Beverly City Council Sets Four Public Hearings on $4.25 Million in Free Cash Transfers

BEVERLY — February 16, 2021 — Beverly City Council approves grants totaling more than $107,000 and sets hearings on $4.25 million in free cash transfers. Vice President Estelle Rand presided over the February 16 remote meeting, at which the council unanimously accepted a $98,268 Elder Affairs formula grant for the Council on Aging, a $100,000 state earmark for ADA upgrades and repairs at 15 city parks, and $9,260 in fire safety grants for the Beverly Fire Department. Fire Chief John O'Connor praised Captain Matt Hart's crew for "one of the best years of getting the message out" despite the pandemic. The council scheduled four public hearings for its March 1 meeting covering a $750,000 turf field replacement at Beverly High School, a $1.3 million ladder truck purchase that would rescind a prior borrowing order, a $1,192,102 transfer to the city's stabilization fund and OPEB trust, and a $2 million transfer to the new police station capital project fund — bringing the total under consideration to roughly $4.25 million in certified free cash.