2026-10-14 - Parks and Recreation Sub-Committee

00:002026 Parks and Recs Commission.

00:03Um I'm going to start with roll call.

00:04So, Lilly Martinez

00:08is absent.

00:10Shannon Bianchi

00:17>> I'm here.

00:18>> All right. Natalia Ardega, um looks like

00:21she's absent tonight.

00:24Nicholas Gavin

00:30>> Looks like he's here.

00:32>> Oh, look here comes Natalia, too.

00:34All right. Natalia's on. Will Synclaire

00:43>> Here. I'm sorry.

00:46>> It's okay. And Michael Hannahoe, I don't

00:50see him as of right now.

00:53But he might poke his head in.

00:57I do see a call-in.

00:59Um So, I'm finding a quorum.

01:02So, Mrs. Secretary,

01:04um

01:05can we I would like to call the meeting

01:07to order as of 6:03 p.m.?

01:10>> Great.

01:11>> All right. So, we're going to start off

01:14with um approval of prior minutes.

01:19>> Um that is the one thing uh that we

01:21don't have tonight.

01:23Um I did

01:25uh

01:26I I printed them out, but um I need to

01:28change a couple things with them, and

01:30I'll get those to you next meeting.

01:31>> Okay.

01:33All right. And then Hi, Natalia.

01:38And then we're going to go into any

01:39correspondence,

01:41which I don't think we have any tonight.

01:44>> Well, I had

01:45uh

01:48I had uh some correspondence with the

01:50with someone uh recently

01:53um that's involved with um um, like a

01:56a Squire Road

01:58um,

02:00master plan, like a kind of a

02:02beginning look at

02:04at maybe some potential uh, planning and

02:06redevelopment with uh, Squire Road.

02:09And so, um,

02:11in fact, Michael uh, connected me with

02:13uh,

02:14with this person, his name is Caleb

02:15Mitchell.

02:16And so,

02:18I sent um,

02:19Caleb some

02:21uh,

02:22pictures and maps and things like that

02:23that I've been working on, uh, some of

02:25which had have been shared

02:28with other commissioners. And then some

02:30of which I'll share with everyone

02:33tonight, um,

02:35just to like, um,

02:37so that everyone was on the same page.

02:40The great thing about this particular

02:42uh,

02:43uh,

02:44consultant, he's a consultant from New

02:46York, I guess, and he's helping the city

02:48out. Uh, just looking at

02:50uh, kind of like, you know, a 30,000 ft

02:52view of

02:53what what could be done to help, uh,

02:55specifically the Squire Road area. And

02:58if you guys are following like, you

03:00know, previous meetings and stuff, like

03:03we've discussed about

03:05uh,

03:05um, the

03:06boardwalk, which is another agenda item,

03:09uh, that we'll get into later.

03:12Uh, the Romney

03:13Marsh boardwalk, but they were just

03:15really excited and he was really excited

03:17for uh, to meet me and to know that our

03:20commission's kind of like working along

03:23the same lines with some really cool

03:24ideas.

03:25So, that was the one um,

03:27correspondence that I'll

03:29uh, put into the record without

03:31objection.

03:39>> He zoned out for a minute there, but

03:41yes, put you can put that on record.

03:43>> Yeah.

03:44Okay, great. I'll put that in the

03:45record.

03:46>> Okay, um, moving right along, do we have

03:50any updates to previous action items?

03:52And I know you don't have the meeting

03:54minutes, but was there anything on there

03:55that we had to touch on for this week?

03:58Uh Nicholas or Natalia or Wilson, do you

04:00guys have anything that came up from

04:01last meetings?

04:05>> Sorry.

04:08>> It's okay.

04:09>> Yeah, I maybe yeah, I I just

04:13about uh we discussed about um schedules

04:17and like how can we make it public the

04:20field or the facilities

04:23utilization like to see when when

04:25they're rented or not.

04:27But if if Michael is not in here, I

04:29don't know if anyone has any update on

04:31that. I think um

04:33with with people that reach out to me or

04:35because having kids and getting with

04:38coaches, they're looking for space, I

04:39always get asked about more space, more

04:44more how can can they get more time on

04:47the fields?

04:50Uh

04:50but um

04:53I just throwing it there and see if

04:54there was any progress, any any any

04:56ideas.

