2026-10-19 - Finance Committee

00:05[music]

00:13>> one and we're going to start the finance

00:16committee meeting.

00:20Thank you all for being here. I don't

00:22see any other counselors on here.

00:24So, we'll just go right into the

00:26meeting. So,

00:27first towards

00:28donations.

00:31I'm sure we won't

00:33need to talk about them too much, I'm

00:35hoping. The Jeffrey Speller Foundation,

00:37who is that? Does that mean

00:41>> So,

00:42um what I know he

00:44Yeah, so I believe he passed away um a

00:46few years ago. Uh and he was an avid

00:49golfer.

00:49>> Okay.

00:50>> Uh but now he has a foundation where he

00:52gives back to the school system to the

00:54city

00:56uh for the

00:57>> Oh, that's great. Well, thank you. We

00:58truly appreciate that donation from him.

01:01From his foundation.

01:03And I um acknowledge counselor Davila.

01:07All right. So, the number three on our

01:08agenda is parkland acquisitions and

01:11renovations for communities grant.

01:13Foreign $25,000 and match required.

01:16Who's got that one?

01:18>> That'll be me um

01:20>> Uh

01:21>> That's that's a park department grant.

01:23That's the um PARC grant. Um and this

01:26year we applied to renovate um Hubbard

01:28Park, mainly the splash pad. It's one of

01:31our um

01:32last um splash pads. That's the old um

01:35asphalt splash pads that is you know,

01:37it's about 20 20 25 years later. It

01:40needs to be updated. Um so, we applied

01:43for the PARC grant uh for that and it's

01:46a match from CDGB

01:48um

01:49of

01:51Do. Let me just double check. Um

01:53$265,000.

01:54So, it'll be a total project of $690,000

01:57for the splash pad, some playground

01:59improvements, accessibility

02:00improvements, as much as we can put in

02:02there, but the splash pad will be the

02:04main one.

02:05>> Okay, great. Thank you and thank you for

02:07getting that grant for us.

02:08>> Oh, you're welcome. Happy to.

02:10>> Yes.

02:12Um the next two are community

02:13development mass development

02:15underutilized properties. That's

02:16probably Brian.

02:18>> Yes, thank you, Counselor Gowan. Um

02:21>> Counselor, before we move on from the

02:22Parks Department, can I please ask a

02:24question to

02:25>> Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Let me acknowledge

02:28uh Madam President came on.

02:30Go ahead, Madam President.

02:32>> Uh Laura, is that the the grant that we

02:34didn't get last year or the year before?

02:38The park one?

02:39>> Um the PARC grant, we did the most

02:42recent one we did was for uh Blunt Park

02:45phase two.

02:47>> Okay.

02:48>> The fiscal years aren't um coming

02:50together in my head, but we have

02:52I'd have to double-check on that. We

02:53haven't applied for Hubbard and

02:56uh the last Hubbard improvement was done

02:57through community uh preservation act

02:59funding.

03:00>> Okay.

03:01All right. So, um I'll just follow up

03:03with you individually.

03:05>> Okay. Thanks.

03:05>> Okay. Thank you.

03:07>> Thank you.

03:09All right. Go ahead, Brian.

03:11>> Yes, the um so uh the next two grants,

03:14and actually there's four on here that

03:16are under the one-stop program that were

03:17just announced uh from the state,

03:19one-stop awards that um MassDevelopment

03:22administers a lot of these awards.

03:24Uh these first two, number six and

03:26number seven, are under the

03:27underutilized properties program. The

03:30first one for $450,000

03:32is for the Colonial Block um for uh

03:35stabilization and prepa- preparation uh

03:38prior to uh redevelopment.

03:41And then the next one is the Shein

03:43Block, which is on the corner of State

03:44and Main. It's the two-story building.

03:47Um

03:48the same kind of thing. It's to to

03:50provide uh

03:52upgrades in terms of making the building

03:54waterproof while it's currently empty to

03:56help preserve it prior to development.

04:01>> Any questions or comments on that one?

04:03Those two?

