ORDER-2016-116 : Accept grant in the amount of $641,000 from the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Mass Works Infrastructure Program; said funds to be deposited into Fund No. 4019

Transcript (~11 min @ 32:16)

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▶ 32:05 Gail Infurna: motion to recommend again MacMaster Margolis makes a motion to recommend seconded by Alderman Boisselle seeing no further discussion all those in favor all those opposed that order will be recommended to the full board and Mr. Shenna feel free to try them to truck out in the hot spots of Ward 5 you know we're there we have our second order tonight is order number two zero one six dash one one six except the grant in the amount of six hundred and forty one thousand dollars from the executive office of housing and economic development mass works infrastructure program said funds to be deposited into fund number four zero one nine and once again we have mr. Shanna to speak on

▶ 32:48 Speaker 5: this I think the board and and the community is well aware that in late in 2014 in the fall of 2014 this the mass works economic housing office announced that Melrose was awarded its second consecutive mass works grant this grant

▶ 33:11 Speaker 5: that we received was aimed to reconstruct and revitalize Essex Street from main street to west emerson and a piece of willow from essex to to cherry the project has been designed some minor pieces of the project were started last fall and we've done some small things in the past few weeks but the majority of it is scheduled to start on march 21st the week of the 21st the project was designed to improve this a street that's become and will become home to many users including important local businesses residents assist the assisted living complex currently be being developed and all all commuters and

▶ 33:57 Speaker 5: pedestrian that travel through the area the intent is to make it feel more a part of the downtown area of Melrose and to connect the Cedar Park area with the downtown area what this order does is allow an account to be set up that mass works can deposit into as we expend in a total of six hundred forty thousand dollars of the 1.1 million dollar project will be funded by mass works about one hundred and forty eight thousand of it a little more than forty eight hundred forty eight thousand two forty one will come from the assisted living development through payments in lieu of work and open space contributions the balance will come from our chapter 90 that's our city match the project will start again like i said on the 20 week of the 21st the contractor is dnr it will include victorian lights similar to what we installed on franklin street that'll be that's being constructed by daigle our engineering offices work throughout the winter in designing and procuring we're ready to go and again successful passage of this order will give the auditor a mechanism to pay bills and then get reimbursements in any committee members motion to recommend second alderman

▶ 35:24 Gail Infurna: boazell makes a motion to recommend second by alderman Lemmerman on discussion we have president

▶ 35:31 Speaker 2: codd so approximately 1.1 million dollars of work is going to be done in this area is that correct that's correct and of that money we're going to get a grant for 648 000 641 641 i'm sorry and um

▶ 35:49 Speaker 2: one of the owners who's developing one of the properties in the area is going to contribute

▶ 35:59 Speaker 2: over 140 000 is that correct 148 000 and so the only the only city funds that are going to be be used here are going to be from our chapter 90 funds is that that's correct that's correct and we're gonna be paying about four hundred thousand dollars of chapter 90 for this work is that's correct and it's gonna be roadway sidewalk type improvements down that corridor is that what we're gonna be

▶ 36:22 Speaker 5: doing down there roadway sidewalk crosswalks pedestrian improvements and handicapped ramps street signage and landscaping streetlights and street

▶ 36:30 Speaker 2: lights yeah so what people need to know who are watching at home is the board has passed some zoning changes which have facilitated development in this area which is great and we're going to get some significant new growth but one of the things that we have to do if we're going to move forward is we have to make sure that our infrastructure follows along we can't have projects and new growth and narrow streets that two cars could barely fit down and things of nature so I'm gonna support this order we need to we need to facilitate growth in these areas and I think that this is a way to do it thank you and we're happy to have a grant for $648,000 41 things like that always make me

▶ 37:20 Robert A. Boisselle: happy in the Essex Street area the large complex that's being developed are you coordinating with the with the developer in the public works department to so we're not tearing up the street one day and then laying down asphalt the next day and tearing it up the next day

