Letter from Cathy Zusy, President of Magazine Beach Partners, 202 Hamilton Street, in support of City Manager’s Agenda #5 for the Phase 2-1 at Magazine Beach

25 February 2019 Dear City Councilors: Please vote YES for the City's investment of $600k for Phase 2-1 at Magazine Beach tonight. As we discussed with all of you last year, we now have a landscape plan for Magazine Beach and it's time we make improvements. Neither the State (DCR) nor the City has the resources to commit to funding the whole project at once-estimated at $10m. So the plan is to make improvements to the park in 4 phases. Tonight's request is for funding the 15' phase: Phase II-1—improvements to the shoreline and to expanding the "outdoor living room" around the newly restored Powder Magazine so that DCR can secure a strong community-oriented tenant. Work on the shoreline makes sense because DCR has time-sensitive permits to proceed and because, as we go forward, we don't want to undo work. Below is a description of the proposed City-funded work. The plan is that the City will pay for most of the softscape, including 9 new trees, and DCR, the hardscape. The Cambridge Plant & Garden Club will pay for a 10# tree and Magazine Beach Partners/the community, will contribute $55k. With a half million acres of parklands to attend to, DCR, an underfunded State agency, invests at Magazine Beach because the City and the community pitch in. Working with the City, MBP also provides free summer park programming and, we stay on the case. We need this river parkland. Yes, it is managed by DCR now; but the same need exists for the 17 acres that compelled City leaders to create the park in the 1890s. Please invest in the 1st of 4 phased improvements at Magazine Beach. Thank you. Cathie Zusy, President, Magazine Beach Partners 202 Hamilton St. Cambridge, MA 02139 Description of project: The work will include invasive removal throughout the river edge area between the powder magazine and the new kayak launch, eight new trees, plant care including pruning of existing trees and shrubs, new naturalized bank treatments (river bank and wetland area including the installation of oak logs, and informal boulders for stabilization and seating. The existing path connecting the new kayak launch to the powder magazine which is in disrepair and no longer accessible, will be replaced with an accessible path system. Site furnishings in disrepair along the paths will be replaced with new site furnishings that include 10 new benches. Infrastructure for summer programming including electrical outlets and pole inserts for canopy lighting or outdoor art will be provided as well as a new storm water infiltration system that will take water from paved surfaces.

dcr ASSOCIATION, INC NEIGHBORHOOD CNA 3012 2020 CISIS MEMORIAL DRIVE CHARLES RIVER PHASE 2 DESIGN DRAWING Phase Il Sub-Phasing Proposal MAGAZINE BEACH RESTORATION 23028 12/10/17 - Magzine Beach Partners, Inc CAMBRIDGE, MA 10.20.