APPRO-2025-36 : An Appropriation from free cash (account 01-324001) in the amount of $180,000 to DPW Highway (#422) for roadway paving.

Transcript (~9 min @ 1:15:20)

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▶ 1:15:19 Speaker 3: Okay, that will get, uh, recommended.

▶ 1:15:22 Mark Garipay: Um, next up ID 1 2 7 2 4. An appropriation from free cash account 0 1 3 2 4 1 in the amount of 180,000 to DPW highway number 4 22 for roadway paving.

▶ 1:15:37 Speaker 7: Thank you. Uh, so the administration had indicated to us when we had, um, when the mayor was trying to determine the final bit of free cash and where to allocate it, that roads are one of the main things that the mayor's office hears about the condition of roads, the paving of roads, and so, and, and potholes as well. Um, this money's not proposed to go toward potholes, but hopefully by having more roads in better conditions, we are mitigating, um, some of the pothole concerns. So, uh, this year we have more projects that we're hoping to accomplish than we had the funding for. And with this additional 180,000, we should be able to complete everything that's on our construction schedule. Um, there may be a tiny bit of work that lags behind into next year, but for the most part, um, we have, I would say about a dozen streets that we plan on doing some work on this year. Um, the construction calendar is ready to be released and should be up online tomorrow or the next day. Uh, and so this money will allow us to accomplish the full road program that we have.

▶ 1:16:47 Mark Garipay: I, I, I'm sorry, I just, I know in the memo we go out, it identifies the streets, you that'll be online in the next couple days, so residents can go on and see. Yes. Thank you. Council Williams. You

▶ 1:16:57 Speaker 10: Talking about the construction calendar?

▶ 1:16:59 Ryan Williams: I'm sorry, what was that? Are you Talking about the construction calendar will be online? Yes. Okay, great. Um, I just, I just wanted to, to do my diligence on chapter 90 for folks who are newer to the budget hearing and who may be listening from home. So I mentioned, um, that the proposed chapter 90 increase from Melrose goes up from like five 60 to 700,000 plus, which is great. And I encourage you to think about, um, if that makes it through the state legislature, what additional, um, stuff we could move up the list. And the second piece is to note that the purpose of chapter 90 is to improve pavement quality, build sidewalks, restore bridges, and finance, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. And so with that in mind, I'm curious how much of the chapter 90 allocation that you're planning, um, for the year, both 180,000 and the like 500, 700,000, how much of it falls into these individual buckets?

▶ 1:17:55 Speaker 7: So with our road program, um, we tend to try to attack individual streets and do them holistically. So it's hard to say, you know, a percentage is going here and, and there for different types of infrastructure, but every time we pave a street, we try to repair all the sidewalks or replace the sidewalks if they need to be replaced. Um, replace curbing, add accessible curb ramps where they don't previously exist, improve signage, improve bike infrastructure if there are opportunities to do so. Um, and so we we're, and plant trees sometimes if we have enough money to do that as well. So we look at every street with that complete streets lens. Um, sometimes we, uh, reconfigure an intersection. A perfect example is not for this year, but for next year when we do Hurd Street, we're planning to pave Hurd Street. We've gotten a lot of complaints about herd at cottage and that's sort of an odd intersection. And so if we can tighten that up and make that a safer intersection, we would do that as part of that project. So it's, you know, it's kind of all rolled into one. We don't separate it out as, you know, this is bike and this is, uh, pedestrian and and such. But, um, for this year's program, we are actually, if we get the additional money, we've already factored that in. We have a neighborhood, the Ashland Richardson, uh, Renwick neighborhood, Marvin Neighborhood where National Grid has done work. We are hoping to do major sidewalk improvements and curbing improvements in that neighborhood as well as the paving. And that's the difference between if we don't get the full funding and if we do, it just allows us to do more, um, a more complete job with that neighborhood, uh, more concrete on the sidewalks, um, and more, more granite curb instead of berm. So that's basically where that's gone. The, the additional chapter 90 allocation, excuse me. Even though it's very exciting to get a couple hundred thousand extra, we actually got a couple hundred thousand extra last year from the fair share mm-hmm. And a couple years ago from the wrap funding they called it. So we've sort of become a customer ready to having a couple hundred thousand more. And then we had the ARPA funds that we used for sidewalks for three years before that. Um, so it, it's not that we are not excited about that extra, but it's not really a lot above and beyond what we've had the last few years.

