City councillors snub funding of Everett Sq. upgrades; Rogers proposes taking Bouvier Bldg. by eminent domain

By Neil Zolot

EVERETT – Once again, the City Council rejected a request from the Mayor to borrow $3 million for improvements to Everett Square, at their meeting on Monday, July 22. It was a close vote with Councillors-at-Large John Hanlon, Michael Marchese and Guerline Alcy Jabouin and Ward Councillors Stephanie Martins, Holly Garcia and Peter Pietrantonio voting against the measure. Voting in favor were Council President Robert Van Campen, Councillor-at-Large Katy Rogers, Ward 1 Councillor Wayne Matewsky and Ward 3 Councillor Anthony DiPierro. Councillor-at-Large Stephanie Smith was absent from the meeting.

“I can’t support something that doesn’t include additional parking,” Ward 2 Councillor Stephanie Martins said before casting her vote, in reference to people using the Post Office and Walgreens lots, although there are two city parking lots, one off School St. and School Street Place; the other, behind the post office.

The matter had also been discussed at meetings on April 29 and May 13. It was also on the agenda June 24 and tabled. On July 22, Mayor Carlo DeMaria implored the council to no avail, stating, “A lot of you have seen the Square and it’s not in the best condition. We can use some upgrades. We haven’t had a nice Square in a long time. It’s not conducive to what it should look like.”

He added that the planned changes in traffic patterns and resulting designation of public space would “make it more user-friendly. We could hold events” and give some impetus for developers to come in.

“We have to vote for this,” Matewsky urged. “Let’s clean up the Square. I want to see something done in Everett Square, something we can be proud of. This is a start.”

The $3 million was partly a placeholder because $2 million could be gleaned from a pending state Economic Development Bill. “I’m hoping to not have a local expenditure of more than $1 million,” DeMaria explained. “I feel like we’ll get the aid, but we need to get money from the city to put it out to bid.”

The entire project envisioned would cost $5 million. The additional $2 million is secured through $1.4 million from the Gaming Commission and $600,000 in an earmark from a previous bill, some of which could be lost if the project falls through.

At the request of Councillor-at-Large Katy Rogers, her resolution to “consider acquiring the Bouvier Building, 166-172 School Street near Norwood Street, by eminent domain and propose redevelopment for public community benefit” was included in discussion. She feels the two issues are linked.

The decaying Bouvier Building was built in 1877 and once housed the city’s library. Decades ago, it housed veterans’ organizations and an ice cream parlor, but it is now condemned. A giant eyesore that sits in the square, the building is adorned with rusted metal scaffolding and is a public safety hazard, especially in the winter months with falling ice and snow.

“If we take it, the building would come down,” DeMaria said. “It should be demolished – it’s too bad – because it’s been allowed to become dilapidated.” He added, however, that for the present his immediate focus is on the earlier proposal for $3 million to revitalize the Square.

DeMaria touched on the possibility of building a new City Hall on the lot, as he has at previous meetings, based on his opinion that the current one, 484 Broadway, is oversized and might be better used to house something like the Eliot Family Resource Center, which is currently in the old High School (548 Broadway).

Councillor-at-Large Michael Marchese said he feels disposition of the building should be determined “professionally,” seemingly a reference to private developers.

Eventually, Van Campen moved discussion back to the more urgent matter at hand, the request for the $3 million. Regardless, Rogers’ resolution and a directive to reference it to the Administration passed unanimously.

In other items, a request for the City to borrow $10 million to fix the roof on the old High School, which has been on previous agendas, and a new request to borrow $72 million for improvements, equipment and furnishings for the building, were tabled until a separate meeting scheduled for Monday, August 19. The $72 million is to rehabilitate part of the building to fulfill a plan by School Superintendent William Hart to move 7th and 8th grade classes there to alleviate overcrowding at K-8 neighborhood schools.

Among grants the Council voted to accept were two from the Gaming Commission related to the Encore Boston Harbor casino site; $2,348,400 is to support transportation upgrades and public safety measures related to the area, and $1,748,361 is to support the Police Department at Encore Boston Harbor. They also accepted a $500,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation & Recreation to design a multiuse path connecting the Northern Strand Community Trail to Route 16 and a $100,000 grant from the state Office of Court Management to support expenditures made as part of the Second Chance Everett program through June 30, 2024.

The Northern Strand Community Trail – also known as the Bike to the Sea Trail – is a 10-mile path connecting Everett, Malden, Revere, Saugus and Lynn along the former Saugus Branch Railroad of the Boston and Maine Railroad.