Malden City Council Finance Committee approves $6.3 million in reserve fund expenditures on several key projects

Repair and rehabilitation projects around the city take major step forward; await full Council approval for final step

Advocate Staff Report

The Malden City Council Finance Committee on Tuesday night unanimously approved the expenditure of over $6 million in municipal reserve funds which would pay for several key repair and rehabilitation projects.

“If we fund these projects and see them through now, it will save us much greater costs down the road later,” said Malden City Council President Stephen Winslow (Ward 6). “It is critical we act now on these important projects.”

Finance Committee Chairperson and Councillor-at-Large Carey McDonald echoed this sentiment and also efficiently navigated a busy evening of discussion and fact presentation from Mayor Gary Christenson’s chief financial staff, Ron Hogan and City Treasurer Daniel Grover. “Time is an important factor and it is our community’s best interest to move quickly toward getting these funds allocated and get these projects going,” Councillor McDonald said.

Included among the unanimous appropriation approval votes were the following planned infrastructure improvements:

— An appropriation of $2 million for general road reconstruction citywide

— An appropriation of $2.5 million for Maplewood Park turf in Ward 7

— An appropriation of $1.5 million for Parking Garage improvements and repairs to the Jackson Street and CBD garages in Malden Square in Ward 4

— An appropriation of $300,000 for Traffic Calming Initiatives

All four of these funding directives from Mayor Christenson’s office were favorably discussed by all members of the Council’s Finance Committee, particularly the Traffic Calming Initiatives, which several Councillors, including Chairperson McDonald, Ward 3 Councillor Amanda Linehan, Ward 5 Councillor Ari Taylor and Councillor-at-Large Karen Colón Hayes, all identified as perhaps the number one priority among their constituents.

“I get a call or an email on speeding and traffic issues every single day, and when we go out and knock on doors during next year’s campaign, it will be the first thing people will talk about,” Councillor Linehan said.

A fifth proposed appropriation, $500,000 for the rehabilitation and repair of the plaza at the Salemwood K-8 School, was tabled at the request of several Councillors, including Colón Hayes and Taylor, who wished to further review the proposals for the repairs there, which are related to the “sinking” of parts of the areas around the outside of the building, which was first constructed in 1999.

“This is a major safety issue and we want to make sure we get this right,” said Councillor Colón Hayes, who agreed with Councillor Taylor that the issue was most commonly brought up at community meetings by Salemwood School parents.

A full Council vote and further discussion of these Finance Committee discussions is expected at the next full City Council meeting.