Minutes of the May 29, 2018 Meeting
The meeting was called to order at 7:08 PM. There were 21 souls present.
Officer Mike Keaney gave his crime report for the last month. The most important was a shooting at 397 Centre Street on May 21st. The victim’s left temple was grazed. The annual bike rodeo will be on Saturday,, June 16 from 10 to 1 at the McKeon Post Parking lot at 4 Hilltop Street. Children 4-12 and parents are welcome. The program includes safety info for kids and parents, fun bike games and “cool” bike helmets given away (as supplies last). Call the Community Service Office at 617-343-4524 for more information. Captain Steve McLoughlin spoke about an incident on Samoset Street where a resident first took exception to the construction noise on the street and then took a baseball bat to one of the construction workers. The perpetrator was taken away by police.
Dustin Gardner of Councilor Andrea Campbell’s office introduced himself as Andrea’s Constituent Services Coordinator and said that CJ Jean-Louis is the new liaison who has taken over Sean Gauthier’s position. CJ will be the person who will be attending our monthly meetings going forward.
Julie Ryan from Councilor Frank Baker’s Office was introduced by Joe McEachern. Julie will now be covering our meetings instead of Joe who is moving on to greener pastures.
Anita Christon, Program Manager of the Boston Home Center (Department of Neighborhood Development) spoke about some of the programs including the Senior Repair Program which is for seniors living in their own homes that need repairs. There is a 0% interest loan with payments deferred until you sell the house. The program includes major and minor (broken windows, grab bars in the bathroom) repairs. Heating assistance is not part of the program and there are income restrictions as well.
Another program is called Homeworks Help. It’s for 1-4 units or condos with less than 6 units in the building. It is also income driven, although the income limit varies by project. These programs are a one-time shot, meaning one may only apply once every ten years. Seniors are defined as 62+ years old. One must have lived in the property for at least 10 years to qualify and the property cannot be in a trust or have a reverse mortgage. For more information, contact Anita Christon at 617-635-0612 or at [email protected]
An election was held to fill the vacant Vice President position. Maddie Ribble who had been nominated at the April meeting and was elected at this meeting unanimously.
Vice President Maddie gave an update on the Glovers Corner project for which the BPDA (formerly known as the BRA) is in charge. For information on the project, go to Bostonplans.org and search for Glovers Corner. Sign up there for updates. The city is open to suggestions and comments, and may come out with recommendations at the end of the year.
Patrick Fandel from the Mayor’s Office reported that there are a number of capital improvements for Dorchester, including funds for schools, parks, and libraries.
The meeting ended at 7:58 (yup, that’s right. 7:58).
Respectfully submitted,
Douglas Shaheen
Secretary, SMACA