05:02>> No, definitely good to note that,

05:03Wilson, and I know um at the last

05:05meeting we had talked about

05:07possibly in one of the two subcommittees

05:09looking down different avenues for that

05:11um like if there were apps we could get

05:13or anything like that. Um so that's

05:16definitely something we can keep on the

05:17agenda as a possible putting into one of

05:20the subcommittees.

05:23>> Totally fine and if you don't mind, I

05:24would like to be part of that. That

05:26that's something like I said, I at least

05:28I can get

05:29uh the voice of of the public or the

05:32people that are using these fields that

05:33are looking for more space, I can share

05:36all their ideas how we can increase the

05:39the time of of the fields being

05:40utilized.

05:42So if if I can be

05:45>> Absolutely.

05:47Um

05:48which

05:49does bring us into our next one, which

05:51is the discussion item. So, we had

05:53decided on two subcommittees last

05:55meeting. Um there was the parks and recs

05:58the sorry, the parks audit subcommittee

06:00and the scheduling outreach

06:02subcommittee. So, I know um Shannon, you

06:05wanted to

06:06take on the parks audit subcommittee.

06:08So, if you want to give like a little

06:09brief behind that one.

06:13>> Uh sure. Um

06:15so

06:16at our last meeting, you know, Michael

06:19kind of asked a question.

06:21Um

06:23and he asked basically uh

06:28you know

06:29what we would intend to audit because he

06:31kind of has a guy that audits you know,

06:34if you need a new basketball hoop or if

06:37you need a a new slide or something like

06:39that. Um and so, I really wanted to kind

06:41of clarify

06:42uh with with the

06:44you know, with a certain

06:47what

06:48so

06:49what

06:53I

06:53be What is from this committee and

06:56something like most of

06:58these uh

06:59audits like on

07:01uh

07:03geographic information system uh

07:05applications and also like

07:07Google Maps, Google Earth things like

07:10that. Um and Patriot Pro Properties is

07:13another platform that I use. And what I

07:16do um is I look at each parcel

07:20of land.

07:22Um who owns it? Uh what restrictions are

07:26on that property? Um what kind of zoning

07:29does that property face?

07:32Um

07:33and and really I'm on the hunt for extra

07:38acres

07:39that I could turn into either recreation

07:42space or some sort of

07:45um

07:46recreational purpose space.

07:48Um and so I'm looking at

08:00a

08:04specific park and say, "Oh, we need a

08:06um

08:07a splash pad for example."

08:16It's a lot of before actually work, but

08:18I'm I'm spending a lot of time with uh

08:21GIS specifically and then I'll

08:23I'll spend a lot of time looking

08:25up

08:30>> [snorts]

08:37>> protected um whether it be wetland or

08:40salt marsh or or whatnot. And so really

08:43the idea is just to give us an overview

08:45of what can be done if anything

08:49with

08:50the land

08:51that we have

08:53the city there.

08:54And so I hope that it kind of explains,

08:57you know, by being a participant in the

09:00um

09:01this uh parks audit um

09:04subcommittee,

09:05you know,

09:06it's it's really paperwork heavy and

09:07it's really research heavy.

09:10Um and you know, if you're a homeowner,

09:12you know a lot about the assessor's

09:14office.

09:15If you are um

09:17you know, developer, a builder, you know

09:19a lot about the assessor's office and

09:20that's where a lot of the information

09:22that I um use

09:25uh is stored and so I know how to do a

09:27lot of research with land use basically.

09:30Um and I'd really

09:32love to have others on the subcommittee

09:35that also have a similar passion uh

09:39either with land use law or zoning

09:42or zoning law. Um some sort of, you

09:45know, expertise like that that would be

09:47really helpful.

09:48Um

09:49even with a little bit of international

09:50business.

09:51Um I know that, you know, Nicholas's

09:54uh background touches on some

09:55international business and things like

09:57that. The reason I bring that up is

09:59because I've run into a couple property

10:01uh prop- couple parcel owners that don't

10:03live in the United States. And so, you

10:06know, that that really kind of

10:08you know, puts a

10:10a different light on on how we might

10:12move forward with uh you know, reaching

10:14out to these abutters and these

10:16landowners for

10:17uh for their input. Uh like, for

10:20example, like the large swath of the

10:22land behind

10:24uh Revere Beach Boulevard is owned by

10:26National Grid, which their headquarters

10:28is in Great Britain.

