Okay. Uh so thank you all for being here today. Today is uh is February 23rd, 2026. Um and this is a hearing of the Boston Parks and Recreation Commission. I will open the hearing and start the
introductions. I'm my name is Kathy Baker Eclipse. I'm the interim commissioner for the parks department and I will allow the associate uh commissioners to introduce themselves. Good morning, Jean Ballinger from South End neighborhood.
>> Good morning, William Eper, Jamaica Plane. >> Good morning, Sandra Couts, Rosen Gale. >> And I think that is the four of us that we have so far. Um, I'll allow staff to introduce themselves. Carrie, do you want to go first?
>> Carrie Marsh Dixon, executive secretary, parks commission. >> Jennifer Mashazak, interim external affairs director. >> Um, Kate Oheimer. I'm the senior planner. >> Jill Zik, I'm the interim chief
landscape architects. >> Megan Tol, special assistant to the parks commissioner. Thank you. Um, so we have a few items on our on our agenda today. Um, the first item, I'm
just going to read the first sentence. Um, and then allow us to discuss it a little bit or Carrie, I think have Kate go into the um, presentation, give a little bit of the background, and then we'll read the full
vote into the record. Does that sound like a reasonable plan? >> Okay. So the first item on the agenda is a vote uh for the parks and recreation commission on behalf of the city of Boston for community preservation purposes of providing a park recreation and public access and natural resource
conservation um to grant a perpetual conservation restriction on a parcel of land uh to the trustees of reservations. Um, and this is the parcel of land known as the
Egleston Square Peace Garden at 3131 Washington Street in the Egleston Square neighborhood. Um, so Kate, do you have a couple of things to present about this? >> Yes. Um, one moment. Let me pull up the
presentation. All right. Um, can everyone see this slide deck? Yeah. Good. Um, so this is a um Can you see the next slide?
>> Okay. >> Yes. >> Um, >> good. Um, so this is um mostly well it is uh entirely an administrative matter. Um, >> I'm sorry Kate, can you hold on? It looks like we lost our um transcriber
and she's just coming back into the room. If you could just hold >> Sorry about that. I I literally just lost internet right when you were >> I haven't got anything. I don't know. Um Magna may be recording it. I can probably get it from them.
>> Um would were you were you on the call when the information about this vote was read? >> No, I was not. >> Okay. I literally went out at like 9:59. >> Oh, okay. >> Okay. Did you get the introductions from all of the members that are here?
>> I did not, but again, I can check with Magna. I believe they record it, so I couldn't get it from them and piece it back together. >> Okay. I don't think they do, but we want we can get you the list of everyone that's on. As far as the vote itself,
Kathy, do you want me to summarize? >> Um, sure. Why don't we go ahead? We were on the first vote. Um, and so we were going to do a summary, the presentation, and then read the vote into the record, the full vote into the record. Um, this is regarding a parcel of land located at
3131 Washington Street in Roxbury. It's a park known as the Egleston Square Peace Garden, which was acquired by the parks department with the approval of the parks commission previously. This is a vote to enable the um granting of a perpetual conservation restriction of
the parcel to the trustees of reservations. And so back to you, Commissioner Baker. Oops. >> Uh so Kate Oheimer uh is going to give a little bit of background for the for the record and for the commissioners. Kate,
>> thank you. Um yeah, Carrie has covered uh most of the the gist of it, but um just a little bit of a refresher. So the Egleston Square Peace Garden is located in um the Roxbury Jamaica Plane line in
Egleston Square. Um it was acquired, well, it was acquired by the parks department um in 2024. It previously had been developed into a community space, but um was
after that being used as um an advertising site by a private owner um and was privately owned and the public access to that site had been um uh sort of taken away or not it wasn't um
publicly accessible really anymore. So the um community had previously applied for a CPA grant but um wasn't successful in acquiring that um due to sort of the
private uh ownership issue and um shortly after that the private owner placed the property up for sale um and the parks department determined that it was um a priority for acquisition due
due to this strong community desire to um return the the open space that had previously been there. Um and due to the benefits it would have for heat and climate mitigation.
