Business Town Meeting Discusses the Future of the City

On Wednesday evening, April 28, the Somerville Chamber of Commerce hosted the Business Town Meeting at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, attracting scores of small business owners, local officials and developers to hear Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone speak about the economic future of the city.

Generally, the mayor pushed the idea that all of the variables in the social and economic life of the city are interconnected, and that to improve on one area, we have to give attention to all of the others if we want Somerville to be a vibrant city as the country emerges from its economic troubles.

One major variable is transportation. With the opening of the Assembly Square Orange Line station scheduled for 2013 and the start of construction on a Green Line Extension in the foreseeable future, parts of the city could open up to business and further residential development.

Another advantage of improving accessibility is the reduction of the number of cars on the road. One attendee asked the mayor what plans the city had regarding parking, citing short meter times and large swaths of permit-only, residential parking.

Mayor Curtatone disagreed with the idea of putting two-hour signs up in lieu of meters, noting that, years ago, when there was a two-hour window for parking in most places, it was bad for the city. “Turnover’s important,” he said, but also noted that there was some thought going into picking up the kind of electronic, credit card-ready parking kiosks one might find in parts of Boston and Cambridge.

To bring in more transit, Somerville will have to improve its infrastructure, which calls for improvements in zoning regulations, which are currently under development, and the promotion of sustainable living spaces. Part of this, according to the director of Somerville’s Office of Sustainability and Environment, David Lutes, means trying out single stream recycling (in which residents wouldn’t have to sort the items out), which has the potential of saving businesses time and money. Another part of this infrastructure change, according to Lutes, is improvement upon the city’s energy code, in large part by higher efficiency materials (LED lighting, thicker insulation, etc).

The response to all of this, including the promotion of the Shape Up Somerville health campaign, was resoundingly positive, with the exception of the health insurance issue. Larry Slotnick, cofounder of Taza Chocolate, noted that he was in dire straits as far as getting health insurance for his staff, and wondered if there was a way the city could assist small businesses.

Susan Miller, who tutors out of Teele Square, told me after the meeting that the cost “is putting me out of business, literally.” Health insurance is still “a big budget buster” for the city, said Curtatone, and for the most part, the issue is a state-controlled one, out of the hands of the city. But he said he is always looking for creative solutions.