Chelsea Planning Director
John DePriest.(Left) and Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew A. Beaton(Right)
On Wednesday, Feb. 18, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew A. Beaton gathered with local officials at Chelsea City Hall to introduce the Park Planning and Assessment Tool.
The Commonwealth’s 26 Gateway Cities will partner with EEA to utilize the Tool for assessing current park and open space resources and determining potential future investments.
Secretary Beaton remarked, “fblikebutton_button” “Parks and open space are the heart of every community, especially in our Gateway Cities. As these Cities plan for the future, the Park Planning and Assessment Tool will allow both the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and our partners in the Gateway Cities to make effective investments in parks and open space.”
A $125,000 investment was announced by Secretary Beaton to engage Stantec, an international design firm with substantial Gateway Cities experience, to develop the Park Planning and Assessment Tool for guiding future park and open space initiatives. These actions reflect the Baker Administration’s dedication to supporting parks and open space in urban areas.
Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash noted, “wp-caption alignright” “As a former city manager, I’ve seen the power of a park to transform a community firsthand. This new tool will help communities identify opportunities for targeted investments in our local parks and open spaces. We look forward to seeing this emphasis on local development resonate throughout gateway cities and the Commonwealth as a whole.”
The Tool evaluates how effectively each city’s park system serves residents and pinpoints areas requiring the most improvement. It also permits analysis to determine which investments will yield the greatest results.
When pursuing state and federal grants or making capital investments, municipalities using the Tool can make better-informed choices. Likewise, EEA will employ the Tool to more efficiently assess and compare park proposals from cities.
Chelsea and Worcester have been chosen by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to pilot a more comprehensive version of the tool, with plans to eventually roll out this enhanced version across all 26 Gateway Cities.
John DePriest, Director of Planning & Development for the City of Chelsea, stated, “wp-caption-text” “We are excited to work with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs on this project. We will use the findings of the pilot project as we update our park and open space plan and as we prioritize our park investments moving forward.”
All Gateway Cities are expected to complete a preliminary park assessment by June 30, 2015.