10:29>> [laughter]

10:29>> So, you know, you get the picture. It's

10:31a

10:32Um but to be able to provide a report a

10:35detailed report that makes sense to the

10:38mayor, um

10:40I want to make sure that this is

10:41extremely accurate and I want to make

10:43sure that you know, what we're saying

10:46has a potential of

10:49of possibility. Like it has a potential

10:50of actually happening. Um and I think if

10:53we're thorough enough, it'll be a a

10:55really great report and I think that

10:57he'll he would appreciate the

10:59thoroughness.

11:00So, again,

11:02I am definitely hoping to

11:05head this up and I really want to get

11:07some other folks in there along

11:10like minded that

11:11are really interested in in land use.

11:16>> Thank you, Shannon. Um

11:19Thank you, Shannon.

11:21Is there anyone that would be interested

11:23in wanting to be appointed to the Parks

11:24Audit Subcommittee?

11:29And this is something we can reach out

11:31after, Um

11:32the other

11:34subcommittee that we're going to be

11:36doing is a scheduling outreach

11:38subcommittee. So, this is more

11:41in a few past meetings, one of the

11:43things that came up was

11:45how do we get more out there for people?

11:47You know, how do we get the word out?

11:49Putting out in the schools

11:51you know, is can be tricky because you

11:53need multiple languages.

11:55There's multiple

11:57parents out there that might have PTAs

11:58that we can maybe link up with them to

12:01out about the events and stuff like that

12:03and just looking at what's on the

12:05scheduling and you know, like what do

12:08people like, what don't they like, how

12:09can we help Parks and Recs really

12:10improve those.

12:12So, same thing if you're interested in

12:14that one,

12:16um

12:17let me know probably by Friday the

12:19latest so we can get you appointed and

12:21get those two subcommittees going.

12:24Um and then

12:28Does anybody have any questions on

12:30either of those or comments,

12:31suggestions, ideas?

12:35No? Okay.

12:38>> It's more more like a

12:40comment or suggestion. I know the

12:42language and barrier, I I understand

12:45that that can be probably due to the

12:48diversity in the area. Um but the use of

12:52technology of of and and

12:55when when putting the information out

12:57there, if if we we can find a tool, I'm

12:59sure that is one where it can

13:02right away will translate to whatever

13:04language the person needed, right? In

13:06today's world with AI and all of this um

13:10uh technologies, I I think

13:13we we can use that. Whoever takes that

13:16avenue, the use of technology

13:19there are so many languages and and I'm

13:21sure if you can do

13:23three or four, but then the the four

13:25language, okay, I would like this

13:26language as well. So, you you probably

13:28will never end if you start translating

13:30every So, it will be a probably a

13:32never-ending task. But, if we implement

13:34a technology

13:35that can help

13:36whatever language is needed, I think

13:39that can help.

13:40>> That's very good suggestion, Wilson.

13:42Thank you very much.

13:44I'll make note of that.

13:46Um

13:46and then

13:48moving right along on our agenda. So,

13:50now we're going to go into the Rumney

13:51Marsh Boardwalk. Um and I know Shannon's

13:54going to speak on this one.

13:58>> I'm trying to figure out the latency

14:00with my computer. Am I coming clear

14:03through the other end?

14:06>> It sounds like it comes and goes.

14:07>> Yeah, it's really bad. I'm so sorry.

14:11Um

14:12>> I'm having the same problem as kind of

14:14cutting off somewhat

14:16what where he's talking.

14:18>> It might just be the time of day.

14:20Um

14:21Well, [snorts] so

14:25the Rumney Marsh Boardwalk. Uh this this

14:28idea

14:29came up um

14:32at at a means of looking at possible

14:35ways to in increase recreation um

14:40uh access. Um and so

14:43I started looking at Google Maps. I

14:45started looking at

14:47uh the Revere GIS

14:50um

14:51site and

14:53which I'll I really kind of want to walk

14:55everyone through this cuz it's a little

14:56bit complicated. Um so uh

15:00but

15:01the idea is basically that to connect

15:04>> [snorts]

15:04>> the Northern Strand Trail

15:07to Gibson Park.

