[DSNC] November Meeting: Monday, Nov 24th, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

27 views
Skip to first unread message

Davis Square Neighborhood Council

unread,
Nov 21, 2025, 3:39:17 PMNov 21
to Davis Square Neighborhood Council

Hello all,


Sorry for the delay in sending. Below is the meeting agenda for this Monday's DSNC meeting.


Best,

Zev


Meeting: Monday, Nov 24, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm 

(Live Agenda Link)


Hi Neighbors,


Our regular meeting will be hybrid and held at 6:00 PM at the Somerville Community Baptist Church at 31 College Ave. as well as online via Zoom:


Join Zoom Meeting 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85220522175?pwd=b92uXx6aRRNXdehZWGFZRQXogheZus.1


Meeting ID: 852 2052 2175

Passcode: 812425


Agenda:

  • December 6: Davis Square Holidate! Holiday event with over 20 local businesses featuring special promotions and giveaways.

  • January 5 - 6:00 PM: (tentative) December DSNC General Meeting (rescheduled due to holidays)

  • 7:55 PM - Motion to adjourn

  • 8:00 PM - Vacate and reset the Room


Post-meeting socializing at Elm Street Taproom.

Community Meeting Reports: Have you attended any recent community meetings that might interest DSNC members? We invite you to share a brief report at our next meeting. To ensure these updates are informative and efficient:

  • Please prepare a written summary (2-3 paragraphs) in advance

  • Email your summary to the Secretary (zpogre...@gmail.com) for inclusion in the Minutes

  • Be ready to present a 2-3 minute overview at the meeting

Frank Mals

unread,
Nov 23, 2025, 5:54:40 PMNov 23
to Davis Square Neighborhood Council

Hello Zev, 


I double-checked the agenda for the October meeting, and although the 363 Highland Ave development was listed on the agenda, as you can see the item was in the same format as the other developments listed.  It wasn’t clear that there would be a presentation by the developers of 363 Highland Ave. Will there be any presentations by developers at tomorrow’s meeting? Perhaps I missed a supplemental communication after the agenda was sent out. In any event will presentations be given by anybody at tomorrow’s meeting? Please let us know. Going forward I would like to propose that the DSNC always include a presentation title and presenter names to its meeting agendas.  This will give DSNC members the ability to clear their schedules so they can attend meetings of importance to them. 


Also, there were many in attendance at the last meeting who didn't anticipate the motion that the DSNC make a statement of support to the Planning Board regarding the developers proposal.  There weren’t any materials to review and a motion was made to take a vote on the spot.  I voted in favor of making the statement but don’t feel comfortable about the process. I would also propose that the DSNC give advance notice that a vote is expected to take place after a presentation like this. This will give DSNC members the chance to formulate questions and be more informed before they vote.


Would these proposals be amendments to our bylaws or is this already covered in the Transparency clause which states “We owe our neighbors full access to information and open dialogue. A final decision shouldn't catch anyone in Davis Square by surprise”?  Perhaps the Transparency clause needs to be more clear.  Would you please put a discussion of the Transparency Clause on the agenda for the December meeting, to give members plenty of time for consideration?


Thanks for all your hard work Zev. 


Regards,

Frank

Elaine Almquist

unread,
Nov 24, 2025, 2:29:18 PMNov 24
to Frank Mals, Zev Pogrebin, Davis Square Neighborhood Council
Hello Frank,

Great question! No, we do not have any presentations about the various developments on the agenda tonight. We can absolutely be more explicit in the future about whether or not someone will be attending to give some kind of presentation along with the details you requested.

In regard to votes on various items, for any voting process that we don't explicitly spell out in our bylaws, we are under Roberts Rules of Order. Which means members can make motions for votes from the floor at the meetings. It is helpful for those members, if they know ahead of time that they'll be making a motion, to reach out and put that on the agenda as well, but it is not required. I am obligated to take up motions as they come to the floor and follow the procedure. Please remember that we have a discussion period before the vote, and you are empowered to take advantage of speaking in opposition to the motion (including opposing the timeline rather than the substance), suggesting a delay of the vote, and/or simply voting against it.

It sounds like a discussion of updating the transparency clause to be more explicit is a good suggestion. @Zev Pogrebin - will you please add that to the December meeting agenda? I also recommend that if you have ideas on this, you can draft changes and bring them up as bylaws changes through the process outlined in Article 9: Amendments To Bylaws, which simply reads "Members may submit amendments to these bylaws in writing at any general meeting, and the Board will include them in the agenda for the next general meeting. Members at that meeting may adopt the amendment by a 2⁄3 vote." If you have time to bring your written amendment to tonight's meeting, we will put the vote for the proposed change on the December meeting agenda.

Cheers,
Elaine

Elaine F. Almquist
(she/her/hers)

BlueSky @EAlmquist  Instagram: @EFAlmquist
Phone: 978.375.2448


--
Davis Square Neighborhood Council · https://DavisSquareNC.org · https://linktr.ee/DavisSquareNC
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Davis Square Neighborhood Council" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to davissquaren...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/davissquarenc/ecce932b-e69b-4ccd-9aeb-16036d926c09n%40googlegroups.com.

Frank Mals

unread,
Nov 24, 2025, 2:57:10 PMNov 24
to Davis Square Neighborhood Council
Elaine, thank you very much!

Regards,
Frank

Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages