$3.1M added borrowing for Poplar Street PCB soil disposal recommended

Items Discussed

Poplar Street Pump Station: $3,143,557 Additional Bond and $2,097,667 Borrowing Reduction – Recommended 4-0

Two related requests from the administration were taken up together. The first would authorize borrowing an additional $3,143,557 for design, construction, and equipping of the Poplar Street pump station. Infrastructure Director Rich Raiche explained that while most unforeseen costs on the project have stayed within contingency, one item was extraordinary: after the contract was awarded and work was underway, the federal EPA changed its rules on disposal of soils containing PCBs with no exemption for projects already in progress. Because the site was formerly a waste transfer station and, for a time, an operating incinerator, a large portion of the excavated soil contained PCBs and had to be trucked to specially regulated landfills well out of state. This raised both disposal costs and the project schedule.

Raiche said the contractor's first proposed change order was $4.4 million. The city, its engineer Stantec, and owner's project manager PMA "aggressively negotiated" that figure down over roughly two years to the roughly $3.1 million now requested. Most of the affected work occurred in calendar 2024.

The second request is what Raiche called a "housekeeping item": reducing the original $89,332,819 general obligation borrowing authorization by $2,097,667.05. Roughly $2.1 million in federal ARPA funds that could not be spent on their original purposes (Chair Wheeler recalled two fire vehicles as the largest) were redirected to Poplar Street before the ARPA deadline, since the project had already cleared all federal eligibility and audit requirements. The reduction ensures the city is not carrying a duplicate funding source, which the ARPA program requires documenting. Raiche noted the two items were filed separately rather than netted together because they address distinct things—an already-spent ARPA amount and a new PCB-related cost.

Councilor Scott thanked Raiche for navigating the issue, comparing Somerville to an old house where "you gotta be careful when you open up a wall," and recalled past asbestos and PCB discoveries at the high school and Conway Park. He said it "could have been a much bigger problem." Wheeler echoed appreciation for negotiating the charge down. Both items were recommended for approval on the end-of-meeting roll call.

$100,000 from Racial and Social Justice Fund for 2026 Community Grant Cycle – Recommended 4-0

Director of Racial and Social Justice Catherine Nakato presented the appropriation to fund community-led projects advancing racial, social, and other forms of justice. Per the memo referenced by Councilor Scott, 64 applications were received and 23 selected. The grant focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion, community engagement, and education/training.

Nakato highlighted two projects: the Somerville Museum's effort to document the Pullman porters and the Black community of West Somerville from the 1880s to 1980s, and a "girls as researchers" STEM program for young women.

Chair Wheeler disclosed that a child of his previously participated in a program funded through the department, but not currently and not through this grant. He asked how payment works; Nakato said awardees spend first and are reimbursed on invoice, but for those who lack a cash buffer, the department is working with Finance to front costs. Councilor Hardt asked whether project details would be public; Nakato said projects and grantees will be posted on the Equity and Belonging website, with photos and video where possible, though whether to publish award amounts is still under internal discussion.

Scott said the fund, created in 2020, has been "underutilized and under tapped" and he was glad to see money going into the community. Councilor Link also praised the projects.

$35,000 Mass Department of Mental Health Grant for Crisis Intervention Team Training – Recommended 4-0

Police Director of Finance and Administration Emily Wisdom explained this grant, with no new match required, funds overtime and backfill so officers and supervisors can attend Crisis Intervention Team training—a 40-hour initial certification and an 8-hour recertification—without leaving shifts understaffed. It is part of the same DMH grant program that funds the city's CIT training center and jail diversion program (discussed at the previous meeting) and was accidentally separated when entered in Legistar. The state began splitting this portion out last year so other jurisdictions could also apply. Wisdom confirmed all of this falls under the COR/co-response program.

Wheeler asked whether data in the grant's deliverables—such as the number of behavioral health calls per year with a trained officer responding—could be shared with the council or public. Wisdom said this specific portion is reimbursement-only with no programmatic reporting, but the broader CIT and jail diversion grants do require reporting. Some quarterly reports are accessible and she can provide them; other data entered into a state database does not generate a retrievable report. She agreed to look into whether it could be saved and shared and to speak with the chief. Scott, drawing on his state grant administration experience, said such submissions are usually compiled in a spreadsheet beforehand and offered to work with Wheeler to obtain the data.

Report on Artificial Intelligence Vendors and Contracts – Recommended to be marked work completed

This council order, sponsored by Councilors Wheeler and Link, asked Procurement for a report of all AI vendors and services the city contracts with. Intergovernmental Affairs Director Amanda Nagim-Williams framed the response: the city has no AI policy yet and its tracking systems do not identify products by AI capability. After meeting with the sponsors over the summer, staff narrowed the scope to products procured primarily for AI functionality, excluding tools where AI is embedded or secondary. Under that definition, the only product identified was BlueVoice.

