Page 10 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 13, 2024 PROJECTS| FROM PAGE 1 Funding for the five projects will come from the city’s revenue reserve account – known as the “free cash fund.” In October, the Mass. Department of Revenue (DOR) certified Malden’s fund at $27 million. These funds are deemed available for appropriation by the DOR. Mayor Christenson, in a formal spending request letter to the Council, outlined five key projects in the community which, he wrote, “We think it’s prudent to do so with this appropriation to avoid borrowing and maintain that capacity for other requirements.” Malden Councillor-at-Large Carey McDonald echoed the Mayor’s remarks at both the Council’s Finance Committee meeting (which he chairs) last week and again at Tuesday’s regular meeting, basically breaking it down to “time is of the essence.” “Why do we have to do [these projects] now? We know that some may be saying, ‘why don’t we wait until the next budget process’ to see where we are at financially,” Councillor McDonald said. “The answer is, it’s all about the timing of the construction bids. We have to get these projects out to bid early in the new year [2025] before the construction season.” All five of the following expenditures were voted to be approved unanimously, 11-0, by the full City Council. Voting in favor to spend the $6.8 million were: Councillors-at-Large Karen Colón Hayes, Carey McDonald and Craig Spadafora – also Peg Crowe (Ward 1), Paul Condon (Ward 2), Amanda Linehan (Ward 3), Ryan O’Malley (Ward 4), Ari Taylor (Ward 5), Council President Stephen Winslow (Ward 6), Chris Simonelli (Ward 7) and Jadeane Sica (Ward 8). All of these synopses are from Mayor Christenson’s formal spending request letter: —Road Repaving, $2.0 million: Funds will allow continuation of road rehabilitation and repair and address roadwork citywide. This work has been very well received by our residents. — Maplewood Park, $2.5 million: This playing surface has reached the end of its life. The field no longer passes the various applicable tests. This figure is a budget figure that will be further informed by a design. The scope is a “rip and replace,” not a complete park makeover. The draining and other infrastructure beneath the playing surface would remain in place with no need to dig it up and replace any of it. —Malden Center Garage Improvements, $1.5 million: As part of the continued work to address deferred structural work, these funds will allow our team to put together the next phase. This is a budget number that will allow us to address the next most pressing needs at CBD and Jackson Street as we continue to rehab these facilities that are vital to our downtown. —Salemwood School Plaza, $500,000: We have identified three options to address the settled plaza at Salemwood K-8 School and we believe this amount will allow us to proceed with the option recommended by our consultants. This option attributes the settling to the initial construction and doesn’t call for additional structural support to the plaza. The plaza would be completely replaced with these funds. —Traffic Calming Initiatives, $300,000: Funds will provide us with necessary resources to implement traffic calming initiatives at key locations citywide. The Neighborways initiative has provided us with key data to help make decisions regarding prioritization. With the hiring of a traffic planner, having funds available to implement some of the projects will be critical. When describing each of these initiatives to his colleagues and for those following the meeting in the audience and in the public, Councillor McDonald had specific remarks for each. He noted that the overall cost of rehabilitating all of Malden’s streets is estimated at $37 million in various reports and surveys. “We try and do some more roads every year and with these funds we can take a bite out that,” Councillor McDonald said. “This is a very popular item with [our constituents] and it gets more expensive the longer we wait.” McDonald said the city intends on repairing – up to repaving – 12 to 24 streets per year and the allocation voted Tuesday night would be used along with about $1 million in state funds. On the Maplewood Park project, McDonald noted that the plan calls for a redesign of the field space to potentially add a full soccer/lacrosse field, “which is key to our portfolio of youth sports facilities in the city.” McDonald also pointed out that talks are already underway with Malden Catholic High School leaders about future use of the field by that school’s student-athletes. The school is located directly adjacent to Maplewood Park, and “Malden Catholic has been a primary user in the past” with a special permit and fees associated with the field’s use. The Traffic Calming Initiatives is another project that is ongoing around the city, McDonald said. “We are continually working citywide to slow down cars and protect our citizens: with strollers, senior citizens in wheelchairs, pedestrians. “The $300,000 does not fix everything. It costs about $15,000 to install a speed bump and well into six figures to reconfigure an intersection, but these funds – along with a new transportation planner coming on board – will allow us to invest more in the future,” McDonald said. “It is no magic number, but we propose here is a good place to start.” “I’m sure the city and the OSPCD [Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development] will find a way to leverage this allocation with matching funds and possibly turn this $300,000 into $1 million for these initiatives, which are much needed,” said Ward 4 Councillor Ryan O’Malley, who wielded the gavel as Council President Tuesday night on several occasions when sitting President Stephen Winslow (Ward 6) handed it off to speak on various issues. “This is a great step,” Winslow said of the Traffic Calming funding approved Tuesday. “The Mayor understands we are concerned about this issue in every one of our wards.” The garage repairs funding for the dual downtown facilities – Jackson Street Garage and Central Business District (CBD) Garage – was another example of taking a fixed amount of funding ($1.5 million) and using it toward an ongoing project with a much higher overall price tag. McDonald noted that the newest report estimated the total cost of full repairs to the aging, Malden Redevelopment Authority (MRA)owned garages is about $7 million. “The garages are stable, but there is a significant amount of cost out there for delayed maintenance,” McDonald told his colleagues. “It’s been a tough time in Malden Square [generating garage revenue] with more workers still not returning to offices post-pandemic and the loss of DESE, whose workers used a significant number of parking spots.” “The $1.5 million represents the lowest, rough estimate amount of funding required to start any meaningful project at the site,” Councillor McDonald said. The Salemwood School Plaza repair project for $500,000 was the best, most cost-effective option, which involves replacing a pad underneath the surface of the plaza with a bigger pad, which McDonald explained would counteract, for now, a longtime hazard at that site, where the building is settling at a particular place on the plaza, causing a noticeable gap on the plaza itself. “It’s a major safety hazard,” Councillor McDonald, whose own child attends the Salemwood School, said. “My kid almost took a spill. This is the cheapest option. Other plans would have cost twice or three times as much.” With the funds now approved to be allocated for these projects, construction bids are now set to be posted immediately, and most of this work is expected to be started and completed in 2025. Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/ Advocate.news.ma
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