Intergenerational community center plans move forward

A release from the Office of Brad Jones:

BOSTON – House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) announced Monday that their efforts to assist North Reading with its plans to build an intergenerational community center have taken a step forward with the preliminary approval of $10 million in state bond funding for the project.

The funding was included in House Bill 4549, An Act providing for capital facility repairs and improvements for the Commonwealth, which was recently signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker as Chapter 113 of the Acts of 2018. The bill contains $3.87 billion in statewide bond authorizations covering a variety of capital needs projects at the state’s public university campuses, courthouses, and public safety buildings.

Representative Jones and Senator Tarr cautioned that there is currently no firm timeline for when the funding for the North Reading project will be released, as the money must still be worked under the state’s borrowing cap, which is set annually by the Baker-Polito Administration based on recommendations from the state’s Debt Affordability Committee and also takes into consideration the affordability and priority of projects. On May 21, the Administration released a revised 5-year capital bond plan covering Fiscal Years 2019-2023, which sets the cap for Fiscal Year 2019 at $2.34 billion.

“Town officials have expressed their support for this project, and Senator Tarr and I have been working to try to secure state funding assistance to help make this possible,” said Representative Jones. “This is really just the first step in what will be a very long process, but we are committed to working with the town to see the proposed community center come to fruition.”

“By working closely and collaboratively with Representative Jones on behalf of North Reading we can give more momentum towards ongoing efforts to create a center that is welcoming of residents across a spectrum of ages,” said Senator Tarr. “Intergenerational centers bring children, elders and those in between together in ways that add vitally to a community.”

On November 15, the House of Representatives debated and passed its version of the capital bond bill, which included Representative Jones’ amendment earmarking $10 million for the intergenerational community center. Senator Tarr was able to secure a $2 million earmark for the project when the Senate approved its version of the capital bond bill on February 8.

House Bill 4549 represents a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the bill, the details of which were negotiated by a six-member Conference Committee appointed by both legislative branches.