Revere City Councilors propose razing Boys Club to make city park

REVERE-Two City Councilors have proposed razing the dilapidated Boys Club building in Donnelly Square and landscaping the building site into a small park.?Guy Meli played a big role in making the club possible and his son-in-law told me he wanted to see a park there,” said Ward 5 Councilor John Powers, who is seeking approval for the park along with Ward 1 Councilor James Kimmerle.Meli, the founder of Revere Little League and a coach for 57 years, died Sept. 18. School Committee members honored their former colleague at their most recent meeting.Powers said flooding damage in the building and lack of city money to repair it make the park proposal the best option for bettering Donnelly Square.The Boys Club served for years as Beachmont?s youth center under a deed restriction confining the building?s use to youth-oriented programs.The Greater Lynn YMCA picked the Boys Club as its site for local programs in 1999 because of the building?s proximity to the Beachmont School and Blue Line rapid transit service.The YMCA terminated a seven-year lease on the building in September 2006, but the city did not have to wait long for another group to express interest in the building.Community Action Programs Inter-City, Inc. hoped to provide after school services for 88 Revere students. It prepared an architectural study of the Boys Club building that included pre-school programs.The Chelsea organization abandoned the plan last year after failing to secure $2 million to pay for the building?s renovation.