15:09Um and that's that's the concept. Um

15:14It's a very ambitious idea.

15:18Um

15:19but one that there's significant support

15:22for

15:23um even within city uh

15:26even within the city of Revere there's

15:27other groups that are already looking at

15:28this.

15:30Um

15:31and so with that

15:35I want to share my screen

15:37and kind of like walk everyone through

15:40like

15:41and then they can look at the at at

15:43these things too on their own.

15:45Um you know, out there in the public.

15:47And again, like whatever is shown here

15:49tonight I'll put into the record so if

15:51anyone wants to go back in the future,

15:53they can find these documents and look.

15:55But if I Let me see if I can share my

15:58screen.

16:01And then

16:26Okay.

16:28Are you guys able to see my entire

16:30screen?

16:36Hello.

16:36>> Yes. Yes.

16:37>> Okay, great.

16:39Um like I said, so other groups in town

16:41are already talking about this. Um

16:45Uh what you're looking at right now is

16:48page

16:5272

16:53of a really interesting report that just

16:56came out in June and I wanted to

16:58highlight this for the community.

17:01So

17:02this is the city of Revere's walk, bike,

17:04and roll plan that was published in June

17:07of 25 25

17:09and

17:11so it was pretty recently that they are

17:14that they they published this, but it

17:16was pretty recently that this group was

17:17working on it.

17:19And they come up with a lot of really

17:21cool suggestions. They look at

17:24um

17:25the existing infrastructure. They look

17:27at all kinds of different uh safety

17:29issues and concerns. They held meetings

17:33and uh surveys and

17:38and

17:41with

17:46this and some proposals. Literally the

17:48same thing that I had drawn and handed

17:50to uh Mayor Keith. And it was down there

17:52on again, page 72.

17:56Um here it is. Okay, so

17:59they came up with this idea

18:02of running the trail

18:04behind Revere Beach Boulevard and

18:18Okay, so

18:20I'm just going to point. This picture

18:21here is one of the areas that they're

18:23thinking that they can install like a

18:25bike path or a walking path. And that's

18:27all the way behind Revere Beach

18:29Boulevard and it's the parcels that I

18:33had mentioned before that are owned by

18:35National Grid. Uh it follows the

18:38electrical line

18:39um all the way down. Um

18:42What's interesting about this

18:45proposal

18:46is they they really barely get into

18:49the most important aspect of this.

18:53Um like they they mentioned

18:56here that it environmental permitting

18:59will be likely required due to proximity

19:01to wetlands and cross-section

19:03adjustments may be necessary to minimize

19:05impacts.

19:08I would I would go further and say that

19:11environmental permitting is extremely

19:13likely. Um

19:15it it

19:16it's definitely going to happen. And

19:19it's almost impossible uh for folks to

19:24construct anything, build anything, do

19:26any kind of serious alterations, any of

19:29that stuff with wetland areas,

19:30especially salt marsh.

19:32>> [snorts]

19:32>> Um so, I really appreciated this report

19:35that they provided. However, it's

19:38you know, it's it's only a a window into

19:41a much bigger issue um that that anyone

19:44would face if they tried to do this. And

19:46so, I scrolled back down to page 72.

19:50And these are their

19:52suggested

19:54plans or suggested areas that they think

19:58that they can create some sort of like

20:00uh walking path, biking path, this,

20:03that, and the other. And this really

20:04caught my eye

20:05because I had sent in

20:08uh

20:09a map that I'll show you in just a

20:11minute

20:12that's literally almost identical to

20:14this to the mayor.

20:16Um so, it's not just this commission

20:19talking,

20:20it's other folks that are talking about

20:22this idea, too.

20:23And let me show you now um

20:26just the uh

20:31the let me see

20:35the map that I had originally shared

20:36with me

20:49so that you could see how identical it

20:51is.

20:52Um

20:54so, I created this um

20:58in an art application.

21:00And

21:01it's pretty much basically the same idea

21:05as

21:08So, you know, you walk

21:17>> probably doable and it is doable. Um, I

21:20did reach out to a

21:23an old Mass CPA gentleman

21:26who's been on this issue for more than

21:2825-30 years.

