Economic Development Bill Includes Funding Authorization for Stoneham and Winchester Economic Priorities

On July 28th, we in the House passed H4879, an Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth.  With the support of my colleagues, I secured the authorization for future appropriation of funds from the Governor that will help both Stoneham and Winchester bounce back from the economic hardships that have accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic and will boost economic drivers in our communities

For Stoneham, I successfully amended the legislation to add language authorizing the expenditure of $1 million for the planning, development and operations of a regional transit system that will provide “last mile” service for Stoneham residents and will bring mass transit options throughout Stoneham and neighboring communities such as Winchester, Woburn, Melrose and Wakefield.  This authorization builds on previous authorizations I secured in the amounts of $2 million (H4547) and $1 million (H4732) for this important initiative.  I also included authorization of $75,000 for the Stoneham Historical Society for technological upgrades to improve remote accessibility to its collection.

For Winchester, I secured an authorization of $1,000,000 specifically for the further planning and redevelopment of the downtown commuter rail corridor.  If the Governor agrees to appropriate these authorized funds to the town, we will use them to capitalize on the much-awaited rebuild of the Winchester Center Commuter Rail station scheduled to start in the coming months.   I also successfully amended the legislation to authorize $75,000 in funding for the Winchester Historical Society for its own technological upgrades that will improve remote accessibility to its collection and meetings.

Finally, I was pleased to work with my colleagues to secure the authorization of $12,500,000 for future appropriation for Zoo New England, the non-profit corporation that operates the Stone Zoo.  When I first took office, I worked closely with Senator Jason Lewis, community leaders and the directors and staff of Zoo New England to preserve the accreditation status of the Stone Zoo.  We prevailed on the Baker Administration to appropriate more than $3 million in MassWorks funding to the Stone Zoo, which allowed Zoo New England to unlock millions of dollars in private contributions.  I am confident that this authorization signals even brighter days ahead for the Stone Zoo, which is a treasure in our community.