04:07All right. So, the Land and Water

04:09Conservation Fund Grant, Five Mile Pond.

04:14Ask Laura.

04:15>> That is Parks and Rec again. Thank you.

04:17This is the

04:19Land and Water LWCF Grant to renovate

04:22the public beach side of Five Mile Pond.

04:26This is a million-dollar grant from the

04:28Land and Water Conservation Fund and

04:30then a million-dollar contribution

04:33from the city side and this will

04:35renovate that area, get it back open for

04:38public use focusing on accessibility.

04:41The as you know, the restroom building

04:43there is not accessible. So, it'll be

04:46a renovation of that building and making

04:48sure that the restrooms are up to code

04:51and accessible for everybody.

04:53Improvements to the parking lot, the

04:55playground, picnic amenities, just

04:57getting that whole area up and back open

05:00to the public.

05:01So.

05:02All right, thank you.

05:04Councillor Babila.

05:09>> Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Good to see

05:11you, Laura. Laura, regarding this

05:13particular grant, I believe last year we

05:17approved another million

05:20Well, could you refresh my memory what

05:22was the what was that grant that we

05:24approved for? Was it for water water

05:27testing?

05:29>> There So, there's been some ARPA funding

05:31that's been used at um

05:34Five Mile Pond and that's been to

05:35renovate the boat launch side. I believe

05:38what you're referring to, Councillor, is

05:40the match that was approved last year

05:43for this grant when we applied for it.

05:46>> Okay.

05:46>> There was I believe that that might be

05:48what you're referring to cuz that was a

05:49million-dollar match.

05:51>> But that's all the the pond itself is

05:53not open as of yet.

05:55>> Correct. The The project will start uh

05:57you know, assuming the vote is accepted

05:59today, then we'll move into contracting

06:01with the state and the um we'll get into

06:04the project starting with construction

06:06hopefully starting as soon as

06:08um as early as July, hopefully.

06:11>> Of next year?

06:12>> Yes.

06:13Yeah.

06:14>> So, you think we'll be able to be able

06:15to uh

06:16to take a deep in the pond?

06:19>> I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you.

06:21>> be able to take a deep on the in the

06:22pond?

06:23>> Um most likely not until the summer of

06:252028. Um if we start construction next

06:28year, then we have um all of the

06:30hopefully early spring, late spring,

06:33summer, and fall for construction, and

06:35then we would open again to the public

06:37in the um summer season of 2028.

06:40>> All right. Thank you, Laura. Very kind

06:42of you.

06:42>> You're welcome.

06:44>> Uh Madam President.

06:46>> Thank you. Um excuse my background

06:48noise. Um my granddaughter's at dance

06:50school, but

06:52Laura, where did the million-dollar

06:54match come from?

06:55>> I believe that uh came from Is it called

06:59free cash, I think? I'm not

07:01>> was from That was the million dollars

07:02that the council approved to be set

07:04aside from free cash last year in

07:06December so she could apply in January.

07:09>> Oh, cuz we had to show the free um the

07:11million-dollar match first?

07:12>> Yeah, we had to do that for the

07:14application. Yes.

07:15>> Oh, okay. All right. Thank you.

07:19>> Thank you. The next one um

07:23community development housing works

07:25grants. I'm sure Jerry.

07:28>> I'm going to speak to the first one. I

07:30think Brian is speaking to the second

07:31one. So, the first one uh a little over

07:331.2 million dollars. This is a grant

07:37from housing and livable communities

07:40that is to be used the Boston Mobile

07:43Home Park Tenants Association.

07:47The mobile home park is owned by the

07:49tenants themselves as an association

07:52that's a nonprofit. They have about 312

07:55low-income households living there. And

07:58they have had serious water leaks, water

08:01loss, non-functioning hydrants,

08:05repeated clogs and backups with their

08:08sewer system. So this this funds will

08:13address critical upgrades to those

08:15systems.

08:16There we applied in order to be more

08:19competitive, we applied with a match. We

08:21have committed $100,000 of CDBG funds to

08:27be 50,000 this year, 50,000 next year.

