NEWBURYPORT — The City Council approved $143,535 on Monday to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency buy out the owners of a storm-battered property on Plum Island
The council also gave the go-ahead to rezone a section of Low Street to make way for the mayor’s plan to build a new recreation center.
The city has lost roughly 500 feet of sand ever since the U S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Plum Island jetty in 2014.
In February 2023, the city filed an application with FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to buy out three homes that experienced flood damage in the affected Reservation Terrace neighborhood at 15 73rd St., as well as 9 and 12 75th St.
In early May, Mayor Sean Reardon signed a letter to acknowledge the city would need to pay 10% of the project’s price tag, or $395,027. FEMA would pay the remaining 90%, or $3.6 million.
Andrew Levine, Reardon’s chief of staff, said Tuesday the administration initially proposed that $197,513 come from the city’s free cash account. The same amount would be taken from the Plum Island hydrant replacement fund.
But two of the three homeowners have not committed to the FEMA program, Levine added. Lee McLaughlin and Helen O’Brien of 9 75th St. have committed to a buyout.
McLaughlin told the council during the meeting’s public comment session that she has lived on the property full time for more than 30 years. But the reconstruction of the jetty has made her residency unsustainable.
“There have been years of flooding and devastating loss,” she said.
Ward 1 City Councilor Sharif Zeid, who represents Plum Island, sought to amend the order. He proposed reducing the city’s $395,027 match to $143,535, with $100,000 coming from the hydrant replacement program and the remaining $43,535 from free cash.
Zeid said it would be tough to get rid of the free cash element entirely but he was also concerned about using the Plum Island hydrant replacement program as a catch-all for everything that goes wrong there.
“It’s a tough position, if I’m being honest here, I do want to see this pass,” he said. “I’m more than happy and willing to make a compromise to get us there.”
At-large Councilor Afroz Khan said she was satisfied the free cash amount was reduced.
The amendment was then approved 8-1 with Ward 6 City Councilor Byron Lane voting in opposition. The spending measure was then approved 9-0.
At-large City Councilor Connie Preston did not attend the meeting. At-large City Councilor Mark Wright, who lives on Reservation Terrace near 75th Street, recused himself from the vote.
The council also advanced Reardon’s plan to build a new recreation center on Low Street – for between $6.5 million and $7.7 million – by approving new zoning.
The Recreation and Youth Services Department has been searching for a new home ever since the heating system at the former Brown School was deemed unusable in fall 2021.
The city purchased the former National Guard building at 59 Low St. for $220,000 in free cash in January 2023.
The council approved $200,000 last year to hire a local firm, EGA Architects, to design the building. It would include a modular gymnasium, outdoor basketball court, conference room and snack bar.
To accommodate the project, zoning on the southern side of Low Street – across from Edward G. Molin Upper Elementary School and Rupert A. Nock Middle School – would need to be amended to allow for a community center.
Last month, at-large City Councilor Heather Shand and Ward 3 City Councilor Heath Granas co-sponsored a one-page zoning amendment that would allow the changes to be made.
The amendment was approved 9-1 on Monday with Zeid opposed.
Zeid said he wanted to make sure the project could not move forward without the funding being approved by the council first.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.