21:30Um, he thinks it's a very ambitious

21:32project as well

21:34primarily due to the regulations and and

21:36and things like that, but

21:38I've looked at most of these parcels and

21:41when I say parcels

21:43like each one of these little thing is

21:45I'm passing them out my pointer across

21:47the green line. Each one of these areas

21:50is either

21:52owned by the city of Lynn or the

21:57>> [laughter]

22:05>> some entity that owns these little

22:06parcels.

22:21But I believe that with a certain amount

22:23of planning and a certain amount of

22:25hard work that we might be able to get

22:28permitting through the Mass EPA and

22:31ultimately the Army Corps of Engineer

22:33could there they're the the top dog with

22:35permitting for these types of projects.

22:37Um, but I believe that

22:40that we can get it done

22:42and we can get it done with a couple

22:44different angles or through a couple

22:46couple different angles. There's lots of

22:48money out there for aquatic restoration.

22:51Uh, there's lots of money out there in

22:53the world for recreation. There's lots

22:56of money out there in the world for

22:57flood reme- remediation. And that's a

23:01huge portion of what this boardwalk

23:04concept can provide.

23:06Um most of these low most of these areas

23:09through here, especially Oak Island,

23:11especially

23:13uh you know, south of Gib- Gibson Park,

23:15they're very flood prone.

23:17And this would assist to that as well.

23:20So,

23:21you know,

23:22thinking about this simply as oh, let's

23:25build a bike path.

23:27It's a lot more than that. And we could

23:31have

23:31the potential of having three

23:33governmental agencies, if not more,

23:35involved and assisting us with the

23:38planning of this.

23:51And then I found that this area

23:56You follow my pointer.

24:00This area here

24:01or something like that.

24:03Um

24:04it was a

24:05an a failed project and a failed attempt

24:08to

24:09extend I-95 up through Lynn

24:13and then all the way up through, you

24:14know, to where it is now.

24:16Um they moved an excessive amount of

24:20dirt

24:21to create this

24:23berm and this this

24:25potential roadway. It actually extends

24:28to our neighbors in Saugus on the north.

24:31And it's just so much dirt and rock and

24:34stone.

24:35Um [snorts]

24:38I thought,

24:40you know, what

24:41what's what's going on with that? So, I

24:42did some research.

24:44And there's been a huge effort for the

24:48longest time

24:51to remove

24:54as much of that

24:56uh dirt and fill and stone as possible

25:00and to help the the the marsh heal and

25:03to because the marsh flow is all messed

25:05up ever since they they put that in

25:07there and

25:08um you know, there's a lot of ecologists

25:10that are extremely interested in the

25:11idea of getting rid of all that dirt,

25:14stone, and and and aggregate

25:17that was placed there.

25:19Well,

25:20I did some calculations

25:23and I looked at two areas of Revere

25:26that

25:28we've had problems with for probably

25:30over 150 to 200 years, probably since

25:33the the city's inception.

25:35And that is

25:36Oak Island Park, which I'm pointing

25:38here,

25:40and the the Diamond Creek area. Now, the

25:42reason I call it Diamond Creek is cuz

25:45literally there's a little creek that

25:46runs back over here behind uh

25:48>> [snorts]

25:48>> uh

25:49these buildings

25:51and it's called Diamond Creek.

25:53Um this area here, just south of Oak

25:57Island,

25:58um on the interior side of the

26:01uh

26:03commuter rail

26:04and on the I guess the the eastern side

26:06of the commuter rail and the western

26:07side of you Northshore Road there.

26:10>> [snorts]

26:11>> I kind of measured out all of this area

26:14and I measured out all of Oak Island

26:17Park up to a certain point and I said,

26:20"Well,

26:21why don't we move all of the dirt from

26:23the I-95 corridor

26:26and place the dirt

26:28within these low-lying areas over here?"

26:31Now, again, that is the most impossible

26:33idea

26:34to get past

26:36zoning. It's the most impossible idea to

26:39get past

26:41uh restrictions, especially with MEPA,

26:43Massachusetts Department of

26:44Environmental Protection Agency, and

26:47and and even the Army That would be a

26:49really, really heavy lift. However,

26:52I

26:53I think again that if we have the right

26:56partnerships um that it's at least worth

27:01a discussion. And so, I want to show you

27:04a couple ideas that I

27:14>> [cough]

27:19>> kind of neat.

