Advisory board readies transportation meeting, confirms state earmark and funding steps for MCI Concord planning

Town of Concord advisory board members said a meeting with state Department of Transportation staff is scheduled for Jan. 27 at 3 p.m. in the Town House to discuss the Route 2 Corridor and planning related to MCI Concord.

Board members and staff said Representative Cataldo took the subcommittee’s letter to DOT and helped arrange the meeting; Representative Cataldo, Senator Barrett and Representative Jen Pfau were listed as invited. Staff said they will coordinate who from municipal departments, the advisory board and the subcommittee should attend.

Officials confirmed the Office of Economic Development sent a signed contract to the town for an earmark of $475,000 dated Dec. 19. Staff said the state agreed to pay MCI-related costs for a set period (Dec. 19 through June 30) and that the town will operate on a sequential-earmark basis: the town will draw on this contract first and then draw on a subsequent earmark once funds are exhausted.

Finance staff told the board they will set up a separate account to track spending for the earmark and that the town will monitor encumbrances so it can request the next contract in the sequence when appropriate. Board members said they expect consultant proposals from the RFP to inform near-term spending plans; responses were due on Jan. 27 and a selection committee will review them before interviews are scheduled.

Members discussed funding options to sustain the project after the state contract period ends. Options raised included creating a revolving fund or project account, using free cash allocation, applying unspent ARPA funds where permissible, or pursuing other grants. A staff member summarized that the town received $5,600,000 in ARPA funding in two tranches, has spent roughly $1.8 million to $2 million and has about $3.6 million contractually obligated; the transcript records that the ARPA obligation deadline was “twelvethirty onetwenty 24” and that town staff have entered interdepartmental agreements to lock up ARPA projects. Meeting discussion noted U.S. Treasury guidance allows moving unspent ARPA funds between approved ARPA projects but that staff must confirm whether any identified ARPA projects are sufficiently broad to cover MCI Concord work.

The board also discussed historic-preservation outreach. Members proposed asking the Massachusetts Historical Commission what studies or documentation it would need to support grant applications and contacting the Concord Historical Commission to act as a local liaison if additional work is required. The board noted Community Preservation Committee (CPC) and other grant sources as potential future funding options.

Board members raised staffing and project-management questions, including whether some project coordination could be reimbursed under the state contract and whether the town should hire a short-term, dedicated project manager to keep momentum as proposals and planning advance. Staff mentioned a new planning director, Alyssa, and said the RFP respondents will include proposed focal points or lead consultants who could serve as external project managers.

Board members identified a set of preparatory questions for the DOT meeting, including the status of the Route 2 Corridor study, whether traffic-survey data are available for use in local planning, how DOT envisions access to the MCI property and when DOT would be open to discussing local reuse and access assumptions, and which DOT staff would be the right contacts for design and planning coordination. Several members urged asking DOT if it will assign a dedicated project team for a re-scoped effort now that the prison is closing.

The board penciled in its next meeting for Jan. 29 at noon to review RFP responses and to prepare questions for the Jan. 27 DOT session.