Wakefield Observer
By Lisa Guerriero/ wakefield@cnc.com
Thursday, July 20, 2006
A planned rail-to-trail recreational path in Wakefield and Lynnfield may clear a major hurdle this week.
On Tuesday afternoon, state Rep. Mark Falzone, D-Saugus, said he expected the state Legislature to override the governor's veto of $500,000 in insurance money that would make rail-trail projects possible across the state.
Wakefield and Lynnfield are working together to negotiate the purchase of an abandoned railway path, owned by the MBTA, a deal that requires the towns to first acquire costly insurance coverage.
"I expect within the hour we will vote to override the governor's veto," Falzone said at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday, during a phone call from the floor of the State House.
Many communities in Massachusetts are trying to build recreational paths in the place of abandoned train tracks. If soil contamination is found during construction of the paths, someone has to pay to clean it up. The MBTA won't turn over the abandoned tracks and property, says Falzone, unless the communities agree that cleanup would be their responsibility.
But the insurance cost is one that communities like Wakefield can't afford. The Legislature wanted to offer up $500,000 for the insurance needs to communities that are ready to build a path, but Gov. Mitt Romney vetoed the cash.
Falzone and state Rep. Mike Festa, D-Melrose, and state Sen. Richard Tisei, R-Wakefield, have been working to secure the two-thirds vote needed to override the veto. On Tuesday, Falzone expected the vote would turn out favorable for Wakefield and Lynnfied.
When the insurance money was vetoed earlier this month, Selectman Al Turco weighed in. Turco is the Board of Selectmen's appointee to Wakefield's Rail to Trail Committee.
"If the state Legislature this month overrides the governor's veto of the Rail to Trail environmental liability insurance amendment, officials in both Lynnfield and Wakefield hope to resume in September negotiations with the MBTA of a lease of the abandoned rail corridor so it can converted to a bicycle and pedestrian path," Turco said in an e-mail to the Observer. "Although funding and other difficult issues will need to be addressed, I believe that with a lot of hard work and the support of our congressman and state legislators, Wakefield and Lynnfield will be able to achieve the objective - construction of a beautiful amenity that all of us will be able enjoy for many years."
Lawmakers only have until July 31, the end of the legislative session, to make a decision. The governor also vetoed $50,000 for a study to alleviate parking around Wakefield High School, but there has been no update from the lawmakers about overriding that veto.
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