27:20This is [clears throat] actually, before

27:21I get into the the fun pictures,

27:24this is a

27:25a more highlighted area of the Diamond

27:28Creek

27:30project area. And as you can see,

27:32like all [snorts] the area in green here

27:34is totally covered in

27:38invasive species. Um and in fact, the

27:40type of invasive species is

27:42Phragmites australis. And

27:46they just that's what everyone sees and

27:48they're

27:49it's just a mess.

27:50Um there's no good about Phragmites.

27:53There's nothing good about Phragmites.

27:55Um and so, there's a lot of

28:00there's a lot of money out there to help

28:01combat Phragmites alone, but also this

28:04is flood prone as well. So, there's a

28:06lot of money out there for flood

28:07remediation, like I said.

28:09Um identifying these low-lying areas

28:13um and then

28:15you know, identifying the restrictions

28:17that they carry is really important too.

28:20Because ultimately,

28:22you can't build on any of this land.

28:26But you can use it as recreational.

28:32And as passive recreational.

28:34So, if you could think about it like

28:36that whole entire that could be a field.

28:43Now, just a big grass field for people

28:47to enjoy the sunsets on.

28:50Just a big green area and and and a

28:52healthy green area that people actually

28:55can physically use. Um

28:58>> [snorts]

28:59>> some of the ideas that uh

29:02Madam Chairwoman and I have gone back

29:04and forth with they're really fun.

29:06Um

29:07was this one.

29:10>> [laughter]

29:11>> We thought, well, there used to be a

29:19well.

29:20So,

29:22you know, shoot the moon

29:23have a moment. Um so, some of these

29:25pictures are really kind of like fun. Uh

29:27there's all sorts of pictures that I

29:30have through here that will show you the

29:31actual walking path that I'm thinking

29:32about. But, we'll we'll look at the Oak

29:35Island Park area itself.

29:38Same thing. There's a lot of green here.

29:40All that green area is all owned by one

29:44entity,

29:45right? And that's National Grid. Uh but,

29:48this whole area back behind um Revere

29:52Beach Boulevard could theoretically

29:55create a bridge.

29:57Uh I mean, not a Well, not a physical

29:59bridge. I mean, we could think about

30:01that, but it could

30:03it could bring together basically the

30:05Wharf

30:08with Bro

30:10Revere Beach area. It would give us

30:13access to

30:14to the area and it would give Point of

30:16Pines access to the Wharf area. Um so,

30:19those are some of the areas I'm looking

30:20at.

30:21I just wanted to show you guys a few

30:24pictures of what we might be looking at

30:27ultimately. Um this is a really really

30:30good explanation kind of in one picture.

30:34Uh

30:35let's see.

30:37Sorry about that. One second.

30:56>> It's going to take a forever, I am sorry

30:57everyone.

31:04How about this one?

31:13So,

31:14let me

31:15zoom in here so we can see it.

31:23So, what we're looking at in this

31:25picture everyone,

31:26is a combination of flood flood control,

31:30remediation,

31:31passive recreation,

31:34and uh salt marsh restoration all in one

31:38picture.

31:39This would make the Massachusetts

31:41Environmental Protection Agency very

31:43happy, and it would make the Army Corps

31:45very happy as well.

31:47Um you know, some sort of design like

31:50this, but but also used with some sort

31:52of function.

31:54Um you know, if if we talk about flood

31:57remediation,

32:01you know, things like this come to mind.

32:03Um

32:06this is a standard Army Corps of

32:08Engineers flood re- re-

32:11remediation project.

32:13Uh Army Corps loves concrete walls cuz

32:16they never go anywhere.

32:19Um

32:20and they love revetments, and they

32:23love my big

32:25stone cross like this because they are

32:27effective and they work. Is I know for a

32:30fact that people have been wanting like

32:32the Army Corps has been

32:34really interested in this

32:36for many, many years,

32:38but it's not been allowed. And

32:43so

32:44the restrictions from MassDEP A

32:47and what you and conservation and

32:49specifically like a lot of towns too

32:51have even further layers of conservation

32:53restrictions that would prevent

32:55something like this from ever being

32:57built.

33:01Um

33:03something that would be complete

33:08we're going to see.

33:10Um and that's why I was showing you the

33:12first pictures.

33:13Um if if you can

33:15if you could imagine um something a

33:18little

33:28concrete

33:29probably pass through permitting and and

33:32you know, even you know, get funding.

