e for oh get for e e e good afternoon everyone for the record my name is Enrique Pepin District 5 city counselor and I am the chair of the Boston city council committee on community preservation act today is Thursday April 11th 2024 this hearing is being recorded it is also being live streamed at boston.gov city council TV and broadcast on Xfinity channel 88 RCN channel 82 and files Channel 964 written comments may be sent to the committee email at ccccca boston.gov and will be made a part of the record and available to all counselors public testimony will be taken at the end of this hearing individuals will be called on in the order in which they signed up and will have 2 minutes to testify if you interested in testifying in person please add your name to the signup sheet near the entrance of the chamber if you are looking to testify virtually please email our Central staff liaison Megan kavanov megan. kavanov boston.gov for the link and your name will be added to the list today's hearing is on docket 0503 message in order for an appropriation order in the amount of 30380 8,27 77,4 from fiscal year 2024 Community preservation fund revenues for Community preservation projects at the recommendation of the city of Boston Community preservation committee this matter was sponsored by the administration and was referred to the committee on March 13th 20124 today I am joined by my colleagues and order of arrival counselor Flynn and councelor Weber I just want to start off by saying thank you to those from the administration that are serving as panelists today thank you to the audience it is amazing to be chairing a hearing with an audience um so it's so good to see this room failed um and I would just like to now give the opportunity to the um panelist to do an introduction and please state your name and title hi I'm theen Brown director of community preservation office and I'm Morin Garo the city of Boston Treasurer Sheila Dylan chief of Housing and director of the mayor's office of housing Ryan Woods Commissioner of Boston Parks and Recreation thank you all for being here you will have the floor for your presentation thank you I'll have more I'm going to kick it off to start uh thank you chairman pepen and thank you counselors Weber and Flynn um and to all the members of the community preservation committee who are here my city colleagues and the City of Boston community members thank you for being here today to discuss the requested slate of projects for 2024 as you heard I'm Morin Garo city of Boston Treasurer the CPA is team is part of the Treasury Department the community preservation program had its inaugural funding round in 2018 since then the program has grown into a vibrant and vital part of the city there's so much involved in running this program so successfully compliance contract management project monitoring and a great deal more shortly you will hear from director theine Brown about the community outreach engagement she and her team perform some of which has been with members of the city council you will also hear about the work done by members of the community other City personnel the community preservation committee and the CPA team itself to get us here today to present to you 57 projects with a request of greater than $38 million I'll leave all of that to theine to to discuss but I'd be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to highlight the work and resulting accomplishments that have been achieved by the CPA team in these very few years preserved over a 100 buildings sites vessels and artifacts planted more than 250 trees to help with Boston's tree canopy rehabilitated and created over 80 playgrounds and recreational spaces created Urban farms and Community Gardens preserved and created nearly 1,700 units of affordable housing including home ownership units and supported housing projects for veterans seniors artists and individuals experiencing homelessness funded greater than $20 million to two programs that support first-time home ownership and prevent displacement what you can clearly here is the pride that I have in in my team so thank you and I will pass it over to director thank you thank you um so it's a pleasure to be here chairman pepen uh counselors um as you know I'm dating director for the CPA office I've been with the CPA office for um the last six years and through all seven funding rounds I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to the hardworking and dedicated uh CPA team rakia Islam Jillian Lang and amrel Delgado along with the nine members of the community preservation committee um they have been instrumental in ensuring the success of this year's funding round I'm truly grateful for their commitment I would also like to extend a warm welcome to our two new team members Elizabeth Sanchez and Kenya Thompson who joined us earlier this year I would like to thank Moren and the CFO for their support and Leadership and to all the city departments who continue to be great partners with us Chief Dylan and commissioner woods and others uh today I would like to give you a brief overview of the CPA projects for FY 24 and introduce to you the 57 project projects that being recommended for funding in this first slide uh this highlights the breakdown of our funding allocation for FY 24 funding round the initial amount of funds was 37.2 million and with reverted funds we're reallocated to two categories for projects that were withdrawn or completed under budget the committee now had 38.2 million in funding to allocate to projects the committee has recommended an allocation of 49% to affordable housing 20 25% to to Historic preservation and 26% to open space and Recreation with 21,000 in Reser remaining in reserves for those who are not familiar with Community preservation act I would like to give a brief overview of the in the next few slides to help everyone understand the required rules under the statute 10% of CPA 10% of funds must be spent in all three categories every year historic preservation affordable housing and open space and Recreation up to 5% may be spent on administrative cost only capital projects can be funded CPA funds cannot be used for maintenance operations or programming recipients can be public and private entities nonprofit or for-profit organizations the allowable uses of CPA funds are for acquisition creation preservation Rehabilitation restoration and support the allowable uses of CPA funds are statutorily limited and narrowly defined by the community preservation act for for specific purposes including to acquire create preserve and support community housing to acquire create and preserve open space rehabilitate and restore open space that was created or acquired with Community preservation funds acquire create preserve rehabilitate and restore land for recreational use acquire preserve and rehabilitate and restore historic resources understanding the allowable uses of CPA fun is critical to the to the success of the applicants being invited in to complete an application so to best prepare applicants we engage them and educate them early and often about the allowable uses to date the community preservation act Grant has funded 290 projects and has awarded over 150 million in funding and on this slide you can see a breakdown of the uh years of funding that has gone out in the last six years Community preservation act funded can has funded 20 projects in all 23 neighborhoods of those supported since the creation we have supported 110 open space and Recreation projects 45 affordable housing projects and 135 historic preservation projects from 2018 to 2023 here is a detailed breakdown of the total projects and funding amounts for each neighborhood the top five funded neighborhoods are currently Dorchester Roxberry Jamaica plane East Boston Back Bay and Charlestown I would also like to note in the previous slide that city-wide projects are projects that um benefit all residents in Boston and that is the highest funded uh uh neighborhood combined uh for 30 million I would also like to highlight our inter interactive map which can be found on our website this map allows the public to view public descriptions and funding amounts for each CPA funded project to date so we encourage folks to really uh visit our website and take a view of all the 290 projects that we have we have funded to date on this next slide you can see the funding percentages and the project percentages for each category in the last six funding rounds affordable housing has the highest percentage of 53% but the lowest percentage at 16% HP has the highest project percentage at 46% but a lower F funding percentage at 23% open space and Recreation has received 24% of the funding percentage with 38% of the project percentage for the last seven funding rounds the CPA committee H has been committed to allocating 50% of funds to affordable housing category to date we have only had 16 projects withdrawn uh from CPA funds uh some projects have withdrawn because they did not have the Readiness to proceed they could not agree on the 15-year terms of our grant agreement or the long-term sight control did not align with our grant terms the office consists our office consists of a small efficient team and over the last three funding rounds we have transformed our daily operations significantly staff and Consultants monitor over 100 projects daily site visits monitor monthly check-ins monitoring construction timelines and processes efficient internal tracking systems are in place we have 175 completed projects 51 of those are repeat projects approximately over 85 of our funding from 2018 to 2023 has been paid out this does not mean that all projects are completed but that funding has been distributed Grant Agreements andas are improved in 2 to 3 weeks which allows funding to get out the door quickly to applicants timely payments of Grant installments are also going out in 1 to two weeks commitment to building Community relationships and a strong potential project pipeline is also important we have hired two new staff members earlier this year a manager of projects and planning and a new contracts and operations coordinator and my goal is to hire two additional project managers in the next two months and to highlight some of our community engagement success this round uh we currently did uh Community engagements with 13 of the city councilors this year which was a huge accomplishment for us we uh plan to continue to do to do that again this round uh those engagement sessions allowed us to reach 155 constituents we hosted nine virtual in-person workshops on our own for the CPA office uh meet and greets reaching uh over a 100 constituents we did 15 neighborhood association over 15 neighborhood association meetings uh we did two youth engagement uh meetings this year and plan to do another two to educate the youth on CPA funding our Outreach efforts reached over 450 community members in Boston and formed a large network of residents through social media our annual uh CPA trans uh annual CPA presentation is also trans uh translated in 11 languages on our website and I would like to also highlight our new community preservation plan uh this plan was a guide for city of Boston allocation of CPA funds it was created in 2022 and voted in by the committee we recently updated the plan to include the six funding rounds so it has data from 2018 to 2023 and the office will continue to work with the consultant JM goson to update the next few years to highlight some of the analysis out of the six funding rounds I'll like to state that 160 out of the 290 projects totaling 85 million are in parts of Boston with elevated poverty levels and areas where 65% or more of residents identify as bipo residents and bipo stands for black indigenous people of color includes Asian latinx Pacific Islanders and Middle Eastern persons 113 out the 290 projects are in neighborhoods with the highest levels of of language access needs and 183 62% are in