Chelsea Year in Review

By Adam Swift

Chelsea’s long and rich history was on display throughout 2024 as the city marked its 400th anniversary with a host of Chelsea 400 celebrations.

The events ranged from the Chelsea 400th Gala and Chelsea Day to the Latin Heritage Festival and the 400th Parade. The spirit of Chelsea 400 is expected to extend into next year, as the city has planned special events around the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Chelsea Creek and other historical events in the city.

The beginning of 2024 saw Fidel Maltez sworn in as Chelsea’s new city manager. Maltez served as the city’s public works director before moving on to become town manager in Reading. In 2023, the city council selected Maltez to replace former City Manager Thomas Ambrosino.

January also saw the swearing in of Norieliz De Jesus as the new council president and Todd Taylor as vice president.

During his early months in office, Maltez oversaw an overhaul in the city administrative offices, putting a focus on constituent outreach and communications. The council approved his plan to hire two deputy city managers, one in charge of operations and the other of finance. Devon Fields was hired to oversee the operations position, and Michael Mason to oversee finance. Bernabe Rodriguez was hired as the constituent services director.

One of Maltez’s goals for his first year in office was to get the ball rolling on a new master plan for Chelsea, its first in nearly 50 years.

Maltez said the Chelsea Pa’Lante comprehensive plan will This community-driven initiative reflects our commitment to inclusion, progress, and equity, and will guide Chelsea’s development over the next 10 years, focusing on creating a future that benefits all residents and continues to build a thriving, sustainable city.

The city also swore in the first members of its new Chelsea Women’s Commission this spring. The commission’s goals are to respond to women’s and girls’ needs and assess the status of women in the city.

It will also offer recommendations to the City Manager and City Council and suggest policies that address the critical needs of Chelsea’s residents.

It was another busy year for construction and development in Chelsea.

The city began construction on the Downtown Broadway Project in June. The $30 million investment aims to revamp the Broadway corridor with new utilities, roadways, sidewalks, and pedestrian safety improvements. The work did raise concerns about its impact on downtown businesses. The city worked with the local chamber and businesses to halt work during part of the holiday season.

On the residential side, 2024 saw the opening of several new residential developments, including the DUO development on Central Avenue in conjunction with the Chelsea Housing Authority.

There was also a continued emphasis on park and open space projects in 2024. The year saw the opening of the Forsyth Pocket Park on Lafayette Avenue, a renovated Highland Park, and a fully renovated and reopened Bosson Park, as well as the renovation of the Mace Basketball Court.

This year, the city broke ground on a solar-powered microgrid project that will help Chelsea become more energy independent and climate resilient. The project officially kicked off earlier this month with the installation of hundreds of solar panels on the City Yard building, according to the city manager.

There were several large fires in Chelsea in 2024.

Over 50 people were displaced as the result of a six-alarm fire on Washington Avenue in August. Juan Carlos Morales, an Army veteran and the city’s assistant veterans’ agent, was recognized in December by the city council for his role in helping residents during the fire.

In September, firefighters rescued three residents who were trapped during a three-alarm fire on Congress Avenue. In November, crews from throughout the region helped Chelsea firefighters battle a massive nine-alarm fire at the former Forbes industrial site.

“Our firefighters did an amazing job responding to these fires, putting their lives at risk, to ensure there is no loss of life,” said Maltez. “Their actions this year have been heroic and we thank them each and every day.”

In the spring, the city also saw the swearing in of new Fire Chief John Quatieri.

Quatieri served in the Chelsea Fire Department for 32 years, most recently as deputy chief under recently retired Leonard Albanese, before taking the top spot in the department.

The fire department also instituted a fire safety education program this year to educate residents about fire prevention and safety practices.

In the schools, 390 students graduated this year from Chelsea High School, Chelsea Opportunity Academy and the Chelsea Virtual Learning Academy.

Also in the schools this year, the school committee and the Chelsea Teachers’ Union came to agreements on new contracts for Chelsea Public Schools educators, clerical and paraprofessional staff.

The three-year collective bargaining agreements for their members take important steps to address essential classroom issues while ensuring these dedicated educators are on track to receive a living wage and equitable workplace benefits, according to the CTU leadership.

The agreement includes competitive wage increases for all educators, including the largest wage increase for paraprofessionals that the district has ever seen.

“By prioritizing wages that are competitive with surrounding districts and emphasizing the importance of paid parental and family medical leave benefits puts CPS in a position to better attract great educators and make it easier for them to have long careers in the district,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Almi G. Abeyta.

This year also saw Abeyta and the school committee introduce the Name, Strength, and Story awards for educators and other staff members who have gone above and beyond in reaching out to students and families in the district.

The 2024 state election in November did not offer many contested races on the local side. Democratic State Representative Judith Garcia and Democratic State Senator Sal DiDomenico both ran unopposed for reelection.