33:34So, the idea is to take the boardwalk

33:38>> [snorts]

33:38>> along the perimeter

33:41from Gibson Park along the perimeter of

33:43Rumney Marsh from Gibson Park all the

33:46way

33:47to the Northern Strand Trail.

33:50Um

33:52And like I said, that's that's basically

33:55the idea behind the boardwalk. That's

33:58the idea uh

34:00with

34:01uh

34:03the Oak Island Park

34:05and with the Diamond Creek area.

34:09I'll show you another

34:11nice fun picture here.

34:15>> [snorts]

34:15>> Um this shows two different paths here.

34:20Both both passive

34:22uh but they're integrated right into

34:25natural surroundings. And obviously, you

34:27could see this is an urban setting.

34:29Um so, this is what

34:32I mean when I talk about the boardwalk

34:34and uh since there's been some

34:36discussion in other committees and some

34:38interest in other areas of town, I just

34:41wanted to kind of show everybody what I

34:42was thinking about. Um,

34:45the one of the reasons why I call it the

34:47Rumney Marsh boardwalk

34:49is because

34:51um,

34:53I know for a fact that Massachusetts EPA

34:56will allow

34:58um, a specific type of boardwalk to be

35:02put through wetlands. Uh, anybody could

35:05look up what the Audubon Society has

35:07done in all the different wonderful

35:09areas that the Audubon Society has

35:11installed wooden walkways

35:14uh through and including wetlands and

35:16everything else. So,

35:17um, I'm kind of inclined to believe that

35:19they would approve a definitely a wooden

35:22kind of style boardwalk and that's hence

35:24the name

35:25uh the Rumney Marsh boardwalk project.

35:29So, those are um

35:31I'd say that in a nutshell,

35:32um, it's it's a lot of fun kind of just

35:35dreaming about uh you know, the

35:37potential of

35:39of what what the Rumney Marsh area could

35:43be for the city of Revere.

35:46Um,

35:48and I think one of the biggest

35:50uh it

35:51one of my biggest uh

35:53asks of you all on the commission and

35:56and the

35:57the city citizens as well as

36:00just because something's in a wetland

36:03and just because

36:04if you're told

36:06you can't do that or it's impossible, I

36:08don't think so. And I think that that

36:10this would be a really really good idea.

36:13It could drive commerce. It could I

36:16think it's really important that we

36:17probably reach out uh and keep reaching

36:20out to the group that's

36:23talking about the the Squire Road master

36:26plan and and talk with them and and see

36:28what we could do

36:29um

36:32to help them.

36:33Um

36:34Anyway, so I'm going to stop sharing my

36:36screen and jump back to you guys.

36:39See if this works.

36:46>> Thank you, Shannon, for um sharing. Um

36:49also want to make note that I did notice

36:51Michael you jumped on, so thank you for

36:53joining us.

36:54Um

36:56but I know Shannon mentioned in the

36:57beginning that this was something that

36:58you

36:59had kind of brought to the table as um

37:04something you heard about in the

37:05connection, and if you had any input on

37:08it, Michael, you feel free to jump in.

37:17>> Sorry, I couldn't find my unmute button.

37:19Um

37:23No, um I I I again I think this is a

37:26really ambitious project for

37:29for the city. I mean I I've had this

37:31conversation for a few years now.

37:34Um just about you know, what we can do

37:37for passive recreation.

37:39Um

37:40you know, every day that goes by we do

37:42see another building that goes up and

37:45you know, less green space for us.

37:47Um

37:48you know, we we have this beautiful

37:50marsh

37:52and I think that this is just a great

37:54idea of how Revere Parks and Recreation,

37:57you know,

37:58uh can expand into this into this

38:01passive world.

38:02Um

38:03So,

38:05yeah.

38:06That's what I have for that.

38:08>> Thank you.

38:09Um and thanks for bringing light to

38:10this. I think this is a great project to

38:13like look into, and

38:15I know Shannon was talking to me with

38:17the other day and mentioned like, you

38:19know, how can we make this educational,

38:21which I think would be a really

38:22beneficial piece to all this.

38:24Um so, we'll definitely keep this moving

38:26forward as things we can bring to the

38:28table and how we can

38:31make your

38:33talk of many years of potential

38:35realistic thing with a Ferris wheel in

38:37it, you know.