census census tracks where over 65% of households are making 100% Ami or less within 6 years the CPA program is now funding projects for for an amount five times greater than what we started with and these are the overall goals I will not read through all of these slides but we have overall goals in our community preservation plan affordable housing goals open space and Recreation goals and historic preservation goals so I encourage members of the public public to uh visit our website um to read more details on our plan I do want to talk about our fund FY 24 funding round highlights so in this round we had over a 100 eligibility forms and rfps submitted over 95 applications were presented to the community preservation committee over 62 million in funding request the CPC held 10 public meetings from September through January over 20 hours of public discussion 37 of the 57 projects recommended today will receive full is recommended for full funding from 2018 to 2024 s CPA funding rounds the committee has recommended 347 projects awarding over will award over 193 million in funding that is 54 affordable housing projects 160 historic preservation and 133 open space and Recreation projects across the city of Boston and I just want to highlight one more slide that talks about the pro total projects in each neighborhood this round so uh the projects that have uh has the highest amount of projects is Dorchester Roxbury and matapan and there are four neighborhoods that are not funded this round Bay Village High Park North End and West Roxberry um but these but these neighborhoods have received um previous funding the community preservation committee is committed to funding projects s in every neighborhood so the CPA staff will continue to work on finding projects that have the Readiness to proceed the fact that we continue to uh to touch a majority of neighborhoods um in each round testifies to the community-driven nature and the importance of the program and last this is the final slide of the 57 projects recommended for funding this round thank you thank you so much um for that presentation director um I guess I will what I'll do is open it up to questions to my colleagues in order of arrival um and I'll start with um councelor Fint thank you Mr chair and it's an it's I I'm sure it's an honor for you to be chair of this wonderful committee this is the committee Council of FL already love to be chairman of so I know we had a wonderful working relationship with with Deen and Moren and shil and and Ryan as well um but I want to say first thank you to the panel for being here but even more importantly for the work you do on CPA related issues CPA is a program that really brings bostonians together and where residents can work together working with neighborhood associations nonprofit profit Civic associations elected officials business community and what I love about the CPA program besides the outstanding programs that they fund is their dedicated staff that takes the time to listen and help all the applicants with paperwork explaining issues providing guidance in in a professional manner and theine I want to acknowledge your work for the last six seven years I had the opportunity to work with you for seven years and you've been an excellent professional city of Boston employee and it's it's wonderful to see your dedication and love of the CPA program um so let me let me just ask um one question or two questions um what was your focus theen as it relates to this round of applicants did you have any specific goals in mind that you wanted to accomplish so our goal every funding round is just to ensure that we have projects enough projects um in every neighborhood and really uh catering to the projects that really need the funds that have critical needs of repairs uh playgrounds that need to be rehabilitated so we kind of focus on all three categories and ensuring that we're funding home affordable rental and Home Ownership units um so the focus is just for applicants that do come in if they have the Readiness to proceed uh so they can move forward within the funding round so we are putting forward to the committee applicants uh projects that are ready to go and ready to receive the funding and be completed within 24 months and my final question thating is and I'm so happy that so many different groups in across the city are getting funded um but I also know that there are some groups or applicants that are not getting funded but what I always tell them is certainly you might be a little bit discouraged in not receiving the award but there's another opportunity to apply again in you know don't get so discouraged that you're going to not compete or or complete the application but the CPA team is still willing to work with you to ensure that your application looks good and um that they could address any issues that may have been in the previous um application but what's your what's your professional advice for people for applicants that may not have received the award um and and how do you engage them again to um continue to be active in this C active in CPA sure great question and you're absolutely abolutely right we do encourage folks that they can reapply our eligibility form is a rolling eligibility form so as our fy2 24 round was in play folks can automatically apply um for our next eligibility round the deadline is August 30th for folks who want to get in for the fy2 funding round we do uh reach out to every applicant that was not considered for funding this round to uh encourage them to reapply or to discuss what any any needs or or any concerns with their application majority of the time it's not that the applicant had anything wrong with their application it's just the fact that it was a very competitive funding real having 100 applications $62 million in request and only being able to give away 38 million tough decisions have to be made and So within that uh decision-making process there are some projects that are not selected but we do encourage them to reapply I also want to acknowledge the CPA board the people that review these applications as well for their professional work in commitment to the residence of Boston Meen feden Sheila and Ryan uh thank you for being here thank you for the work you're doing in the city thank you Mr chair thank you counselor thank you um before I continue I just want to recognize that our council president ruy Lu Jen has joined us so welcome um councelor Weber you have the floor uh thank you and and uh thank you to the panelists for all your hard work and you know I I fully support you know the the what you're doing and uh although I I I represent Jamaica plane in West Roxberry so I I I do I West Roxberry you know there's zero in terms of number of projects I guess uh I don't know if there were any any projects that I don't know what was before you uh this is all got reviewed before I joined the council um so yeah I don't know if there are any projects that uh you looked at that you recall and and maybe to help me help them for the next round you know what uh what what what will what what kinds of projects would you you would you like to see you know or what themes would you like to be emphasized coming out of West rockburg sure so um just to knowe West roxb has received funding in the previous years I think it's a total of four or five projects um but they have received just this round uh the one project that did come in I think it was one or two uh Sophia snow was a project that we did fund previously uh they actually received funding uh twice uh just that this round was very competitive and they were not selected this round by the committee but we are always looking for projects in all three categories we even have a affordable housing project that was funded um through CPA uh that helped support of uh affordable housing project in West Roxbury in previous years um but our projects in affordable housing um open space and Recreation and historic preservation um are projects that we are looking for we also did fund a church I believe last year uh to do some preservation work in West rockberry so um we're always just trying to make sure that we're engaging uh neighborhood associations and Community groups that our funding round is open and sometimes it just may be the case that a project is just not ready for around and they may be ready for fy2 as opposed to FY 24 but our goal is to always do um community outreach and to ensure that we are reaching every neighborhood as much as we can okay yeah and uh anything to help the seniors at Sophia snow place uh you I've met with them a bunch of times uh shout out to Ruth klepper um uh I guess uh if um have you given any thought to you know in terms of just last question about you know the the West rockberry in ensuring that every neighborhood at least has at least some projects or and how does that conflict with the mission uh you know how do you weigh that in your Calculus so I think the hardest part of reaching every neighborhood is that that neighborhood has to apply during our eligibility round and if we don't have enough uh projects during the eligibility round let's say if it's only one or two and depending on the competitive nature of the of the projects that are in the pipeline that's the risk that a project may not move forward but uh the goal is that we do when we when the committee and the staff reviews all the projects that are are in the applic that comes into the application round our goal is to ensure that we are looking at all uh the projects in the neighborhood but the main concern also is critical need and critical repairs so there are certain projects that need funding now to save their building or to rehabilit rehabilitate a space um and it might have a higher need than a particular project that just may need to do smaller work so we may encourage that project to come back and we want to address the the project that has the critical needs okay thanks I I just I have a couple questions just about the projects that did get approved um uh so uh mild Haley uh uh play area do do you know um what the schedule is for that or sure so every project that comes into the CPA pipeline has 24 months to be completed so what's going to happen next is they need to sign a grant agreement uh with the CPA staff we it goes through our legal review process we'll go out and do our first site visit and we will first uh give the first installment of 30% of funds to that project when that project is done uh using their first 30% of funds we will go out to do a mid Construction site visit um and then we will distribute the second 60% of funds and that so they are working on a 24 month timeline in order to uh complete that project and then we release the final 10% when the project is complete now for City Department projects they do work a little differently we um turn over all the funds to that City Department because we can monitor those funds internally however we do still monitor the the project monthly and we do check in during pre-construction mid construction and ensure the project is completed and go out and do a final site visit okay yeah I Chief Dylan I do you know I don't know who's going to be in charge of that uh if it's Parks housing I it go ahead it's ours it's us okay okay it's a it's a recreation project so the CPA staff will be monitoring that project and working closely with the team from uh BHA so I can tell people within 24 within two years this should this should be finished that's the right that's the contract deadline okay um just uh quickly uh and then so the there's a a grant for the yes headquarters uh you know I think that's on Amory uh that's being built but this grant is for the front of the it's uh number uh 48 in your in your book but it it's it's this this grant is specifically for the it's not for the whole build it's not 400,000 for the whole project it's just no it's for the playground it's for the recreation space and so and I just want to