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State Of The City |
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WOBURN - MAYOR JOHN C. CURRAN
Mr. President and distinguished members of the city council and school committee members:
A year ago tonight I expressed hope and confidence that the city government organized that night would represent the people of Woburn with strong leadership, integrity, purpose and good will. It is with great pleasure that I report to you tonight that it has.
This administration set forth an ambitious agenda in the face of what has been referred to as the worst economy since the great depression. All but one of these agenda items has been accomplished. None of this could have been accomplished without the help and support of the city council and I am grateful for it.
Many of the issues I have brought before your distinguished body required you to make difficult and courageous decisions. Each time you have acted in the best interest of the city.
Without question the biggest accomplishment of this year has been the approval of funding for a new high school and a new White School. As I stated a year ago this accomplishment would require the cooperation and participation of the whole community.
I asked you and the citizens of this great city for help and you rose to the challenge. Many other communities balked at this opportunity but Woburn had the vision and the foresight to guarantee the children of this city the finest high school facility in the region.
There were many obstacles to overcome and each one was met with strong determination and focus. A special election was held to meet a demanding time line, special legislation was passed to hold the election on a day when more people could exercise their right to vote. Many public hearings were held and an impressive grass roots organization helped to bring information to the voters. The turnout was high and a mandate was established.
The people of this city can be proud of this accomplishment and for all of those who will benefit from a first class Woburn High School Diploma.
This is an historic occasion in our city. It is the biggest capital project ever undertaken by the City of Woburn.
Preliminary submissions have already commenced with the high school project and the new White Elementary School is out to bid. The old White School has already been demolished. This project was done innovatively to save money for the tax payer.
When the bids came in too high to relocate the modular classrooms, I decided that the Department of Public Works and the School Building Maintenance Department would move these structures. This was a huge success that resulted in an $80,000 savings for the city. Construction on the new elementary school will begin before the spring.
Last year at this time we faced a very real problem of an unhappy citizenry in North Woburn due to the capping of the land fill. There was a fundamental lack of trust in city government caused by their frustration for greater participation in the process.
This administration took the initiative to empower the citizenry by including them in that process. A neighborhood advisory committee was formed and regular meetings have been conducted at the landfill. This group made recommendations and inquiries. Many of these have been addressed.
These actions have served to restore much of the faith in the city’s efforts to remediate this site. Every aspect of this project has been approached with an eye toward the highest degree of public safety. To date this project is 95% complete and is expected to be finished in the spring.
A year ago tonight this administration committed to rewriting the master plan within two years. A comprehensive master plan has not been done since 1966. I am happy to report that we are well on our way in this effort. We have secured a $30,000 grant to subsidize the cost of creating a master plan.
Through the efforts of the new planning board director, Ed Tarallo, Vision 2020 has been established. This is an open process that allows all parts of the community to participate in the new master plan. It is expected that a final mission statement will be completed by the end of this month.
The next phase of the master plan will require your support. I am confident that we can work together to make this master plan a reality.
Last year this administration set out to develop a storm water management and design program. This year you approved my request for $900,000 to fund such a program. This program is underway and will help us to defray the increases of the MWRA rates. We have also engaged an engineering firm to design a solution for the systemic storm water run off problem that exists off site around the high school as well as addressing water pressure issues in the Bow Street area.
This year we have refocused our piping and relining projects on areas with the greatest problems. This has served to eliminate long standing problems in the south end and the Pleasant Street area.
The much anticipated enlargement of the Winchester sewer line has finally been approved. Through this project Woburn will receive funds to rehabilitate the Scalley Dam and lessen flooding in that area. Both of these projects will help alleviate sewer surcharge in the Horn Pond Conservation Area.
The previous administration started construction of the new water treatment plant. We completed construction of this plant last June. It is a modern facility that gives us the ability to monitor activity in our watershed and avoid over pumping our own wells. It also gives us the capability to treat and test our water on a daily basis.
Never before has our well system functioned so efficiently and been so closely monitored. The architectural style of the new facility compliments the historic pump house on the shore of Horn pond.
