We first published this article on October 25, 2024. We are republishing it here, and to Civicbroadside's readers, to provide context for the ongoing story of Roosevelt Park improvement money being funneled to other projects in the City of Malden.
The Mayor has been slow to act on Roosevelt Park.
Mayor Gary Christenson sent a letter to the City Council on 10/25/24, updating his failed Roosevelt Park Improvement Project (RPIP). Is it too little, too late? A surprising new piece of information was revealed that the Bayrd Foundation, which had promised $660,000 towards RPIP, has officially withdrawn their funding commitment. It’s unclear when the City lost that grant.
Christenson’s letter focuses ONLY on the fenced-off, contaminated section of the park. This requires soil removal and replacement to meet Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations. The City has known about their remediation responsibilities since at least December 2019. This is in large part a fundamental question on HEALTH.
The Mayor’s 10/25/24 memorandum seems too little, too late. The letter appears in the wake of recent inquiries by the Friends of Roosevelt Park Malden (FoRP). Councillors like Karen Colón Hayes also seem to be asking questions reflecting community concern. She noted:
"I rely on our community members to be engaged and involved in what happens in our city—your voice matters! We are only doing our job by raising your questions and answering them, so thank you to all who have been advocating for answers. I am hoping to see this on the next finance committee agenda so we can discuss funding for the next steps for the project (this is not clear yet)."
Coincidentally, on 10/25/24, At Large Councillor Karen Colón Hayes released a new City of Malden notice indicating “three of the routine samples from the 20 higher risk homes had elevated lead levels.” Does good health matter to Malden officials? Did the Mayor participate in the recent Healthfest at Lincoln Commons? Did the Department of Recreation participate in the Healthfest? Did Malden’s Department of Health play a role in the Healthfest?
In July questions were raised, by a member of FoRP, with a consulting engineer for the City in relation to project costs. In August more questions were raised on the years-old temporary status filed with the Mass DEP. On October 4th, FoRP wrote to a consulting engineer working for years on the contamination at Roosevelt Park. This FoRP letter was forwarded to the City on or about October 8th. On October 21st, FoRP (having not heard any meaningful response from the City in the interim) wrote to several City officials with a list of questions.
The Mayor's failure to reach out to stakeholders like FoRP makes clear he has broken the promise he issued when he canceled the Roosevelt Park Improvement Project in April 2024, writing:
"To be clear, I will look to the same vocal voices who opposed this approach to take an active leadership role in putting in the time and energy to develop a comprehensive plan as to where this goes from here."
Hey, folks, after nearly six months that hasn’t happened. At least not with respect to FoRP. Indeed, even after the Christenson October 25th update, FoRP still has many fundamental questions like these:
"Is the City still holding the HUD loan and CPA funds bond without a specific project plan? When will the residents and Salemwood families be updated? Will public meetings and notices be sent out? Is the City committing to a natural surface?"
FoRP appears to now be calling on the City to "have this letter translated into the main seven languages so it can be distributed to the Salemwood School families … They deserve to know the status of that field too."
Christenson’s latest letter to the City Council states his “hope of beginning the project in the summer of 2025”. For some people who have been watching the Mayor’s hope for Roosevelt Park since 2018 this might not be something to take to the bank.
The memorandum includes a preliminary cost estimate as though releasing this is a major accomplishment for the Christenson team -
"This week we received a preliminary opinion of probable cost that indicates this work could amount to $850,000."
Seriously? This week? They should have had that number solid enough to take to the bank by the end of 2019.
As if that isn’t unimpressive enough, Christenson writes:
"Our next steps will be to outreach to the funders to get clarification on use of funds."
Really, what has Mayor Christenson been doing since canceling the RPIP on 4/29/24? Nearly six months ago the Mayor knew this funding clarification was needed and he's admitting he doesn't have an answer yet to what he previously wrote:
“State, local, federal and private financial resources that were secured for this bold renovation project have various stipulations and are likely not transferable to a different approach. We will also have to look at what funds have been spent to date on this project and whether some of those funds need to be reimbursed.”
What has the Mayor been doing around City Hall these past six months? The Mayor’s “Trick or Treat” memorandum of 10/25/24 suggests he has NOT been doing enough with respect to Roosevelt Park. The public should assess why Malden's municipal process moves so slowly, and what the problem is with the neglected Roosevelt Park project. Why has the City accomplished so little for the community of Roosevelt Park stakeholders, the Salemwood school, and the surrounding neighborhood?
The City has poured millions of dollars into OTHER parks, while hazardous conditions requiring state intervention remain at Roosevelt Park.
RPIP could have been a perfect alignment of the stars for a generous foundation and its namesake Adelaide Breed Bayrd. Instead, the City of Malden saw that grant rescinded leaving residents - children, young athletes, neighbors, and students - to wonder how this could have happened.
At the time of Adelaide Breed Bayrd’s death it was written - “She knew the stars and constellations as well as most of us know the names of the streets of our city. She loved trees and flowers. . . . She loved her home and her home village of Maplewood. . .” It’s unfortunate this vision hasn’t carried forward to Roosevelt Park.
References
This article was originally posted to Malden News Network (MNN) on 10/25/24 at https://www.facebook.com/MaldenNewsNetwork/posts/pfbid0xZSARbV9jnGgc6qEA53Jb1Dmc14d5647BihNrMQuDj6jAgWPYMpT9x7UcZRiERQ2l
Christenson’s 4/29/24 Cancellation of the Roosevelt Park Improvement Project https://www.cityofmalden.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=899 https://bayrd.org/
"It was privately funded by Frank A. Bayrd in memory of his mother, Adelaide Breed Bayrd. The Foundation awards grants in accordance with the following policies - To support organizations, the activities of which are centered in Malden, Massachusetts and surrounding communities."
According to https://bayrd.org/about/history/
Excerpts from a tender editorial tribute written by Mr. Bayrd at the time of her death indicates the great and loving regard in which her son held his mother.
“. . . . a thorough academic education supplemented by wide travel, constant study and reading contributed to make her a woman of extraordinary intelligence. She came from the best stock of Puritans, Quakers and later Methodists. . . . Her knowledge of astronomy and botany was extremely wide. She knew the stars and constellations as well as most of us know the names of the streets of our city. She loved trees and flowers. . . . She loved her home and her home village of Maplewood. . . . I am profoundly grateful to God for the long years she has been spared to guide and influence me.”
See this post on high levels of lead in sampled homes, KCH for Malden City Council
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