be clear our fund is a portion of the funding that is going in into this project so we're helping uh and we we have a scope of work within those funds that they have to cover and use for CPA funds okay uh thank you and I don't if you don't mind can I can I include the emerald necklace tree planting in in my district uh as a as a as a JP uh thing C can you just explain what that what that is what the project is so right so they they will actually be um planting new trees uh throughout uh particular areas of the city so uh they have um they're getting 55,000 and I don't have on the top of my head how many but they have a certain amount of trees that they're going to plant with that $55,000 okay U yeah I'm just I'm taking that sure uh for for my team um sure you can ask go ahead okay well thank you very much uh this is a great uh learning experience for me and I appreciate uh your uh thorough answers back to you chair thank you Council rbert um president L Jen thank you Mr chair and uh thank you everyone for being here I think these are one of the occasions uh it's good to see my colleague from district 6 lobbying for uh certain things to be considered in his district as an at large city counselor I get to be overjoyed about everything that is on here and that I am so I want to thank you commissioner uh Chief director uh Deputy treasurer for all of the work that you do to make this possible it is uh really a joy to see projects uh get the support especially when we know uh financing is really difficult and also with the distribution of the projects it really shows that you're taking to Heart the issues of equity and making sure that we are prioritizing neighborhoods and projects that that typically uh have a harder time uh finding funding and I want to again thank you director Brown because I know you are very intentional with making sure that we are reaching out to all different communities in different languages and if I'm not mistaken I see the first Haitian Baptist Church um in the house and that's the church where I grew up in and at and so hi and I remember that being so like my I'm just so heartened because of the intentionality of your office and working in partnership with so many of us who needed um wanted to make sure that our communities were getting the funding and I see Claire Shaw here with the League of Women for community service um thank you for being here I know your your mother was a Trailblazer Sarah an Shaw as a first black woman on TV at WBC and just thank you for all the work that you do um I guess for me when I think about the CPA the majority of it is going to Neighborhood organizations and neighborhood groups but there is the potential for City projects as well the city of Boston to get funding through this and that's present and evident with the Boston open space acquisition fund um can you talk a little bit about like what that Grant what does it look like when the city is applying for funding from CPA sure I'll talk a little bit and I'll have commissioner Woods um jump in a little bit more for the Boston open space acquisition fund they have received funding in the the last four funding rounds and it's usually a million a little over a million and the goal of this acquisition fund is to acquire um Parcels to preserve them and to make them Recreation spaces and so as the committee gets to the the community preservation committee continues to learn more about the Acquisitions um that's of where this funding is going one acquisition has been completed sprog Pond and high park that is the first acquisition that has been done I know the second acquisition is an eglon that they are working on and so but I'll have commissioner Woods uh take on a little bit more on the open space fund sure so we have three uh Acquisitions we're closing on Now One is uh in eglon square the other one is is that the peace project is that the peace okay awesome awesome with that nice billboard yeah beautiful um and then we have um a parcel in South Boston that we're working with the a dasis through and then um Dale Street in Rosendale where in conversations uh very closely on that and with these projects we will pretty much spend all of the acquisition money that we've been allotted over the years so we're coming back again to start up our acquisition fund so as projects become available the city will have the means to move on them uh as quickly as possible thank you um Chief Dylan has the has there been any mayor of housing CPC funding CPA funding that's happened like direct I I don't know if in the same way so the open acquisition fund lives under uh Brian uh sorry commissioner woods' shop is there something similar like we in past rounds I mean this round we're focused on production uh and the um writing down interest rates and continuing to work with our homeowners but in in past rounds we have gotten acquisition funding and has that been for the acquisition opportunity program okay um and and so I guess relatedly for private um and chair this is my last question um uh do uh can nonprofits or outside organizations they can they can can re they can reapply like yearly if needed or have there been projects that have uh been successful who have received CPA funding once and have received it a second time Yes actually foration church is actually receiving funding again this year um so once have I good job what what usually happens is projects that have a large scope of work um they'll receive funding and with Haitian let's use first haian as an example we funded the project they did a condition assessment and did a scope of work and from that conditions assessment it was a guide to help uh the church understand what additional work needs to be done within the church and so they applied again for CPA funds to kind of now have a blueprint on how to fix certain areas in their Church in a particular order so yes there are projects 51 uh we have 175 completed projects 51 of those are repeat projects they have come in for second scopes of work now we do have a policy that if a project has come in three times in a row and receive consecutive funding that they do take a year off in order to give room for someone else to receive funding no it seems fair awesome thank you this is amazing thank you to all of the applicants to all the people who are working Adam substation to everyone um who who won and this I think this is just a joyous moment for the city every time we get to celebrate and support our organization so thank you thank you Mr chair thank you thank you council president um and at this time I just also want to recognize that we've been joined by by the Vice chair of this committee councelor Henry Santana and um councelor Sharon Durkin so welcome to the hearing um I guess I'll ask some questions oh sorry and councelor Fitzgerald you sneaked in there good to see you um I'm happy to see that in my district there are four affordable housing projects three of them in matapan and one of them in rosin which is amazing what I want to know is what do these funds help them to do um I just want to get understanding of how do they play a role sure so uh the vast majority of well I I just want to take one quick second and thank you certainly for having this hearing today but also thank the CPA staff they Dean Brown and her and her group they do I really I just this is such a well-run program it is just it's just um it's wonderful to partner with the CPA staff and a&f so I just wanted to call that out there it's a it's a well-run just a great program um so uh the vast majority of the programs uh the projects in your District are new construction um they are home ownership and Rental projects that are going to be ground up construction and so um we're really excited about those um we are working with new owner new developers um I have to go back and look at your District but in this round we're funding uh housing for seniors uh new home ownership opportunities new rental projects uh housing that is adjacent to existing churches so it's really just a a wonderful group of projects so I'm glad you're getting four of them great no seriously I'm very glad to see that myself as well and um I forget who mentioned I think it was the you mentioned that youth can also apply for this for these grants um I love to work with youth but I would just I would like to know um do they need to be affiliated with a group or an organization or can they do this as a collective group with an adult so what we have done is done we've presentations for the Youth but if they are part of a neighborhood association that has ideas around projects we are encouraging and want them to make them aware of CPA funds because they will become old enough to pay into the uh taxes and if they're not already and they become homeowners and be part of the search charge so our goal is to educate the youth just around CPA funds but also highlight some of the recreational spaces that we may be covering in affordable housing and there maybe local church that maybe uh receiving CPA funds so our goal is just to really continue to keep them educated and our goal is to do two to three kind of information sessions with youth um each year wow that's so good to know I we I'll be picking your brain on that okay offline and um commissioner Woods you mentioned a project that is very um relevant to me at the moment in my district it's Dale Street in Rosen though um I would love to get an update when when you have an opportunity um when you have more to say about that so please um do update my office when there is one we'll do thank you um but that's that's it for me now I will give an opportunity to my colleagues I do believe councelor Fitzgerald did get here first before Durk in Santana so councelor Fitzgerald you have the floor thank you chair uh very much appreciated and thank you the administration for coming today um so this is a relatively new process for me right so I guess the only question I have is um uh first of all thanks for all the things that that that Dorchester and those in District 3 got very happy I've going through them here um but for this upcoming year just from and really just from my own review is what is the process and what is the role that city council is playing in helping those that want CPA or can help uh Advocate more to let people know how to apply and and and sort of what that process looks like um just so if people ask me out there if I'm ever advocating about it what I can tell them sure um so one we will be reaching out to you soon to uh host a CPA kind of information session in your neighborhood we did that with all 13 counselors last year um if folks have you we will share with you our um schedule for our meet and greets information sessions virtually and in person we really encourage folks to join our information sessions that's where they can really learn a lot more detailed information about our process CPA is a little complicated understanding the allowable uses and we do a good job in explaining that in our meet and greet meetings um so we encourage you to ask them to contact the staff join our information sessions um but also when a project does come in um to is selected to submit an application these projects will be turning to you for letters of support and so that's where you will also come in uh to decide if you want to give a letter of support to a project um but if folks have uh questions about CPA encourage them to contact the staff we happy to have a conversation with them but most importantly our information sessions are really good filled with information on how our process fully works great and when you say selected to submit an application so there there like a pre there's a there's a pre- selection period and then you are asked to submit yes absolutely so um every funding round uh folks have to submit an eligibility form first that eligibility form is actually due this year on August 30th okay and so the eligibility form gives is it's helpful for the