LYNN — The city is entering the next phase of its two-year plan to allocate funding from the American Rescue Plan Act by holding public forums in its seven wards.
Mayor Jared Nicholson announced Tuesday evening on Facebook that in-person meetings will be held in each ward beginning next week.
The meetings will provide residents and their ward councilors the opportunity to discuss which projects should receive funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Nicholson said $58 million of the $75 million awarded to Lynn will be invested in all seven wards.
“This is an open invitation to every resident of Lynn,” said Nicholson. “This $58 million investment in the city is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We invite everyone to give their thoughts on how best to use it.”
The first of these meetings will take place on March 21 at St. Joseph’s Church, located in Ward 4. Nicholson and Ward 4 Councilor Richard Colucci will be in attendance.
A priority for Colucci is to update the parks and playgrounds in his ward, such as High Rock Park.
He said he also wants to spend the funds on helping clean up the streets of Lynn.
“It’s a real disgrace when you go into the city, you see the streets covered in trash,” Colucci said. “We ought to clean them.”
Colucci added that he wants to see cleanup work crews implemented for different segments of the city, playgrounds and parks.
As Ward 4 sits by the water, Colucci also wants additional funding to be spent on making sure King’s Beach is clean.
“I think this meeting will be great,” Colucci said. “It will give people the opportunity to speak their minds and talk about what’s important.”
Colucci, however, is not the only ward councilor with a wish list.
Ward 3 Councilor Coco Alinsug said he created a list of projects that need funding at the beginning of the year.
Alinsug seeks $255,000 for an overhaul of Kiley Park; $254,800 to rehabilitate Goldfish Pond; $105,000 to rehabilitate Clark Street Park; $10,000 for a mural painting at Williams Park; $30,000 to prevent flooding at Erie Street, Sanderson Avenue and the intersection of Sidney Avenue and Chatham Street; $50,000 directed toward skills training and scholarship programs for his constituents; $500,000 to $1 million on cleaning up pollution at King’s Beach; and $50,000 toward neighborhood organizations such as The Community Brotherhood of Lynn.
Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard said he wants to address flooding in his ward by providing funding toward the West Lynn flood-mitigation project and help business owners start new opportunities.
“I would also be in favor of using some of the funding toward incubator space, where people can bring their talents to shared spaces to explore their business possibilities,” Starbard said. “There are many areas that money can be spent on and I just hope that it will be used toward expenditures that Lynn residents and businesses will still see the positive results of years down the road.”
Starbard’s and Alinsug’s ward meetings will take place on March 23 and 31, respectively.
Additionally, an ARPA public forum hosted by Nicholson and the city’s four councilors-at-large will be held on March 29 at the Lynn Auditorium.
