This item will focus on the current status of the project and potential next steps. Below is an overview of the project as per the attached LTC:

"The First Street project includes critical life safety and property protection improvements to the area along First St, as well as cultural and aesthetic benefits. The project upsizes water mains along Alton Road to meet fire flow demands and builds drainage infrastructure. The project also improves street lighting and sidewalks to beautify the neighborhood, elevates roads to eliminate tidal flooding, changes the roadway design along First St. to promote pedestrian mobility, adds landscaping to beautify the neighborhood, and accommodates cultural and placemaking features for the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, this project has faced many delays.

The project originally received Commission approval in 2016. Afterwards, the City embarked on the most expansive stakeholder engagement effort to-date for a single project. Over the course of four years, the City's professional staff held 40 public engagement meetings - four in 2017, three in 2018, 17 in 2019, and 16 in 2020. The meetings involved discussions with the stakeholders on all important aspects of the project.

Reaching consensus on even some relatively benign issues required the utmost creativity of project staff, revisiting designs that were once unacceptable to the neighborhood and redesigning the

project to fit new stakeholder opinions.

Through all this, the location of the water treatment system and outfall pipe were by far the most elusive issues for consensus."