ORDER-2023-22 : Authorization to Accept a MassWorks Infrastructure Grant in the amount of $615,000 from the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED) through the Community One Stop for Growth Program and Authorize the Mayor to Execute a Contract with EOHED; funds to be deposited into Fund 4519

Transcript (~10 min @ 2:12:00)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 2:12:02 Speaker 1: Okay, so we are. at number four

▶ 2:12:07 Jen Grigoraitis: order 2023-22 authorization to accept a massworks infrastructure Grant in the amount of 615,000 from the executive office of Housing and economic development eohed. Through the community one stop for growth program and authorize the mayor to execute a contract with eohed funds to be deposited into fund number four. Five one nine.

▶ 2:12:32 Jen Grigoraitis: Denise is that you come on up. We're still under suspension of the

▶ 2:12:40 Denise Gaffey: Denise kaffee director planning Community Development, and I'm joined by Vonnie Reese who is the city engineer and Vani the engineering Division and the planning office collaborated on a grant. Through the One-Stop program and for Mass Works infrastructure funding. We requested funding in order to relocate the Culvert an old drainage pipe very old drainage pipe that currently lies underneath it comes out of L Pond and it crosses underneath Main Street and under the building at the corner of Maine and Emerson. It's where six 81 697 Main Street is located and also referred to often as the Carousel Building which has been vacant for about 10 years now, so it is a key development site for the city and this is a major impediment to Redevelopment of the site. So we thought this was a really great opportunity for a grant because it is such a key location. It fits many of the Commonwealth's goals around smart growth and housing production and Transit oriented development and There was great Economic Development opportunities here as well being right on the Gateway of our downtown. So we thought the application was very compelling and we did get an award. So we're we're here tonight ask for your support for this grant award in the amount of 615,000. There is no City Financial match required for this grant. The city is contributing quite a considerable amount of in-kind services from the planning office and from the engineering division, but the developer is paying for the sort of the design piece of the work and Small portion of this project was not fully funded by the grant which was deliberate on the grant funding agencies part. They like to have the the teams contribute some some amount of either funding or any kind services. So in this case, the additional design piece is going to be funded by the developer. This is being done in conjunction with a permitting process as I'm sure all of you know, we have a fairly new property owner there and they have proposed to redevelop the site for a new mixed-use building. It is currently in front of the planning board for permitting. And the current plan is to maintain mixed use or commercial use on the ground level and then housing on the upper stories 18 housing use in units all together. So that is kind of working its way through the permitting process and we think the timeline should align pretty well with this program. We have a an outside date of I think the end of fiscal year. Well, it's June of 2024 before this project needs to be I mean it needs to be completed where we're hoping. Obviously, we'll be Expediting this work around the permitting and then also weather conditions, but I think right now the hope is that it would be done in the spring of 2023.

▶ 2:16:08 Speaker 2: Just that in timing wise we're hoping to have the bid documents ready by this winter. So January February timeframe to put them out. Hopefully that will get us some better pricing. Generally. That's that's the best time of year to put out a spring or summer project while the contractors are looking for what they're going to be doing in the coming year. So that's what we have in mind. We probably may not start in the spring just because there will be groundwater issues obviously so close to El Pond, but that you know, that's to be decided at this point. When when the when we have a Contractor on board, you know, obviously they'll make those decisions about when they start

▶ 2:16:57 Speaker 1: Questions Council gerepe. Yes. Thank you.

▶ 2:16:59 Mark Garipay: Just a couple questions. You said 2024 was when we just when yeah,

▶ 2:17:05 Denise Gaffey: it's it's a two year Grant essentially. That's so we would be spending the grand funding by the end of by that time frame by June of 2024 construction

▶ 2:17:15 Speaker 4: was stuck before that. We hope well before that

▶ 2:17:17 Speaker 2: we hope construction will start next year and

▶ 2:17:21 Mark Garipay: they move the Culvert without you know, without the other project starting can they I mean because you just kind of tying in right tying in the old system. And we move in the Culver right the plan the plan is

▶ 2:17:32 Speaker 2: to do the Culvert first. Yes. Yeah and what the probably do is put the majority of the new pipe in the ground and then tie it in at either end at the end so that they minimize the disruption of and the need to bypass and all of that but we yeah, we won't be we hope to be in and out before they really start their work on the site so that we're not tripping over each

▶ 2:18:06 Speaker 4: And this was just storm water. It's not sore or

▶ 2:18:09 Speaker 2: anything that right. Yeah, just stormwater.

▶ 2:18:11 Mark Garipay: And looking at the diagram of the angle now that it's going it's like a 45 degree angle, isn't it? Is that for the capacity that's coming down. flowing into L Pond well that get backed up at all. No, that

▶ 2:18:27 Speaker 2: shouldn't that shouldn't be impacted. We're putting in a 60 inch pipe. So it's got a lot of volume.

▶ 2:18:35 Speaker 4: What's there now?

▶ 2:18:37 Speaker 2: I believe it's the same. I think it's a 60 inch but it's the old Culvert that goes through town is not like a pipe pipe. It's more of like a box culvert. Type structure. So this will be hydraulically more efficient as well.

▶ 2:18:55 Mark Garipay: And who will be monitoring that work within the city the

▶ 2:18:58 Speaker 2: engineering department?

▶ 2:19:00 Mark Garipay: one other question would be rodent mitigation So we have a covet there as you start as we start doing the construction. I've had conversations with with Denise regarding this project and no one to call that that's there once we start. Upsetting the Earth. There's a lot of neighbors doctors offices there the hospital

▶ 2:19:26 Speaker 2: we can write that into the construction documents. We can make that a requirement.

▶ 2:19:31 Mark Garipay: Yeah, I'd like to see. someone identified within the community within City Hall who's actually going to manage that process to not just not just written into the construction documents, but reports back to the city of what the inspections are whether it's weekly bi-weekly monthly just so we know what's what's going on because I think we're going to have a lot of I think it's going to disturb a lot down that area the town with all that construction. So I would request as the counselor for that Ward that that gets buttoned up. Okay on the construction documents.

▶ 2:20:07 Speaker 4: Thank you.

▶ 2:20:09 Jen Grigoraitis: for any other counselors with questions I'm going to jump in with a couple the first is just a timing question the award letter from secretary. Kennely's dated June 28th and indicates that the contract needed to be executed by September 30th, which is a little bit past today. So is that are do we have an issue with the fact

▶ 2:20:31 Denise Gaffey: that this is before us we don't there. Well, they're

▶ 2:20:34 Jen Grigoraitis: aware of this time frame and then just going back to the or common about the planning board and that, you know, obviously there's a bunch of different city boards and commissions that are involved. I just for my own Clarity. This is going to move forward regardless of what does or doesn't happen with any individual development project.

▶ 2:20:53 Denise Gaffey: Currently our plan because we because we don't have to have that development project occur. I mean that said, I think we're we're optimistic that the project is going to go forward.

▶ 2:21:09 Speaker 1: Thank you. any other questions

▶ 2:21:16 Speaker 4: Like a motion to recommend second, so we have a motion to

▶ 2:21:18 Jen Grigoraitis: recommend made by counselor Garipay seconded by counselor Stewart all in favor any opposed. Okay that will be recommended to the full Council for passage. Thank

▶ 2:21:31 Jen Grigoraitis: Okay, last but certainly not least. Order 2023-23 authorization to accept a grant in the amount of $500,000 from the Department of energy resources doer through the green community's division in authorize the mayor to execute a contract with doer to be positive into Fun number four five two zero.

▶ 2:21:55 Speaker 1: Don't all jump at once who wants.