Walnut Street Park -- One Step Closer

The City Council gave its approval for the City to move forward in applying for loans to clean-up the proposed park site on Walnut Street.

The Lynn Item: Peabody council OKs application for funds

The Councils vote allows Community Development to apply for $550,000 in State funding from the Massachusetts Parkland Acquisition and Renovation for Communities Grant Program.

The park will be a welcome addition to the woefully under served area - giving the neighborhood a place to gather as well as becoming a launching point for the long overdue Downtown Riverwalk.

Of course Councilor Mello again expressed his anger that such a project was going forward in his ward despite his protestations.

"I was against the city purchasing this property because we will be spending a half million to clean it up when the landlord should have cleaned it," he said. "But the council chose differently. We've made a sinkhole here, make no mistake. It's an area that is hard to secure, there will be children playing by the train tracks... I wish it never had passed."

A sinkhole. This man has absolutely no vision. And kids will be playing on the train tracks?? HEAVENS NO! Councilor... take a look at the situation RIGHT NOW! They are already playing on the train tracks... maybe a NEW PARK will give them a different place to play? It's called leadership. It is what your constituents need right now. Be that person or move on.

Some "Green" greenbacks for Peabody

The City of Peabody just received almost $500,000 in blockgrant money for use in creating jobs that reduce energy use or promote green technologies. This is money from the Federal stimulus plan and distributed by the state.

The Salem News: 3 communities get greenbacks for 'green' jobs

I have not heard anything about such a program here in Peabody but think that this is a great move forward! The future is going to be more reliant on renewable energy resources and getting a foot-in-the-door by promoting these new ideas, experiments and business ventures here in the City of Peabody is a big step in the right direction!

Now if only the City Council will get off their collective duffs and begin to tackle the hard job of re-thinking the way we all want Peabody to be like in the next 25 years... think rezoning, planning, infrastructure, etc., then maybe we can become a center for innovation and creativity that will allow us to lead the region into the next decades and beyond.

Walnut Street Park Still Smart Choice

The Salem News has one again decided to show it's love for all things Peabody...

The Salem News: Council ponders park on cut-rate, polluted parcel

I am not quite sure why the Salem News feels the need to portray the situation in the worst possible manner... Perhaps they are jealous that Peabody is getting some small percentage of the massive amount of money the State and Feds pump into Salem each and every year... But you rarely see the SNews call for a rejection of any home town funds.But in this case we already have an existing problem...
> a derelict, run-down, polluted and dangerous parcel of land

Without any possible hope for a solution...
> the owner has been unable to interest any buyers, has no plans to deal with the safety and pollution issues and the City seems to have no legal recourse against the owner either

Except for an intervention by the City...
> which will be paid for with (at least) 60% State funding for the purchase

Purchasing the property...
> at a huge savings due to both the conditions (polluted) and the economy

And redeveloping it into a New Park (in an area of the City that can really use some help) and a (small) flood retention basin in a flood prone area
> with (potentially) much of the clean-up costs being borne by State and Federal clean-up grants only available to municipal properties

So.... let's consider this again...

The Owner gets to sell his troubled land
.. he wins
....He will then have the money to pay the back taxes (if any)
.... city wins
......The dangerous conditions at the site will be removed
....... neighborhood wins
.........The City will get reimbursed 60%+ for the purchase price
......... city wins
............The City will decontaminate the site
............. neighborhood wins
................The City will (potentially) be reimbursed for the clean-up costs
................. city wins
....................The City will build a new park
..................... neighborhood wins
.......................The Riverwalk will have a major connection point created
........................ city wins
...........................One parcel of crappy dangerous unused land will become a place for everyone to enjoy
_____WE ALL WIN_____

Walnut Street Park - a good idea and a worthy project

I am very pleased that the City Council, assisted with the guidance of the Community Development department, seems to be moving away from petty political agendas and is looking to embrace the proposed park on a currently vacant, derelict and contaminated parcel of land on Walnut Street.

Peabody & LynnfieldWeekly News: City prepares to move forward on Walnut Street park

I must take issue with City Councilor Rico Mello, who seems woefully under informed about a major project that will be happening in his ward. His clear misunderstanding of basic information makes me question why he would wish to undertake a demanding job that needs to deal with complex and complicated matters.

Frankly the job of steering our City is not one to be undertaken lightly. I have seen actions on the part of Councilor Mello which in the past have seemed to show a propensity toward grandstanding and playing to his ward. If this is the case here, I wish he would find a more suitable issue to champion - because this is a clear win-win for the City residents.

Now, if Councilor Mello is actually confused by the materials presented to him by the various City Department... then why is he using the public forum to show his ignorance and casting absurd assertions? Why not go directly to the parties in question and ask them to explain it to you in a way you can understand? Is this not the way to best serve the people who voted for you?

This is a wonderful project and if it does indeed all come together the City will be gaining an assett for little to no money while losing both a danger and an eyesore.

The Salem News Reports on $1M Grant for Jobs

The Salem News has, yet again, missed an opportunity to highlight good news in Peabody. Maybe they should be called The Salem BAD News???

The article (link here) lists unemployment figures from September 2007 and 2008. And while it is not great to see how many folks have lost their jobs, it is somewhat encouraging to see that Peabody has one of the smallest increases in job loss in the North Shore, and it is MUCH BETTER than the State average.

click for larger image

Peabody's unemployment rate, while still too high, grew only 0.7% making it the second lowest in the region and lower than the State average or 0.9%

Maybe this isn't GREAT NEWS for someone who has just lost their job, but it is at least a little encouraging for the rest of us.