EV R Vol. 33, No.27 -FREEEVE ETT T adv Have a Safe & Happy July 4th D OCAT www.advocatenews.net net Free Every Friday Everett Historical Commission Commemorates Former Park Theatre at Dedication Ceremony The dedication ceremony kicked off the new City of Everett Walking Tour T The Spivack family, including the daughter, Leo Brotman (center), who is the 90-year-old mother of Earl Spivack. Special to Th e Advocate VERETT, MA – The Everett Historical Commission hosted a dedication ceremony on Thursday, June 27, at the former location of the Park Theatre and current location of the Park E Plaza (30 Chelsea Street) as part of its new City of Everett Walking Tour. Community members, elected officials and family members of Sam Spivack, who worked alongside long-time manager Leonard “Leo” Brotman, joined together with the Everett Historical Commission to honor and remember the theater’s significance to Everett’s history. Emceed by City Clerk Sergio Cornelio, the Historical CommisCEREMONY | SEE PAGE 4 SINCE 1921 Messinger Insurance Agency 475 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 Phone: 617-387-2700 Fax: 617-387-7753 NEW COMPETITIVE AUTO RATES AND BENEFITS AVAILABLE ACCIDENT FORGIVENESS DISAPPEARING COLLISION DEDUCTIBLE 11% DISCOUNT WITH SUPPORTING POLICY 10% COMBINED PAY IN FULL DISCOUNT AND GREEN DISCOUNT 10% GOOD STUDENT DISCOUNT Celebrating 100 years of excellence! Monday thru Friday: 8am to 6pm Saturdays 9am to 1pm! Check out our NEW website! www.messingerinsurance.com ADVOCTE 617-387-2200 Wednesday, July 3, 2024 City Council postpones action on former Everett High; approves Feasibility Study for new High School By Neil Zolot he City Council voted to postpone action on appropriating $10 million for a new roof on the old Everett High School – located at 548 Broadway – pending more information on how much it would cost to renovate the building to house seventh- and eighth-graders, but approved a $2 million request for a Feasibility Study for a new High School at their meeting Monday, June 24. The vote on the roof funding was 7-4 with Councillors-at-Large John Hanlon and Katy Rogers, Ward 1 Councillor Wayne Matewsky and Ward 3 Councillor Anthony DiPierro in dissent. The vote on the money for the Feasibility Study was 9-2 with Councillors-at-Large Guerline Alcy Jabouin and Michael Marchese in opposition. Councillors voting for postponement didn’t want to appropriate money until costs are more tangible. “I trust School Superintendent William Hart when he tells us what he wants to do, but let’s verify it,” Ward 5 Councillor/City Council President Robert Van Campen, who gave up the chair to Ward 2 Councillor Stephanie Martins for the discussion, said in reference to Hart’s presentation about renovating the old High School for use at a cost of at least $50 million. “It’s probably closer to $60 million. I would like to see it in writing from a professional who does that type of work. Appropriating money for the roof is putting the cart before the horse because we don’t know the build-up cost. It would put money into a roof for a building, but we don’t have a clear idea about its use.” Chief Financial Offi cer Eric Demas told the council that the City of Everett will pursue grants for the money. “Are we going to be a City Council of inaction?” DiPierro asked rhetorically. “The building needs a roof one way or another.” That dovetails with testimony by the Mayor’s Chief-ofStaff , Erin Deveney, who stated, “If the City Council is not willing to appropriate money to fi x the roof, there’s no other use for the building. If the roof isn’t fi xed, it doesn’t make sense to consider the building for other uses.” “We have an obligation to fi x the roof,” Ward 1 Councillor Wayne Matewsky agreed. “Let’s get the roof fi xed and move forward. The Superintendent’s plan works for me and I’m glad the Mayor has come around to using the building as a school,” a reference to earlier ideas to sell space to private contractors for other uses and use modular units at schools. “Based on the concerns of the City Council and the recommendations of the Superintendent, the Mayor is willing to put forward the old High School for use as educational space,” Deveney added. Hart’s plan is to have over 40 classrooms, plus a cafeteria, gym and a “library that gets used as a library,” a refACTION | SEE PAGE 6 !
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