Published in the August 24, 2018 edition
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Residents will be given an opportunity to decide the fate of the proposed Wakefield-Lynnfield Rail Trail, Town Administrator Rob Dolan said last week.
Dolan noted the rail trail’s design is moving closer to reaching the 25 percent design phase.
“The process we are going through right now is whether or not the town wishes to proceed to the 75 percent design,” said Dolan. “That does not mean we are anywhere near construction.”
Dolan said the Recreational Path Committee is working to evaluate the cost of the rail trail project.
“That includes public safety, insurance, liabilities and upkeep so that when the decision does come before the people, all of the facts will be available,” said Dolan.
Dolan said the cost of going from the 25 percent design to the 75 percent design is “currently being evaluated by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.”
“Before we share that number, we want to make sure we do our due diligence to understand it fully,” said Dolan. “I am not prepared to do that today.”
Dolan noted the price tag for reaching the 75 percent design will need to be split equally by both Lynnfield and Wakefield.
“The requirement for the town to proceed would be 50 percent of that cost,” said Dolan. “Fifty percent of the cost would be to the town of Lynnfield and 50 percent would be to the town of Wakefield. It should be noted that 60 percent of the rail trail is in Lynnfield and 40 percent is in Wakefield.”
Since the selectmen determined “no taxpayer funds” will be used to reach the 75 percent design stage, Dolan said the Friends of the Lynnfield Rail Trail applied and were awarded a $100,000 grant from the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
In an interview with the Villager, Dolan said the $100,000 grant is a reversible grant that needs to be used before it expires on Dec. 31, 2020. He said the grant could be used to reach the 75 percent design.
Dolan also noted Lynnfield’s and Wakefield’s legislative delegation secured a $500,000 funding earmark for the rail trail as part of a $2.4 billion environmental bond bill that was recently signed into law.
“The environmental bond bill allows municipalities, through their legislators, to propose projects,” said Dolan. “Those projects could be a number of things including a new football stadium. Legislators put them in a bond, and that is what our legislators did here. Half a million dollars was placed in the environmental bond bill for the towns of Wakefield and Lynnfield for the rail trail to proceed to the 75 percent design.”
Since the funding is included as part of a bond authorization, there is no firm timeline for when Lynnfield and Wakefield will actually receive the money. It must first be approved for release by the Baker-Polito administration and then worked under the state’s annual borrowing cap, which was recently set at $2.34 billion for fiscal year 2019.
“It does not mean the town is going to see that money now or ever because once the items are placed in the bond bill, it will be up to the governor to release those funds. Those funds are usually released sparingly on targeted projects,” said Dolan.
Dolan thanked local lawmakers for securing the funds.
Selectmen Chairman Dick Dalton requested that the Recreational Path Committee give an update to the selectmen at an upcoming meeting.
