Councilor Baker called Docket #0265, An order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend a grant funded through the coronavirus state and local fiscal recovery fund (CLFRF) in the Treasury of the United States established by section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) awarded by the United States Department of the Treasury for $10,000,000.00, from the Committee on Boston's COVID-19's Recovery. No objection being heard the matter was before the body. Councilor Baker moved to amend Docket #0265 from $10,000,000.00 to $5,000,000.00. Seconded by Councilor Murphy Motion Prevailed; yeas 12; (Absent 1 Mejia). Docket #0265 as amended did not Pass; yeas 5 (Baker, Flaherty, Flynn Murphy and Worrell), nays 7 (Arroyo, Bok, Breadon, Coletta, Fernandes Anderson, Lara and Louijeune). (Absent 1 Mejia)
Back to you, Mr. President. Thank you, Council Royal. Mr. Clarke, will you please read docket 0265? IP number 0265. Councilor Baker offer the following in order authorizing the city of Boston to accept and extend a grant funded through the coronavirus, state and local fiscal recovery from Fund c. L f. R. F in the Treasury of the United States, established by Section 9190 901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a RPA awarded by the United States Department. Of the Treasury. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clarke. B The Chair recognizes counsel. Baker Council. Baker You have the floor. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just just to be clear, this is an ask for $10 million. I filed this law and order looking for a way to support the boys and Girls, Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, who , in collaboration with the Martin Richards Foundation, are proposing a once in a lifetime, once in a generation opportunity to transform a parcel of land on Columbia Point into a vibrant youth development facility, a field house designed to holistically meet the ever evolving needs of Boston's 50,000 children and teens living in a in a three mile radius, including the thousand Boston public school students who attend the abutting Gavin McCormick schools using the upon AP moneys has received the AARP money thus far has come down from the mayor. The pathway has come down from the mayor asking us for approval. I would like to change that and have an ask from a district city councilor and have it go up again. It doesn't necessarily need to be asked for money, but this is an official ask for $10 million to go towards this field house. So the city would signal to the state because the state has already made commitments towards this field house. The Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester currently operates three clubhouses servicing servicing a culturally and ethnically diverse range of children from and from newborns to 18. I believe I believe if we can help with some funding, we can create a community that can stay on the peninsula from a young age through college at UMass and potentially right into a job. As well as receive the support they need. This would be a hub school model where children and adults alike have a safe place from before, before school, through dinnertime. This will also be a facility that will be fully accessible and inclusive to all and a great benefit to the school community on on Columbia Point. We have an amazing opportunity here to use the funds to be able to point to a tangible structure that will be built successfully in this time for money and again, to reach to to restate what I've been stating since the beginning when we were talking about all we are for money. My concern is that if we're not in line with projects to build with the money coming down from the feds, we're going to look back and five years and and and look at a whole lot of debt coming down on the federal government and have no assets. No assets that we've actually built infrastructure meaning failed houses, meaning housing, meaning libraries, meaning parks. We need to be building things with money and yes, thank you. Building building things with this money. So we'll be able to point to things that we've been able to build with this money from the feds. Again, this is more of a waste. So I can have my. Colleagues. In a hearing and view this structure and and view what the whole plan is over here on Columbia Point. It's part of. A lot of mines that are that are that are together on the point talking about education that will start at zero and end in at UMass. And also job opportunities that will happen with the new development in the next 5 to 10 years also. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Counselor Baker. Is what any other counsel I was like to speak on this matter. If you would, would you please raise your hand? Good counsel. The chair recognizes counsel. Murphy. Counsel Murphy over the floor. Thank you, Counselor Baker And I just wanted to quickly say that I do know personally the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, who has helped so many families and children and continue to and the Emirates Foundation and them coming together and really working on this and working hard to raise most of the funds themselves. This support from us would just really make the difference and also agree what Councilor Baker said, that this once in a generation lifetime money coming from the federal government. Housing and all of these other issues are very important. But if we can invest and make sure we're investing in lasting infrastructure, that our grandchildren can look back and see that it's not. Things that we're not going to even remember what we put into because this will be generations, thousands of children benefiting from this and would love, like Baker said. Counselor Baker said that when we have this hearing, having married in the Boys and Girls Club, come to us as the council and really share with us the work they've been doing and their vision for this amazing clubhouse. And, you know, it's an empty parking lot. Anyone who's been in that area or have lived in Dorchester like myself for the last decades, if you drive down that street, it's been an empty parking lot forever, right behind PC High, which is always updating their football field and their soccer field. And UMass Boston is on the other side of it. So in knowing that 100% dedicated to making sure that the students, the staff at the McCormick Denver, which is the public school there, which had recently got, you know, in receivership, has come out of receivership, struggling to, you know, be successful. It would be a really great support for the students and staff there. And they have openly and made sure that they're committed to be having the school use that as a gym. And that clubhouse all day during the school day is something that really mattered to me. And when I knew they were committed to that, that really makes a difference. So thank you, Counselor Baker, for bringing this up. And I hope also that other district counselors who know their neighborhoods best come forward to this council with their ideas of what they know that they need in their neighborhoods that we can use this money for. This is going to help our and I think it ties closely into the order I filed last week about mental health and making sure that we have spaces, safe spaces that are programed in this wonderful way for our students, for our children, for our, you know, our young adults. So thank you. Thank you, Counsel Murphy. I know counsel of clarity has his hand up, but let me go to the original co-sponsor next time, Counsel Baker. Sorry, Mr. President. I meant. I meant to ask to suspend Rule 12 and had counsel counsel Murphy on that believe it's Room 12 as an original co-sponsor. Mr. Clarke, can we please add Counsel Murphy as an original co-sponsor? Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clarke. The Chair recognizes counsel of clarity. Thank you, Mr. President. Great organization, great programing and great results. Please add my name. Thank you. Counsel Clarity. Please have counsel, clarity and counsel. Bach has her hand up. Counsel BACHELDER Thank you so much, Mr. President. I just wanted to say, and this really follows up on a comment that Counselor Murphy just made, that, you know, just to all counselors, that I'm definitely, as the chair of the COVID Recovery Committee, happy to hold hearings in order to create a public forum for counselors to present ideas they have about our funds. And so I would just say and although Counselor Baker framed this one in the form of an appropriation order, it would also be fine if somebody writes something more informal, sort of a hearing order formally, just as long as it's clear that you're expressing an interest in the ARPA dollars conversation. Because I know that we talked about, you know, we have a hearing that we're currently scheduling right now for talking about the ARPA dollars more holistically. And I think that holistic conversation is really important. But I just want to stress as the chair of that, that I'm very happy to create a forum for folks to raise ideas they have because as has been discussed, obviously, where the legislative body of the city and I do see that as their role to make sure the create that space wanted to underscore that point for everyone. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, counsel. Walk to those comments. Would anyone else like to speak on this matter? Would anyone else like to add their name? Please raise your hand if you'd like to have your name, please. And, Councilor Braden, please add the chair. Dawkins 0263 will be referred to the Committee on Boston's COVID 19 recovery. Personnel were offered onto personnel orders, of which we have none. Late files. I am informed by the clerk that there are zero way file matters. Green sheets. The City Council would like to remove the matter from the red sheets. You may do so at this time. We're moving on to the consent agenda. I have been informed by the court that the is that there are zero additions to the consent and consent agenda.