Um, and so in 2024, the parks commission authorized to purchase the parcel and the parks department used community preservation act funding from the Boston Open Space Acquisition Fund. Um and that
is why we're here again today because even though we voted to purchase this property um already one of the terms of CPA funding is that a conservation restriction has to be placed on a parcel
that's acquired with that funding. Um park staff has been working with the trustees of reservations who um is the organization that will hold the conservation restriction and with the state uh division of conservation services who administer the conservation
restriction program to prepare the conservation restriction and um we've worked to get a draft um that is acceptable to um all parties involved. um and it's been approved by the state
for finalization and um signatures. Uh but in order to execute the conservation restriction, the parks commission also needs to vote to authorize granting a CR. Um in previous acquisitions, this has been done at the
same time as the vote to authorize the acquisition. Um but in this instance, it wasn't. So that is why um it's on the agenda today. >> Thank you, Kate. Um any questions from any of the commissioners?
>> Kathy, no questions, but I'd like to repeat my appreciation and commendation to the community. Uh this is an excellent example of the community coming together and government doing what it is supposed to do. Uh it took a very long time for this to happen, but it did in fact happen. And I just want to thank everybody in the community and
everyone at the parks department who actually contributed to this effort. I'm in very strong support. >> Thank you, William. >> Any other comments or questions from commissioners? Um, any comments or questions from the public?
I'm not seeing any. Um Carrie, could you read the uh the vote language into the record? Sure. Um this is a vote that the parks and recreation commission on behalf of the city of Boston for the community preservation purposes of providing a
park, recreation, public access, and natural resource conservation. Having purchased the following described parcel of land with funding from the community preservation fund appropriated for the acquisition of open space and parkland by the city council hereby grants
perpetual conservation restriction and said parcel of land to the trustees of reservations in accordance with section 3 of chapter 185 of the acts of 1875 reservations in accordance with se oops I apologize um and master law chapter
44b section 12A and master law chapter 184 sections 31-33 having found this grant to be in the public interest and authorizes the commissioner of the parks and recreation department to enter into all agreements and documents and execute any and all
instruments as may be necessary to affect said perpetual conservation restriction. This parcel of land is located at 3131 Washington Street in the Roxberry neighborhood, a park, a park known as the Egleston Square Peace Garden, consisting of 5,497
square ft.13 acres of open land identified in the records of the assessing department as parcel 1101 3280 and bounded and described according to a plan of the survey titled plan of land 3131 Washington Street, Boston, Mass.
prepared for City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department and made by Feldman Geospatial, Boston Headquarters, 152 Hampton Street, Boston, Mass 02119. Joseph R. Zambudo, PLA.
Uh, license number MA52783. Date of certification, May 26, 2023. For granters title, see the Suffach County Register of Deeds, book 70333, page 209.
>> Thank you, Carrie. Um, can we have a motion to vote? >> So moved. >> And a second. >> Second. >> Thank you. Uh, all in favor, please say I. I. I.
>> All in fa All opposed, say nay. Any abstensions? Please state your abstension. And with that, the motion is passed. Thank you very much, Kate. On to the next step. All right. So, the next um item on the
agenda uh is a discussion of uh the fees for the golf course. Um we will have a uh presentation by Megan Tol uh in the parks department about the the fees for the golf courses. Um and
then um and then a vote to approve the proposed 2026 rates for tea times and season passes. Um Megan, do you want to share your screen? >> Let me share it right now.
Okay. Can everyone see that? Hold on. >> Yes. >> Loading. >> Okay. Can everyone see that now? >> It still says loading for me. It >> is loading. >> There we go. >> There we go.
>> Perfect. Sorry, I think my internet's also running a bit slow with the storm. Um, yeah. So today I'm going to be talking about the um proposed rate increases for 2026 uh tea times and passholders. Um so I'll jump right into it.
Okay. So quickly I'm just going to go through what the current rates are for 2025. These have been the rates that have been in place since 2023. So currently for residents for weekdays um it runs from $30 to $46 for 9 versus 18
holes. Senior residents, it's $25 to $40. For weekdays, also 918 holes. Junior residents is 13 to $15. And then for non-residents, for weekdays, 9 to 18 holes, it's 35 to 55. 30 to 45 for
senior non-residents and 15 to 18 for junior non-residents. Then for weekends, same breakdown with nine holes versus 18. It's 35 to 55 for adult residents, um 28 to 45 for senior residents, and 15 to 18 for junior
residents. And then for um non-residents, it's 40 to 62. Senior non-residents, 37 to 57, and junior non-residents 15 to 18. And then for our season pass holders, so these are the um these are the people
that are able to purchase season passes which give you priority booking. Um so you're able to book ahead of when the regular tea times are rel are released. So for the resident season pass, it's currently $1,700. For the senior resident season pass, it
is $1,400. Junior resident season pass, it's $300. Non-resident season pass, it's 2500. Senior non-resident season pass is 1,800 and junior non-resident season pass is 500.
