All councilors were present for the Boston City Council meeting on Jan. 15, 2020, where the following dockets were presented and discussed:
Docket #0192
To accept and spend a grant of $1,794,683.47 that will fund approaches to combat gang violence through prevention and intervention, law enforcement, prosecution and reintegration programs.
The grant will be administered through the Boston Police Department. The docket was passed unanimously.
Docket #0193
To accept and spend a grant of $1 million from the United States Department of the Interior under the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act of 1965, to improve McConnell Park in Dorchester.
Boston Parks and Recreation Department will reconstruct the athletic fields, including a Challenger field, Boston’s first inclusive ball field and add climate resiliency measures. The docket was passed unanimously.
Docket #0194
To accept and spend a $491,316 grant for the First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Cooperation Agreement, awarded by the United States Health and Human Services.
The grant will fund a collaborative effort between Boston Fire Department first responders, the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Services, the Boston Public Health Commission and community-based organizations to improve the City’s response to opioid overdoses. This is year two of a four-year grant. The docket was passed unanimously.
Docket #0196 and #0197
To accept and spend two Violence Against Women Act STOP grants of $80,370.40 and $45,000, awarded by the United States Department of Justice, to be administered by the Boston Police Department.
The grants will fund a civilian violence advocate who will serve survivors in Jamaica Plain and East Boston, and overtime for all the civilian domestic violence advocates. The docket was passed unanimously.
Docket #0198
To accept and spend a grant of $20,000 for the Age-Friendly Bench Program.
The grant was awarded by Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation to be administered by the Public Work Department, and will fund the installation of Age-Friendly benches in Allston Brighton’s business district. The docket was passed unanimously.
Docket #0199
To accept and spend a grant of $10,000 for the fiscal year 2020 National Violence Death Reporting System Grant.
The grant will fund data collection by the Bureau of Investigation Services and the Drug Control Unit. The docket was passed unanimously.
Docket #0200
To accept and spend a grant of $1,884.00 for the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
The grant will fund a healthy breakfast and snack to children enrolled in the program. The docket was passed unanimously.
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Docket #0218
Councilor Ed Flynn offered an order for a hearing to discuss ways to support tenants facing eviction and displacement.
The docket was referred to the committee of the whole.
Docket #0221
Councilor Andrea Campbell offered an order for a hearing to review the Boston Police Department’s Body-Worn Camera Pilot Program Final Study Results, and the status of implementation.
The docket was referred to the committee of the whole.
Docket #0222
Councilor Campbell offered an order for a hearing regarding automobile insurance rates in Boston’s low-income minority communities.
The docket was referred to the committee of the whole.
Docket #0223
Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George offered an order for a hearing to examine mental health and suicide prevention resources in the City of Boston.
Docket #0224
Councilor Essaibi-George offered an ordinance relative to the establishment of an independent Mental Health Commission.
Docket #0225
Councilor Essaibi-George offered an ordinance to create the Special Commission on Ending Family Homelessness.
Docket #0226
Councilor Essaibi-George offered an ordinance to provide for safe disposal of sharps through the establishment of a Product Stewardship Program.
The program would require pharmacies to offer kiosks available for sharps disposal. There would be over 100 locations across Boston for sharps disposal, up from 12.
Docket #0227
Councilor Essaibi-George offered an order for a working session regarding the opioid crisis.
Dockets #0223, #0224, #0225, #0226 and #0227 were referred to the committee of the whole.
Docket #0229
Councilor Matt O’Malley offered a resolution affirming that the climate crisis is a health emergency.
“The climate crisis has reached the level of a public health emergency,” O’Malley said. The resolution passed unanimously.
Docket #0230
Councilor Julia Mejia, in her first ever speech as a Boston City Councilor, offered an order for a hearing regarding the creation of sanctuary safe spaces for undocumented immigrants in schools and other venues in Boston.
It was referred to the committee of the whole
