Marino provides update on state 3A meeting

By Adam Swift

Town Manager Tony Marino provided his regular update to the town council prior to the council’s scheduled meeting on Tuesday night.

Marino hit on several ongoing projects in town, including the Revere Street TIP project and the fire station project, as well as a recent meeting with state officials regarding the MBTA 3A Communities Act.

State Senator Lydia Edwards, State Representative Jeff Turco, Council President Jim Letterie, Marino, and Town Attorney Jim Cipoletta met with Housing Secretary Ed Augustus and his team, along with Margot Hurley from the Attorney General’s Office, to discuss Winthrop’s 3A status and next steps now that the state has filed a lawsuit over Winthrop’s noncompliance with 3A.

Marino said the main questions asked by the Winthrop contingent included 3A’s impact on existing condominium documents, as the proposed 3A district from the Planning Board includes Condo developments at Seal Harbor and Governors Park;  the language the EOHLC includes in its district approval letters and how it could be interpreted to mean the EOHLC can make changes whenever it chooses; what a ballot question could look like if Winthrop decided to put a 3A compliant district forward to the voters; and about the lawsuit and whether, if the town were to lose in its defense and was  forced to implement 3A, it could still use the district it originally brought forward to create a 3A overlay district at Seal Harbor and Fort Heath, and Governors Park.

“We did not receive direct answers to any of these inquiries, but the EOHLC said they would get back to us after discussing it with their internal stakeholders,” Marino stated. “Another topic of discussion was the grant restrictions and potential refusal of upcoming grant applications. Council President Letterie asked about the 21st Century grants for the schools, which he felt should not be included in any withholding of grants, as it would be unfair to punish Winthrop students over a state-mandated zoning provision that Winthrop has not adopted.”

Public safety and public health grants and earmarks were also discussed, and the town officials insisted that Winthrop should be allowed to apply for and have the same opportunity as 3A-compliant towns, as these departments should not suffer or be denied resources over a state-mandated zoning provision that we have not adopted, Marino stated.

The Revere Street TIP project continues as they work on switching over to the new traffic lights and installing solar controls on the streetlights, so they go off during the daytime hours, Marino said. The curb and concrete work will resume in the spring of 2026.

“The Fire Station demolition work continues as most of the auditorium has now been demolished,” Marino stated. “They will continue to remove debris and clean the site for the next few weeks. Also, the design plans for the new fire station are moving forward and we will be planning a public meeting for input during the month of March 2026.”

In other news, Marino said work continues on the FY27 Budget as the finance team compiles the budget and capital plan requests from town department heads.

“We look forward to working with the Town Council and the Citizens Advisory Committee on Finance during the upcoming FY27 budget cycle,” Marino said.

Finally, he noted that the dredging work at Fishermen’s Bend is complete and gave special thanks to Northeast Mosquito Control for permitting and completing this project along with the DPW crew that hauled the material off site.