Council accepts GreenRoots $520,000 grant for Bear Park and $225,000 Mystic River award for Mill Creek work

The Chelsea City Council on April 28 voted to accept two grant awards intended to fund waterfront and open‑space projects.

By roll call, the council accepted a $520,000 donation from GreenRoots — funded by an anonymous donor — to support development of Bear Park at 212 Congress Avenue, including contaminated‑soil disposal and additional park features such as a community rain barrel and a drinking fountain. The city manager said the private grant reduces the need for local funds and will supplement a Parkland Acquisition & Restoration for Communities grant from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation; the project will be overseen by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

The council also accepted $225,000 from the Mystic River Watershed Association to advance removal of the Slade Mill berm on Mill Creek, improve habitat and restore tidal flow upstream. The manager said the award is a subaward from an anonymous foundation routed through the watershed association; the work is intended to complement NOAA funding already awarded for coastal habitat restoration and resilience in underserved communities.

Both measures were adopted by the council (each recorded as 8 yeas, 0 nays, 3 absent in roll call). Officials said partial berm removal would increase tidal flow to about 17 acres of wetland habitat currently influenced by the berm and would support public access to Mill Creek.

Why this matters: The grants fund contamination disposal and restorative work that the manager described as enabling new public open space and improved ecological function along waterways that border Chelsea.

Provenance: GreenRoots grant acceptance and Mystic River Watershed Association award were read in city manager communications and adopted via roll call later in the meeting.