And then for our proposed new rates for the 2026 season, um we are proposing no increase to resident tea time rates um but increasing the non-resident rates. So for non-residents, we are proposing that it would be $40 for nine holes on
the weekday, 61 for 18 holes. So that's an increase of $5 for 9, $7 for um 18. For senior non-resident weekday, we're proposing 32 to 48. So that's an increase of $2 for both. Um and for
junior non-resident, we're proposing a $2 increase for weekday. So 17 to $20 would be the new rate. And then for weekend for non-resident, it would be 45 to 70. And that's a $5 and an $8
increase for weekend nine nine holes versus 18. For senior non-residents, it's 39 and 60, which again is another $2 increase. And then for junior non-residents, it's 17 and 20. So again, $2 increase.
And then for the passholders, again, we're proposing no increase for residents in their passholder rates. For non-residents, we're proposing a $250 increase for both non-resident and senior non-resident season passes. So,
that would be $2,750. And then for senior non-resident, it would be $2,50 um for the season pass and then no increase for the junior non-resident season pass.
And that is what I have. So, thank you. Thank you, Megan. Um, could you explain the process for assessing these fees or the study that we that was done to uh to determine
whether these fees needed to be increased and what what other municipalities were charging. >> Yeah. So for this work, what I did is that we looked at other municipal courses um and then other golf courses
in Massachusetts around us um but with a focus on municipal because we want to be comparable to them. And what we found is that about every single year if it if not every other year, other municipal courses are increasing their rates to be at the market rate and also with
inflation rates. um we just want to make sure that we're remaining comparable. We want to make sure that we continue the investment into the courses and with rising costs to, you know, maintenance and any other work construction that needs to happen um at George Wright and
William Divine. Um based off of what other courses were proposing for their increases, we just wanted to again make sure that we were comparable. Um, the other thing that we wanted to really keep in mind is ensuring that resident access is, you know, prioritized. So,
ensuring that, you know, Boston residents are able to utilize the golf courses in every which way possible. Um, while making sure that the difference between resident rates and non-resident rates were also comparable to other municipal courses. So we found that you
know in the past the resident versus non-resident rates that we had set were very very small in terms of the difference and other courses had a much larger difference in the rate set with resident versus non-resident. So again we just wanted to make sure that we were prioritizing residents and their access
while ensuring that we're comparable with other courses. >> And can you speak a little bit to the business model of the golf courses? >> Yes. So the money that is made by the golf courses, so with tea times, with
the season passes, with um the pro shops and also functions that happen, all of the money that is made by the golf courses stays in the golf courses. So that goes towards uh maintenance, it goes towards upkeep, um larger projects
that need to be done to the clubhouse to tea boxes as well as salaries. So, we also want to make sure that with again with the rising costs that we're seeing, you know, across the city and, you know, just in general, that money that we make from the golf courses again just stays
within the golf courses. Um, and that we're able to continue to continuously provide, you know, the level of service and the, you know, beauty that is our golf courses cuz they really are, you know, gems to the city. And you know, everyone loves being out there, whether
they're actually playing golf or, you know, just walking through, but we just want to make sure that, you know, we're able to keep up the level of um service and the quality of the courses um with all the rising costs >> or sledding. >> Or sledding.
