NEWBURYPORT — For about 10 minutes Monday night, attorneys for the late Wayne Curtis explained how and why the grandson of former Mayor Andrew R. Curtis decided to set up a fund that could provide the city up to $250,000 annually for charitable purposes.
The presentation was made before the City Council as a way of explaining how the city can accept the regenerating fund by entering what they called a nonjudicial settlement agreement.
“It’s a lot of money and a wonderful thing for the city of Newburyport,” attorney Edward Notis-McConarty said.
Notis-McConarty serves as general counsel for the Boston-based law firm Hemenway and Barnes LLP. He and two others, fellow Hemenway and Barnes attorney Brad Bedingfield and Haverhill-based lawyer Joseph Cleary, are trustees of the fund.
Since Curtis wanted the trust to be tax-exempt, Bedingfield said a nonjudicial settlement agreement will need to be in place with the city. The agreement would essentially convert the trust into a nonprofit charitable foundation for the city’s use.
Andrew R. Curtis served as the city’s mayor from 1896 to 1897. His grandson, Wayne Curtis, died in 2018 at age 92. Cleary said he lived a simple life and owned no property. But he did, however, do very well in the stock market and Cleary said he created the Curtis Memorial Fund to benefit the city in his grandfather’s name in 2012.
The fund has assets with a fair value of just over $5 million.
Bedingfield said the city will get 5% of the fund’s assets, or 80% of its profits, whichever is greater., each year.
Mayoral Chief of Staff Andrew Levine told The Daily News that translates to an annual payment of about $250,000.
On Tuesday, City Council President Ed Cameron said the council unanimously referred the agreement to a Budget and Finance subcommittee meeting of the whole.
During Monday’s presentation, Cameron said Newburyport was extremely grateful for the opportunity.
“We really appreciate this,” he said. “Thank you to the Curtis family.”
Should the council approve the agreement, the next step will be deciding how to spend the annual donations.
Reardon has said he would like to see the money go toward building a proposed $7.7 million facility for Newburyport Recreation and Youth Services at a former National Guard building on Low Street.
What was then called Newburyport Youth Services was forced to leave its last home, the former Brown School, when the heating element there was deemed unusable in fall 2021.
In January 2022, the city bought the former National Guard building as a potential new home for Recreation and Youth Services for $220,000 in free cash. More recently, the mayor submitted plans that include a modular gymnasium, an outdoor basketball court, a conference room and snack bar.
To pay for the project today, the city would need to issue a bond. Based on current projects, Newburyport would be looking at annual bond payments of roughly $380,000 over 25 years, according to Levine.
Notis-McConarty said the money will have to be used for charitable purposes and building a new rec. center would fall in line with that.
“(This can’t) be used to repave streets or sidewalks, things that are usual activities of the city,” he said. “But there are lots of charitable activities that it can be used to support.”
He also said the fund is permanent and perpetual and will hopefully help pay for many other projects over the years to come.
“We would not plan to use all the money in any given year for the rec. center, or for one particular activity,” Notis-McConarty said. “So there are funds for other things. Music programs in the schools, programs at the library. Different activities that you all know so well.”
Ward 6 City Councilor Byron Lane asked Notis-McConarty if there would be a money manager on the account and was told Hemenway and Barnes would handle it itself.
“We have about $7 billion in management at the present time,” Notis-McConarty said. “This is something we’ve been doing for a long time.”
At-large City Councilor Connie Preston said she had a number of questions for the trustees but ask them while the matter rested in committee.
Preston told The Daily News by text message Tuesday that she would like to better understand how much the city can be guaranteed each year.
“If the trust had a down year in the market, it would not make any profits. The city cannot fund and bond for a project based on money that is not guaranteed,” she said.
Preston added that she would also like to know if trust attorneys would want the city to set up a separate committee to deal with the annual payments, as opposed to it being directed by the administration.
Cameron said Tuesday the council could decide how the money is spent at the same time they enter into the agreement, or it could delay such as decision until later. He also said where the money goes could vary from year to year, depending on the need.
Reardon began discussions with the trust in March and told the council he has been waiting to talk about the issue for a long time.
“This really could have long-lasting impacts on the city in such a good way,” he said.
Later in Monday’s meeting, the council appointed Warren Street resident Leslie Eckholdt to the Waterfront Trust – but not without some controversy.
Eckholdt’s appointment was approved in a 7-3-1 vote with Ward 5 Councilor Jim McCauley, Ward 1 Councilor Sharif Zeid and at-large Councilor Mark Wright voting against. Lane voted present.
McCauley, who won reelection by three votes in November, said he opposed the appointment because Eckholdt publicly supported his opponent, Owen Smith.
“This nominee showed through her actions that she has become a political hack,” he said. “Someone willing to trade on a name and reputation to impact an election that she couldn’t even vote in, as she lives in a different ward.”
At-large Councilor Afroz Khan supported Eckholdt’s appointment, saying the city was lucky to have her.
“Yes, this person is not someone who came out of nowhere,” she said. “They are involved because they love this city.”
The appointment of the city’s new information technology director, David Petto, also became a somewhat contentious issue.
Although Petto’s appointment was approved in a 9-0-2 vote (Lane and Ward 4 Councilor Ben Harman voted present), council members expressed displeasure that Petto was hired before receiving their endorsement.
“If he’s already started, what are we approving?” Lane asked.
Levine admitted the appointment should have been submitted to the council before Petto started last week.
He also said Petto will be making an annual salary of roughly $120,000, which matches the amount already set aside for it in the city’s operating budget.