Community Path Lease Causes Board of Aldermen Debate

The Somerville Board of Aldermen voted Thursday to approve a 99-year lease with the MBTA that allows the city to extend the from Cedar Street to Lowell Street.

However, in a rare case of division on the Board, three members voted against the measure, not because they oppose the Community Path, but because they felt the lease potentially exposes the city to millions of dollars worth of liability, and they felt rushed into making the decision.

"This isn't just a lease," said Alderman At-Large William White, who added, "The city incurs substantial obligations."

White felt the aldermen should have had more time to review the lease. 

However, members of the city's told the aldermen if they didn't vote on the lease Thursday night, the city was at risk of losing federal funds for the project.

Loss of federal funds

The , which is used by pedestrians, bikers, dog walkers and others, is built on old railroad tracks, which is why the land for the Community Path to Lowell Street is owned by the MBTA. The city has plans to extend the path from Cedar Street to Lowell Street, and ultimately to Cambridge near Lechmere.

Michael Glavin, executive director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, told the Board that without a signed lease with the MBTA, funding authorities would not initiate a review of the Community Path project, and without that review, the Community Path would fall off the all-important list of Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) projects.

That could mean the potential loss of federal funding for the project.

Due to the schedule of the review process, the Board of Aldermen needed to approve the lease Thursday night, Glavin said.

Anne Thomas, special counsel to the law department, told the Board, "From what I'm hearing, delaying for any reason would jeopardize this project at this point."

The cost of cleaning up hazardous waste

According to comments made at the Board of Aldermen meeting, the 99-year lease, which doesn't cost the city anything in terms of payments, indemnifies the MBTA against the cost of cleaning up hazardous waste. It also prohibits the city from testing soil before signing the lease.

This, said White and some other aldermen, means the city could be forced to spend millions to clean up hazardous waste. Because old railroads were known to use dangerous chemicals for weed control—not to mention the other potentially hazardous materials that could be found along the old rail beds of a once industrial city—there's a strong likelihood hazardous material will be found.

The city can purchase insurance to cover the costs of cleaning up hazardous waste, but at Thursday night's meeting, no one knew how much such insurance would cost.

Balking at sense of urgency

White complained the Board was being forced to make a sudden, ill-informed decision. "There was a foul-up here," he said.

"Tonight, I can't vote for last-minute stuff," he said. "I've said it a number of times, and it doesn't seem to have any affect."

The sense of urgency "deprives me of doing the representation for the people of Somerville," he said.

White, along with Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz and Ward 3 Alderman Thomas Taylor voted against the measure.

The other seven aldermen voted for the measure, and one was absent. The mayor's office said the measure was presented to the Board on Dec. 20, 2011.