▶ 37:37 Speaker 5: yeah we are extensively and you know i have to give kudos to our engineering group in the in the department a lot of coordination a lot of outreach happened last summer and last fall um alvin Boisselle alvin monomer sat in on several meetings with the neighborhood there was an original vision for this project and i must say that the neighborhood and those committees and that open process did reshape it it reshaped the end product of what we're building our engineering group has coordinated very carefully with the planning department and with the contractor and trying to get street work completed and getting their sites to the point where trucks coming in and out won't damage the new surface as well there is another smaller development in that corridor as well that had its first first initial kickoff meeting this week internally and i will watch that process through the planning board as well and try to coordinate that as um the timing of that work with the completion of ours we are on the strict deadlines the 641 000 has to be fully expended by june 30th and they like to see substantial completion on the project so this is going to move pretty quickly it'll start in a few weeks and i think a lot of work will really happen from the middle of april to the end of may so we're hoping to really pull it

▶ 39:06 Robert A. Boisselle: together that's that's a really tight schedule june 30th this year it is good luck thank you

▶ 39:16 Monica C. Medeiros: thank you also alderman Medeiros thank you i was glad to see so much community involvement in this i did get to come to uh the open house that was held here in the chamber and um i if i my memory serves right that one of the private landowners had given up some of their property so that we'd

▶ 39:36 Speaker 5: have some additional parking is that correct yeah that's that is true and again that speaks to the community outreach and the community support um if you're familiar with the parking area that the hospital uses the owner of that property gave up a part well is in the process of entering into an easement which i hope to have before the board in a few weeks where the lawyers are working out the details on it but they gave up a piece of that property through an easement so that we could create additional parking and that additional parking is for the residents in that neighborhood to make that stretch feel a little that block feel a little more residential they didn't have any parking they were going to lose their parking so that we can make bicycle accommodations who kind of all came together at once they got a little parking the street is now can be a formal shared bicycle vehicle lane and we were able to make some changes with striping and right at the bend to slow cars down as they're coming around which is was another neighborhood concern so yeah there's an easement there there's an easement with the seniors development along Willow Street so we can add a sidewalk there and there's also an easement at the corner by shah's to try to create a bump out which will help people and hopefully help shah's with their deliveries and backing in and not getting up on the sidewalk across the street there's three critical easements that we're still working out and we expect to see them coming

▶ 41:05 Speaker 5: that'll come before this board within the next month thank you thank you thank you alderman

▶ 41:14 Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis: MacMaster margolis thank you chairman um you have a really quick turnaround on this as you as you mentioned um can you tell us about the kind of outreach you're doing to the businesses down there and to the general public in terms of getting down you know to shaw's or traveling up and down essex

▶ 41:31 Speaker 5: and murder and willow street no we we had a lot of the players on essex street involved in our initial meetings um last year with the gas company we did a lot it was kind of a trial period for them for what was coming i know that not next week i think the week of the 21st is going to be a neighborhood meeting right out there one evening with all the businesses the block of main street to myrtle street is going to be the last focus of our work i'm going to try to do other work in between and then when we go into that block we're going to try to go in and come right out as opposed to franklin street which i think some of you saw given the nature of that and how we had to schedule it it was we're in we're out we're in we're out so um we're trying to be as efficient as possible to minimize the impact there there will be an impact but i think the gain is well worth the short amount of pain they may they may see and will you um

▶ 42:25 Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis: figure out different traffic patterns for people if the if the main street to myrtle is going to

▶ 42:35 Speaker 5: be closed for four or five days or whatever we'll bring in sign boards and you know we'll hope that we always want to keep access to the parking lots right so if we can't get access from essex we want to try to get maintain at you know whether we put a message board telling people how to get there if they lose parking on the street we'll try to get them parking in the parking lot or vice versa

▶ 42:57 Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis: great i'm excited about it i'm glad that we're finally having it happen and it's great that it's going to happen so quickly because i think people will be appreciative of of having it not drag out all summer so yeah we hope great thank you very much is there any further questions

▶ 43:10 Gail Infurna: we had a motion that was made and seconded by alderman lemmerman all those in favor aye all those opposed that order will also be recommended to the full board thank you very much mr. Jenna thank you