staff to kind of review if the project meets the allowable uses of CPA and if they do they are they are invited in in October to do an actual application that goes before the committee so there is a two-step process eligibility form first because we have to identify site control identify if they meet the allowable uses and most importantly are they ready to proceed yeah um excellent thank you very much um welcome and then I was looking through I know under the historic preservation I see a lot of great things but commissioner Woods I did not see any for that suit is there any is that a great that is that belongs in I try to wear this all spring if I can while I still in season then I have to hang it up for the it actually matches the color of my phone I'm actually jealous it is a fantastic suit I'm not thank you commission thank um counselor Durkin counselor Santana was here before me but I'm going to go because I love preservation I love CPA and I'm really excited about being at this hearing and um great to see my colleagues in government over here and um director Brown thank you for all of your work I think this program I remember um my predecessor Kenzie Bach telling me about this program um and telling me about the potential and what this could unlock and in my first few months of being a city counselor I was hounded by Community organizations asking me please sign my letter we've we've done all the research for you please sign my letter and um so I would call the CPA season um councelor V Cheryl you just missed it but there was a whole CPA season of of um of people requesting and I love that part of the application District counselors um letters need to be part of the application which I think is incredibly important and um there are a couple things that I did sign on to that I was really excited about that didn't get funding yet this year but now looking at the past few years I can see why um my neighborhoods of you know uh the West End Beacon Hill Back Bay Fenway mission Hill have gotten a lot of the money the past few years and I really appreciate the opportunities um that you're giving to people for their first round of funding um I also want to highlight um really particularly excited about parcel 25 it's right outside of my district it's actually in across the street from my district in Ben Weber's District but I sent um a letter of support for parcel 25 phase 3 thank you so much for funding it this is going to unlock so many affordable opportunities in Mission Hill and um and it's from a developer that I really admire and does a lot of great work um in the neighborhood Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services so thank you for funding that um also want to um I was just in the hill house and I just they they took me to see some of what needed to be done so I'm really excited um it was just Tim that were having this hearing right after I was at Hill house and they were telling me about some of the um concerns they had around the roof um as you know in Beacon Hill uh you have to find the most expensive the Slate roofs are so expensive to replace and every little thing that you need to replace in a historic neighborhood is so expensive so this is unlocking a lot of potential for the neighborhoods I represent and uh the Beacon Hill friend's house does such great work so um sorry I don't have a lot of questions I just have a lot of thanks um and I think um I do want to ask for next year how we can be sort of more proactive in the process um if there is there a sort of an official or unofficial way for us to because obviously I have been um and sorry Kathy Griffin is here from weed tree uh they do such great work on restoring the thorough path which is not a technical Park in the city but is the green space for the West End neighbors that is just so essential so uh thank you for finding that as well um sorry and I'll just I just wanted to ask officially or unofficially um I I really responded to everyone who wanted a letter from my office because I think a lot of people put so much time and Care into their um applications but is there a way for us to sort of tip the scales in the sense of like if I had three things these would be the three things or is there ways that we can wait or is it just the quality of our letters that you're looking at yeah it's just the quality of of the letters go before the the nine member Community preservation committee and so they look at all applications and all the letters together um from December through February to help kind of make their selection and there one that I was um that I'm you know uh so excited about um that has gotten um support in previous years but didn't make it this year was the French Library obviously just noting there's still work to be done there don't forget about the French Library it's such a um such a um resource for the Franco files who live actually throughout New England it's the only um place where uh that work is done in all of New England so um so just want to put in a good word for them next year and um and then uh I think that was all I had on my list of just thank you thank you thank you and obviously thank you for supporting our Parks they're incredibly important and open space has been a huge priority of mine since running for office and look forward to engaging in the park budget um and engaging with the parks department in other ways too and thanks for support of affordable housing too thank you thank you thank you councelor Durkin councelor Santana thank you Mr chair and thank you for um the members of the administration for being here I'm so nice to see you all um and thank you to my colleagues for amazing questions um I just have a couple just a couple quick questions and then also follow-ups on the follow-ups um um director Brown I know you mentioned um kind of you talked about the engagement piece you're hosting um different listening sessions throughout the year um I'm ready excited to hear about the youth engagement that you're doing um can you speak to just kind of I'm sure there's a lot of people and a lot of um residents who know about CPA there's also a lot of residents that don't know about this right can we speak to um any other type of proactive engagement that you're doing um um to make sure that people know about this and more specifically can you speak to also it's like the language access um and and the sensibility of this application um and then kind of into that same question um you know you talked about the same um having a two-step process for the application um can you speak to just assistant if someone needs assistance I'm filling out the application kind of what the office does um and the resources that are provided there sure um so one to talk about the uh engagement our goal um around one language access is we do have an our eligibility form uh if folks need to reach out to us if they need a application translated in different language or that eligibility form they uh they can contact me and we can have that uh document uh draft up and done for them um because we just we and another one of our goal with our my manager of Engagement and operations rakia is we do want to do language um uh presentations in particular languages and we did host one uh with translation services uh to actually last funding round we want to continue to make that effort uh to do so our goal is to really go out and Target uh particular neighborhoods that need the awareness and we continue to do that and so our goal is just to continue to work with organization and neighborhoods that want to learn more about CPA so they can understand how they can use our dollars um for the the the how we help folks in terms of the two-step process uh I really really want to highlight our information sessions our information sessions are really really valuable they are a good 45 minutes of full information and it walks you through the entire process of how to apply for CPA funds and our goal is it's education highlighting folks on what CPA is how it's started how the dollars are being used but walks them through the steps on how they can apply and so when folks do need assistance they can contact myself our our historic preservation consultant or our open space and Rec our manager of projects and planning and we will have a two project managers for historic preservation and open space as well the goal is that our team you contact our team we'll come out to do a site visit uh we will also talk to you on the phone in detail about your project so our goal is to learn as much about your project to see if it fits within the allowable uses of CPA because that's what's really important about chapter 44b not anyone can apply it has to be an allowable use under CPA oh great thank you thank you so much for that and just a couple like more Technical and and I'm sorry if you already kind of went over this and your open remarks I know I'm I'm the one that came in late okay um but how many you know I'm seeing that you know there's $ 38.2 million right now being allocated in all these recommended projects um in terms of how much money are you getting requested uh from all your applications um so like how many people are we Turning Away um from from from this and um just to have an idea of of of the demand that's that's out there right now of the applicants that we're receiving sure so the committee I could talk let's this round we had 100 applications go before the committee and 57 projects were selected um it's a very highly competitive round and um majority of the folks that submitted eligibility forms and I'm going to say that's a good Testament to our kind of community engagement majority of them were eligible to move forward to do an application um however it's just a really competitive round 62 million in request and only 38 million to give away so tough decisions did have to had to be made by the committee and it's very very hard but folks can reapply and so we do encourage folks to reapply our elig eligibility form is now open deadline is August 30th for the fy2 funding round great thank you one abely just one final question and and it was kind of to councelor Durkin um's point the you mentioned earlier the the quality of a of a of a support letter um that that's reviewed in terms of I mean can you kind of just go into like the definition of what of a quality level it looks like I mean are you actually looking at like it's it's not just me saying hey I support this project but like why I support it are you guys looking into um those details of a of a city councilor's letter of support sure sure the committee members uh review all of the the letters and the applications that that are submitted that that do come in I am going to state right no one's going to write a bad support letter for a project right so we understand that they do support the project and we ourselves and the committee we we want to support a project as well but as I stated earlier in my comments we do look at the critical need of a project because there may be a building with a steeple that is falling off right now and there's a project that that needs masonary work that could probably be done in the next spring season we may want to focus on on the project that has that critical need that needs that repair that needs the funding now to get the work done so that's the tough part of this decision-making process with the committee so it's not that your letters of support don't mean anything for that project is that we're there's different factors that we're also looking into as well Dorchester and Roxbury are two of the highest funded neighborhoods we want to support them as much as we can but we also have to have a balance for Back Bay and Charlestown and other neighborhoods as well so we have to factor that into play as well absolutely well well thank you thank you director Brown for all the work that you do and um thank you all for being here thank you Mr chair you thank you counselor um just being