On September 18, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller presented the FY2025-FY2029 Five-Year Capital Improvement Project Plan. After providing a general overview, Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Yeo provided the Council with a presentation of the plan’s highlights. The plan includes:
- 333 new and continuing projects, funded by a variety of sources
- $1.2 billion total investment with $193 million during the five-year period (FY2025 – FY2029) and $145 million for the Countryside and Franklin School Building projects to be docketed during the remainder of this fiscal year
- Substantive changes to the CIP compared to the FY24 Plan approved in June, with 41 Water/Sewer/Stormwater Utilities projects listed separately from the main CIP group
- 129 projects added:
- 111 new Public Buildings projects for Newton Public Schools
- 11 projects for the Parks, Recreation and Culture Department
- Spears Garden
- Newton South HS Tennis Court Light Replacement
- Memorial Playground in Oak Hill Park
- Captain Ryan Park Improvements
- Albemarle Playground Resurfacing
- Newton South HS Tennis Courts
- Weeks Tennis Courts
- Coletti-Magni Park Improvements
- Newton South HS Synthetic Turf Field/Track Replacement for FY2034
- Newton North HS Tennis Courts for FY2032
- 5 Phosphorous control projects for the Department of Public Works
- Albemarle fields
- Elliott Street DPW Yard
- Crafts Street DPW Yard
- Resource Recovery Center
- Davis Playground
- 1 project for the Planning Department
- Christina Street Bridge
- 1 project for the Fire Department
- Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus
Mayor Fuller highlighted three issues that the City will face in the coming years:
- Phosphorus Control: The Federal Government is requiring Massachusetts municipalities to control phosphorus. The Plan for Phase 1 is almost complete. Mayor Fuller pointed out that the City will be facing hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in required work in the coming decades.
- Commuter Rail Station upgrades: Mayor Fuller said the City will need millions of dollars of investment to rebuild all three Commuter Rail stations, and the MBTA says that 75% of the design work should be completed this year.
- Rising Costs of Construction: The sharp increase in construction costs will mean that infrastructure projects will likely take longer to complete.
Watch the presentation on NewTV beginning at 31:17.
