Letterie Delivers State of the Town Address

By Adam Swift

During his annual State of the Town address on Monday night, Town Council President Jim Letterie highlighted some of the accomplishments of the past year, as well as laying out goals for the council and town in the coming year.

The futures of the old middle school and a new fire station, as well as the ongoing issue of the state’s MBTA 3A zoning were all singled out by Letterie as issues the town will tackle this year.

“No such address can begin without expressing my sincere thanks and appreciation to all of our department heads, their staff, as well as our boards and committees,” said Letterie. “Without them, our town could not function. They provide us comfort and safety, they educate our children and grandchildren, they keep our town clean and inviting, they provide us with attractive and welcoming parks and recreation spaces, they maintain our infrastructure and streetscapes; in short, they facilitate providing us a community which I am extremely proud, appreciative, and honored to call home.”

Over the past year, he said the town council and town officials have been busy focusing on many items that have either been enacted or are about to be enacted shortly. The list of those items included the GFOA municipal budget format, the Revere Street TIPS project, the assessors’ office, flooding issues, a new town website, the old middle school site, the proposed new fire station and public safety building, the Veterans Road fire, and MBTA 3A zoning.

Town Manager Tony Marino was called out for praise several times in the address, including for undertaking a more transparent and open municipal budget process. Letterie noted that including the town’s enterprise funds, the town’s upcoming budget for Fiscal Year 2025 will be over $70 million.

Letterie addressed the upcoming Revere Street TIPS project, which will be funded through MassDOT and is scheduled to get underway this spring.

“You will begin to see some construction mobilization in the McGee’s Corner section, which is where the project will begin,” said Letterie. “We will not see much disruption, if any, until early May. This project will include complete drainage work, along with new streets, sidewalks, some streetscapes, and a bike lane.”

The project will take multiple seasons to complete. While the project is being overseen by the state, Letterie noted that Marino was able to arrange several public meetings with state officials on the project at the senior center on March 23 and 26.

This spring will also see the final stages of the paving of the Revere Street section from Crest Avenue to the Revere line, which should begin at the beginning of April and take about a month.

The council president also praised the reorganization of the assessors’ office with increased staffing and bringing all the work in-house. He said the move has facilitated an increase in new growth that the town has never seen before.

While the winter did not see a lot of snow, Letterie said there have been continued flooding issues over the winter, and that the town is continuing to take steps to address them.

The council has approved funding to begin survey work and engineering for the especially hard hit Tilestone, Girdlestone, and Pico Avenue neighborhoods.

“We have also applied for a federal grant for $650,000 which should help with all the engineering work for those areas,” said Letterie.

In addition, the town has also received a grant for design work for flood mitigation options for the Morton Street area.

Letterie said the town continues to work on multiple fronts concerning the future of the old middle school.

“There will be a much anticipated proposal from Edge Sports, who responded to the RFI (request for information),” said the council president. “They are expected to come to present by the end of April. We are looking at the possibility of a new rink, along with a relatively small 55 and over complex, keeping our options open.”

The coming year will also see renewed efforts to build a new fire station after a plan failed at the ballot box last November.

“We have not given up the fight for a new fire station, as well as the possibility of a public safety building,” said Letterie. “We learned much from our efforts last year, and I believe the most important item we learned is that the town does support building a new fire station. They understand that our two facilities are in deplorable condition, and that we need a new station along with our own ambulance service.

“We will be reporting back with a presentation in relatively short order with multiple options for you to consider, and we hope to have another ballot question ready for the fall.”

Letterie also praised the town’s efforts following the massive last year on Veterans Road that displaced 60 families.

The council president also spoke about the role of an elected official in a small town, especially when it comes to addressing issues like the proposed MBTA 3A zoning that could force the town to create zoning for 882 multi-family housing units.

“Be honest, do your homework, listen to your constituents, help inform them of the pluses and minuses of whatever issue you might be working on, and do your best,” said Letterie.

The 3A zoning has been discussed extensively over the past three months, and Letterie said the outcome of those discussions will drastically affect the community moving forward.

“The purpose (the state) says is to increase housing and create more density,” said Letterie. “The reason to me is questionable. It is set out to be a one-size-fits all mandate, when in my opinion, it really shouldn’t be.”

Letterie noted that in comparison to most of the communities in the state, Winthrop has a much denser per capita population, and a far lower percentage of single-family homes.

For more than a decade, he said the town has taken a responsible approach to zoning and growth that has actually met many of the goals that the state is trying to meet with the 3A zoning. Letterie said the town should not be penalized when it has been ahead of the curve on the housing issues.

In the coming year, Letterie said he will continue to focus on what is best for the town, no matter the issue.

“I feel that one of the most crucial jobs we do as councilors is to try to evaluate these consequences and the facts, educate the public, and make decisions that will have the best outcome for our residents,” he said. “Our town is not just a place on a map, it is a living, breathing testament to the strength, resilience, and collaboration and spirit that defines us. We recognize that challenges exist, but let me assure you, they are stepping stones, not stumbling blocks.

“By facing them with the same determination that defines us, we will overcome them and emerge even stronger,” Letterie concluded. “We have a unique blend of backgrounds, perspectives and talents that I think makes our town resilient and dynamic.”