GLX funding took center stage at a recent Board of Aldermen public hearing.

By Joe Ruvido

The question of Somerville’s contribution to the Green Line Extension (GLX) project was discussed before the Board of Aldermen at a public hearing on Thursday night. The Board listened as Mayor Curtatone and other members of his administration asked the board to approve a 50 million dollar spend for the project. The money would be borrowed in 10 and 30-year bonds, paid to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in installments of 10 million dollars over five years.

The approval would be a first in Massachusetts. A municipal government has never been asked to contribute directly to a state capital project, but a new policy by Governor Baker’s administration allows for this type of cost sharing between cities and the state. The board would also have to approve a Home Rule Petition to supersede a Massachusetts law that says municipalities cannot borrow funds to contribute to state projects. Cambridge plans to contribute an additional $25m to help the State fund the estimated 2.3 billion dollar project.

The Mayor promised that taxes will not be raised to fund the project. Because the money will be bonded it will not put added stress on Somerville’s operating budget. The principal and interest owed to the bonds will be paid via property tax revenues. There will be no override or debt exclusion of Proposition 2 ½ to pay for the project, such as the debt exclusion levy that will be used for Somerville’s 130 million dollar new High School. Somerville voters approved that measure in November’s election by an almost 3 to 1 margin.

If approved, the city estimates that it will collect an additional $140m in property tax revenue over the first 10 years of the rail extension project and subsequent development. This calculation is based on an assumption of 3% growth in property values citywide, 4 percent growth in areas closest to the new stations, the so called “Walkshed” areas. The city is projecting $1.2 billion in Commercial Development and $617 million in Residential Development near the new stations. All of this will equate to an 11 percent reduction in the ratio of residential to commercial tax revenues over that time period.

One way the city plans to proactively attract new business and development is the use of District Improvement Financing (DIFs) for the Green Line Station neighborhoods. In a successful DIF, a city borrows funds for infrastructure and public works investments in an area, then uses the development and improvements as leverage to attract more public and private industry to the area. Some of the tax revenue generated from the development is used to pay back the financing for the DIF, as has successfully happened with the DIF used to develop Assembly Row.

Many questions from the public asked that the developers, particularly Union Square Revitalization contract winner Union Square Associates (US2) shoulder the burden of the funds for the state. Mayor Curtatone countered that the city is simply playing the best hand they have to put city finances for the project in the public interest. Still to be determined is whether this development will be subject to a Community Benefits Agreement. Community groups and citizens asked the Aldermen last week to forestall any zoning for Union Square Projects until a CBA is implemented to hold the developer and city to promises of open space, sustainable development, use of local labor, payment of a prevailing wage, and affordable housing.

Ward 1 Alderman Matt McLaughlin was not sold by the Mayor’s presentation. “I would like to see a firm commitment from developer,” he said after the meeting. McLaughlin also stressed that Somerville residents should not have to pay for the extended Green Line, stressing that “Residents are legally owed the extension for pollution mitigation.”

Tufts University student Robert Katz, 22, was excited about the project. “It would connect Tufts directly to Boston.” Katz also suggested that he’d be more likely to stay in the area after graduating if the Green Line were extended to Somerville. Joe Sullivan, owner of J.J. Sullivan Plumbing and Heating in Union Square, was equally receptive saying, “I’m for the extension,” while noting that he questions parts of the plan.

The GLX project would extend the MBTA Green Line northwest from its current terminus at Lechmere Station to Alewife Brook Parkway on the Somerville-Medford border. It would connect Somerville directly with Downtown Boston, Back Bay, Fenway, Allston, Brighton, Brookline Mission Hill and Newton via one rail. Proposed are 7 stops in Somerville and Medford; Union Square, Washington Street, Gilman Square, Lowell Street, Ball Square, College Avenue and Route 16. Planning documents say this will result in 25,000 less miles driven per day, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will reimburse costs to upgrade bicycle routes and intersections. The State will also provide funds for a new stormwater outfall, a critical infrastructure project necessary to reduce flooding and keep the water supply sanitary.

The deadline for the Board of Aldermen to approve the funds is December 8. Asked what happens if the Board misses this deadline or votes in the negative, the mayor was blunt: “There is no Green Line in that case.”