A tour of each facility gives a tremendous insight into past and present water practices. I invite every teacher in the city to take advantage of this tremendous local learning resource.
Many efforts have been made to beautify the Horn Pond Conservation Area. Much of the credit for these efforts belongs to the Department of Public Works. The Woburn Parkway beautification project, the Gold Star Mothers Park, the reestablishment of hiking paths and the public restrooms are all evidence of their enthusiasm and dedication.
Community groups, like the Gold Star Mothers in Woburn, and significant corporate donations were vital to the success of these projects. The city will continue to establish innovative partnerships like these to get things done in difficult times.
Many other significant events occurred in our city over the past year. The new Shamrock School opened on time. We expect it to be within the proposed budget and the School Building Committee should be commended for the many hours of hard work to make it such a success. The Citizens Park in Woburn Square is nearing completion and plans to make it fully accessible are in the works.
Road work continues with major road and sidewalk reconstruction of Russell Street, Bedford Road and Lowell Street. The reconstruction of the Pilgrim building through a city sponsored grant is underway. We have received several grants this year in addition to those already mentioned.
As result of our aggressive efforts to defray the cost of the new high school the city has been awarded $125,000 through the Green School Initiative Pilot Program. Ultimately this could lead to a total savings of $1,200,000. The fire department has secured funding for new high tech protective gear and communication equipment in the amount of $166,000. Through the efforts of the Woburn Redevelopment Authority the city will receive an additional $350,000.00 for the downtown street lighting program. Finally, the city also acquired another transportation van for our senior center through state grant funds.
Perhaps the most difficult issue your distinguished body and this office have had to deal with is the crisis in the treasurer/collectors office. Make no mistake about it, a real situation exists. Fortunately, I have taken corrective action by engaging outside help to reconcile the City’s cash going back over the last two and a half years. I am grateful for your quick understanding of the situation and endorsement of a short term remedy.
I am happy to report that because of these efforts the books have been brought up to date. These actions will serve to protect the financial position of the city. I stand ready to work with you to arrive at a long term solution.
The one agenda item that I am still pursuing from last year is the acquisition of conservation land behind Horn Pond. We must never miss an opportunity to add land to our greatest natural resource area. The Horn Pond Conservation Area was acquired parcel by parcel not as one purchase as many assume.
I have negotiated the purchase price with the Winchester Elks over the past year and I am pleased to report that the Elks executive board has voted to offer the land to the city for $600,000. This is $200,000 lower than the original asking price.
I hope to come to your body with an acceptable proposal in the near future to expand this conservation area and protect our water supply and I hope to get your support.
The city has had a long standing philosophy of purchasing equipment through lease to purchase programs. This has resulted in payment of higher interest rates. In the coming months I will bring a proposal before you to leverage the city’s excellent bond rating for equipment purchases.
The city for the first time in decades will have a grant writer on board. This will enable the city to aggressively seek other sources of much needed funding at a critical time. In the coming months we will forge ahead with the master plan and the new high school and white school. This administration will continue efforts to revitalize the downtown. In spite of the recent setback caused by untimely fires this administration is committed to rebuilding and improving the center.
This year will be one of the most challenging the city has faced in many years. Although our fiscal position is good and we have a solid revenue base we can expect to realize the effects of our current economy. The state legislature and the new State administration have forecasted bleak numbers for local aid.
This year’s budget will reflect an anticipated cut in local aid. One area that will be examined for cost savings is department reorganization. The recently adopted early retirement program will help to facilitate this process.
Over the past year I have tried to impress upon the City Council that Woburn is no longer a small community. In addition to the people that live here our daily workforce population reaches approximately 70,000 people during the day. It is imperative that in these economic times that we do not loose sight of providing the level of services necessary to run the City of Woburn.
In my inauguration a year ago tonight I said that we cannot be discouraged by change we should be challenged by change and learn to think differently to overcome obstacles and make Woburn a better place.
Over this past year we have made Woburn a better place. Over the next year we should continue to embrace this philosophy and seek opportunity from change. |
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