Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy (Item file photo)
By Thomas Grillo
LYNN — Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy has vetoed the sale of city land to the YMCA that the nonprofit needs for its expansion, citing a city council error.
The $75,000 purchase of an acre of open space at Tremont and Wheeler streets in front of the Y was approved by the Ways and Means Committee earlier this month.
Kennedy said while she supports the plan to build a new $26 million facility, the council order erroneously wrote that the sale was a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT).
“My understanding is the order was a misstatement of the council’s intention,” she said. “The council wanted that to be the purchase price, not a PILOT. It was a transcription error that needs to be corrected.”
Only the mayor and the city’s chief assessor can make PILOT agreements, the mayor added, not the council. Typically, nonprofits, which are tax exempt, draft accords with municipalities to pay something in lieu of real estate taxes.
While the mayor said she supports the Y’s expansion, one $75,000 PILOT payment is insufficient.
“That won’t pay for ongoing services provided by the city to the YMCA,” she said.
Kennedy noted that the city should examine PILOT agreements with other North Shore YMCAs to see how much the Lynn Y should contribute annually.
While the city determined the parcel was worth about $215,000, the mayor said the $75,000 was a fair price given that the YMCA has promised to do more than $300,000 worth of road work around the new building.
City Council President Daniel Cahill said the council will take up the veto at a later meeting.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].