bartlet mall restoration project
Bartlet Mall was Newburyport's town common, now hundreds of years old.
- The Frog Pond formed during the Ice Age and its shape is essentially unchanged, but water no longer flows in or out. The bed is contaminated.
- In 2014, a City-funded study identified heavy metals, cyanobacteria, and total phosphorous in the pond sediment, which feed harmful algal blooms.
- Dredging and disposing of pond sediment would be exorbitantly expensive and do environmental harm of its own.
- In 2017, the City tried a low-cost, reverse-osmosis system, but this failed due to the sheer volume of total phosphorous in the pond.
The current project learns from past approaches that proved flawed or incomplete.
Multiple state and local agencies have approved this approach.
Permanent, Complete, and Cost-Effective
- Contaminated sediment will be encapsulated by high‐density polyethylene (HDPE), and armor stone and benthic sand.
- A well will be drilled to bedrock, and a circulation / aeration system installed. No drinking water will be used.
- Native plant species will be installed to improve habitat.
19th c. Landscape Architect Charles Eliot’s Vision Realized
- Walkways will be restored.
- The swan fountain can be used again.
- A dock will be installed for recreational boating.
$5 Million Cost
- $800,000 in donations (Mayor Gayden W. Morrill Charitable Fndn.)
- $775,000 anticipated from Mass. Land and Water Conservation Fund
- $142,500 in hand from Community Preservation Act (CPA) tax funds
- $3 to $3.5 million in CPA bonds
Community Preservation Act
In 2002, Newburyport residents voted to adopt the CPA, which is a 2% surcharge on real estate taxes for all property owners. The surtax does not apply to the first $100,000 of residential property value, and property owned by any person who qualifies for low-income housing. The Commonwealth matches in amounts that have varied each year, from 26% to 100% of local revenue.
Bonding backed by CPA funds does not increase real property taxes. The CPA surtax is permanently fixed at 2% of the local property tax levy.
By law, CPA funds may be used to fund city projects in four categories:
(1) open space, (2) recreation, (3) affordable housing, and (3) historic preservation. Many projects in Newburyport are ineligible for CPA funds, such as the new center planned on Low Street for Recreation and Youth Services, as well as many water and sewer projects which bond from user fees.
Other city projects that have bonded against CPA funds include restoration of War Memorial Stadium at Newburyport High School (paid off in 2030), the Cherry Hill soccer fields (paid off in 2030), Bradley T. Fuller Track (paid off in 2036), and expansion of Market Landing Park (paid off in 2039).
Project Update
On June 18th, 2025, the City Council voted, 6 to 5, to remove this project from the 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan and to deny it any future CPA funding. It is unclear if the City Council will accept the $775,000 Mass. Land and Water Conservation Fund grant, if it is formally awarded this fall. The Council may revisit its votes in the next legislative session, starting January 1, 2026.