Clark secured over $11 million in federal funding for infrastructure projects and education investments across the Fifth Congressional District  

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Assistant Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and Appropriations Committee Member Katherine Clark (MA-5) announced that she had secured funding for ten community projects across Massachusetts’ Fifth District in the Fiscal Year 2022 Congressional Budget, which was signed into law today. Clark’s FY22 Appropriations Community Project Funding (CPF) Requests total over $11 million and were chosen to improve everything from road and water infrastructure to college accessibility to public transit. 

“I am thrilled to announce that I have secured federal funding for ten Community Projects throughout the Fifth District in this year’s budget package. These investments are a direct response to the needs of our local community. We are improving our climate readiness through green infrastructure, investing in higher education for underserved youth, expanding accessibility for community health care services, and much more. These projects will undoubtedly improve the lives of residents in the Fifth District and the long-term welfare of our community. Democrats are listening to leaders on the ground, delivering results and rebuilding a better America for everyone.” 

A detailed list of the projects that will be funded through today’s bill signing and quotes from local leaders can be found below:

Chris Walsh Aqueduct Trail Connectivity Project, City of Framingham: $220,000

The funding will be used for the design development, final design and permitting process for the Chris Walsh Aqueduct Trail Connectivity Project. Once constructed, this project will provide thousands of residents in the Downtown Framingham area, primarily from environmental justice neighborhoods, with direct access to this recreational corridor and opportunity to enjoy open space. The City is committed to furthering the legacy of the late State Representative Chris Walsh by providing all its residents with access to beautiful open space.

Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center Interpreter Services Program: $1,000,000

The funding will be used for Kennedy Community Health’s interpreter services program to address the language needs of the underserved communities of MetroWest and Central Massachusetts. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Kennedy Community Health aims to provide quality, accessible and affordable health care to anyone in need. With a patient population that is predominantly low-income, as well as ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse, achieving health equity is at the core of their mission. As the area’s only provider of refugee health assessments, Kennedy Community Health has become the medical home for individuals who speak over 92 different languages, making the interpreter services program vital to their ability to communicate with their patients and provide high-quality care.

Steve Kerrigan, President and CEO, Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center: “At Kennedy Community Health we provide access to care regardless of someone’s ability to pay and a big piece of that access is being able to overcome language barriers for many of our more than 29,000 patients. We cannot thank Congresswoman Clark enough for these much-needed resources. Such funding is critical to the interpretive services we offer to our patients. Interpreters, community health workers and benefits coordinators are invaluable in providing culturally and linguistically competent care to our patients but are not covered by reimbursement rates from either our commercial insurance providers or from Medicaid or Medicare. This funding will be a game changer for our team and the patients we serve.”

MetroWest Scholars Early Start in Waltham, Framingham State University: $600,000

The funding will be used for Framingham State University (FSU) and Massachusetts Bay Community College (MassBay) to scale their MetroWest Scholars Early Start Early College Project to reach underserved youth and families in the community of Waltham. The program will be delivered in partnership with Waltham Middle and High School, the MetroWest College Planning Collaborative (CPC), and dual enrollment courses from both FSU and MassBay. This project will build a robust Early College program in Waltham to create pathways to college completion and economic stability for the City’s ELL, first-generation, newcomer, and underserved populations.

Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky: “The federal funding for these three Framingham initiatives will have tremendous impact on a wide variety of our residents. I am grateful to Congresswoman Clark for recognizing the importance of the services provided by the MetroWest Scholars Early Start Early College Project and the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center to our underserved populations. In addition, this funding will help design the Chris Walsh Trail to connect our southside community with new recreational experiences.”

F. Javier Cevallos, Ph.D., President, Framingham State University: “We are so grateful to Congresswoman Katherine Clark for her support of our efforts to expand Early College opportunities in Waltham Public Schools. Early College programs are one of the best tools we have for improving outcomes and college going rates for underserved students and families. The MetroWest Scholars Early Start program takes an innovative approach by starting this work with students at the 8th grade level and continuing through high school. Students in the program gain experience in college-level classes and earn credit toward their college degree.”

Hurld Park Green Infrastructure Project, City of Woburn: $262,500

The funding will be used for completing engineering designs for a major (11.3 acres) green infrastructure project in Woburn. This project will make its surrounding neighborhood significantly more heat and flood resilient as climate change increases both summer temperatures and rainfall intensity. Community co-benefits include stormwater pollution remediation through a constructed wetland; stream, floodplain and wetland restoration; ADA-accessible paths; and both active and passive recreation. This project will benefit over 24,000 residents—including three environmental justice neighborhoods located within a mile of the site—and will contribute to regional flood management, specifically for the communities of Winchester, Arlington, Medford, Cambridge, and Somerville.

Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin and City Councilor Jeff Dillon of Ward 3: “We are very grateful for Congresswoman Clark’s efforts and her continued strong support and advocacy on behalf of the City and our residents. The $262,500 grant will help us complete the design of the exciting new 11-acre open space / recreation project at Hurld Park, the site of the former Daniel P. Hurld elementary school.”

Malden Lead Line Replacement Program, City of Malden: $3,360,000

The funding will be used for accelerating the replacement of lead service lines delivering drinking water to Malden residents. In recent years, Malden has been identified as the community with the highest percentage of lead service lines in the Greater Boston Area. The City has undertaken an aggressive program to reduce the number of lead lines, but as of 2021 there are 2,076 lead lines remaining. This funding will allow the City to replace both the public and private sides of the lead service lines, removing a significant health hazard for low-income residents who cannot afford the cost of replacement themselves.

