Newton City Council formed a working group to advise the Newton Highlands Village Improvement Project at the council’s meeting Monday.
Ward 2 Councilor-at-Large Susan Albright recounted the progression of the project from its first concept as an accessibility improvement to the Newton Highlands T-stop to its current form, a larger endeavor focused on widespread accessibility, traffic, and quality of life improvements.
“[The project] evolved into a broader vision that addresses not only accessibility but also traffic economy, safer bicycle and pedestrian connections, improved parking, beautification, traffic signals, and expanding the green infrastructure,” Albright said.
Albright reintroduced the item to the council on second call due to outgoing Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and Commissioner of Public Works Shawna Sullivan’s concern about council investment.
“[The mayor and commissioner] wanted to be sure that the council was interested in moving forward towards final design,” Albright said.
The Newton Highlands Area Council raised concerns about the project, most notably the cost of the project’s continuation. The project has already used more than $500,000 of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds secured for it.
“There were members of the Area Council who felt the plan could be developed for $75,000, but there was a memo from a meeting with the commissioner and engineering staff at Eversource who felt that it would cost $750,000,” Albright said. “The undergrounding itself would probably cost in the neighborhood of $6 or 7 million.”
Ward 6 Councilor Martha Bixby proposed an amendment with the conditions of instituting a working group to oversee the project’s development, track the spending of the project, and determine whether to proceed with the project’s scope or divert funds to other ARPA-funded contracts.
“What we, as a council, are voting on is a conceptual plan with goals of accessibility, environmental benefits, neighborhood enhancements, and areas of the village center that could see work,” Bixby said. “I believe there’s broad consensus on these goals, both in the neighborhood and the council, and I support moving forward on them.”
The amendment to form an oversight group for the project passed unanimously.
Still, Ward 2 Councilor-at-Large Tarik Lucas emphasized his disapproval of the project itself, citing the Newton Highlands Area Council’s dissatisfaction with the project’s design, and felt that more money into the project’s development would only increase losses.
“I attended the last two Newton Highlands Area Council meetings, and they are not fans of any part of this planning process,” Lucas said. “They have not liked any part of this at all.”
Ward 8 Councilor Stephen Farrell affirmed his support of the project’s continued review, noting that there is still room for compromise with residents.
“I’m going to vote yes to give all interested groups in Newton Highlands the opportunity to come together over a very structured process and amount of time, with a clear intent to come back to us and say ‘Okay, we think there’s a way to move forward, or we don’t think so,’” Farrell said.
The motion passed 20–2, furthering deliberation on the project’s future with a new oversight group.
