Bank seeks to build in Burlington

CANOE LAUNCH PLANNED - The city plans to install a canoe/kayak launch on the Malden River through a $75,000 grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust. The launch will be built at Village Landing Park, behind the BNY Mellon facility on Santilli Highway. The grant was among those from the trust to support initiatives along the Mystic River watershed, according to Marzie Galazka, the city’s director of community development. The trust is funded through the sale of environmental license plates. The new launch will offer the only public river access for small canoes, kayaks, and other small craft in Everett. At a first step toward building the launch, the city plans to hire a consultant to evaluate environmental issues with the project. “We have an untouched resource in the Malden River,’’ Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. said in a prepared statement. “Not many people will put canoeing and Everett together, but with the launch, we’ll introduce something new to our citizens. I’m thankful the trust sees the river as a great opportunity for further development.’’

VETERANS DAY GATHERING - The city will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in City Hall. The free public event will feature musical performances by the Lynn Public School Band and tenor Brian Landry of Lynn. There will also be a drill presentation by the Lynn English Marine Corps Jr. ROTC. Light refreshments will be served. Greater Lynn Senior Services is offering shuttle bus service from locations across the city for seniors who would like to attend. The Veterans Day ceremony is the first the city has held in the auditorium since it was restored a few years ago. For more information, contact the Department of Veterans Services at 781-598-4000. - John Laidler

BUDGET IN THE RED - Anticipating lower state aid, and even with level funding in all but nondiscretionary areas such as pension or health insurance contributions, the town is likely facing a $500,000 budget deficit in fiscal year 2011, according to Town Administrator Bill Gustus. Gustus presented his preliminary report on the FY 2011 budget at last Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting. - David Rattigan

SHOVELERS WANTED - Looking for a winter job? Call City Hall. The City Council is compiling a list of people who are willing to charge a reasonable fee for snow and ice removal services to help residents comply with a city ordinance requiring property owners to clear sidewalks near their home in snowstorms. The list will be distributed to residents who need assistance. People who want to provide the service should contact the City Council office at 781-397-7134 or by e-mail at citycouncil@cityofmalden.org. Information also can be sent to Ward 1 Councilor Gary Christenson at 781-389-3148 or ward1info@yahoo.com. - Kathy McCabe

HELP WITH COLLEGE PREP - Medford schools on Tuesday will hold the first of two college financial aid seminars for parents and students. A representative from The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority will teach parents how to apply for financial aid, compare financial aid award letters, and evaluate financing options. The seminar will be held at 7 p.m. in the second-floor cafeteria at Medford High School. A second seminar will be held on Jan. 12, sponsored by the high school PTO. Speakers will include a representative from Merrimack College in North Andover and a specialist from H&R Block who will discuss tax issues related to college financing. For more information on either seminar, contact Judy Sousa, secretary in the high school guidance department, at 781-393-2319. - Kathy McCabe

TAX RATE HEARING - The Board of Aldermen tomorrow will hold a public hearing to choose a tax classification, which will be used to set the city’s new tax rate for the current fiscal year. Donald Dragt, the chief assessor, will make a presentation of current property valuations. The average value of a single-family home is $395,000 and the average commercial property is valued at $473,000. The city’s total residential property value is $3.3 billion, commercial is $30 million, and the industrial properties value is $17 million. Dragt said the data will be presented to the aldermen, without a recommendation from the Board of Assessors. The current rates are $11.36 per $1,000 valuation on a residential property. Commercial properties are taxed $17.57 per $1,000 valuation. The hearing will be held at 8 p.m. in the aldermen’s chamber at City Hall. - Kathy McCabe

MAKING TOWN BETTER - Volunteer residents and business owners last week formed an advocacy group called Making Reading Better. The group is working with town management to identify ways to help business owners better understand town regulations regarding public health department codes, building code enforcement and sign regulations, and conservation bylaws. For questions and more information on the monthly meeting schedule, e-mail makingreadingbetter@yahoo.com. - Bella Travaglini