mindful of time we are approaching the one hour marks so um I want to know if any of my colleagues have some short questions before we move to public testimony um councelor Weber I'll be quick um uh I guess what does funding look like next year I think we'll have close to 30 plus a million again um for the next funding round um last year we had uh 40 million this year was 38 so we think it it's going to be close to that number again okay and then I just the open space acquisition fund so there won't be there's no money in the fund uh there's money currently in the fund but we're in the middle of three Acquisitions and once we if we successfully acquire all three we need to build that up again because you need the bank to actually pursue these and they sometimes come sometimes they're planned for years as in advance but sometimes you know like the Eon one just came up you know a year or so ago and we had to move on it so um it's just helpful to have that Banks who are able to proceed okay yeah no just before this year I got a phone call about someone in JP wanted there's a undeveloped plot of land and they want to keep it wooded uh and wanted to know if the city could help them with a conservation easen or something uh but it sounds like that would not be available now because it's all the money is yeah and aside from CPA we have a parcel priority plan where somebody uh if there's any land in the city of Austin that residents want to submit to us we can put it into a possible priority so we look at to acquire things and once they're acquired they're article 97 protected in perpetuity so there will not be development happening on those lands um happy to send you all that offline so that would be great thank you very much thank you chair coun anyone councelor fitgerald uh thank you uh director BR I just want to thank you and your staff uh and all the folks here uh today um but you you do have one uh and all the employees that work at the CPA uh but you have one Rockstar in particular Kenya Thompson I just wanted to give her her due um she's a fantastic uh former colleague of mine and you're lucky to have her thank you thank you thank you I just wanted to say I'm look looking over and reviewing some of the things that are outside of my district and just as worthy of preservation and I think a lot of times as a district City councelor your um your job is to like zero in and focus on what's in your District but the reality is we're all traversing the whole city of Boston and I think when we talk about historic preservation it's really nice to see some of these historic buildings in areas that don't have historic um designation be able to be preserved in like that really is the power of CPA so thank you so much for all of your work thank you thank you counselor um I also like to take this opportunity to say thank you um for the work that your staff does on a daily basis um and I also just wanted to mention that I didn't see any applicants from he High Park um this go around so I do want to invite youth 18 to let's do a session out in he High Park get some applicants there for the next round um and I just want to give a quick shout out to the substation and Randell happy to see them on this list it's a great Community partner so I'm just very happy to see this um with that I do want to trans transition to public testimonies because we have some good people here that want to share their their stor so I invite the panelist to stay and listen to these testimonies I understand if you have a long day ahead but thank you so much for coming here as panelist thank you okay um okay we're going to start with iners public testimonies um again you will have 2 minutes to to testify um when your name is called please come down to one of the two podiums and state your name your neighborhood and or organization affiliation please speak into the microphone and keep your comments to two minutes we will start with um Jamie Owens Boston city councilors and other distinguished panelists thank you for the opportunity to speak today my name is Jamie Owens I serve as the senior pastor at tront Temple Baptist Church and I came today to express my gratitude and that of our faith community uh for considering a second Grant uh for historic preservation of our facade project uh with your vital support uh we will be be able to continue to be a faith community a house of worship downtown but also to provide uh important social programs to the most vulnerable population of Boston including refugees the homeless and those who are victims of human trafficking and many others and so and also in deep humility as is becoming a man of the cloth I want to declare that our historic facade is one of the most attractive in the city and so we wait with great anticipation uh to see it fully restored I've been a pastor there for almost 10 years so up in in January it'll be 10 I've never seen it shine and so we are excited uh to see it restored and we we thank you for your diligence we thank uh the CPC we thank the CPA staff uh for your vote of confidence and we ask uh yeah just to to think of us and we we give thanks so thank you for allowing me to speak today thank you thank you Jamie um I'll like to call up Josh cahan good afternoon uh like Jamie I'm a pastor as well I'm Josh cahan senior pastor of Ruggles Baptist Church we're in the ottobon circle neighborhood of Fenway uh I just wanted to thank everyone again and just thank uh thank you for considering us for the historic preservation uh Grant uh just to share briefly about our church uh founded in 1870 on ruggle Street in in Roxbury we've always had uh a culture history of serving uh the community in fact one example of that is we used to have a medical dispensary free for the community that grew so much it became the uh the New England Baptist Hospital there um in in Mission Hill uh today we've moved uh to in 1970 we moved to Fenway and we continue to serve the community we we serve uh children uh we have a free toddler play group on Fridays a an annual Fenway kids Adventure week summer camp and fall festival all for families all free of charge and uh people with different religious background or no religious background we serve no strings attached to uh to the community in those ways a number of different other organizations uh utilize our building uh from neighborhood association to the National Children's Chorus a mental health Counseling Practice a Lindy hop dance group and uh more than two dozen Christian Ministries as well uh utilize um our building and we have a heart for serving all different populations of the city and particularly our our community is a diverse one our faith community is one of people from from all different nations and and backgrounds from all over our city uh one of our favorite verses in our church is uh from scripture that there is neither Jew nor Greek neither slave nor free no nor male nor female but you're all one in Christ Jesus and we really see that diversity uh in our church we're just really thankful that your investment in our building not only to make it look nice but especially keep the water from coming in in the rofes so we can continue to serve the city uh as best we can so thank you thank you again thank you so much Josh um I would like to call up Elvin aretta uh yes hi good afternoon that's a little loud um I'm also here with uh one of our parents from our school the Mariana Jessica Curtis she was right underneath it I should just put it together but yeah we're coming together she has the official statement um unofficially just saying thank you guys so much for giving this this opportunity it's the first time I'm here we're here and just to see this organization and just to see this follow through is very inspirational and just we're very grateful for that so I'll pass it on to Jessica good afternoon city council members and panelists I'm Jessica Curtis from the Mario Amana Academy's family Council here with Elvin and online is oenia corbo another parent uh she is with a sick child so any BPS parent right now knows what's going through our school systems so just want to shout out to her um the am is a dual Language School serving 696 students from k0 to 8th grade in East Boston but we're more than just a school it's a community Hub hosting organizations like Katie's closet Harborside community school for adult education and the East Boston y for swimming lessons although 133% of our students have disabilities our kindergarten through first grade entrance and playground are currently unusable for anyone with physical impairments our proposed project will transform both into 88 compliant zero barrier zones but this isn't just about compliance we want this playground to be fun for all kids not not just ours at the school school but the entire neighborhood Eagle hill our neighborhood has a dire higher density younger population than the rest of East Boston but the nearest fully accessible playground is a 30 minute walk away and as an easty resident and parent of a 4-year-old with physical disabilities I know how frustrating it can be when a public space just doesn't work for your child's body and even more so how disappointing it can be for a child to realize the playground designers haven't put enough thought into making the accessible elements actually something he wants to play on so our project aims to change that and integrates parent child and staff uh perspectives to really create a truly inclusive fun space and we'd love it if this playground becomes the destination playground for all of East Boston so finally thank you for your consideration um thanks to the CPA staff and the committee for moving our proposal forward and to Michelle martinat at BPS facilities for her unwavering support she's not here today but I also want to want to thank councelor Keta and representative moo and our Community Partners for their support thanks thank you so much um at this time I would like to call up Angie B uh dear uh members of the city council committee on community preservation act my name is angu and I serve as the executive director of the Asian community Development Corporation in Chinatown I'm here to testify in support of the application um for CPA funds from um the Boston transportation department in support of a permanent Plaza at Philips Square in Chinatown the redesign of Philips Square offers an important and timely opportunity for Chinatown to expand its green and open space Chinatown residents are frustrated about the lack of open space and seat as inequity we have 2.1 7 Acres of open space for every 1,000 residents compared to 7.89 acres um Citywide our neighborhood has less park space than most other neighborhoods in the city 3% versus 23% Citywide and Chinatown also suffers from the heat island effect and the lack of tree canopy so during the summer the chin park by Chinatown Gate can get as much as 10° hotter than elsewhere in the city more green and open space is needed in a neighborhood to promote resident Health Community cohesion and better prepare this community for climate change finding outdoor spaces for social connection is especially important for the long-term health of our elderly residents who spent much of the pandemic and social isolation the development of a permanent Plaza at Philips Square will help create a more lasting Gathering space for Chinatown this Plaza's design will also help address urgent needs in the neighborhood like increasing tree canopy and Shea structures to reduce the heat island effect and green infrastructure to capture storm water to reduce flooding and provide space for social connection this dense neighborhood is underserved by access to recreational spaces and parks and Philips Square will help provide that space while creating a Bonafide Northern entry way into Chinatown this tactical Plaza that has been in place at Philips Square since September 2019 has proved to be a very useful passive space for intergenerational community members