08:31And this work will take place over the

08:33next year or so

08:35to to correct all those deficiencies at

08:38the mobile home park.

08:40>> I remember that mobile home park. Jerry,

08:43how is the work going to be done? Is it

08:46going to be put out to RFP?

08:49>> So they need to bid and select

08:53someone and they go to contract with

08:55them. We

08:57we reimburse them for expenses spent. We

09:01will go out and you know, we will

09:02approve their contract and their

09:04contracting process. We will inspect the

09:07work to make sure it's done before we

09:09make any payments,

09:11but we pay on a reimbursement basis to

09:13them.

09:14>> Okay, so the mobile

09:16home park residents.

09:18>> So they're they're they have a manage

09:21they hire a management company. The

09:23management company will actually manage

09:25this project and they're the ones that

09:27will have the contract with the with the

09:31sub with the with the entity that does

09:34the work and we will contract with the

09:37management company on behalf of the

09:39mobile home

09:41tenants association and they'll bill for

09:43us and to reimburse.

09:45>> Okay. Okay, thank you, Jerry.

09:48Any other questions on this one?

09:50Comments? Anybody? No?

09:53Okay, so the next one the

09:56um

09:58Say you, Brian.

10:00>> Yeah, that's me. Um

10:02Councilor Goonan, this this is a $5

10:04million award under that one stop

10:05program. This is for infrastructure

10:08around

10:09uh the Main Street

10:12Convention Center District. So, the

10:13properties around McCaffrey McCaffrey,

10:16the new parking garage that's being

10:17built on Willow Street. This will fund

10:20the sidewalk improvements,

10:22uh some street street work and then some

10:24new green space that's being built uh

10:27around the new parking facility.

10:29>> Excellent. Thank you. Any questions or

10:31comments on that one? Uh Councilor

10:33Warwick, you have the floor, Madam

10:34President.

10:35>> Yeah. Hi, Brian. Uh thank you, Madam

10:38Chair. Um I just want to know when we

10:40are going to apply for

10:43grant funding for other neighborhoods

10:45outside of the downtown area.

10:48Um because a lot of grants that come

10:51before us are for downtown Main Street

10:54and that area, but we have a whole city.

10:56So, I'm just wondering, are there any

10:58other development projects on the list

11:01that are not

11:03uh downtown-related?

11:06>> Yeah, sure. That's a a fair question. Um

11:08I mean, this there's a a lot of if you

11:11read the uh front page story of

11:13yesterday's Sunday Republican,

11:16um the properties that the SRA uh took

11:19over in that district required a

11:21significant amount of deferred

11:22maintenance and that's what a lot of

11:24these awards are dealing with. Um but, I

11:26would say last year under the one stop

11:29program, we received multiple awards in

11:31Mason Square uh for the MCDI property

11:34for

11:36two awards for a small business program.

11:38So, we do look at certainly look at

11:40other neighborhoods and other efforts,

11:42but your your point is well taken.

11:45>> Thank you for those grants that you're

11:47talking about. Can you send us a list of

11:50like some of the grants and and what

11:53they

11:54um

11:55what they improve because

11:58I swear when I'm on these calls I hear

12:00about downtown almost every time. I just

12:02want to make sure that we're getting

12:04equity across the entire city and not

12:07all the focus on the downtown area. I

12:09love downtown, too. So, for people that

12:12that live downtown, don't get offended,

12:14but we got a whole city that we got to

12:16um make sure we're improving.

12:19>> Absolutely, we can do that.

12:20>> Thank you.

12:22>> Thank you, Madam President. Thank you,

12:23Brian. Anything else? I'm not seeing any

12:26hands.

12:27>> I have a quick question, Madam Chair.

12:29>> Go ahead.

12:30>> A question.

12:31Um Brian, good to see you. Um where is

12:33that I believe it was the green space

12:35that you said is being built?

12:38>> Yes, so where the garage is being built

12:40on um

12:42uh Willow Street. So, behind the

12:44Community Music School, uh there is

12:46going to be new green space that sort of

12:49connects from Stockbridge Street over to

12:50Cross Street.

