Advocate News Online: www.advocatenews.net Vol. 32, No.5 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday Council Subcommittee battles over new High School site By Barbara Taormina W hen discussing the new high school, city councillors rarely fail to mention how much they and the entire city want and need a new school. Now, they often follow up with how much they don’t want a Prop 2 1/2 override, trash fees or increased fi nes and permit fees to pay for it. This week, the City Council’s Ways & Means subcommittee took another trip through the plans and fi nancial estimates for the project with Senior Project Manager Brian Dakin and Revere’s Chief Financial Offi cer Richard Viscay. There were plenty of numbers, but no clear answers on how much the school will cost and how the city will pay for it. With Dakin, several city councillors returned to the contentious tion that the council wasn’t provided with a full picture with all the fi nancial facts before being asked to approve an eminent domain taking of the site. Zambuto also said the former dog track site was complicated by wetlands, and that the city was making an egregious error by taking the property off the city tax rolls. The $29 million cost for the ANTHONY ZAMBUTO Councillor-at-Large riff of the selection and eminent domain taking of Wonderland as the site for the new school. Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto once again expressed his frustraLady Pats Basketball Battle Mustangs site, which councillors fear could jump as high as $60 or $70 million, added to the estimated $480 million for the building is a troubling prospect for the city. “I can’t see how we can pay for the things on the table without a debt exclusion or an override,” said Zambuto. “I’m afraid for the city, I’m afraid for the taxpayers.” Councillor-at-Large Gerry VisSCHOOL | SEE Page 15 781-286-8500 Friday, February 3, 2023 Vision for Beachmont arts center begins to take shape By Barbara Taormina T o encourage and support Revere’s artistic side, the Public Arts Commission believes the city needs space where artists can produce and present work. The Commission met this week with staff from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to discuss ways to meet that need with the Beachmont Fire Station, which is on the way to becoming a public arts center for the city. Commission members, who were working on a concept plan for the center, feel there is a need for both studio and rehearsal space as well as performance and gallery space, both of which can be created in the empty fi re station. The preservation of a historic city building for a new use is an added benefi t of the project. The MAPC has awarded the city a $40,000 technical assistance grant to help launch the project. For the MAPC, the fi rst step is surveying the city to understand what types of uses of the building are priorities for the Revere arts community, and what do residents hope to see. Commission member Brian Hawkins said it is important to focus on community-based art. “We’re about more than just putting murals on walls,” said Hawkins. “We want to develop our community.” The fi re station, which has been empty for about 17 years and has been most recently used by ARTISTIC | SEE Page 13 Mayor promotes Claudia Correa, current Director of Human Resources, to new Chief of Talent and Culture Special to Th e Advocate R ecently Mayor Brian Arrigo announced that ClauUP AND IN: Lady Patriot Belma Velic goes up for a basket against Medford defenders Medford Tuesday night. See page 12 for photo highlights. (Advocate photo Emily Harney) dia Correa, the City of Revere’s Director of Human Resources, has been promoted to the new Chief of Talent and Culture for the City. Claudia has been the City of Revere’s Human Resources Director since January of 2022. As the HR Director, Claudia proactively created equitable, diverse and accessible systems to better support municipal employees. With her leadership in the Human Resources Team, the department implemented new ways to better respond to new and current employees’ needs. Not only did she create innovative ways to retain employees, but Claudia also revamped and updated job descriptions and expanded to new platforms to attract a broader and more diverse pool of candidates. With the rollout of the City’s fi rst Employee Survey, Claudia was able to identify many of the employees’ needs and her ability to work cross-departmentally to serve our employees. I cannot think of a better person for this role, and I look forward to seeing what she can accomplish in this new position.” As the Chief of Talent and Culture, Claudia will continue to oversee the Human Resources Department, where she will seek to implement policies, trainings PROMOTES | SEE Page 11 CLAUDIA CORREA New Chief of Talent and Culture and better understand their expectations from the City as an employer. “Claudia’s leadership within the Human Resources department has been instrumental in bettering the lives of our employees and providing more resources for candidates interested in working in public service,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo. “I admire Claudia’s love for this city $3.99 GALLON We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover Price Subject to Change without notice 100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602
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