Agenda Text
title
Requesting authorization to seek funding and enter into related agreements with the Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) grant, appropriate funding, and dedicate Henry Hansen Park to open space and recreational use in perpetuity.
body
Official Text
To the Honorable City Council:
I respectfully request that you approve an authorization for the City to apply for a PARC grant from the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, through its Division of Conservation Services, to receive funds to assist in the renovation of Henry Hansen Park, located at 487 Medford Street, shown on the Assessors’ Map in Map 40-Block H-Lot 12. The City owns the land by virtue of an Order of Taking for nonpayment of taxes, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 60, §§ 53 and 54 and dated February 10, 1995, as recorded in the Middlesex County (Southern District) Registry of Deeds in Book 25234, Page 47. As a condition of receiving a PARC grant, Henry Hansen Park must be dedicated to active recreational use in perpetuity according to M.G.L. c. 45, §3; the City will dedicate the park (0.06 acres/4,647 square feet) upon completion of the renovation.
The estimated total project cost is $670,043 and the Administration seeks the maximum grant amount, $375,224.08, permitted under Somerville’s reimbursement rate of 56%, as described in the PARC grant guidelines. The PARC grant program is a reimbursement program requiring applicant municipalities to appropriate the total project cost in order to be eligible. This vote serves as the City Council’s commitment to appropriate the total project cost.
The proposed grant funding will be used toward improvements to the existing passive park, including vastly enhanced educational and interpretive displays and signage, replacement of dying vegetation with new local plantings, increased ADA accessibility, a bubbler/water bottle filler, and expanded and more comfortable seating.
The PARC grant application is due on July 14, 2022, to qualify for the FY2023 grant round. Since this is reimbursement funding, the City hereby assures the State that we have the funds to finance the renovation of Henry Hansen Park and will provide the State with the appropriate documentation for reimbursement.
My staff will be available to answer any questions you may have. Thank your for your consideration of this item.
Respectfully submitted,
Katjana Ballantyne, Mayor