>> Yes. I skating this past weekend at Franklin Park. >> Yeah. Um I'm not I'm not sure all the commissioners are aware that the golf courses are consistently rated among the highest municipal courses in the country. Um they're really um outstanding. The the investment that has
been made over the past 20 years um continuing to make um incremental but significant improvements in the golf course quality. Um they were both designed by Donald Ross. I think that's right. Um pretty well-known golf course architect. Um so they're they're really
unique. um in the city and the the one at Franklin Park set among the this home study and landscape is just stunning. Um any questions from the commissioners? >> Kathy, I have a quick question. Um just
curious, Megan, um do you have a handle on the the um usage um number of rounds per year of residents versus non residents? So, we're raising the fees for
non-residents, which seems to make all the sense in the world. Um, but I'm just curious, uh, if that puts anything at risk, and if so, what's the percentage of non-residents that make use of of the golf course? Yeah, let me um I can find
those numbers, but you know, just off the top of my head through the work that I did with um Scott Allen as well, who oversees George Wright and all the golf courses, um we did I would say around 20,000 to 30,000 rounds of golf. Um
>> I think it was closer to I think it's usually past couple years have been closer to 50. >> Yeah. So 30 to 50 is usually where it falls depending on the weather. And the breakdown really is that you know for residents versus non-residents there is a lot more usage by residents versus
non-residents like notable difference. Um >> but you know we still see a lot of non-residents especially senior non-residents and adult non-residents um using both courses both George Wright and Franklin Park. Um this year it seemed that Franklin Park actually had
more non-resident um usage than George Wright did with around like for 18 holes for example for adult non-residents um it was around 3,000 rounds and then 2,000 for seniors but more towards 3,000. Um versus residents at Franklin
Park, you know, we had around 4,000 rounds for 18 holes um and 6,000 for senior residents. And then at George Wright, you saw again a lot more resident usage. So for senior residents, there was around 8,000 rounds of golf
played. And then for um adult residents, there were around 5,000 rounds versus for non-residents, it was around 2,000 for both um adult non-residents and senior non-residents. But we are seeing a lot more usage by residents than we
are seeing non-residents. Okay. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yeah, of course. Any other questions from commissioners? >> I was curious, do we have a particular capital need that we're trying to fund raise for or is this just a matter of
trying to keep up with rising costs? >> So, the I don't know if Kathy if you want to speak to it. >> Go ahead. >> Yeah. So, um a lot of it does just have to do with the rising costs of just general maintenance. There are a lot of capital projects that are happening particularly at George Wright. There's
huge projects underway to really kind of revitalize the clubhouse spaces. Um as well as you know in the upcoming year or two we're going to have to do a full replacement of the irrigation systems which is going to cost you know a lot of money and we already have you know funds
set aside for that work obviously but you know then as well as to upkeep again just the general maintenance of the courses and the clubhouse spaces um that was the real driver of this project. Thanks,
>> Commissioner. Ballinger, did you have another question? >> Yeah. Um, at the risk of sounding a little bit immodest, I I do have some knowledge in in this area. And I can I can uh note additionally that the cost of materials and equipment that's required to maintain golf courses
absolutely skyrocketed in the last couple of years. And um I would also add that for non-residents, these are very attractive golf courses because of what uh the commissioner was making reference to the the quality of the maintenance is
extremely high. Um the superintendent are really really strong at each of the individual golf courses and those fees that were identified even the increased fees are a relative bargain um to the to the municipal um golf the typical
municipal golf player who's playing a MUN or a um private course that's available for public use. So um I certainly fully endorse the the rate increases. It seems to make a lot of sense. Thank you. Um Megan, could you just
speak to to one final point about the um this the pass holders and the the percentage of residents versus non-residents? >> Yes. Let me find those numbers. I have the breakdown. So the passholders
um are given priority access to uh like they get access to the tea times. They open up like a day earlier than than it does for the general public. Um and that is an unlimited access to that uh to
that benefit. Um and it's a guaranteed stream of income for the for the golf courses. Um which can be attractive if there are you know this is a variable um product that is
subject to to the whims of weather. So uh that guaranteed stream of income >> uh helps diversify the income streams. >> Yeah. So the breakdown for passholders for resident versus non-resident we have around 40% resident so adult resident passholders
um and 44% senior resident passholders versus non-resident um it drops off a lot so it's 6% for adult non-resident passholders and 8% for non-resident senior passholders and then for the junior passholders we have a very very
small percentage it's about like 3% for both resident and non-resident juniors. >> I think it's one each resident. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Um Yeah. Okay. Um any other questions? All right. Any questions from the
general public? You can uh raise your hand uh and we can unmute you. I am not seeing any. Um I'm going to try to read I can read this in to the record or Carrie if you want to read this into the record. The the vote.
>> Uh sure. Uh this is a vote to approve the proposed 2026 rates for tea times and season passes for George Wright Golf Course in Hide Park and William Divine Golf Course in Franklin Park which is located in the neighborhoods of Roxberry, Dorchester, Matapan and
Jamaica Plane. Uh, is there a motion to vote? >> Yeah. Motion to vote. >> And a second. >> I'll second. >> Thank you. >> Um, so all uh in favor of this vote,
please state I. >> I. >> Any opposed, say nay. >> Any abstensions, please state your abstension. Okay, so the motion has passed. Thank you very much. Thank you, Megan.