to gather and as a space to host community events the space current lowbudget design has demonstrated the viability of a gathering space there Capital Improvements for a permanent Plaza would ensure that the space meets Community needs like a cohesive design for lighting accessible Paving materials permeable green infrastructure shade and installation for more functional seating Play Elements for children and citing of culturally significant artwork that has already been funded my organization actually spearheaded and completed an Open Space strategy for Philip Square in 2020 and that proposal and this proposal by BTD represents continued investment in expanding and and improving Open Spaces in Chinatown and is align with ACDC anchor strategy to strengthen the borders of Chinatown if funded we expect to participate in the community engagement process with BPD to provide input on issues such as citing of the proposed art installations and statues as well as ongoing maintenance plans thank you for your consideration and I hope that you will vote favorably on this funding request thank you so much Angie at this time I would like to call up Kathy Griffin hi there I'm Kathy Griffin with wry Boston um thank you Sharon thank you so much everyone for supporting or considering supporting our project um we're trying to protect 250 mature trees that happen to be on private land in the center of the West End when this plant land was developed initially after they raised the West End they had to put in a park unfortunately the person who developed it owned the park at the time and so he took care of all the trees since then it's been broken into Parcels of different private land owners and the city has an easement because of it most of the trees that fall in the center of the path have been completely neglected for 60 years since the parcel was broken apart our goal is to protect these trees many of which are almost 80 feet tall 60 years old and as you know in the city it's very hard to get a new tree to even live so in the West End most trees die before 5 years these trees are 60 years old could easily live to be 200 if cared for your money is is so important to our effort because it's very difficult to find funding for protecting old trees everyone wants to plant a new tree which we do that as well but to protect these old trees that provide that shade and that giving the you know place for Community to gather is so important so thank you for consideration and um if you ever get the chance to walk down the road path if you approve the funding you'll see the great work that we're trying to do there to help the whole Community thank you thank you Kathy um I would like to call up Josh Waxman good afternoon councilors uh my name is Josh Waxman I'm fortunate to be a a resident of the city of Boston District 3 Council Fitzgerald um I'm also fortunate to serve as a chief operating officer at Camp Harborview uh one of the city's Premier youth serving organizations in the city um one I want to thank all the the council who's been incredibly supportive of our work and supportive of young people in our city for many many years um we're we're fortunate to hopefully be receiving funding um as you can imagine we we serve a thousand young people every summer on the on Long Island in Boston Harbor uh in recent years the climate has caused the the daily temperature of that Island to rise to 95 98 Degrees on some days uh you can imagine what it's like you on an island with a thousand middle schoolers when it's 98° outside so um this funding is critical for us to do climate resiliency work to provide the necessary shading to ensure that our programs operate um at the highest level um what I will say is that uh you know there's been times over the last several years where we haven't really had the funding necessary to provide that kind of work on the island and get that done for young people so I know this is a council that is is so deeply invested in young people in our city uh so deeply invested in in the kinds of free opportunities that organizations like ours provide uh and I think we're deeply grateful to be put forward uh and I know we are for for this final round of funding so thank you very much thank you Josh I would like to call up Chris Cook I couldn't hear that over your jacket uh thank you very much Mr chairman uh thank you to the CPA committee thank you to the extraordinary CPA staff uh my name is Chris Cook I'm from High Park but today I'm representing the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy as its executive director The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy connects diverse communities to vital Green Space ideas in each other through ecological horiculture contemporary public art vibrant programs and immersive experiences and I'm here testifying uh in support of your consideration of the serpentine path fountain at chin Park as you all know uh from the extraordinary Angie L's testimony uh Chown is one of the most underserved communities for open space in our city as well it is um most affected uh by the heat island effect it is one of the hottest neighborhoods in our city of Boston as well as it has the worst air quality in the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts uh this water features actually the only water feature for all of Chinatown and its restoration and your investment and it will not only serve the residents of chin Town well but it also provide uh heat Equity to address some of the heat resilience solutions for Boston that mayor woo has outlined in her her latest heat resilience plan I'm also here to testify on behalf of trown Hope along with angelu of ACDC uh Chinatown hope is a collective of eight Chinatown organizations ations with the aim of coming together to leverage and build upon existing assets to have a greater lasting impact on workingclass residents in Boston's Chinatown uh our fellow members in addition to ACDC are bcnc CPA CLT bcnc Chinatown main streets and of course uh The Greenway that I represent we're here testifying in support of the renovation that Boston transportation department has uh has applied for application for funding for Philip Square in Chinatown it's an extraordinary opportunity it's a neighborhood that's undeserved by open space and it's reclaiming The Madam the heat of the street to make it a green verden space for the people who actually live there it's a great opportunity I think you should take advantage of it I especially want to shout out the youth workers from Chinatown main streets who devoted part of their last summer working in the heat to paint those Planters make them more beautiful and actually install plantings in that beyond that very very grateful for consideration thank you very much thank you Mr cook I would like to call up Carl pops good afternoon Mr chair City Council Members CPC committee members uh the board and CPA staff my name is Carl pops I'm a senior project manager at the Boston Housing Authority I want to thank you for this opportunity to speak in support of the play area and Plaza renovation project we're planning at the mild SE Haley public housing community in J can you speak into the into the microphone sure sorry um I'd like to recognize the joint efforts of the mildy Haley tenant organization the nonprofit Tree of Life CPA staff fellow BHA staff our design team and the state and local local elected officials who have supported this project we plan to completely overhaul and rehabilitate the outdated and deteriorated open space at the heart of this dense public housing community at Mardy Haley to make it loved and used once again through commun div visioning sessions design shets and numerous revisions there has been a real team effort to bring the idea of this play area and Plaza so much closer to reality the CPA funding would make it possible to realize the full scope of this ambitious Open Space Project as envisioned by the community including a multi-use sports court with new surfacing for various games and exercise equipment a splash pad and and play area with new colorful surfacing and interactive water structures a shaded Plaza with new seating picnic tables and permanent grills to support cookouts and Community Gatherings as well as new lighting pavement repairs native planting and green infrastructure upgrades we have completed the design and hope to start the renovations this year we're incredibly excited to turn this underutilized area into a beautiful sustainable and functional space that will improve the quality of life for our resident Community for decades to come again thank you very much for your time and for your support this very exciting and important project thank you Carl um I would like to call out Magda try hello I'm Magda Dy I'm a member of the egleton square neighborhood association and uh also a member of the friends group of the Robert J Lawson Park but most importantly I'm also a resident of eglon square and a taxpayer and I've lived in this area for a decade now um Egon square is one of the great neighborhoods of Boston it is is diverse in all its senses ethnically racially and economically um for a decade myself and many others uh probably hundreds of others have advocated for our neighborhood uh Fierce f um we really want to see more uh investment in Egon Square to make it a safe and a better place um for our community and we want to live in an area that is Pleasant for us and our children and those who live within um this beautiful place where JP and Roxbury meets um Robert J Lawson park is in desperate need of just pretty much everything water source better lighting um it needs to be Ada accessible um it is really um the entry way to eglon and everybody will benefit from from its renovation and the renovation project it is um our pleasure to work with BPD we've done a lot of work with them um this is a great example of community working with the Boston parks department and we've really enjoy it very much and we enjoyed their support um I also want to say thank you to CPA and the CPA staff for recommending us forward uh we do hope that you will approve um this round of funding for for us um CPA has done a thorough job into um analyzing our budget our request um this is our third time trying and we didn't lose hope and we continued and persisted um so thank you all for hearing me here and uh we hope to have a party at the park after it's renovated and you all invited thank you thank you so much Magda um I like to call up Frank Frank a Wally's Cafe okay um my name is Frank pointex I represent Wally's Cafe Walker Family Trust U we've been um operating a a jazz club for about 78 years now I want to thank the um CPA staff thine and her whole staff and the um city council um we just want to thank the city council and hope that you want find that um our work you know um predicates us being able to um receive these funds so that we can continue providing a um uh venue where musicians from all around the world and specifically musicians that are studying in in Boston in Massachusetts can U you know have a place where they can work on their craft in a safe environment so thank you very much thank you so much Frank um I like to call up Gabriel good afternoon uh my name is is uh Gabriel G um from the first Asian Baptist Church I am here with two of my members um brother Luke and brother Paul brother Paul is the chairman I'm a I'm in I'm a board delegate and then brother Luke is also the member of the board of directors I'm here today we are here today to thanks the um the CPA uh committee what they have done for us uh specifically I would like um to thank um also the um the a counselor we have Tanya fernandz and from area um the council um uh Legion uh which grow up in on front of me the church and then also it is um very remarkable and then when we went qualified for the first round we realized that without um the CPA um you know the preservation we were about to L our building it is a building about 