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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, September 6, 2019 Page 3 Oak Grove Improvement Association finally wins a round By Barbara Taormina F or years, the Oak Grove Improvement Association has been searching for a way to rehab and reopen the Oak Grove Community Center. This week that search led Association members Carol Melle and Bonnie Galayda to the City Council to ask for their help during the public comment segment of the meeting. And their request triggered a mind-numbing debate among councillors over what it takes to submit a project application to the Community Preservation Committee. For decades, the Oak Grove Community Center was a hub for youth groups, sports teams, scouts and other religious and civic organizations. But the building was closed at the end of 2013 after the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (MAAB) ordered the city to develop a plan to correct problems with the front steps, the walkway and the lack of access for people with disabilities. It took nearly two years, but by the end of 2015 the city had a plan approved by the MAAB, a bid from a contractor and a budget to cover the work. The city’s plan called for adding a wheelchair ramp to the rear entrance of the building’s main floor and improving the front entrance. The work would be paid for with local meals tax revenue earmarked for improvements to the community center. Association members acknowledged the improvements were limited. People in wheelchairs could enter the main floor of the building on the ramp in the rear. But to get to the rest room on the ground floor, they would have to exit on that ramp, circle the front of the building and reenter through a door on the Washington Street side of the building. But the Improvement Association considered the plan just the beginning. The hope was to eventually find the funding to install an elevator in the building. And all was well until it wasn’t. The city didn’t follow through with the plan. When Improvement Association members began calling city officials to ask about the status of the project, city officials stopped answering their phones. For years, nobody wanted to talk about the Oak Grove Community Center. But back in May of this year, Improvement Association members decided to apply to the Community Preservation Committee for funding to rehab the The Oak Grove Community Center has been shuttered for years despite calls from residents to repair and reopen the building. (Advocate Photo by Barbara Taormina) building. There was still about $78,000 left in meal tax money to pay for some of the work. Association members hoped the Community Preservation Committee would consider picking up the balance of the bill. But this week, Melle and Galayda were at the City Council meeting asking for the councillors’ approval on their Community Preservation Act (CPA) application during public comment. They were told by several city officials that City Council approval is needed for applications for preservation projects involving city properties, but no one mentioned how to go about getting that approval. “We’ve been going around in circles on this since May,” Galayda told the City Council. “We were told that you were the ones to come to and we needed your support.” Councillors were surprised by the new requirement that was put into place by City Solicitor Kate Fallon. “The City Council has to at least give its blessing on CPA applications,” explained Ward 4 Councillor Ryan O’Malley. “That’s because we are the owners.” With that, the City Council was off and running on a long debate about whether City Council approval on CPA applications made sense. Some councillors felt the requirement creates an unnecessary set of hoops that community groups would need to jump through to submit a project application to the Community Preservation Committee. Other councillors felt it generates needless work for councillors and committees who already have full plates. And other councillors suggested getting approval for applications is not a big deal. But Ward 5 Councillor Barbara Murphy reminded fellow councillors that the point of the CPA is to encourage residents to become involved in proposing projects they feel are important. Community preservation was intended start with the community. “By adding a level of complexity, you are killing ideas that might be really good,” said Murphy. “You are taking all the creativity out of the process.” Councillors were unable to come to an agreement about the requirement for City Council approval on CPA applications. So they voted to approve the Oak Grove Improvement Association’s application and made plans to talk about the larger issue of City Council oversight on CPA applications later. Lawrence A. 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