The Chelsea City Council and the city’s Downtown Development Authority will hold a joint work session tonight, Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the new police station building in the council chambers.
This open meeting is planned to answer City Council questions about the three proposed DDA projects that are included in a requested $995,000 bond resolution.
Earlier this month, the City Council did not approve a resolution to issue the bonds.
Almost half of the requested $995,000 bond is earmarked for the Palmer parking lot, which the DDA purchased, and with the input from a citizen’s committee, would like to develop into a community gathering place. Some features would include a pavilion building with bathrooms, an area for the city’s two farmers’ markets and other festivals, events and concerts. The estimated cost of the first of three phases for the space is $500,000-$600,000.
The second project includes improvements to Jackson Street and the Longworth alley, which include demolition of the Livery building, placing area utilities underground, cleaning up and enhancing the alley beside the First Congregational Church, which runs from East Middle Street to Jackson Street and additional parking spaces.
This about $250,000-$300,000 downtown improvement project is ready to go to bid and the DDA hopes to get it started this spring.
The third planned project is for about $50,000-$70,000 to add stamped sidewalks at several additional intersections. They would match the ones installed last year in several key intersections downtown. The new stamped intersections would be placed in several of the city’s busiest pedestrian crossings at the intersection of Main and Middle streets and Main, Park and South streets.
At the DDA’s Jan. 19 meeting, the board discussed the possibility of taking the Palmer lot project out of a bond request so it could go forward with the other two projects this spring.
