Malden City Engineer updates City Council on progress of ongoing lead pipe replacement in city Engineer Yem Lip tells Councillors of positive progress in ambitious 10-year, $35 million goal of replacing all lead lines By Steve Freker T he turnaround has been dramatic and the progress toward what had once been viewed as a potentially insurmountable goal now appears to have a realistic finish line. In the course of Malden Mayor Gary Christenson’s soon-tobe record tenure as the city’s chief operating officer, Malden REPLACEMENT | SEE PAGE 9 Yem Lip City Engineer Paul Condon Ward 2 Councillor Santa Claus has a great visit to Pine Banks Park! L ast weekend Santa Claus took time out of his busy schedule at the North Pole to visit his headquarters at Pine Banks Park. Santa visited with children to hear what they want for Christmas, and he posed for keepsake photos. Former Ward 5 Councillor Barbara Murphy and Santa’s helpers from Ward 5 served delicious hot chocolate and cookies. It was Santa’s 75th annual trip to see the children of Malden and Melrose and make sure all are being nice! Malden has gone from having the most lead pipes in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to being a regional leader in lead pipe replacement in just seven years. Above, pictured from left to right: Mayor Gary Christenson, City Engineer Yem Lip, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, EPA Regional Administrator David W. Cash and Mass. Energy & Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper inspect a lead pipe replacement project in Malden. (Courtesy/City of Malden) M alden Mayor Gary Christenson has made it a focal point of his administration since he first took office: transparency. In partnering with the Malden City Council on a number of issues, there has been a decidedly consistent method of both providing information in an open and transparent way and then reaching an agreement on action that can be taken to either improve a situation, solve a problem – or both. In one major area of concern From left: Santa, Mrs. Claus and elves: Pete Caso, Melrose Mayor Jennifer Grigoraitis, Barbara Murphy, Santa Claus, Mayor Gary Christenson, Adam Weldai and Ward 1 Councillor Peg Crowe. in our community, the Mayor, joined by Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora and his City Council colleagues as well as U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Fifth District), has made tremendous progress in the past several years – replacing lead pipes in Malden. In just seven years, since 2017, when the state Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) declared that Malden must adhere to established regulations and address the problem of lead pipe service, the city has witnessed a major turnaround and progress toward achieving this goal. Spearheaded by the diligence and efforts of Councillor Spadafora, a new Removal of Lead Pipes Ordinance was weighed, debated and enrolled by the City Council in 2017. In it, the city established that private homeowners and business owners must replace lead water lines going out from their LEADER | SEE PAGE 16 EDITORIAL: Transparency and action as Malden become a regional leader in lead pipe replacement Mayor Gary Christenson, Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora, U.S. Rep.-House Minority Whip Katherine Clark can all take a bow
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