And tell Scott the good news. Thank you. Um, so moving on to other business, uh, we have Jen Mashazik here to give a brief presentation on the 2025 annual report of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.
>> Thank you, Kathy. How's everyone doing today? Are you able to see my screen? Not yet. >> Okay, >> now I can see it. Thank you. >> Awesome. Um, I'm proud to share the incredible work our team's accomplished
over the years. Um this is the sorry the 2025 annual report. So I apologize on that typo but we'll just move along with um this is just a a brief overview of again all the amazing work that the department has done in the past year. We
do have this version online. Kathy uh Carrie has shared this um I believe with everyone and if you would like a hard copy we'd be happy to mail you a hard copy. Please just let either myself or Carrie know and we'll make sure to get one in the mail to you. Um over the past year we had capital
improvements with it was a transformative year. This year the construction at 14 park sites citywide. We improve made improvements in every neighborhood. Nine ribbon cutings, 30 community meetings supporting upcoming capital projects, a great year of land
acquisitions, transfer and expanding Boston open space network. The urban forestry division was um growing Boston's canopy. Um this past year we continued implementation of the urban forest plan, expanded Boston's tree
canopy and strengthened daily forestry operations, made strategic investments in staffing, equipment, data systems, public programming and we deepened the urban forestry has grown so much um in this past year and they had a lot of work that they had put
in. Um, our maintenance division, we in 2025, our maintenance staff turned all 85, and this is a major milestone for us last year, turned on all 85 splash pads across the city at the same time. We're fully operational and
working. So, we were super proud of that. Last year, they received 7,18 new 311 cases. They closed or completed 6,980 cases, demonstrating a very strong um responsiveness. Our maintenance team
continues to provide reliable, high impact services that residents see and fail every day. The horiculture uh division is a beauty at scale. The team includes 15 greenhouse staff, six public garden staff, two Keller Rose
Garden staff, produced 20,000 finished plants by late spring at Franklin Park green houses. They maintain and enhanced high visibility gardens and floral displays across the city. The recreational division expanding access and participation. Um the
participation numbers in reach, we have 638 total events hosted, 11,799 plus participants served citywide. We had 9,800 residents engaged in fitness and wellness programs and 800 plus hours
of free virtual and in-person classes. our major youth and league impacts. Our mayor's cup program, 4,873 youth served, increased from 2024. We had 355 games, matches, and races held,
1,500 plus youth uh participated in our winter ice hockey across nine different ranks throughout the city. our seasonal and community programming, hundreds of neighborhoods, clinics, leagues, and tournaments, free summer sports centers at five different locations, launched our Forever Young
program supporting active aging for older adults that continued um year year long. So, at first it was just one season and we were excited that we were able to expand for the year. Um we had continued strong partnerships expanding recreational access. Our Boston Park
rangers delivered 51 community programs, tours, bird walks, nature hikes. They supported daily education and visitation at the Nature Center Jamaica Pond. They led multi- agency response to the aven flu. They contributed to 100 plus
special events managing safety, traffic, and crowd control. Their impact, the Rangers served as Boston's trusted goodwill ambassadors, blending public safety, environment stewardship, and community outreach. Our external affairs department activating parks year round.
33,000 plus attendees at free parks events. Signature seasonal festivities included the children's winter fest, frog pond opening, Halloween festival, our holiday tree lighting, and the tree for Boston. Our summer programming, concerts, movies, arts, workshops,
cultural and special events. We issued 70 plus press releases and managed hundreds of media inquiries. our animal care and control. 1,000 plus animals cared for in the Rosendale shelter. 60% of our dogs reunited with
their owners. 143 surgeries performed, including spayed, neuter, and medical procedures, 600 plus pounds of pet food distributed, and 935 free lowcost rabies vaccines provided across 10 neighborhoods.
