LYNN — The city’s first project to be completed using American Rescue Plan Act funding made a splash Wednesday.
City leaders gathered on the banks of Goldfish Pond for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the newly installed fountains at the pond, a project that Mayor Jared Nicholson said is the first of many in the city that will be built using ARPA funding.
“It is an exciting time here that we are able to make these kinds of important infrastructure investments,” Nicholson said at the ceremony.
Nicholson noted how important the Goldfish Pond Association was in pushing for the project to install new fountains.
“A lot of hard work, thought, and care has gone into maintaining this park,” Nicholson said. “To have had that little extra push of resources to get it to where it is now is a great moment.”
State Sen. Brendan Crighton also praised the community’s work to make sure the park remains a thriving part of the neighborhood.
“(This is) a shining example of what you can do when the community comes together and puts so much countless time and energy behind projects here,” Crighton said.
Goldfish Pond is in Ward 3, which is represented by City Councilor Coco Alinsug, a member of the Goldfish Pond Association.
“This has always been my home, this is my place, these are my neighbors,” Alinsug said, adding that he was happy to see the year-long process to bring new fountains to the pond come to a close.
Goldfish Pond Association President Trish Greene said she was happy that Goldfish Pond was where the first ARPA project in the city was finished, and that it was fitting for such a historic area.
“Throughout this pond’s history, we have seen periods of great care and times of neglect,” Greene said.
Greene added that ensuring fountains can circulate and filter water in the pond, which she said is vital to the health of the pond and the park, has been at the heart of the Goldfish Pond Association’s work for more than 40 years.
Councilor-at-Large Brian Field is the ARPA liaison for the City Council, and said that many other projects pushed by community organizations will be completed around the city.
“The funding is going to good use and this is what we’ll see over the next year or two,” Field said. “These are just the first fruits.”
