Residents arrived at the Finance Committee meeting this evening to find that the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor had reached most of the points in a compromise to preserve a portion of Zero New Washington Street as open space. Of the slightly more than three acres, the City will keep about one acre as open space and put as much as the entire remaining space or at least 50-60,000 sq ft. up for sale. Negotiations with the MBTA which currently occupies approximately an acre of the remaining space are ongoing.

Alderman at Large William White, Ward Two Alderman Maryann Heuston and Ward Seven Alderman Robert Trane represented the Finance Committee. Alderman at Large Bruce Desmond, Ward One Alderman Bill Roche, Ward Three Alderman Tom Taylor, and Ward Six Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz were also present. Nine residents representing Wards One, Two and Six attended the meeting.

As Chairman of the Committee, Alderman White invited Mayor Joseph Curtatone to speak about the proposal. The Mayor stated that the FY07 budget depends on an additional $350,000 dollars from the sale of land. In addition to revenue, he identified two other issues related to the property: the MBTA is squatting on part of the land, and residents, particularly seniors who visit the Ralph and Jenny Center and East Somerville dog owners, have open space needs that are not presently being addressed.

Anne Thomas, Legal Counsel, presented a revised request for proposal describing approximately two-thirds of the 146,013 sq. ft. parcel as available for disposition. The property is bisected by an access road and the city would retain approximately one third of the property to the east of the access road for public open space accommodating two parks: one where people can socialize and exercise their dogs off-leash and one for seniors from the Ralph and Jenny Center to get out into the sun and fresh air.

Alderman Bruce Desmond inquired about the square footage of the park area, but was told by the Legal Counsel that due to the irregularity of the shape of the property, she could not provide accurate square footage. Alderman Tom Taylor received a similar reply when he inquired about the square footage of the land available for disposition. The City estimates that 50-60,000 square feet of the land is developable.

The Mayor spoke about satisfying the claim that the MBTA has on the land if it is displaced by the sale: Fifty percent of the proceeds from the sale of the land may be due to the State. Projecting conservatively that the City could get $1 million for the the land, after giving the state it's share, we should be able to realize $350,000 on the sale of the property. If the property were further subdivided, allowing the MBTA continued use of the land, it would hold no stake in the proceeds of the sale.

Alderman Bill White acknowledged the need for expediency but indicated that he intended to move that the final disposition of the land be subject to the approval of the Board. He also suggested that any proceeds over the $350,000 required by the budget be placed in a long-term Debt Stabilization Fund.

Alderman Gewirtz inquired about what would happen in the event that we could not get $1m for the land. The Mayor emphasized that the value of the land is to the west of the access road, which is why he and his administration feel that it is possible to retain the eastern parcel as public open space.

Alderman Trane asked whether the land was a brownfield, which would increase the cost of development to its buyer. As the land is being sold "as is," Trane suggested that prospective buyers be made aware that the City has access to grant money to assist in the clean-up of brownfields.

The Chairman invited questions from residents. A resident from Ward Two asked that the Committee consider keeping the whole parcel for open space and challenged the Board on a budgeting process that depends on the sale of city-owned land. He asked if the MBTA would have any claim on the property if the City claimed the entire thing as open space.

Another Ward Two resident asked for the opportunity to play good cop to her wardmate's bad cop: She observed that many residents had asked for a creative compromise to the sale of land. She thanked the Chairman for calling the meeting and giving citizens an opportunity to express our concerns about the original proposal, and she thanked the Mayor for finding a creative solution to the many issues involved in the sale of Zero New Washington Street.

A resident from Ward One also spoke in support of retaining the entire parcel as open space and inquired about using any money left over from the sale after satisfying budgetary obligations be committed to the development of the park. She observed that it had been necessary for residents to privately raise the funds for the construction of the Nunziato Off-Leash Recreational Area (OLRA), and that it would be nice if the development of the OLRA at New Washington Street were not also dependent on private fundraising. Unless, she added to general laughter, the same was required for the park for seniors.

Curtatone observed that the City matched the monies residents raised for the Nunziato OLRA.

Trane echoed the call for monies to be allocated to park renovations. He said that there are parks in Ward Seven that have been neglected for years and suggested that surplus revenue be directed to much needed park renovations.

On a related note Alderman Maryann Heuston spoke of parks, like Perry Park in Ward Two, that are presently unusable, because their renovation is so overdue. She entreated her colleagues and the members of the Administration to preserve well the park space that we have.

The Committee approvde the revised request to make two-thirds of the property at Zero New Washington Street available for disposition as well as two motions: that the final disposition is subject to approval of the board, and that any surplus from the sale be committed to capital reserve for such uses a debt service and parks.

At the subsequent meeting of the Board of Alderman, the Board approved the request to sell two-thirds of the land at Zero New Washington Street.