Malden Mayor Gary Christenson: “We are incredibly grateful to Congresswoman Clark for securing $3.36 million in funding for our Lead Line Replacement Program. Malden is an environmental justice (EJ) community, and this is a major step toward bridging the equity gap for EJ populations when it comes to reducing sources of lead exposure. The funding will allow for the replacement of both the public and private sides of service lines and remove a significant health hazard for low-income residents who cannot afford the cost.” 

Mystic and Charles Regional Coastal Flood Interventions Project, Town of Arlington: $750,000

The funding will be used for analysis, planning, and sequencing for a coordinated set of coastal resilience strategies and interventions that together will reduce the risk of coastal flooding to nine vulnerable communities in the Boston area: Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, and Revere.

Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui: “On behalf of the City of Cambridge and our neighboring communities who will benefit from these much-needed interventions, we thank Congresswoman Clark and her team for their proactive efforts in securing these funds. We are proud to be partners in the continuing work to increase resilience and mitigate climate-related risks.”

Adam Chapdelaine, Arlington Town Manager: "We are so grateful for Congresswoman Clark's leadership on this issue and for her clear commitment to helping her district mitigate the impacts of climate change. This grant will allow Arlington and the other participating communities to address flooding risks and enhance community resilience going forward.”

Waltham Embassy Parking Lot Project, City of Waltham: $280,000

The funding will be used for detailed engineering designs and construction of a green infrastructure retrofit of the Embassy Parking Lot in Waltham. This retrofit design, which includes the installation of small, strategically located bioretention areas and infiltration trenches, will improve aesthetics, reduce the phosphorus load by 50%, and improve the quality of stormwater discharging into the Charles River in a cost-effective way. This project will serve as an example of next generation parking lot design for the City of Waltham and every other community in the Charles River watershed.

Charles River Watershed Association: $400,000

The funding will be used for improving the ability of the Charles River Flood Model to support stormwater management and completing designs on specific nature-based solutions that the Charles River Flooding Model demonstrates to be effective at managing stormwater and increasing climate resilience in numerous Charles River watershed communities. Developing riverine models to help address the impacts from increased rain events and runoff is a priority in the Massachusetts Integrated State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan.

Emily Norton, Executive Director, Charles River Watershed Association: "This funding will be put to work immediately to help cities and towns in the Charles River watershed stretching from Hopkinton to Boston to plan for the increase in flooding that is already here and will only get worse thanks to a changing climate. We are so grateful to the US Congress and especially Rep. Clark for her support and partnership."

Wellington Greenway Phase IV, City of Medford: $500,000

The funding will be used for the construction of the final phase (Phase IV) of the Wellington Greenway, which is part of a 10-mile continuous waterfront path and park system along the Mystic and Malden Rivers, providing a regional active transportation and recreation system for residents, employees, and visitors. Phase IV is a 0.3-mile shared-use path along the Malden River in Medford and the Wellington MBTA Rapid Transit Station. This project will create equitable access to safe, off-road walking and biking corridors for surrounding environmental justice communities while mitigating the traffic impacts of the increased residential and commercial development in the area.

Medford Mayor Lungo-Koehn: “Thanks to Congresswoman Clark’s advocacy, this long-awaited project is finally coming to fruition and we are incredibly grateful for her work on this and other important projects for the City of Medford. The Wellington Greenway project will not only expand and enhance access for all users, but there is an incredible amount of untapped potential for regional connectivity that will allow users to access surrounding communities and beyond, bringing more visitors right here to Medford and to our great retail and restaurant opportunities. This is just one example of how well public-private partnerships can work, especially when you have such dedicated advocates on your side.”

Patrick Herron, Executive Director, Mystic River Watershed Association: "What a joy to see the range of projects funded through the leadership of Congresswoman Clark," said "From managing coastal flooding in the Lower Mystic River communities to completing a key connection in a regional Greenways network along the Malden River, to designing a climate-resilient park in Woburn, these investments will make our communities safer, more livable, and more beautiful."

Wonderland Multimodal Connector, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT): $4,000,000

The funding will be used for planning and design for a new commuter rail platform and multimodal transportation connector in the City of Revere, linking the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line to the MBTA Blue Line. This project has key benefits not only for the City of Revere, but for the entire region. Creating greater regional and local transportation access would alleviate regional congestion for commuters into the City of Boston and local congestion along Route 1A. The project will also increase connectivity for the environmental justice and low-income communities of Revere, East Boston, Chelsea, and Winthrop to major transit hubs.

Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo: “The transformative funding for planning and design of the Wonderland Multimodal Connector is a testament to our city’s indispensable partnerships at the federal level. Assistant Speaker Clark, while a new resident in our city, has been a staunch advocate for our community since coming into office. These $4,000,000 will help us initiate a project that would strengthen many of the aspects of our community that make us attractive to working families and vital to the region’s economy. Building the Wonderland Multimodal Connector will be a major advancement of our transit, environmental, and social justice goals. I look forward to continuing to work with Assistant Speaker Clark and our other state and federal partners as we plan this major investment in the future of our city.” 

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