an award in the shape of a Lucite flame on a wooden base with the inscription “Father Finn-Thank you for your many years of community service.  Saint Mark’s Area Civic Association”.

President Doug also talked about the Executive Board’s proposal to raise membership dues.  A suggestion was made for $12 for individuals.  Questions were asked including what are the dues used for and how many members do we have?  People suggested other ways to raise money, including having a tip jar on the welcome table.

Respectfully submitted,

Luis Jimenez

SMACA