From soccer fields to boat ramps, South Shore to get $8.7 million in COVID relief money

QUINCY – Dredging Quincy Bay. New heating and cooling systems in Kingston. A new soccer field in Hanson. Rebuilding a boat ramp in Hull.

Those are just a few of the projects on the South Shore that will be paid for by $8.7 million approved by the Legislature earlier this month. The money is part of a $4 billion Massachusetts spending bill funded by federal COVID-19 relief money and surplus tax revenue. The money will go to municipalities, nonprofits and civic organizations.

South Shore municipalities and private organizations will get 0.22% of the total $4 billion allocated by the legislature.

According to an analysis of the spending by The Patriot Ledger, Quincy received the most money from the bill at $1.6 million. It will be spread across three projects: $600,000 for dredging Quincy Bay and beach restoration in Merrymount; $400,000 for work on ferry service from Squantum Point Park; and $600,000 for a new roof on the Thomas Crane library.

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Weymouth pulled in $600,000 and will use it for a boat ramp and harbor dredging; "core communication boards" for children and caregivers in public spaces; protection from invasive species and maintenance at Whitman's Pond; money for Weymouth Senior Center; materials for career/technical training at Weymouth High School and money for the Weymouth Teen Center for job skills training and equipment.

Weymouth Mayor Robert Hedlund said some of the allocations are more helpful than others, including money toward capital projects. The Legislature chose the specific projects where the money would be spent.

In a statement, House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) said the state is making "meaningful" investments, especially in parts of the economy hit hardest by the pandemic.

Sen. John Keenan, D-Quincy, said in a statement that the bill will bring communities "the relief that they need and deserve," and the state will invest in solutions to longstanding problems.

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According to an analysis by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, much of the spending will be for healthcare at $946 million, housing at $624 million, infrastructure at $414 million, education at $389 million and economic development at $267 million. An additional $500 million was pumped into the state's unemployment insurance system.

Three South Shore towns received no public funding, including Hingham, Marshfield and Plymouth.

By far, the biggest winner on the South Shore was the MBTA, which scored $50 million to improve its stations across Norfolk County. The MBTA's funding was excluded from The Patriot Ledger's analysis of funding totals. Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch said he expects improvements to the Quincy Center T station to begin this year.

That $50 million came out of a $135 million pot of money intended for "cultural and tourism assets." MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the MBTA is still reviewing the bill.

Milton Town Administrator Mike Dennehey said he is happy Milton will receive $448,000, including $250,000 for its municipal broadband push, expected to cost about $1 million.

The town received $50,000 to go toward Brooks Field renovations, $50,000 toward the heating and cooling systems in the schools and $68,000 for staffing at the Council on Aging. The Council on Aging is very popular and the extra staffing money is needed to support more programming, he said.

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Hull received $350,000 – $150,000 to rebuild the A Street ramp and $250,000 to repair the sidewalk along Nantasket Beach, which is controlled by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Hull Town Manager Phil Lemnios the town is always happy for state funding.

Water, sewer, housing infrastructure

The state allocated $150 million for public housing maintenance and $100 million for water and sewer infrastructure, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation analysis.

Rockland, Abington and Braintree each received $85,000 for upgrades to affordable housing owned by the towns, while Carver received $50,000 toward building more affordable housing . Braintree received an additional $200,000 for a feasibility study on increasing senior, veteran and disabled affordable housing, and Cohasset received $50,000 for a zoning study of Cohasset Village for new housing.

Money will be spent on mitigation of the forever chemicals PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, for a total of $375,000 – $50,000 each for Hanover and Norwell, $150,000 for Sharon and $125,000 for Canton. The $50,000 earmarks were the only money received by Hanover and Norwell in the $4 billion bill.

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Hanover Town Manager Joseph Colangelo said in an email the money will be used to buy carbon filters, that the town is testing to reduce the levels of PFAS in its water supply, a problem for some towns on the South Shore.

Water and sewer improvements are allocated $675,000, including $400,000 for Randolph for its tri-town water treatment plant with Braintree and Holbrook; $125,000 for Kingston for sewer management planning; $100,000 to Duxbury to repair its sewer plant; and $50,000 to Scituate to increase reservoir capacity.

Private groups bring in big grants

While public entities pulled in $7 million on the South Shore, private groups pulled in an additional $1.6 million.

Much of that money, $525,000, went to groups that feed the hungry. Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. received $200,000 for its mobile food pantry program.

"We want to provide local food access to underserved areas in food deserts," said Philip Chong, QARI's president and CEO. "The vision is to create a network in partnership with local food pantries, food banks and local farmers."

Chong said the mobile food pantry program will also serve as a hub for getting people connected to integrated social services, such as bilingual language classes or connecting people who are eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

"With the pandemic we learned there's not just one way to serve people," Chong said. "It's about expanding access."

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Quincy Community Action Programs also received $200,000 for the expansion of its food center distribution, the Weymouth Food Pantry received $100,000 and the Pembroke Firehouse Pantry received $25,000.

Many of the private grants went to chambers of commerce to distribute to local businesses – $185,000 between the Marshfield, Plymouth and Pembroke chambers of commerce and the Plymouth Regional Economic Development Foundation.

The town of Hanson received $35,000 to assist small businesses.

The Hull trolley is coming back in 2022 through a $25,000 earmark to the Hull Nantasket Chamber of Commerce. The trolley is an in-town hailing service that last fully ran in 2020, but operated as a limited fixed-stop service in 2021.

Other grants to private organizations included:

• $200,000 to the Paul Revere Museum of Discovery and Innovation in Canton, which is still in development

• $100,000 to the New England Wildlife Center

• $75,000 to the Spire Center for Performing Arts in Plymouth for consultants

• $75,000 for a "lifeline" for the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth

• $75,000 for the Tilden House in Canton

Other highlights from the spending law

• $875,000 for Braintree, including $500,000 for information technology improvements in the schools and $175,000 for the schools' heating and cooling system

• $40,000 for Duxbury to make disability access improvements to the Bay Farm conservation area

• $173,000 to Canton for a community paramedic

• $200,000 to Hanson for the middle school soccer field

• $210,000 for the heating and cooling system at the Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston

• $525,000 to Pembroke, including $100,000 for the Lage preserve; $200,000 for improvements to the community center business district; and $225,000 for a new public safety building

• $80,000 for Whitman to move the World War I memorial

• $300,000 for Holbrook to make information technology improvements

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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: South Shore to get $8.7 million in COVID relief. surplus money