our permitting unit. We had 5,535 total permits issued, 1,088 1,885 special events, 135 weddings, 3,480 plus sporting events, and we supported major event drawing, 100,000
plus attendees. We managed thousands of calls and emails with a strong customer service focus and strengthened partnerships to coordinate field access during construction. Our cemetery division had 485 burials overseen, 132
at Mount Hope, 327 at Fairview, 26 at Evergreen, and 250 plus veteran headstones were cleaned with REITs across America. We restored the historic road of ironing fences at Mount Hope. 120 plus trees were planted, 100 at
active cemeteries, 20 at his our historical grounds and ongoing tree pruning and removal across all of our cemeteries. Our human resources, we had 13 employees promoted supporting internal advancement and retention, 162 new hires, 43
full-time, 114 seasonal, and three interns. 104 labor service positions upgraded following compensation review and benchmarks. 16 employees completed management and workforce readiness training and a few celebrations that we had in
our department. Um, six retirees were honored. Services ranging from 11 to 41 years, 134 combined years of service dedicated to parks and wreck. Service milestones celebrated um we had one employee for 40
years, six employees for 30, five employees for 20, and four employees for 10 years. Our vending program partnered with Roundhouse Brewing Company to launch a traveling beer garden in Boston parks. We opened Flower Bakery and Cafe on Boston Common through a competitive
RFP process. Advance the Boston Common Master Plan by reactivating the concession pavilion and footprints of Boston free arts and culture programming. And I want to thank you today for for listening for our overview of the 2025 annual report. Again, we have this
available virtually, but if you would like a hard copy, we'll be happy to mail one to you. Please just let myself or Carrie Marsh know. Thank you. >> Thank you, Jen. Um, if there's any questions on that,
happy to take any questions. >> I went through that fairly quickly. >> There's a lot of numbers in there. >> A lot of numbers, a lot of information. I did just want to highlight, you know, some of the great work that the department's been doing um over the past 2025 year. And um we do have a more
breakdown of each department within our annual report. >> Yeah. And I think the one of the things that struck me looking at all that is like and we're doing it all again this year. It's going to be awesome >> even more this year. So the work continues >> to that point. Um Kathy, um and
congratulations. All great and terrific work. Um so so thank you to to all the staff um that work so hard on a daily basis. Um what are the prospects for the next fiscal year? Can you give maybe the highest level overview of where we sit
in the budget process and what things may be looking like from an operational and a and a capital projects perspective without holding hard and fast. >> It's a it's a great question. Um the budget for FY27, which starts uh this
July, is still in process. Uh the mayor will be announcing it usually in April and then it goes to to city council uh goes to city council hearings in April and May and June into June. Um we expect
to see some fiscal con some constricting um in the in both operating and capital budgets but we don't have final numbers yet. Uh so those those are still work in progress but um but like all the departments across the city um some of
the challenges with the um with the property taxes um are are creating some some challenges. Um so but we are expecting to see a lot of uh tourism this season. Um so trying to do the best with what with what we can and prepare
as much as we can for that um prepare now uh and implement in the summer. >> Is there any risk that um the asks um that you've put forward um are reduced even further than the initial directive?
And I guess where I'm going with this, is it ever appropriate um for associate commissioners to speak in support of the the requests of the parks department and the budget process? >> That is a great question. I don't know
that I know the answer to either of those. The the budget is still um in in development. you know, they're looking at the budget office is looking across all departments um and and trying to weigh um how to provide basic city
services um at the at a very high level for all city departments. Um sticking to the the core of what the city does. Um there are always wild cards like blizzards and and uh some extreme weather events that we have to
deal with which um throw out challenges. Um, and I don't know the answer about the about advocacy. That's a good question and I'm happy to >> have some conversations. I you know I think in terms of the fact that um the
parks department's budget is just a tiny percentage of the overall city budget and I think we all learned during co and the years um following the the co epidemic that um parks really are an essential service and you know I think
it's incumbent upon people that care about parks and open space to to advocate um and and to make sure that they continue to get their fair share of a of a really difficult budget. conversation this year and probably in the next the next few years. So,
>> um just a couple of observations and thanks very much. >> Thank you. >> If I may, I'll just um let you know that we do present the budget to the parks commission annually. Uh I'm just not sure where we where that will happen. That's up to interim commissioner Baker
clips and that would be a point at least one point where the commissioners could provide their comments on it. But but we'll figure that out and obviously you'll see it on agenda in the upcoming spring at some point. >> Thank you.
