City Manager Fidel Maltez has sent the Chelsea City Council a $25.9 million draft capital plan for fiscal 2028 that borrows nothing and counts on grants for nearly two-thirds of the cost. The largest share, $11.31 million, would go to the Park and Pearl Streets project.
The draft, in the packet for Monday’s October 19 council meeting, lists 27 projects. Maltez called it “a very lean and conservative approach” given “the uncertainty around our future financial outlook,” and wrote that the plan “slows the pace of investment in public buildings.” Every line for bonds in the plan, for the general fund and for the water and sewer funds, is zero.
Last winter, Maltez described the previous capital plan as $34 million, with 35 percent from state grants.
Where the money comes from
- Grants, $16.3 million, about 63 percent of the total. The table lists them only as “Misc. Grant” and does not say where they would come from.
- Free cash, $5,697,459. This is the city’s certified surplus from past years.
- School stabilization fund, $2.3 million, all for Chelsea High School equipment and school boilers.
- Retained earnings, $780,000; state Chapter 90 road money, $755,000; and $60,000 from the operating budget.
The projects
| Project | Cost | Paid for with |
|---|---|---|
| Park and Pearl improvements | $11,310,000 | $11 million grants, $310,000 free cash |
| Eastern Avenue and Stockton Street improvements | $3,400,000 | $3 million grants, $400,000 free cash |
| Annual roadway and sidewalk improvements | $1,755,000 | $1 million free cash, $755,000 Chapter 90 |
| Annual park project | $1,000,000 | Half grants, half free cash |
| Public building renovations | $1,000,000 | Free cash |
| Chelsea High heating and cooling (HVAC) replacement | $1,000,000 | School stabilization |
| Shared Streets and Spaces | $1,000,000 | $950,000 grants, $50,000 free cash |
| Mill Creek restoration and improvement | $775,000 | $650,000 grants, $125,000 free cash |
| Municipal vehicles (DPW) | $750,000 | $490,000 free cash, $260,000 retained earnings |
| Chelsea High chiller | $650,000 | School stabilization |
| CDBG public improvements | $550,000 | $350,000 free cash, $200,000 grants |
| Roadway safety enhancements | $500,000 | Free cash |
| Chelsea High generator replacement | $350,000 | School stabilization |
| School boiler replacements | $300,000 | School stabilization |
| Stormwater management plan | $300,000 | Retained earnings |
| Police cruisers | $277,000 | Free cash |
| Spruce Street utility design | $220,000 | Retained earnings |
| Parks and playgrounds maintenance and amenities | $200,000 | Free cash |
| Portable and mobile radios | $105,459 | Free cash |
| Server replacement (IT) | $100,000 | Free cash |
| Third Street, Everett Avenue and Chestnut Street intersection | $100,000 | Free cash |
| Fire Department administrative vehicle | $80,000 | Free cash |
| Cargo van for Chelsea Recreation | $60,000 | Free cash |
| Police camera replacement and additions | $50,000 | Free cash |
| City Clerk digital archive preservation | $20,000 | Operating budget |
| Desktop computer replacement (IT) | $20,000 | Operating budget |
| Backup power (UPS) replacement (IT) | $20,000 | Operating budget |
Park and Pearl
The draft gives no description of the projects. In January, Maltez called the full reconstruction of the Park and Pearl area the largest project in the previous plan and said the council had made it a priority for many years. A council subcommittee report in March described the work as rebuilding the intersection of Park and Pearl Streets “to improve safety, alleviate congestion and integrate with ongoing downtown development,” together with separating sewers and replacing water and drain lines on Park and Pearl Streets and two blocks of Congress Avenue, connecting to the work on downtown Broadway.
The street sweeper
Maltez wrote that the plan includes a new street sweeper so the Department of Public Works can take over street sweeping in January 2028, a proposal he sent the council in a separate letter in the same packet. The project table does not list the sweeper on its own line.
The DPW’s 15-year analysis, attached to that letter, buys a $350,000 sweeper in the first year and new ones in years 5, 9 and 13, at $425,427, $517,109 and $628,550, getting back $50,000 each time from the old machine. It counts a full-time operator at $63,908 the first year, $32,760 a year in overtime, fuel, brushes, repairs and 28 percent overhead.
The analysis assumes a new contract would cost $412,737 in its first year and rise 3 percent a year. On those numbers, doing the work in-house costs $135,559 more than a contract in the first year because of the sweeper purchase, and costs more again in each year a new sweeper is bought. Over 15 years it comes to $5,470,258 in-house against $7,676,451 by contract, a saving of $2,206,193, or $147,080 a year on average.
What comes next
The draft is on Monday’s agenda as a communication from the City Manager, with no vote. Maltez asked councillors for feedback and said the final plan will be submitted by the deadline in the city charter. For the rest of Monday’s agenda, including Police Chief Keith Houghton’s retirement and Market Basket’s Mystic Mall plan, see our preview of the meeting.
Photo: Chelsea City Hall. Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.