WATER AWARDS - The Saugus River Watershed Council will present its 2009 River Stewardship Awards at its annual meeting and dinner from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Hilltop Steakhouse. The environmental group presents the award each year to recognize people and organizations that have contributed to local watershed protection. This year’s recipients are Ed Murray, president of The Friends of Breakheart Reservation; Polly Bradley, of Safer Waters in Massachusetts; and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. Murray is being recognized for his many years of work to enhance the environment of Breakheart Reservation. Bradley and CZM are being recognized for their role in securing federal designation of the lower North Shore as a No Discharge Area, a water zone in which it is illegal for boats to discharge treated or untreated waste. Council board member Denise Butler will deliver the keynote presentation, recounting her recent expedition to the Pantanal tropical wetland area in Brazil as a volunteer for the Earthwatch Institute. For tickets or more information, call 781-233-5046 or go to www.saugusriver.org. - John Laidler

OUTSTANDING CITIZENS - East Somerville Main Streets is singing the praises of business advocate Stephen Mackey and youth worker Roland James at the group’s Thursday fund-raiser. James, a former Patriot defensive back and a foster parent, has worked at the city’s youth center in East Somerville “making a difference for kids,’’ said ESMS executive director Carrie Dancy. She credited Mackey, the Chamber of Commerce president/CEO, with the unglamorous chore of attending meetings “year after year’’ representing entrepreneurs who can’t get away from work. ESMS funding is secure for the coming year, Dancy said, but buying a ticket signifies that people buy into the organization’s business-building mission. The benefit is at the Somerville City Club off Washington Street. Tickets cost $30 in advance, $40 at the door. Comedian Jimmy Tingle and a local Beatles cover band will perform. Check www.eastsomervillemainstreets.org for more information. In other East Somerville news, the Ethiopian restaurant Fasika is getting beautified thanks to a city business promotion program, Dancy said.

EXTRA TAX ON MEALS REJECTED - After some debate, voters at Special Town Meeting on Oct. 26 rejected a proposal to adopt a 0.75 percent local meals tax to help offset the $828,778 shortfall in local aid for the current fiscal year, which began July 1. The tax would have generated an estimated $92,000 for town coffers this fiscal year and $222,000 in future fiscal years, according to figures presented at Town Meeting by Finance and Advisory Board chairman John Warren, who spoke in favor of the proposal. The board had voted to recommend favorable action on the meals tax; the Board of Selectmen had voted to recommend unfavorable action. - Brenda Buote

PROTECTING WATER SUPPLY - The town has nearly completed work on a project to protect its Merrimack River water intake station from future flooding. The project was undertaken in response to flooding that occurred outside the station during the Mother’s Day weekend storm of 2006. The floodwater made it difficult for operators to access the station and was nearly high enough to infiltrate the building itself, according to Lewis Zediana, chief operating engineer for the town’s water treatment plant. The project involved the purchase of removable aluminum bulkheads that can be installed before storms to protect the building from floods. The bulkheads are designed so that the station’s backup generator can be safely housed in them during a storm. The town also bought submersible pumps to remove any floodwater entering the building. A federal grant awarded through the state funded 75 percent of the $28,000 project cost.

NEW SCHOLARSHIPS - Two new scholarship funds were recently established in the names of late Wakefield residents. The Bonnie-Jean Hupprich McLean Fund and the Walter J. Barczak Fund are being administered by the Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of Wakefield, a nonprofit that provides scholarship assistance to Wakefield residents in their full-time pursuit of higher education. McLean was a lifelong resident of Wakefield who died last December after a battle with leukemia and lymphoma. A nurse, she worked for more than 40 years at the extended care facility now known as EPOCH Senior Healthcare of Melrose, rising to become the facility’s top administrator. The scholarship will go to students who study nursing. Barczak, who died in May, was a decorated World War II Navy veteran who worked most of his life as a mason and a contractor. According to the foundation, his family hopes the scholarship will serve as a symbol for promoting the spirit of self-reliance and overcoming adversity that Barczak displayed in his life. - John Laidler

NO HIGHER MEALS TAX - Town Meeting last Monday voted to postpone adopting a .75 percent optional meals tax, said Melvin Kleckner, town manager, in concurrence with the October recommendation made by the Board of Selectmen. Selectmen cited two reasons for postponing adopting the option meals tax: It would be inconsistent with the town’s economic recovery plan, and it would be a hindrance for the town in attracting new restaurants to the downtown.