Deputy IT Director David Slonina described BlueVoice as a "closed loop" system whose data stays internal, and said the city has no contracts with ChatGPT, Gemini, OpenAI, or similar. He acknowledged several products with embedded AI (e.g., traffic light systems that prioritize emergency vehicles, email spam filtering, antivirus) but declined to name them, saying doing so could expose the city to "bad actors." Deputy Chief Procurement Officer Joey Hustins added that the order concerns contracting, not AI usage; free tools don't pass through procurement, and purchases under $10,000 don't follow the same contracting procedure, though his office is reviewing smaller software purchases.

Councilors pushed back on several fronts:

• Link said transparency must be balanced against security, suggesting executive session if needed, and later said he did "not find that this has specifically answered the question" since the city clearly uses more than one AI product. He called it "a wake up call" and the need for a "census" of AI tools.
• Link and Wheeler both reported that Outlook's AI-driven "promotions" folder had buried constituent emails—in Link's case for months. Slonina apologized and promised to investigate.
• Scott cited known AI uses outside IT (police AI-generated graphics, engineering's use of AI on satellite imagery to estimate permeable surface) and raised security risks including prompt injection and data loss, as well as public trust: "if you didn't bother to write it, I'm not sure why you expect me to bother to read it." He urged an AI policy "sooner rather than later" and preferred keeping the item in committee.

Nagim-Williams said an internal AI policy is a priority, with a staff working group, two staff town halls, and an anonymous survey underway, alongside the council's AI ordinance. Wheeler concluded the response addressed the order's precise question with some caveats; Link agreed it was "the best that we're gonna get right now" and supported marking it complete while following up for a better answer later.

Cost Memo for Using Somerville High School as an After-Hours Teen Center – Kept in committee

Sponsored by Councilors Link and Sait, this order asks for a memo on the cost of staffing the high school as a teen center. Link explained it followed the determination that the Cummings School was a "no go" due to ADA and refurbishment costs. Nagim-Williams said no memo exists yet because work is ongoing: Mayor Wilson and Superintendent Carmona plan a walkthrough of SHS this month, and the administration hopes to pilot a teen center space "very soon," though she declined to share details prematurely.

Scott asked whether councilors could join the walkthrough; Nagim-Williams said she would follow up and, if not the site visit, would brief councilors afterward—which Wheeler characterized as "a gentle no, but not a firm one." Wheeler asked about division of responsibility between the school district and city (Parks and Recreation would be involved; other departments depend on programming), projected enrollment numbers (none yet; Nagim-Williams noted the request), and whether the Grants division is involved (yes). Link stressed the value of unstructured, student-driven space—"figuring out how to get out of the way of the teens." Wheeler initially moved to recommend approval but corrected himself and kept the item in committee pending the memo.

808 Windsor Place (Boynton Yards) Investor Bankruptcy – Recommended to be marked work completed

Sponsored by Councilor Mbah, this order sought a report on the bankruptcy of an investor in the vacant lab building at 808 Windsor Place. OSPCD Executive Director Tom Galligani explained that a German retail investment fund—a closed fund that could not go back to its investors for more capital—filed for bankruptcy in August, likely after being asked for additional funds. Since then, developers Leggett McCall Partners and DLJ turned over the deed in lieu of foreclosure to Bank OZK of Arkansas, which Scott identified as Bank of the Ozarks. Galligani said the bank is not auctioning the building and has hired Leggett McCall to manage and continue leasing it, so "functionally, there's no change."

Link asked about tax implications; Galligani said vacant commercial buildings can petition for abatements and that vacancy drives values down, calling it "not good for Greater Boston." Wheeler clarified, with Galligani agreeing, that the vacancy problem is in lab and commercial buildings, not residential. Wheeler asked about community benefits; Galligani said linkage fees and contributions were triggered at building opening and already paid, so there is no impact, and arts/culture space requirements apply regardless of owner.

On broader risk, Galligani said his review found most other Somerville lab buildings are backed by pension or insurance capital with a longer-term view rather than closed retail funds, making him "more bullish on our ability to weather this storm." He noted positive leasing news: TransMedics at Assembly Row and Mass General Brigham leasing about 105,000 square feet at 74 Middlesex Street. Scott observed the bank's choice to hold rather than auction illustrates "taking a long view" on an underwater property, mentioning 90 Washington.

Note: the chair verbally laid this item on the table for approval, but the clerk's roll call covered only items 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7, and the official record shows it marked work completed.

Minutes of October 6, 2026 – Accepted

No corrections.

What's Next

• Heading to full council with a favorable recommendation (roll call 4-0; Councilor Strezo absent): the $3,143,557 Poplar Street bond, the $2,097,667.05 borrowing reduction, the $100,000 RSJ community grants, and the $35,000 DMH CIT training grant. No council meeting date was stated.
• Marked work completed: the AI vendor report and the 808 Windsor Place report.
• Staying in committee: the SHS teen center staffing cost memo, pending the mayor/superintendent walkthrough and a forthcoming memo; Nagim-Williams noted a request for projected program size.
• Follow-ups requested: Wisdom to check what CIT/jail diversion reporting data can be shared with the council (Scott offered to assist); Slonina to investigate the Outlook promotions-folder issue burying constituent emails; Nagim-Williams to follow up on inviting councilors to the SHS site visit; Link intends to seek a fuller accounting of AI tools in the future; the administration continues developing an internal AI policy.