Failed deal leaves Somerville with $1 million shortfall
A deal to sell a 101 year old school in Somerville to local developers fell through recently, leaving the city with a $1 million budget shortfall, according to the Somerville Journal.
The old Durrell School on Beacon Street was supposed to be sold for $1.275 million to Peter Miller and Kevin Douglas, but neither party accepted responsibility for the failure of the deal, and with two months left in the fiscal year, Somerville is "scrambling" to sell the school, according to the Journal. As an emergency measure, an auction of the school is being planned.
"If nobody bids on [the school], then we have a problem," Alderman Bill White told the Journal.
If the auction fails, city officials fear that layoffs could result. The minimum bid for the school is set at $990,000.
"I think people are optimistic they are going to get some bids ... That is good property," White said.
Rodent problem in Davis Square
According to the Somerville Journal, citizens in and around Davis Square are complaining of rats, raccoons, and possums.
"These things are not small," Somerville Alderman John Connolly, who represents the Davis Square area, said.
Connolly has asked that the city health inspectors maintain a high level of vigilance over local restaurants for the next several weeks. According to the Journal, however, residents in the area may be contributing to the problem.
"They're eating well, [because] people have been a little too lax storing garbage," Connolly said.
Somerville Alderman Dennis Sullivan also believes that part of the problem is that residents do not put their garbage bags in containers when they leave them on the street curbs.
"On my street in the last two months, I've seen two dead rats I've had to dispose of," Sullivan said.
The city has rodent traps in the sewers, but according to Somerville Alderman Denise Provost, there is a plentiful food supply above ground for these animals, reducing the effectiveness of these traps.
Farcical 'circus' shut down by fire department
The Somerville Fire Department responded to a report of an outdoor fire on Sewall Street last week, and found something that 23-year veteran Lieutenant Buster Siciliano called "a first."
According to the Somerville Journal, a man was found juggling flaming sponges. He was accompanied by several other people in "flamboyant" costumes.
This type of "open burning" is banned in Somerville. Firefighters informed the man that he would need to cease the activity.
"He was a nice guy, but he wanted to keep [juggling]," Siciliano said. "I thought it was amusing, but it's a good thing nothing happened or no one got hurt."
The juggler did comply with requests.
Only 25 communities in Massachusetts prohibit "open burning" outdoors. Somerville is one of these as a safety measure because of the proximity of the houses to each other.
-- compiled by Bruce Hamilton from the Somerville Journal
