MPIC members on the remote meeting reviewed design progress for the downtown Blake Street and Pierce Street streetscape project and debated funding, the location of sidewalks and on-street parking, and the cost and feasibility of burying utility poles.

Laurie, who is leading the project updates for the committee, said the consultants from Beta Group have produced design concepts after four monthly focus-group meetings and that property owners at 10–14 Blake Street are pursuing parking-lot and landscaping improvements, including outdoor seating. She said the design team is refining options for where to locate on-street parking and sidewalks; placing parking on the east side would require the sidewalk to sit on private property with an easement, while locating parking on the west side would keep the sidewalk in the public right of way but would reduce usable spaces because of driveways and existing utility poles.

Laurie gave two cost figures supplied by National Grid’s preliminary work for burying utilities: about $50,000 for preliminary design engineering and roughly $1,000,000 or more for actual construction to place lines underground. Laurie said the town did not identify any available grants to pay for burying utilities and that the burying option had been set aside for the moment because of taxpayer cost concerns.

MPIC members set a tentative public outreach meeting for the last week of February — most likely Thursday, Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m. — and Laurie said she had reserved the library for Feb. 26–27 as backup dates. Laurie also said she had prepared a project flyer and planned door-to-door outreach to downtown property owners ahead of the meeting.

Why it matters: MPIC members described this work as a catalytic downtown project that will reshape Blake Street, the municipal parking lot and an adjacent pocket park. Members said early private investment by property owners at 10–14 Blake could spur broader private reinvestment.

Budget and grant context: Laurie said she is preparing a warrant article and needs a near-term cost estimate. She told the committee she is currently estimating the Blake/Pierce project at $1.5 million to $2 million and that approximately $500,000 of that sum could be covered by a Complete Streets allocation; other grant eligibility could include MBTA-community funding because the project abuts an MBTA-designated area. Laurie said she is uncertain what percentage of the project a grant program might cover.

Design tradeoffs: Consultants are preparing perspective renderings and plan alternatives that will show the visual difference between above-ground and below-ground utilities; MPIC members suggested including both renderings at the public meeting to help voters and property owners understand the cost–benefit tradeoffs.

No final funding decisions were made at the meeting. MPIC members recommended continuing focus-group work, preparing community outreach materials and polling Select Board interest before raising a warrant-article request at Town Meeting.