117 years old but um uh we did not have that kind of money no way to get that kind of money to fix the building but due to the CPA and then um to help us to provide the grant right now we can say we know our building is about to be saved so thank you very much for everything and then um uh I don't uh before I finish I would like specifically to thanks you know um dein she's so you know a professionalist and then also her passion to do the job that she's doing sometime I feel like really embarrassed to call her with my application to answer the question but she's always there for us always there for me that really something very important thank you so much for everything so Julian as well so weian Baptist Church so like I said we really we have no word you know to say you thanks to the CPA committee also to all the councelor also to the city of Boston for what they have been doing for our church thank you so much thank you so much sir um I don't see any more in-person public testimonies but we do have um some that are signed up on zoom and I will start with um Cortino van good afternoon good afternoon hi hi good afternoon thank you uh chairman uh Pepin and co-chair Santana um I hope this is working and a thank you to all the Boston City councilors the CPC committee and the CPA staff thank you for the opportunity to testify today I let's see I feel like are you able to hear me yes okay great thank you so much for your patience um so I just want to thank you for the opportunity to testify today my name is Cortina van um I was born and raised here in Boston I am currently um a home a homeowner um in Dorchester and I am also part of the uh staff as a community organizer from Massachusetts affordable housing Alliance and on behalf of our Meers board and and staff of the Massachusetts affordable housing Alliance we just want to offer the following testimony and full support of docket 05 03 um and um just wanted to talk about how know with Maha Mass affordable housing Alliance we educate train and um organize home buyers and homeowners Les we served 3,00 58 people in our home buyer 101 homeowner 202 and our condo owner uh 202 classes 80% were bipac black and indigenous people of color households 86% earn less than 80% of Ami we Ron a newer matched savings and support program for first generation home buyers uh called stash a first gen home we served 565 participants to dat3 have purchased homes 96% of uh stash participants people of color 82 are female 43 are female head of household we recognize our class graduates and stash program participants to push for fair lending affordable mortgages public sector home buyer assistance and more resources for construction of aable homes 4 million for one plus Boston thank you for the entire to the entire Council for your support of the one plus Boston program I'm here today to support the allocation of 4 million in CPA funds to keep the program going through the next fiscal year Maha ran an intensive two-year campaign in 1989 and 1990 to launch the predecessor of the One Mortgage we collaborated with the Mass Housing Partnership the city of Boston and Banks 34 years and 24,000 home buyers later it Remains the most affordable Mortgage in the state we also helped lead the 2016 campaign to pass the community preservation act in Boston we did it because we knew we needed more resources for all types of affordable housing including affordable home ownership in 2019 pric and Boston were climbing to the point where One Mortgage alone was not enough and we were excited to once again collaborate with the city and MHP to launch OnePlus Boston OnePlus uses CPA funds to build on the one mortgage foundation it adds a much deeper interest rate discount and even more down payment assistance this worked really really well until interest rates quick started to quickly climb in two in 2022 the Partners came back to the table to double the interest rate discount and enhance the down payment assistance in OnePlus Boston with this while this does not count more per borer it is still an incredible deal for the city the program leverages the resources provided by MHP Mass Housing Partnership and significant Bank contributions to affordability to provide permanently affordable mortgage payments it serves the home buyer about it saves the home buyer about $1,000 per month that gets some people into homes on the market and makes affordable homes accessible to others with lower incomes and does this for Less 4,000 per home buyer Maha deeply appreciates our partnership with the city MHP and lenders that allow us to bring this to our graduates and others again thank you for the strong support for the council has provided we encourage you to vote in favor of the 4 million recommendations for the next year thank you so much for allowing me this opportunity thank you Cortina thank you um at this time I want to call on Melanie Brothers hello can you hear me yes okay good afternoon Mr chairman City Council Members CPC committee members and the CPA staff my name is Mel Brothers and I'm an architect at the BHA in the planning and real estate department I would like to express my wholehearted support for the Archdale Village playground in Rosland Dale I would like to thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the Archdale residents and the neighboring Boston Center for for Youth and families and recognize the amazing support from the following people representative ronon stallo and staff City councelor at large Julia Mahia and staff BHA counselor Kenzie boach director of the Boston Center for Youth and families Fred aharn the trust for public land jod Valena and Lissa green Cog for their design director of greed infrastructure Unity of Boston Pate England for her tree planting and more with the Archdale kids Archdale volunteer residents and their resident leader Sabrina Ivory Dana dillworth and other BHA staff and of course CPA ban Brown and others I want to personally thank this amazing group of individuals who I've I've had the privilege to get to know and who have given their time resources and expertise to ensure the success of this project I have seen firsthand the power of community between the minino Center Boston Center for Youth and fam and the Archdale residents to continue to create a safe and stimulating environment for their joint Community this new design will create a new playground basketball court and after school classroom where young people can play independently yet inside of their family's homes and a landscaped area for Community Gatherings to continue to grow these strong Community bond this proposed design also incorporates a number of green infrastructure elements a rain garden tree pit permeable surfaces a subsurface infiltration system under the basketball court and the continuation of a healthy mature tree canopy in closing I would like to say that this generous Grant award ensures that going ahead with this project will positively affect the 700 residents and hundreds of children and their families who will make their dream of an outside recreational space a reality thank you thank you so much um at this time I like to call on Katie catches oh we we can't hear you apologies I am a mom still on maternity as you can see um I am Katie catches I work at Hill housee Boston and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to apply for funding for our uh facility at 74 Joy Street it's a very special building not only historically it is the original um Police Department in Beacon Hill but it also serves as an incredible community resource it um houses many of bean Hill's best resources including the Beacon Hill civic association Beacon Hill Nursery School Beacon Hill Village Beacon Hill Business Association and Hillhouse um and that means that a child as young as six months can he's not quite there can start um at Hill House 6 months to about 18 they can enjoy programming opportunities to play sports we refer to it as your backyard in the city which as a city parent I know is crucial um Beacon Hill Nursery provides an incredible education to um students between the ages of two and five building um the blocks for a really strong educational future for our community The Beacon Hill civic association um provides resources for neighbors and I think it is especially meaningful as someone who moved to the neighborhood not knowing anyone not being from Boston and was able to build a lot of connections find a place in this community and really build a home and family here um and then Beacon Hill Village which provides um opportunities or provide Services for Seniors living in the city so that people can live in the city their whole lives um and have wonderful accessible opportunities thank you so much for the opportunity for funding um and I look forward to uh preserving this really important and uh crucial community space thank you so much Katie um at this time I would like to call on Jack um slier hello everyone hopefully everyone can hear and see me yes uh thank you so much City councilors and and um everyone involved in today um for making this happen my name is Jack Scher and I have the joy of being the field operations manager for the emerald necklace Conservancy um I'm here partially to just be inspired by all the great work that's going on in the community but also to add my voice in support of the emerald necklace application to plant trees uh throughout our public parks we hope to use the the money the 55,000 to plant as many trees as possible and we have a staff that's really situated to make the most of that we have our own watering truck and our own um staff expertise to make sure we're checking on the trees and I think that tree planting is interesting to think of for these Capital funds because trees are kind of unique Capital Investments as opposed to most that go in and are implemented and then are their most valuable right at installation um trees take time and as they grow they add more to our community so I just want to extend my thanks for all of you for recognizing that and for using um these funds to support The Greening of our city and um yeah I have a lot of gratitude for being a part of so many other great applications as well so thank you for the time and um f and you run a really incredible team so it's been um great to be a part of everything you all do thanks thank you Jack um I would like to call on S netherton we can't hear you hi there can you hear me now yes hi thanks for your patience and thank you uh everyone for being here and your uh input in this process uh I'm a Community member and I'm here to testify in support support of the Harriet Tubman Freedom Park project uh as other people have mentioned already there's not a lot of free or green spaces in our city especially in Roxbury and even fewer spaces where residents really feel like we have a say and a stake in the use and the future of the land and uh you know this process does a lot uh for for residents to feel like we do have a stake and this park project in particular will bring a lot of benefits to my neighborhood as a free green and accessible and safe space uh especially for families this project is also a unique opportunity to further Foster resident engagement and leadership in Roxbury uh Mass Liberation has been consistently prioritizing Community input through events uh visioning projects that I've been excited to participate in and completing the construction of this park will deepen individual and organizational investment in our neighborhood so the process of transforming this lot into the Harriet Tubman Freedom Park is really empowering for us as Roxbury residents because the plans for the continued Community stewardship of the park Channel The Pride and the care that a lot of us really feel already for our neighborhood into continued resident-led programming and community building and this is why I really strongly testify in favor of the Harriet T and Freedom Park project and thank you all again for