▶ 1:20:26 Ryan Williams: Sure. And just to re uh, remind myself the difference between the appropriation that we make on sidewalk repairs, and this is that the appropriation on sidewalk repairs is intended to be small, uh, acute repairs where there's been damage or tree root is pushed up a panel, the Chapter 90 funding is used for more planful, larger projects that involve more holistic look at the street. Yes. And with that in mind, did you say Ashland Overlook in Burwick, or, I'm sorry, Renwick?

▶ 1:20:53 Speaker 7: No, Ashland Richardson. Renwick.

▶ 1:20:55 Ryan Williams: There was a Slow Streets project somewhere in that vicinity years ago that was one of the streets that had asked, um, somewhere in that neighborhood, there was a street that had asked for Slow Street. I don't remember exactly where it was. Maybe that was over by Briggs, but it was somewhere in that general neighborhood.

▶ 1:21:11 Speaker 7: Yes. That was Briggs. That was Briggs to Sergeant. Yeah. That neighborhood. So that's not in the paving area. Yeah,

▶ 1:21:17 Ryan Williams: There's a, there is a, there's a number of these kind of y intersections in that neighborhood that are strangely wide.

▶ 1:21:24 Speaker 7: Yeah. And there are also at least two completely uncontrolled intersections in that neighborhood that I'm amazed the Traffic Commission has never heard a request to add a stop sign in one direction or the other. I think it's Richardson and Marvin, or Richardson in Ashland. Um, so

▶ 1:21:42 Speaker 10: We've got a meeting coming up.

▶ 1:21:44 Speaker 7: Yeah. So we, uh, we're very open to modifications to that and controlling some of those approaches because I don't know how anybody knows who has the right of way as they approach those spots.

▶ 1:21:56 Speaker 10: Right. Thank you very much. Any other questions?

▶ 1:22:01 Speaker 3: Council Fanucchi.

▶ 1:22:02 Cal Finocchiaro: Thank you. Um, are these roads, you know, you have the map of the, like the severe roads that are red and they're color coded? Or would these be red or No,

▶ 1:22:13 Speaker 7: Most of them are either red or orange. Okay. Or they're roads where National Grid had an integrity project where they had multiple leaks and they felt that it was a, a priority pipe for them to replace. Mm-hmm. Um, previously we had a great system with National Grid where we would work together to pick which roads that we both wanted to do, and then we both contribute to the paving. Their program doesn't work that way anymore. They're not no longer allowed to collaborate in quite that same fashion, but, but what they have agreed to do is they'll take their total square yards that they're responsible for paving when they do those half roads. Mm-hmm. They have allowed us to take the total number and identify whole roads for them to do, and then whole roads for us to do. So that's how we ended up in the Ashland Richardson Renwick neighborhood is because they worked there, but with a swap, they're gonna do the whole roads on Holland Pilgrim Wentworth, we're gonna do the whole roads on Ashland Richardson Wick. So that's how it's working out now. So they're not always the red and the orange roads, but most of them are.

▶ 1:23:14 Speaker 8: How, how do I get Ashland Grid on Grove Street?

▶ 1:23:17 Speaker 7: They actually have an integrity project for a portion of Grove Street, and we have asked them to prioritize it. Okay, Great. Yeah. Yes. We, we see that need as well.

▶ 1:23:28 Speaker 3: What's the will of the committee?

▶ 1:23:30 Speaker 10: Motion to move the bottom line or, sorry? Motion to approve.

▶ 1:23:34 Mark Garipay: Motion to approve by Council Williams. Seconded by Council fro in discussion. Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll

▶ 1:23:42 Speaker 8: Counselor Jamine? Yes. Counselor Occhio? Yes. Counselor Hamilton? Yes. Counselor Caram Chetty? Yes. Councilor Reky? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councillor Stewart? Yes. Councillor Vandiver? Yes. Councilor Williams? Yes. President Elli? Yes. Chair Garipay? Yes. All in favor?

▶ 1:24:01 Mark Garipay: That motion, that order will be recommended. Next up ID 1 2 7 2 5. And appropriation for free cash account? Zero one dash 3 2 4 0 0 1 in the amount of 60,000 to DPW facilities number 4 0 2.