City receives large state grant for Whispering Hill funding.
The state doled out over $14 million this week to help communities improve parks and recreational areas.
Woburn received $500,000 of that money from the Massachusetts Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) to fund recreational projects at Whispering Hill.
According to officials, plans at Whispering Hill include a multi-purpose field, parking area and storage facility.
“I’m thrilled we were able to get [the grant],” said Mayor Galvin. “And, it helps build on creating recreational opportunities, which have been a priority of my administration.”
The city purchased the 74-acre Whispering Hill land in December of 2010, with the assistance of another $500,000 PARC grant.
Now, the PARC funds will help the city improve the land.
Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said Tuesday, "Parks are key resources that strengthen the fabric of communities across Massachusetts. By committing resources to our parks, our administration and municipal partners are providing more recreational opportunities for people of all ages and effecting positive change in our neighborhoods and communities."
The mayor thanked Murray and Gov. Deval Patrick for their continued support of the PARC program Wednesday.
Galvin said that many officials were involved in the grant acquisition, including State Rep. James Dwyer, State Rep. Jay Kaufman and State Sen. Ken Donnelly. He also commended Ward 7 Alderman Ray Drapeau for his continued advocacy for this project.
“This is a great accomplishment for the city of Woburn,” said Rep. Dwyer. “After months of collaboration between state and local officials, this grant will help continue to make Woburn the envy of surrounding communities.”
According to Mayor Galvin's office, the PARC program was established in 1977 to assist cities and towns in acquiring and developing land for park and outdoor recreation purposes. PARC grants are offered on a competitive basis and reimburse communities between 52 percent and 70 percent of the total project cost, determined by the municipal demographics, with a maximum grant award of $500,000.
Shannon Sevier
12:27 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2012
I hope people read your article Danielle and realize That this is a reimbursement ONCE the City dishes out the money up front.I hope they understand that we may only see half the money back from the state up to 500,000 and that it all looks nice right now but could end up costing the tax payers more in the end..Ask Questions folks don't wait and say well why didn't we hear about this sooner? Ask about seeing things like a plan for the area Or the folks on the west side ask about a traffic plan for Cambridge Rd OR how about a public meeting spelling it all out since your tax money also helped in acquiring Whispering Hills. You should have some feed back in what's done up there. For better or worse
charles
1:07 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2012
It's nice to get some monies back from the state but what is it going to cost the taxpayer over the next few years or until the project is finish? Can we the taxpayers afford it?
Ray Drapeau
1:59 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2012
To all that want to know the exact plans for the monies being spent it will be discussed in detail at the next Finance Committee Meeting.