By Adam Swift
The city’s Community Preservation Committee is recommending six projects be funded through the Community Preservation Fund in its latest cycle, including a proposal for the first new bronze statue Chelsea has seen in decades.
The council moved the requests to a ways and means subcommittee meeting for a further discussion prior to a potential vote on approval next month.
A decade ago, Chelsea voters voted to adopt the provisions of the Community Preservation Act and impose a 1.5 percent surcharge on residential and commercial properties with exemptions for low-and moderate-income homeowners as well as an exemption on the first $100,000 of property value.
Those community preservation funds can be used for historical preservation, affordable housing, and open space projects. The CPC typically reviews project and funding requests twice per year.
The six projects moved forward by the CPC to the city council this spring include:
Chelsea Black Heritage Trail Phase 2 for $200,000
Library Archives Phase 1 for $200,000
Сomunidades Enraizadas Pre-Development Costs for $50,000
John Ruiz Park Statue for $200,000
Beacon Street Façade Restoration for $200,000
СPC/Affordable Housing Trust Fund Coordinator Role to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for $71,00
“I am very excited about this round; there are several investments that I think a few of the councilors are very passionate about,” said City Manager Fidel Maltez. “One is the Chelsea Black Heritage Trail Phase 2. The city council funded Phase 1 already and it is gaining a lot of steam.”
Chelsea Black Community is requesting $200,000 to create a walking trail throughout Chelsea highlighting historically significant sites connected to the city’s Black community, dating back to the 1600s. This phase of the project includes trail marker fabrication and installation, educational programming, guided tours, and digital content, with a detailed schematic design already developed.
“Two other projects that I will highlight are the library archives, which was a direct request of Councilor (Todd) Taylor, and it invests a lot of money and resources into really making our archives at the library really effective,” said Maltez. “I am sad that Councilor (Giovanni) Recupero is not here, because this includes $200,000 in funding to create the first statue in Chelsea in a very, very long time.”
Recupero has made several motions requesting the city erect a statue of John Ruiz, the first Latino world heavyweight boxing champion.
“I am also excited because it is a new thing we are trying,” said Maltez. “Historically, our practice has been not to fund new projects, it is only to restore new projects. There has been a change in state policy that allows CPC funding to be used for the creation of things that improve open space; so it is a new angle that we are taking, which to me opens up what can be done with the funds.”
By statute, the city council may affirm, reject, or lower the amounts of the committee’s recommendations.