Revere parks, historic site to benefit from state spending

REVERE – Local legislators have secured tax dollars to pay for $150,000 in renovations to Hill Park and the William Reinstein recreation complex and $10,000 to renovate Rumney Marsh burial ground.The Hill Park money will help pay for repairs to the outfield fence and the tot lot and to restore the basketball and tennis courts, and bocce court.State representatives Robert DeLeo and Kathi-Anne Reinstein got their colleagues to approve the spending during the last several months of legislative budget debate.Workers will also rebuild a collapsed wall in Hill Park and cover the softball field with loam and seed. Two dead trees need to be removed between the basketball courts and the outfield fence and the chain link fence surrounding the softball field needs its sections repaired or replaced.The ball court repairs include sealing cracks in the play surface and painting marker lines. The tot lot repairs will focus on adding a safe surface under the play equipment.Hemmed in by homes off Harris Street and worn down by New England weather, Rumney Marsh burial ground needs at least $75,000 in repair work according to local residents working to find the money.City Councilors want to commit local tax dollars to the renovations but they also looked to local businesses and DeLeo and Reinstein for help in obtaining renovation money.Founded when Revere was still part of Boston, the burial ground includes the resting places of slaves, Civil War veterans and prominent early North Shore residents.Councilor Ira Novoselsky and Veterans Services Director Nicholas Bua said the grounds’ pathways and stone walls need attention. The graveyard underwent its last major renovation in 1978.Additional state funds secured by local legislators include $32,000 for improvements to the Revere Public Safety Facility; $40,000 for programs run by the Revere Beach Partnership and $350,000 for ROCA, Inc. to fund outreach and youth development for at risk youth and young adults in Revere and other neighboring communities.