CPC Funding Recommendation Central Hill Emergency Funding — File 210299

COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE CHANGE OF SCOPE RECOMMENDATION FOR FY21 AWARD FOR CENTRAL HILL PLAYGROUND, PUBLIC SPACE & URBAN FORESTRY DIVISION PROJECT DESCRIPTION In FY20, the Community Preservation Committee recommended, and the City Council approved, a $300,000 award of Community Preservation Act funds for the rehabilitation of the Central Hill Campus. Central Hill Park is Somerville’s oldest park (1870) and one of its largest (6.58 acres), located on Highland Avenue between Walnut and School Streets. It is a key element in Somerville’s “civic center on the hill,” which includes City Hall, Somerville High School, and Somerville Public Library’s main branch. The Public Space and Urban Forestry Division also received a $400,000 PARC grant to support the project. To take advantage of this grant, construction of the project can commence in July 2020 and the $400,000 from the Commonwealth must be fully spent in FY21. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the full Central Hill Phase 1 project has been delayed and the price of constructing the playground has increased. However, to take advantage of the PARC grant, the City of Somerville requested additional emergency CPA funding to allow the project to move forward. ELIGIBILITY Open space/recreation land: This project will rehabilitate an existing park. RECOMMENDATION On June 10, 2020 by a vote of 7-0 the Community Preservation Committee recommended appropriating $206,080 for this project from the open space/recreational land reserve budget, using FY21 funds, to the control of the Public Space & Urban Forestry Division for the overall purposes summarized in this document. JOSEPH A. CURTATONE MAYOR CITY OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE

Project Budget Recommended funding amount: Expenses Amount Study $0 Soft costs (Owners Project Manager and Conceptual Design) $0 Construction $930,350 Total $930,350 Sources CPA funding awarded $300,000 PARC Grant $400,000 CPA Emergency Funding (requested) $230,350 Total $930,350 ALIGNMENT WITH COMMUNITY PRESERVATION PLAN The Community Preservation Plan prioritizes rehabilitating existing recreational land. MEASURES OF SUCCESS The goals of this project are to: • Achieve a historically appropriate and unified sense of space • Improve accessibility within the campus • Respectfully incorporate and relocate numerous war memorials • Integrate the Central Library into the civic experience • Systematically mitigate stormwater impacts • Utilize landscape and urban design elements and wayfinding to enhance the visitor experience Success of this project will be measured by the following: 1. Install site elements with materials appropriate to the historic context of the buildings 2. Deliver new walkways that meet or exceed accessibility standards 3. Install war memorials as directed by the Veterans Committee 4. Support exterior learning moments and library events across the Central Hill Park and Playground 5. Measure stormwater quality and quantity FUNDING CONDITIONS Upon commencement of the Project and as appropriate, the City of Somerville agrees to post a sign stating that the Project was funded through the City of Somerville’s Community Preservation Act program. The full original proposal is available at: https://www.somervillema.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09- 24_CENTRALHILL_CPA_APPLICATION_print.pdf