38:39Maybe we'll hold off on the roller

38:40coaster for now.

38:42>> [laughter]

38:42>> About the educational component of this,

38:45um

38:46you know,

38:48one thing that I thought about was how

38:51to save the city a lot of money.

38:53Um and that's that's

38:56to me, it the answer is zoning. Um and

39:00and one of the

39:02one of the That's one of my strengths.

39:08Um is zoning law. I think

39:11that if we propose an educational

39:14research overlay district, um

39:17over our portion of the Rumney Marsh, uh

39:22like all of our parcels, and put it into

39:24zoning,

39:25I think what that might do is attract

39:29universities

39:31to want to spend some money

39:33and

39:34and and do

39:36research in in the marsh.

39:39Um you know, I I I do know that

39:41Northeastern University has been

39:44really leading the the pack with uh

39:47marine biology and and you know, they've

39:50uh been

39:51wanting to to expand for some some time.

39:55Um and so, the idea of involving

39:57education with that is simply

40:00can we talk about an educational

40:03overlay

40:04research or educational

40:06research overlay district,

40:09an E-Rod,

40:11to to attract investment

40:14for for the

40:16for the bigger project.

40:18And

40:19I think that it that's something that

40:21you know

40:22that we could

40:23talk about collectively and you know

40:26even put into our report to the mayor

40:28and say hey you know one avenue to save

40:30a lot of money is to get

40:31colleges and universities to compete

40:34for research

40:35opportunities and open it up to them and

40:38let's see what they build. So that's

40:40just that's what I meant by that as far

40:42as the educational component.

40:44>> Thank you. Thank you.

40:46Um

40:48so the last thing before moving on to

40:50the end is any public comment?

40:56Since I don't think we have any tonight.

40:59Um

41:00So the next thing would just be planning

41:02out our next meeting.

41:07So does anybody have any

41:11non areas that they can do?

41:13We're looking into November I'm

41:15assuming.

41:20>> Um I'm free I could I like Zoom I could

41:23do Zoom at any time.

41:25Yeah.

41:28>> Okay. Anybody is there any

41:31>> Zoom's are definitely better for

41:34for me uh just speaking specifically for

41:37myself cuz then I can just hop on

41:38forever.

41:45>> I agree with Zoom on my part. The only

41:47thing I was going to say is

41:49the week of

41:52the 16th of November

41:55I'll be out of state so

41:57if we could just avoid that week that'd

41:58be great.

42:01>> We can definitely avoid that week

42:05and I know the week after that is

42:06pushing into Thanksgiving. Is anybody

42:09have any objections with like the

42:11beginning of that week?

42:15Okay. So, um

42:19Does

42:21I know it's a not a Wednesday. Does

42:22November 24th work for everybody as far

42:25as like a Zoom?

42:27>> Uh that's a little too close. I I think

42:29I'm going to be out of town.

42:31>> All right.

42:31>> That's a little That's a little tight

42:33with Thanksgiving.

42:35>> That's what I was afraid of. Um

42:38How about the first week of December?

42:44>> Works.

42:45>> That works.

42:46>> Yeah. That's That's good by me, too.

42:48That Wednesday, December 2nd?

42:50>> Yeah.

42:51>> That's fine.

42:53>> Michael Wilson, does that work for you

42:54guys?

42:57>> Yes, it works for me. Thank you.

42:59>> Yeah, it works for me, too.

43:01>> All right. So, we'll put it for December

43:032nd and we'll go for a Zoom cuz that

43:05seems to work best.

43:08>> Great.

43:09>> Awesome. All right. So,

43:12um

43:13I will If nobody has any further

43:15business, I can call the meeting

43:18adjourned at 6:45 p.m. on October 14th.

43:24>> Great. Great.

43:26>> Do I have a second?

43:28>> Oh, I second that. I'm sorry, Jackie.

43:30>> [laughter]

43:31>> That's okay.

43:32Um thank you. All right. Thank you,

43:33everybody, for hopping on um and we'll

43:35see you all December 2nd.

43:37>> All right.

43:39>> Bye.

43:39>> Have a good night, everyone. Thank you.

43:41>> You, too.

43:42>> Thank you all. Good night. Good night.