12:52>> When you say green space, are you

12:53talking about a small park or just

12:56trees?

12:57>> Yeah, it's it's like a park space. It's

12:58a walk-through. There'll be um there'll

13:00be a small dog park there. There'll be

13:02um green space for you know, people

13:04because there's going to be a lot more

13:05residents there once the the buildings

13:07are done. There's going to be 100 new

13:09units of housing, so there'll be a small

13:11dog park. There'll be outdoor space for

13:13people to sit.

13:15>> And that's going to be a public?

13:18>> Yes. Yeah, that'll be public.

13:21>> Uh all right, thank you um Brian. Thank

13:23you, Madam Chair.

13:26>> All right, thank you.

13:28Um, that is the SPS supplemental budget

13:30increase in charter school tuition aid.

13:33Who's got that one?

13:35>> School department is supposed to be on

13:36it. Chris, do you know if they're coming

13:37on?

13:39>> I do not see them. I thought

13:41um

13:42>> So, this this is it just the state

13:44>> I got a message from

13:46um

13:47the superintendent and she said that Pat

13:49Roach was going to be joining today.

13:51>> She should be. If you could not hear now

13:54He won't

13:55>> We'll make sure he'll be on at 7:00.

13:56It's just they have to

13:58we have to

13:59we have to adjust the budget for an

14:00increase from the state in charter

14:02school tuition.

14:03>> So, they're giving us more money?

14:04>> Yes.

14:05>> Okay.

14:05>> We just have to adjust the budget, but

14:06they should speak more to it. So, yeah.

14:09We'll make sure that one of them

14:10Alex Lavante, who's the uh

14:14>> Okay.

14:16All right, um, Counselor Davila.

14:19>> Uh, yes, Madam Chair. Uh,

14:20Cathy, that money's going to who? To the

14:23public school or to the charter school?

14:25>> Charter.

14:25>> It's an increase in um charter school

14:27tuition state aid. It's coming to the to

14:30the city.

14:33>> But, it's going to be diverted

14:35>> revenue. It's reimbursement for charter

14:37school students. It comes to it's comes

14:39to the Springfield public schools.

14:42>> And I I know you I understand that, but

14:44but um that seems like a lot of money.

14:46What what uh

14:50Is this just an increase because of why?

14:52Like, why are they giving us $5 million?

14:54>> This is an increase because the state

14:57budget isn't finalized by the time our

14:59budget is adopted and the final state

15:02budget the numbers changed. This happens

15:04probably every other year where we come

15:06back to you for a supplemental budget

15:08because the the state's final budget

15:10numbers have changed.

15:12>> No, Lucia, good to see you, by the way.

15:14Uh, is this uh only the allocated for

15:18this current year for the 2020

15:23uh 7 budget.

15:24>> Yes. Yes, for the school department.

15:27>> Okay.

15:30Okay.

15:31Um

15:31okay, the reason I asked is a lot of

15:33times uh the money doesn't necessarily

15:35follow the students quick enough. I know

15:36that if the student goes back to the

15:39regular school system, sometimes the

15:40money gets held up for whatever reason.

15:42That doesn't follow the money because

15:43the money is supposed to come back with

15:45the students if they return back to the

15:46school system. That's something that we

15:48need to continue to pay attention to.

15:50Because even though we eventually get

15:52the money, we know that money has a time

15:54value on it. Uh so, if uh

15:57if the students are coming back, the

15:59money should come back with them fairly

16:00quickly.

16:01Uh but overall, I'm glad that we're

16:03getting money. We're not going to say no

16:04to free money, of course. Uh but just

16:06making sure that uh we know what it's

16:07for. But let me see. Thank you so much.

16:10>> Sure.

16:11>> Thank you very much.

16:12>> we're going to have

16:13Thank you, um counselor. We're going to

16:14have more information at 7:00 from the

16:17school department on that one.

16:19Okay, so if that's it and no other

16:22items, thank you. Have a great

16:24afternoon.