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MEETING NOTES
East Boston Greenway Coordinating Council
Harborside Community Center, Conference Room
Monday, November 15, 1999

map of the Marginal to Prescott Segment of the Greeenway
Click to see full map of proposed Greenway

DRAFT MEETING NOTES DRAFT

East Boston Greenway Coordinating Council

Attending: Carolyn Banulis, Connie Carbone, Aldo Cirone, Bob D’Amico, Arlene Gehring, Aldo Ghirin (Parks Department), Blossom Hoag, Ethan Hoag, Karen Maddalena, Police Officer Stephanie Morrow, Mark Warren, Mary Ellen Welch, Grace Zuccaro, Lauri Webster.

1. Introductions and Welcome

After introductions we began the meeting by welcoming Aldo Ghirin from the Parks Department. After the discussion on Boston’s Open Space Plan, we voted to accept the draft meeting minutes from the October meeting. Valerie passed out Congressman’s letter congratulating the Council on their award from Move Massachusetts.

2. The Boston Open Space Plan

The Parks Department is in the process of doing its open space plan for the city, which they are required to do every five years. The city is soliciting community input through the Boston 400 process. Aldo provided an overview and distributed surveys for Council members to fill out. He noted there would be a conference in March and everyone would be invited.

In outer neighborhoods, the city has about 5 1/2 acres of open space per 1000 people. In the 80’s, BUG did a study that showed there were 2 1/2 acres per 1000 people in downtown areas. The National Park and Recreation Association has put out guideline standards for facilities, but warns against making comparisons. The City tries to work with each neighborhood to ensure it is adequately served by open space.

Council members discussed the following: additional parkland near American Legion Playground (site of proposed police station); a vacant parcel at Frankfort and Porter would make a nice park; schoolyards are important components of East Boston’s open space and should be added to the open space map; there is support for improvements to the Condor Street Urban Wild and high hopes for the Hess site and the beach that links the two; there is a total lack of park land in Paris Street flats, north of Porter Street (Bremen Street will help) and Eagle Hill; people wondered what was going to happen with the old Barnes school.

Council members also said maintenance in the parks last summer was worse than it has been in previous years. The Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association had given lists of things that needed to be done in two parks to the Department, but nothing had been addressed. Phone calls were not consistently returned. They were disturbed by the practice of planting trees that were subsequently destroyed (in some cases by maintenance staff mowers and weed wackers) and not replaced, or worse, bricked over. Park Partners feel the city did not support them by watering the young trees at the Rockies during the drought.

3. Greenway - Conrail Corridor from Marginal to Porter Street

The City and State are in agreement that the flooding must be addressed. BWSC is working with Parks on the technical solution. The city and state are at odds at how to pay for the adjustments to the drainage design and removal of some unsuitable materials. Even though our project came in $92,000 below the ISTEA grant amount, MHD is saying all extra costs are the responsibility of the city. Valerie passed out several letters: letter to Parks from MHD dated 10/22/99; letter to MHD from BNAF dated 10/28/99; letter to MHD from Parks dated 11/2/99 and letter to BNAF from MHD dated 11/3/99.

BNAF sent a copy of its letter to MHD to Congressman Capuano asking his help in ascertaining the policy on ISTEA grants at the federal level. He responded immediately that he would look into it.

There is no progress on Phase II to report.

4. Greenway from Porter to Frankfort / Bremen Street Park

It is our understanding the CA/T Project, Massport and Goldberg are negotiating, but still there is no final resolution.

There is a CA/T general status update meeting on Wednesday night, the 17th, which will address the status of the land swap, outstanding park design issues as well as construction progress and schedules. There is also an EOC meeting tomorrow from 3 to 5 PM; the land swap is scheduled to be discussed.

5. The Management Plan Task Force

Thursday, November 18 at 4 PM will be the first meeting of the Management Plan Task Force. The designees from the agencies are as follows: Bob Ruzzo, Director of Real Estate from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority; Antonia Pollack, Director of the Environment Department for the City of Boston; Karl Pastore, North Region Supervisor for the Metropolitan District Commission and John Krajovic, Director of Planning from Massport;. Connie Carbone, Blossom Hoag and Mark Warren will attend from the Council.

The first task for the Task Force will be to release a Request for Proposals for a consultant to assist us preparing the Management Plan.

6. Updates

The Snowy Owl Walk is on Saturday, January 8, 1999. If you are interested in going, call to register. Its a popular trip and fills up fast.

Grade the Walk. Council members were happy with the turn-out and would be happy to see TBHA return to do at least two more sections, Clipper Ship Wharf to LoPresti Park and along the Chelsea River.

Billboard - Although BNAF did prepare a letter to oppose a variance for a billboard as requested by the Council, it was approved.

Massport’s Waterfront Development Process - We will have information to review at the next meeting.

MBTA Car Yard. BNAF will call the MBTA to get an update and schedule a meeting with the project proponents.

7. Other Business

Arlene collected signatures for the Immigration Museum.

CARE members called for people to write Senator Kennedy.

END/ccmn1199

These notes are written to the best recollection of the authors. Please let BNAF know if corrections are necessary within 30 days of the date of the meeting notes. Contact BNAF@aol.com

BOSTON NATURAL AREAS FUND. INC.(BNAF)
59 Temple Place, Room 558
Boston, MA 02111-1307
(617)542-7696
(Fax)542-0383
e-mail: BNAF@aol.com

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