Senator Stephen F. Lynch - Senator Lynch addressed the association for about 40 minutes and covered a variety of subjects. High School – There is a proposed plan to build a new regional high school in the UMass Boston area. Rita Uzdawinis brought up a very good point in that at one time we had 26 schools in South Boston and today we have only 6. Senator Lynch also spoke about the emphasis on lowering the student to teacher ratio in our schools. Resident parking – The Senator thinks it’s a mixed blessing. There is an advantage to having stickers, however, it still doesn’t guarantee you a parking place. There would also be an increase in police presence in the neighborhoods, to include newly assigned meter maids, tow trucks, citations for being parked too far from curb, too close to crosswalk or corner, double parking, vehicle safety violations, etc. This issue will be addressed at future DHA meetings. Lt. Governor – The Senator told us he is considering very seriously of running for Lt. Governor in the upcoming 2002 election, however, he will not make his final decision for at least another 4 to 6 months.  Convention Center – The convention center project is estimated to be 100-150 million dollars over budget. This has halted the design on the project. The design is now under review, and the fate of this project has yet to be decided. There is a very good possibility this project could be moth balled. We thanked the Senator for taking the time to be with and address us.

South Boston High School – Tom Pilleri told us the high school is changing the way it operates again next year. The plan is to have 3 principals and 1 chief administrative officer. The three main focuses of the school will be Technology, Public Safety and Biology. The current attendance at the school is 1090 students with a daily average of 925. They are trying to go to a small school environment. Current student teacher ratio is 32 students to 1 teacher with a goal of 23 students to 1 teacher. Tom also told us this summer 5 million dollars will be spent on improvements to windows, science labs and other items within the school. Kevin Delehanty asked Tom about opening the basketball courts for neighborhood use and Tom said he would look into it and get back to us. He said it is a strong possibility. Also present was Rachel S. Ruiz, Ph.D., from Bunker Hill Community College. She spoke to the association about the various programs that will be offered in the evenings at high school. The members present agreed that a non-credit introduction to computers, in the spring, would be a good start. She told us they plan to have 3 classes offered in the fall. They are looking at offering, state and local government, accounting and one other class to be determined.

National Parks Service – Marc Vagos spoke briefly about the trees that will be replanted in the spring. Also he wanted to remind everyone about the park being opened on evacuation day. The monument will also be opened. Also, at the March DHA meeting, John Manson will be giving the association a slide presentation about evacuation day and the history of the park.

Boston Police – Patrolman Rich Doherty told us there weren’t too many incidents this past month. Three people were caught breaking into cars, one from South Boston and two from Plymouth. Patrols have been increased, and there are patrols out looking for double-parked cars at night. Any car found double parked at night is being tagging and towed.

National Historic Register Nomination – Don’t forget, we will be voting to accept final nomination of the Dorchester Heights Historic District in the National Historic Register. There will be representatives from the Boston Landmarks Commission at the meeting and they will explain all details and answer all questions prior to the vote being taken. Approval of a majority of the HOMEOWNERS present from within the district boundaries is required for this process to be finalized. A sample of the homeowner handbook will also be available for viewing.  Any questions concerning the nomination should be directed to Jennifer Goold from the Boston Landmarks Commission at 617-635-2519. You can also email her at jennifer.goold@ci.boston.ma.us.

SEE YOU ALL AT THE NEXT MEETING!

Thursday, February 8^th  2001

Marian Manor, 7pm