THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, July 23, 2021 ~ Guest Commentary ~ Page 5 MALDEN…ALIVE AND WELL By Craig Spadafora, City Councillor-At- Large A s I began thinking about whether I was going to seek another term as a Councillor-At-Large, it caused me to pause and think. What is the job of any elected official? I think you’d get a lot of different answers to this question. Here is mine. The job of an elected official is to understand how to work with others to get things done. It sounds simple enough, yet year in and year out you’ll see elected officials content to grandstand and fail. When I look back at what this great city has accomplished together over the past ten years, I think it is testament to a core group of elected officials who have embraced the opposite approach. And when you look at what we’ve done, it is clear that success through compromise can deliver amazing results. With all of the negativity that seems to be the norm these days, it just feels right to stop and appreciate the good things going on. While in Malden Square on a recent weekend enjoying one of the wildly successful summer festivals, I was stopped by countless people who were simply feeling really good about Malden. As I looked at the crowd of people checking out the amazing products offered at Tous les Jours, the newest addition to the downtown scene, I couldn’t help but agree. So, for those of you interested in stepping back to appreciate just some of what we’ve been able to accomplish the past ten years, read on. For those who are more interested in focusing on “all that’s wrong with Malden,” this article isn’t for you. With that out of the way, just Gateway Caucus of the Massachusetts State House held their meeting at Malden City Hall and marveled at the unique approach and the beauty of the new space. Old City Hall had served us well, but it was too big for modern times and needed tens of millions of work. With the new City Hall, we have set ourselves up with a home for years to come that is worthy of being the civic core of the city. We secured one of the largest what are some of the things we have done together by embracing a success through compromise approach? We built a new Police Station, on time, under budget. It is easy to forget that on the site where the police station currently stands, the prior property owner was using it for storage and processing of road waste. Not exactly what we wanted next to residential dwellings. We replaced an aging and outdated police station and located it in an area central to the entire city, while eliminating a source of constant complaints. We reopened Pleasant Street to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Anyone who has visited the downtown recently will attest to the fact that while COVID delayed the positive impact of reopening Pleasant Street, it is now bearing fruit. We’ve see three new quality food establishments open in the past couple months, and there’s more on the way! Malden is attracting retailers like we’ve never been able to before. There is life back at the end of Pleasant Street, and it’s fantastic to see. We built a brand-new City Hall. A couple of weeks ago, the Everett Aluminum 10 Everett Ave., Everett 617-389-3839 Owned & operated by the Conti family since 1958 • 57 Years! “Same name, phone number & address for family since 1958 • 63 over half a century. We must be doing something right!” •Vinyl Siding •Free Estimates •Carpentry Work •Fully Licensed •Decks •Roofing • Fully Insured • Replacement Windows www.everettaluminum.com Now’s the time to schedule those home improvement projects you’ve been dreaming about all winter! Summer is Here! State MassWorks Grants ever to make the above possible. Taking on such an ambitious project alone was beyond our financial means. Yet access to state grant money is a very competitive process. State leaders look to provide state funding to projects that are unique, well developed, and will be completed. Through relationship building and hard work, we sold the state on our little project, and they rewarded is with almost $10 million in funding to make it possible. You will find few if any other state grants of this magnitude. We increased our bond rating to the highest level it has ever been. Make no mistake about it, the bond rating of a city drives a lot. First, it is a “report card,”’ if you will, from the ratings agencies of how well we are doing running the city. It also makes a tremendous difference in the cost of borrowing. So when a rating agency examines all aspects of decision making for a city and rewards you with a rating increase, it means a lot. It means your local elected officials understand the importance of operating within your means, which helps to avoid surprises. We’ve funded our schools with millions above the state requirement. For years we struggled to fund our public schools at even the minimum level required by the state. For several years, we fell below the required minimum spending. Over the past five years alone, through fiscal prudence and sound financial practices in other areas, we’ve been able to provide our MALDEN | SEE PAGE 9
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