Waterfront owners want more say in Lynn harborside rehab

LYNN – A newly-formed group of businessmen and property owners is seeking more say in how the city proceeds with development of its waterfront.Members of Stakeholders for Organized Lynnway Development (SOLD) met at the Porthole restaurant Friday to air their concerns about the relocation of electrical transmission lines along the Lynnway and their views at project stakeholders.Led by insurance agency owner David Zeller, the group penned a letter to Mayor Judith Flangan Kennedy on Jan. 10 to complain that they were not invited to planning sessions during the administration of former mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr.”On the face of it, the public process appeared to be inclusive, but I, on behalf of SOLD and numerous citizens I have spoken with in the city, strongly suggests it was not,” Lou Markakis, chairman of SOLD, wrote in the letter to Kennedy.According to the letter, many residents and businesses in Lynn had no say in the decisions made that led to the scheduled relocation of the power lines.James Cowdell, executive director of the Lynn Economic Development & Industrial Authority (EDIC), one of the key agencies involved in the plan, dismissed the group’s allegations as nonsense. “There were nine public hearings, and that’s not counting the ones before the permit-issuing agencies,” he said. “Where have these people been? I’d say they’re coming in at the 11th hour, but it’s more like the 12th.”Cowdell said the EDIC on Jan. 22 took control of the necessary easements along the Lynnway to accommodate rerouting the electrical lines. “We have the easements in hand. We have all the necessary permits. The money is in place. We got $2.5 million in state money and the people of Lynn came up with a $4 million bond to make this project happen. The eminent domain process is proceeding and construction could start in 30 days. So I’d say these folks are a little late getting to the table.”Zeller said the group prefers the power lines be buried rather than relocated to the opposite side of the Lynnway, a cost projected at $30 million and rejected during the planning process because of its price tag. In addition to burying the lines, Zeller said city officials have not entertained his vision of building a boutique hotel on the waterfront.”These wires should be buried, not just moved,” he said.Cowdell said the city does not have $30 million to bury the lines. “This was a very public process. There were plenty of opportunities to comment,” he said.City Council President Timothy Phelan was incensed by the group’s suggestion that their concerns went ignored. “The people of Lynn have been waiting 50 years to do something about this problem,” he said. “Most of the time they ended up sitting on their hands, but now things are moving and nothing is going to slow down or change that momentum. It sounds like this group wants to keep the status quo and find reasons to hold up the process. Well, that’s not going to happen.”Besides, said Phelan, burying the power lines would not only cost additional millions but delay the project another two decades.Rep. Steve Walsh, the Lynn Democrat who helped bring key players to the table to broker a power line re-location deal, said SOLD comes late to the process. “We’re ready to go with this,” he said. “Nobody was left out. Everything about this project was done in the open and there were countless stories in the newspaper at every phase.”Sen. Thomas McGee offered a similar assessment of the situation. “We have been at this for years and it’s finally coming together. We want to keep it that way. Lynn’s waterfront has a great future.”In his letter, Markakis told the mayor that her election “has given SOLD participants new hope with inspiration.” Kennedy said she would attend the meeting and listen to the concerns.Zeller said the concerned stakeholders include the owners of Lynnway car dealerships, automotive services, antique dealers and those whose properties abut the easements obtained by the city.The development proje