consideration thank you s I would like to call on um Saleem Hal he everyone can you hear me yes hi uh thank you for your time and consideration thus far uh my name is Saleem and I'm a resident of Roxberry speaking in support of the Harriet Tubman Freedom Park as proposed by mass Liberation Roxbury deserves a free Green community space and all the benefits that such a space brings there's an absence of free spaces for residents to spend time in after work in school and building this park will serve as a crucial spot for both the youth and elderly to connect generationally there are also numerous mental health benefits and you know I I speak as a counselor to green and Sun sunlet space for all ages as well as the positive impact on Child Development academic achievement and social emotional learning we deserve to have quality outdoor Gathering spaces not just for the immense social benefits but also for the environment and for our physical health Roxberry suffered from a history of red lining and disinvestment which has deprived us of many of the resources and amenities available in other neighborhoods in this case free accessible Green Space this has a very real effect on the people who live here in Roxberry as mentioned in other areas it gets up to 10° hotter than other areas of the city more green outdoor space is critical for the health and wellbeing of our neighborhood and that's why I'm testifying today in support of the Harriet Tubman Freedom Park thank you Saleem um at this time I would like to call on Flo agagu left okay um we'll go to the next panelist um Talk testimony Coro okay um next public testimony Manuel Pyers hello everyone I hope that you can hear me yes M clear awesome thank you good afternoon my name is Manuel pish dunce I'm a resident of Dorchester Community a member of second Church in Dorchester sorry I cannot be there in person I'm under the weather but thank you very much city council CPA committee CPA staff and the City of Boston for your support and diligent efforts throughout the this decision making the process overall I know it's uh it's a lot of meetings uh and and numbers Etc so thank you very much for all of that on behalf of second Church in dor Chester we express our sincere uh gratitude for funding the restoration of the steeple and the 1.5 Acres of open space in the private historical burial ground established in 1847 in Cotman Square um just want to highlight that the post in the steeple had deteriorated and posting a significant risk of collapsing um towards the building or front lawn um particularly you know with the changes of weather conditions Etc so it came the right time that we started uh the restoration we had to take down the steeple it's on the ground now and this funding is going to allow us to put it back um and you know it's important to uh note that without the support of the grant uh especially the CPA funds here um the church would not have been able to undertake this uh essential restoration work the steeple also houses a PA R Sons Bell and we are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to hear it uh ring once again and have the co the clock uh functioning again so hopefully we can complete all of those things and thank you very much for the funding the open space at the cutman burial ground uh where Reverend Cotman John Cotman is buried uh has been closed for years and while second church has been maintaining the space uh we are trilled to uh the prospect of reopening to the community and this time here to have actually a park um in front so it's a 1.5 acre um that's empty um and that we're going to have an Ampitheater education for Education performance a playground a garden picnic area and um hopefully it will house many activities uh fun activities educational activities in the area so thank you very much for this opportunity and I want to say special thanks to tadine and her staff um thank you very much Kya and um also Rachel for all the support that you've been providing us and Jan as well thank you thank you Manuel um and we have one more inperson testimony that has walked in um Miss Grace Richardson over thank you for having me I did sign up online but I never received the link so thank God for the fam online it got me here in time it was my first time on it so I appreciate it and thank you to all the the counselors and the brown for the uh Community preservation grants and I uh my name is Grace Richardson and I'm a resident of uh um Boston I live in North Dorchester um the district for my counselor counselor world and I'm here to um testify about the uh Community preservation grants and I want to know why the city is not um I understand that you're tracking the distribution of the grant funding by neighborhood but I don't think that that is an inclusive process um I want to know why the city is not tracking these grants by race and I'm saying this because one in 2016 the Boston Globe released a racism and uh Boston report and found that African Americans only receive 1% of City contracts and grants and also the Boston Health commission has also released a report that racism is embedded in policies and in all aspects of our lives in addition uh mayor woo released a diversity report and found that uh African Americans again um have lived here for over 50 years and has not been included in this process um black African-Americans and Caribbeans who've lived in this city for over 50 years who have been locked out of the city's procurements should not have to compete with other residents in other neighborhoods who have been included in the city's procurements and resources and they should not have to compete with new residents to the city and the city the mayor's office has identified the globe has identified and the Boston commission has identified a wrong that was done on a race of people but have not come up with a plan to make sure that that doesn't happen again and also they haven't done anything to compensate that race of people in the city of Boston so I'm urging the city of council um to distribute funds by neighborhoods that doesn't ensure that the grant funding is inclusive that doesn't ensure that African-Americans are getting Grant funds um how many African Americans have received the community preservation Grant since his Inception how many black Caribbeans have received the community preservation grants since since Inception I'm urging the city council to compensate black Americans and black Caribbeans who've been longtime residents of the city for all the mayors that been mayors of city of Boston to one set aside a POS percentage of those Community president preservation funds to Black Americans and black Caribbeans who a long time been in the city two to provide technical assistance to help them with the grant applications only then when the city's procurement attract by race because it has been identified that we are facing racial discrimination thank you again thank you Miss Richardson and I I believe that um we can get we can get you answers for your questions um after the after the hearing thank you so thank you so much for coming and testify um with that I don't see any more um residents that have signed up for public testimony but what I'll do is I'll I'll my colleagues to do closing statements um in order of arrival so I'll start with um councelor Weber uh thank you uh uh as councelor Fitzgerald mentioned I sure I speak for the other uh new counselors this has been a wonderful hearing very educational it's great hearing from the community and and seeing the kind of good we can do throughout the city uh with programs like this and thank you to the uh m Brown the panelists and um all the good work you do thank you counselor council president Lou Jen uh thank you Mr chair thank you to all of the wonderful testimony uh from everyone thank you to the it was actually really great hearing from Cortina at Maha Master's affordable housing Alliance they were s instrumental in getting this done uh director Brown you you were motioning as if you had I would seen any time to to to um director Brown if she wanted to make any uh if she wanted to to I I don't know if it's in response to a question that I had or something that you wanted to to to highlight I do I just wanted to address a few things that Grace had brought up that I I just wanted to call out in terms of CPA funds um Grace thank you for coming um today and um we hear your concerns I just you did come a little bit late before um some bit of the presentation so I do want to highlight some things for you uh just briefly so in uh the neighborhoods the top neighborhoods that have been funded where CPA uh are dester and Roxberry Dorchester has received 19 million of funding and Roxberry has received 27 million matapan has received 11 projects with eight with $8 million um so I just want to to call out uh particular neighborhoods where you say people of color and how much our grant funds are going to I do also want to call out in our new community preservation plan and I'm happy to kind of share that with you there is a deep analysis that has highlighted some of our funds and out of the 290 projects that were that have been funded to date 160 160 of those projects which is 85 million are in neighborhoods with elevated levels of poverty and so we are really looking towards neighborhoods and considering that when we are thinking about funding of CPA funds so I I can't answer to all of your questions there's some that I don't have the answers to but I can provide you information in the way we are um Distributing CPA funds because we do want to ensure that is that it is Equitable um this um Can can we just restrain to the can we have a personal conversation after the hearing thank you thank you um no more comments um councelor Santana I'll let you go first thank you Mr chair and um just just wanted to thank um um director Brown just for for your Insight and um for being here today as well as the other panelists um and for the members of the public um who share the testimony thank you Mr chair thank you counselor counselor Durkin I think um I really appreciate uh your testimony and I really appreciate all the testimonies of uh the folks who have come I think the goal for all of us is to make all of Boston beautiful and to use these precious historic preservation funds to make sure that um you know I highlighted this earlier but even areas without historic designation get the love of the historic preservation side of this and in terms of the open space components excited to see that there will be new parks and new Open Spaces to visit uh throughout um throughout uh Boston so thank you so much um director Brown for all of your work and this has been a really great hearing thank you Council R uh thank you chair and thank you director Brown and to all um the public who has showed up this is one of my um fa favorite hearings you got lucky uh chair Pepin um you get to hear about all the great projects in the city of Boston and all the advocacy so thank you again director Brown and to all the public for all your hard work and your advocacy to making sure that we're creating an affordable beautiful Boston thank you thank you um director Brown would you like to say any closing remarks um no just thank you all for your time um and your commitment to CPA and to all the wonderful applicants congratulations it has been a pleasure working with you we continue to work uh uh continue to look forward to work with you over the next 24 months as we get your project completed thank you all thank you I just want to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues the panelist the public testimony that was here and and virtually um this was my first uh Community preservation committee so it was a good one and it was happy happy to learn about the amazing applicants that are are on the table today I look forward to bringing this to the council meeting in the next meeting um but with that this meeting is adjourned thank you than for