Please see below the message from Ward 5 Commissioner Chad Malkus regarding CAN’s unofficial notes on the March 13 City Council Meeting.

On Mar 16, 2023, at 9:00 AM, Chad Malkus wrote:

Hi Chuck:

I was reading through CAN’s unofficial notes on the March 13th City Council meeting and I must admit to some disappointment as to how they were presented and some glaring omissions. I’m not sure whether they were intentional or unintentional, but I feel that it’s important to tell the whole story so that citizens get the full picture.

First, the Notes make no mention of either Commissioner Roche’s comments or mine. We both expressed our deep gratitude to the citizens of the Mill Street neighborhood, and our appreciation for their participation in the process. Most importantly, we both stated our firm belief that the Text Amendment was entirely unnecessary. I specifically stated the much like the necessity of understanding the rules when you move into the historic district, it’s equally as important when a developer such as Brett Davis purchases a property, that we don’t simply tweak or change the rules to suit him. We both agreed that the existing code was a hard fought battle and a compromise for the entire neighborhood, such that there could be positive development of the school building, but still work towards the ultimate goal of individually owned units. I’m confused as to why such an important aspect of the discussion was omitted from the notes.

Second, the vote itself was important as well. Had we simply let the text amendment die without an up or down vote, then any future council could reintroduce the Amendment at any time and call for a vote. Thus, Brian and I both determined that it was necessary to close the matter once and for all, so I had to take the unusual but necessary step of introducing the motion so that we could all unanimously vote it down. Again, I think this was extremely important to relay to your readers that the Amendment was killed by us in its entirety so we’d never see it come before us again. There was a very real possibility that Pat could have taken it back to Planning and Zoning and worked on adjusting the language more and bringing it back before council.

Lastly, and solely for your edification, I think I would be remiss if I didn’t relay the behind the scenes work that Brian and I did on this matter. We met with a large group of Mill Street citizens for over an hour to listen to their concerns. When we took those to the City Manager, Planner, and Attorney, they began working on further adjustment of the language. When those were relayed to the interested parties on Mill Street, it was still clear that the text amendment was unnecessary and the existing language was fine and that the Text Amendment should be shot down.

I’m glad we achieved such a positive result and I greatly enjoyed meeting with the Mill Street residents and some CAN members and seeing firsthand their passion about getting the project right. I’ve always had a great affinity for the West End and Ward 1 as a whole, after having lived for many years on Willis Street, on Glasgow, and now in Longboat

Thank you for all that you do to keep citizens informed with the CAN notes and newsletter, and please don’t hesitate to come to me with future concerns.

Thanks
Chad (Ward 5 Commissioner Chad Malkus)

P.S. One quick note, Commissioner Cephas is “Sputty”, not “Spuddy”

Mayor Andrew Bradshaw
City of Cambridge
June 18, 2021

Good evening:

On the evening of June 16, I received an email including an essay that discussed the proposed amendment of the City of Cambridge’s Charter for the establishment of a Department of Human Resources. The essay indicates the clear dedication and concern of the author for the City’s well-being, but also contains incorrect assumptions and understanding, both of the proposal itself and of the language within the Charter of the City of Cambridge.

My response to the essay is attached. I hope this clarifies the matter, while also providing a more accurate view of the proposal and the present situation within the City of Cambridge

I appreciate everyone’s dedication to ensuring we make the best decisions for Cambridge. Only with this level of care can Cambridge succeed in all the ways we know are capable.

Best,
Mayor Andrew Bradshaw

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Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
December 15, 2020

Dear Readers:

Attached please find my Cambridge Matters report on last night’s City Council meeting. Everything went smoothly with unanimous votes on everything presented.

These past 4 plus years have been a journey for me that I have learned from and enjoyed. I plan to take a few weeks off from writing about what is happening in and around Cambridge so look forward to me continuing this work that is not really work for me on some different topics. If you want to be removed from my email list, please let me know.

I plan to continue to be involved in other aspects of what is happening here and hope to bring you up to date on them.

Have a great Holiday Season and please be safe.

All the best.

– Steve

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Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
November 9, 2020

Dear Readers:

Here is my unofficial report on Monday night’s meeting. We are scheduled for one more in December and then turn the city over to the new City Council at our first meeting in January.

Best wishes for the upcoming Thanksgiving. Note the Covid-19 data in the attached report and the actions being taken by Governor Hogan. I encourage you to do as he suggested and “wear the damn mask”.

Steve

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Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
November 4, 2020

Dear Readers:

I was looking through old Cambridge Matters and came across one from April 2017. It talked, in part, about what I thought needed to be done to improve Cambridge. As I looked at it, I decided to take portions of what I wrote and include them in this report and then look at what has happened or has not happened in the 3 1/2 years since then.

It does not undertake al accomplishments or disappointments but to provide you with a general understanding of what city council and others outside of the work of the city have done to make Cambridge work better and prosper more than was the situation in the past.

I hope you enjoy my trip down memory lane.

Steve

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Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
October 26, 2020

Dear Readers:

Attached is my Cambridge Matters #4 along with some of the documents that I mention in my report. They are meant to substantiate what I am saying in the report.

It appears that the work of this City Council is slowing down as we approach the Holiday Season. There is only one meeting scheduled in November and one in December. The new City Council will be sworn in at the first meeting in January 2021.

Have a Happy Halloween and PLEASE BE SURE TO VOTE both in the NATIONAL AND COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD elections on November 3rd or before as well as the Finals of the CITY ELECTION either in person on December 1st or by mail.

Thanks for Reading.

Steve

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Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
October 13, 2020

Dear Readers:

This one is probably too long and leaves out too much. If you think so, you are right.

Last night’s meeting was a mess, and I had difficulty paying attention to what was being discussed while taking notes for this unofficial report. In the final analysis, we got a lot done to improve Cambridge but it was not very pretty making it happen.

With regard to the information at the end of this report about the MOU, I had to limit my concerns out of fear that what I wrote would become tedious so just understand that what is contained here is not everything I need answers from Maces Lane Community Center, Inc. and city staff.

Steve

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Commissioner Steve Rideout
swrideout@aol.com
October 7, 2020

Dear Readers:

As there has been much misinformation being shared regarding the proposed Property Transfer Agreements and MOU for the City Sailwinds Property, I have asked the City Manager to post those documents on the City Website relating to our City Council Meeting on the 13th. I have asked him to post them today, which he has indicated he will do. I am not sure when that will be done.

Before continuing your conversations regarding the above documents, please take some time to read the material that will be available so that you can have an understanding of what they say and have a more constructive discussion of what issues are of concern to you and what are not.

I understand that some in the community know (or possibly think) that this matter will be taken up in closed session. Since the elected officials have received no such notice, I am not aware that a closed session is planned or will be requested. If you become aware of such a notice, please be sure to listen in on the discussion as to whether we will go into closed meeting or not so that you can understand why we will or why we won’t once a vote is taken on that issue.

As I believe that the development of Sailwinds is an issue that needs to be in the open except for issues allowed under the Open Meetings Act and you will have the relevant documents, I cannot think of a reason for having a closed session. Also since the first drafts of the Transfer Agreements were provided to the public at our last meeting and the MOU request was also presented, I am not sure that there is anything that is being hidden from the public.

Steve