Posted on October 2, 2017
By Thomas Grillo, Itemlive.com
With just hours before the deadline, Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy has agreed to fund a study to dredge the harbor and potentially unlock millions in revenue for the city.
“This feasibility study will help provide the properties along the South Harbor portion of the Lynnway with the potential to accommodate deep water vessels for marinas, moorings and their access to open water,” said Kennedy in a statement. “Like moving the power lines, it is another precursor for development along our waterfront.”
On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton expressed concern that the mayor was dragging her heels on signing the deal and urged her to approve the measure.
“This project is critical to Lynn’s economic development, but the holdup is the mayor,” said the Massachusetts Democrat. “We have reached out to her repeatedly and not received a response. This is millions of dollars in federal funds for the city and all she needs to do is sign the agreement by Friday, or we will lose the money.”
Kennedy declined to be interviewed. But City Council President Darren Cyr defended the mayor saying she needed time to consider whether the money was being well-spent.
“The mayor took the time to examine the proposal,” he said. “I think it was very unfair of Cong. Moulton.”
At issue is $440,000 in federal funds for a feasibility study to explore creation of a new Lynn Harbor channel that would connect the harbor to the Saugus River.
The city came up with $100,000 from the state’s Community Mitigation Fund, another $120,000 from the federal Block Grant program and the Army Corps of Engineers has pledged $220,000, according to James Marsh, the Department of Community Development director.
“The money to complete the project has already been allocated, and that’s a big deal in today’s fiscally constrained environment,” said Moulton. “It will not only unlock money for the study, but unleash millions to dredge the harbor in the future.”
The project is part of the city’s Waterfront Master Plan adopted in 2007. Marsh said they have been working with the Army Corps since 2010 to get the project underway.
If completed, the project would result in a continuous loop in and out of the harbor and give future waterfront businesses and housing developments direct access to the harbor and beyond, as well as allow for year-round ferry service, Marsh said.
“The dredging would come later and 80 percent of the cost would be born by the federal government,” he said. “We will have to come up with 20 percent from the state Transportation Bond Bill.”
Making a deep pathway for boats is part of a $1.65 billion plan to transform the city’s 305-acre waterfront from the Saugus River to the Nahant Rotary into a mixed-use community.
City Councilor-at-Large and state Rep. Daniel Cahill said dredging the harbor will pay dividends.
“It’s infrastructure projects like this that spark development,” he said. “If this was Salem, it would be a no-brainer and would have been done months ago. We can’t take a wait and see approach that has plagued Lynn for years.”
Moulton, a member of the Lynn Economic Advancement and Development (LEAD) team, along with the mayor, said the group has made progress because they’ve always been willing to communicate.
“It only works when there’s cooperation between the local, state and federal officials,” he said.
Source: Itemlive.com