>> Right. Any other uh Frank? Yes. Make a comment. >> Yeah. Yeah. Thanks Kathy. Yeah. Good morning everybody. Frank O'Brien here very briefly. Great report. Very useful. I did want to talk to the commission
briefly about one element that was shown on the report and also say hello to my friend uh Jordan from Councilman Weber's office. Good to see you Jordan. Um so the one of the slides had to do with the urban forestry plan which is really fantastic. It was a great plan that was
put together a couple years ago and one of the elements of the plan the plan had a bunch of recommendations. If you haven't seen it, it's well worth reading. Um it really had two related recommendations that were relevant to some of us out here and one was to in
institute a tree ordinance and then as part of the as part of the ordinance to introduce a tree board which that was what was called in in the plan and uh the the tree ordinance was passed with then councilman Aoyo's leadership and a
number of us worked with um Reverend Marama on the composition of the of the tree board, which actually became an advisory board. And the advisory board's been in place for about maybe a year and a half at this point. And
they they haven't yet made any actual advice. U they're they're directed to give advice to the commissioner. Um and I totally appreciate Cath's incredibly busy. Um, but this is a a venue for those of us who care about the parks to participate in deliberations and work
together to make things better. Um, and when I talked to some of the representatives on the on the tree uh advisory board, they really hadn't even been on boarded. You know, they hadn't been given the history. They didn't know their role. They >> can I can I interrupt you? Is this a
question about the annual report which was the item that we were discussing? >> Yeah, exactly. It really does tie in. Thank you for that. So, one of the one of the um provisions of the of the tree board, the >> advice, >> you're talking about the about the you're not talking about the annual
report, which is the item that we're discussing here. >> Yeah, I'm going Well, one of the slides was the tree plan. And interestingly, the um the the ordinance established and required the advisory committee to make
an annual report as well. So, I just encourage the commission to definitely look into that. I'll be coming back here. I hope the whole uh we can work with the commission and the department to make this thing work. But I I did want to bring it to the commission's attention in the context of the annual
report. Thanks very much for everything you guys do. >> Thank you. Um Allison, I see your hand is up. >> Yes. Hi. Good morning. Um a question and it is about the annual report is um uh
data about the commission itself and perhaps that's in a separate document um but um what the number of projects reviewed uh number of comment letters submitted things like that is that in the uh the whole document or not? Hi
Elsa, I do apologize that that is not was not on the slide, but there is a section at the end of the annual report, the full annual report with um commission information. >> Okay, thank you. >> Thank you, John. Thank you, Alison.
All right, so now moving on to the last um item, which is one that I will lead about uh reporting back on the 2026 pre community preservation act. Let me see if I can get my screen up.
Can everybody see that? Okay, I got a thumbs up from Jean. So, thank you. Um, so last month, I think it was last month, uh, the parks commission, you all voted u to, uh, to have me step in as the, uh, parks
commission representative on the community preservation committee. Um, the it was, uh, partially through the review period. Um, but I was able to vote on all of the the projects. And I just wanted to bring back the um to share the uh open space and recreation
projects uh specifically to this group because I think they are the ones that are most of interest. Uh if you have other questions about the other projects, the historic preservation projects and the affordable housing projects, I'm happy to answer those as well um to the best of my ability. But
uh but so the community preservation act uh this is an excerpt of the open space projects from this year from the uh February 11th uh agenda uh where we voted on the on the projects to be
forwarded to the mayor's office that to then go to the city council. Um so there were um 84 applications to the community preservation committee over $45 million
in funding requested and $32.8 million $32.6 million uh awarded in projects. The breakdown was um for each of the um areas of interest 50% of the $32.6 $6
million went to uh affordable housing and then the remaining 50% was split evenly between uh historic preservation and open space projects. So 8.15 million for each of those uh projects all across uh
the all across neighborhoods. Um there were this is for all of the projects affordable housing, open space and historic preservation. And then the next steps are going to be uh that the city uh the the community
preservation committee uh community preservation staffing will present that to the to the mayor which will then uh present it to the city council for them to vote on. Um and then uh the money
will become available in the next uh next few months to each uh proponent. Um they are underway with uh conversations for FY27. Uh so those um the eligibility form for FY27 is available now. It is
typically due at the end of August right before uh Labor Day. All right. So, there was um just over 11 million in projects uh proposed to CPI uh for open space projects and $8.15
