June 1, 2007
WAKEFIELD DAILY ITEM
WAKEFIELD - Design and engineering costs for the proposed recreational trail from Wakefield to Lynnfield through the scenic Reedy Meadow will cost $500,000. Funds that neither town can spare.
The committees formed to draw up plans to construct the trail along the old rail line are seeking state help, through bond funding, to get this initial phase off the ground.
Selectman Albert Turco, on behalf of the Wakefield Rail to Trail Committee, has sent an e-mail to Representatives Mark Falzone, Michael Festa and Brad Jones - who represents a portion of Lynnfield - and Senator Richard Tisei, seeking state bond support. Turco told the Item it appears that bond funding is the most realistic approach to achieving their goal.
The Wakefield Rail to Trail Committee and some Lynnfield rail to trail supporters will be meeting on Thursday, June 14 with representatives of FST (Fay, Spofford and Thorndike), the firm that will perform the rail to trail feasibility study for Wakefield and Lynnfield.
Once that report is finalized within a month or two, the next step is to have the project designed and engineered. "We estimate the cost of RTT design and engineering to be about $500,000," Turco wrote.
He added in his e-mail, "Inasmuch as it was not possible this year to get a budget earmark for RTT design and engineering, you have all informed me that the preferred approach is to attempt to obtain bond funding. It's my understanding that the legislature will be working on a bond bill this summer. As you all know, neither Wakefield nor Lynn-field has the wherewithal to fund the design and engineering of the RTT project. Absent an earmark, our only realistic hope of proceeding from here is bond funding."