million was was uh recommended. So, one project that I'm sure is uh to Commissioner Eper is the Harborwalk extension at the Little Mystic Channel in Charles Town. Uh that project is adjacent to um adjacent to the Charleston High School Fields, which is
a site that Boston parks uh has care and custody of and across the channel from Berry Playground, which is a a Boston Park's own site. Uh so improving the the open space uh all around this waterfront resource. Uh the Chinatown Immigrant Heritage
Center in Chinatown was awarded a a grant uh for some a small courtyard renovation. Uh UP Academy playground in Dorchester which is a Boston public school site. Uh so playground renovation was recommended. Uh this is uh the third in
a sequence. I think this is third um of of improvements to this schoolyard. Also another BPS site is the Ever Elementary School in Dorchester. Uh the Trina Prasad Community Park in Dorchester. This is a uh communityowned
open space uh that was dedicated to uh Trina Prasad um and is has is owned and cared for by the community. The Noral Radcliffe Food Forest. This is uh a series of parcels in the Dorchester
neighborhood that is going to be developed into a food forest uh with Boston Food Forest Coalition. Mlan playground in East Boston. This is a Boston parks project. Uh we are underway with a or we're about to be underway as soon as the snow melts with
a construction project um on the surface, improving the ball field, adding a small play area, improving the the paving here which has a sign some significant heaving from existing trees. Um so trying to level that out. Um and
the CPA project funding will allow us to address some of the deteriorating walls at the perimeter of the site which have these uh murals on them and you can see some of the conditions of these walls. Uh the mouse Ottabban Boston Nature Center in Matapan received is uh being
recommended for a small grant. Uh the Mission Hill Pathway phase 2 in Mission Hill. Uh this is a project that is an open space project that is adjacent to um an affordable housing project um and a community garden which
was funded in the previous round. This project is for the open space to the plan left of this of the site plan. Um, and this is a parcel that will eventually come to Boston Parks, but will be maintained by the trustees of reservations.
The Connley School playground in Roslandale is recommended to receive uh some playground improvements. A small um kind of really neighborhood uh initiated project in Roslandale um to create a pathway and um and some open
space improvements in a little nook in in Rosendale. some improvements to the Troder School playground um in in Roxbury. Um this is the next phase of playground improvements focusing on the
kindergarten uh and early elementary school uh play area. another Boston Park site. This is um currently called the King Street uh play area on um King Street and I think it is
Roxbury Street adjacent to Jeep Jones playground in Roxbury in kind of the Nubian Square area. Um this is a site that the community has identified as a site uh for a memorial to uh those impacted by suicide. Um, you may be
seeing some some additional information on this as the community desires to change the name. Um, so this will be developed into a uh into a more robust open space and and include a memorial to
suicide to those impacted by suicide. The Dudley Kennaworth Pocket Park. This is um really converting uh right ofway and roadway into uh open space and uh plaza space in the Roxbury neighborhood.
the 48 Towns and Street um which is a desired to be turned into a uh neighborhood urban wild uh but really focusing on the immediate improvements of improving the the wall the retaining wall in this space as the first phase of work.
Thorough path in the west end is a project that um is continuing to improve the vegetation on this pathway in the west end um which is a neighborhood with very little open space uh right in the middle of it.
So this is a list of all of the the projects uh both the historic preservation projects, affordable housing projects and the open space and recreation projects. And that is the last slide. So, if there are any uh questions from
commissioner members, >> no question, Kathy, but just well done. You didn't have a lot of time getting up to speed on those projects. I'm impressed. And then I'm very glad to see a number of truly public projects on that, namely the parks projects and the school department projects. It always
makes me happy. >> Yeah. And and some NVPA projects as well. >> Oh, yeah. Those are always nice as well, aren't >> they? Great. >> Yeah. Um, is there a hand raised or is that a vestage?
I don't see a hand raised, but I've we should acknowledge that councelor Weber's office is represented here today. And if there's any input um to be shared, please feel free. >> Thanks everyone. I'm just here to like
listen and learn and Yeah. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. If uh are there any community questions about about the CPC? Not seeing any hands raised. All right. Um
I think that concludes all the items on our agenda. So I will entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> Motion to adjurnn. >> Any seconds? >> Seconded. >> Thank you. And uh we don't have to vote to adjurnn, right? Yeah, we're
>> unanimous consent. >> Yeah, we have consensus. Great. >> Time to shovel. >> Yep. Be safe everybody. Stay warm. >> Thank you. and Sue if you need anything.