Storm Force:Frank Ippolito III Carries on Proud Family Tradition in Snow Removal

Anyone who lived in the Prattville section of Chelsea knew Frank Ippolito Jr.

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Minimum • 24 Hour ServiceCALL FOR DAILY LOW PRICEPer Gallon$2.55 Price subject to change without noticeTRASH NOTICEDue to the president's Day Holiday, on Monday, February 19th , 2018 Trash will be delayed by one day.Capitol Waste Services, Inc.Our Offices will be OPENMonday, February 19thPresident’s Day9AM – 5PMThomas Boyan, SrMarie ButeraRichard ButtiglieriTheresa ConteDr. Adrian CostanzaDorothy CordaroGerardo IannuzziPatricia MusePaul Penta, Jr. Antonetta SalamoneObituaries Pages 8 + 9See NEWS BRIEFS, Page 2$1.5 MILLION FOR NORTHERN STRAND COMMUNITY TRAILThe Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has approved a $1.5 million grant regarding the development of the Northern Strand Community Trail led by a Revere on the Move part-ner organization, Bike to the Sea. Revere has a one-mile stretch in North Revere. The Northern Strand Community Trail has been in development for over 20 years. The North Revere segment is a major part in the project that creates a continuous 7.5-mile rail trail running from West Everett, through Malden and Revere to the Saugus River and soon into Lynn. The North Revere segment allows users to en-joy spectacular views of the Rumney Marsh. The funding, awarded through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ (EEA) Gateway City Parks Program, enables the design of the trail, develop-ment of bid-ready construc-tion documents, and receipt of all necessary construction permits. When completed, the trail will span 10 miles and RECREATION HOSTS PAINT & SKATE NIGHT AT CRONIN RINKJoseph Arrigo was all smiles at the Revere Recreation Paint & Skate Night on Feb. 10 at the Cronin Skating Rink in Revere. Please see more photos on Page 10.By Sue Ellen WoodcockFor years the abutters of Route 1 have put up with the noise from millions of cars, and now some city councillors want to have Mayor Brian Ar-rigo contact the MassDOT to install barriers along Route 1 between Route 16 and Cope-land Circle.Ward 5 Councillor Charles Patch, Ward 4 Councillor Patrick Keefe and Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKen-na teamed up on a motion at last last week’s council meet-ing. Patch said he and the late Councillor Robert Haas Jr. tried to get barriers installed in 2011 and received no re-sponse.“We should get more re-spect from the state and fed-eral government,” Patch said..Keefe noted that more af-fluent communities are often granted sound barriers.Ward 2 Councillor Ira No-voselsky pointed out that Sau-gus got barriers along Route 1 installed along a new ball field.“It’s a quality-of-life is-sue,” he said.Barriers are easily seen Have you ever had an idea for how you could make im-provements to the Revere community? So have the ap-plicants to the mini-grant pro-grams hosted by Revere on the Move and the Alcohol, To-bacco and Other Drugs Task Force; and this time, these ideas are going to become a reality.Every year a group of Re-vere residents and institution-al leaders meet together to select the awardees of mini-grants offered to the public through the community-led organizations, Revere on the Move and the Alcohol, Tobac-co, and Other Drugs (ATOD) Task Force. Both the ATOD Task Force and Revere on the Move are initiatives of the MGH Revere CARES Coa-lition. Revere on the Move is additionally co-led by the Healthy Community Initia-tives Office at the City of Re-vere.This year over $20,000 was awarded to fund ideas to make Revere a healthier place to work, to play, and to raise a family. The Revere on the Move mini-grant program offered $10,605 in funding for permanent changes, pro-gram implementation, and youth-led projects that would help prevent or reduce obe-sity in children and adults. The ATOD Task Force fund-ed projects totaling $9,500 to reduce youth substance use, improve their mental health, and increase opportunities for positive youth engagement.In addition to the mini-grants already funded, Revere on the Move has extended their permanent change and program mini-grant appli-cations to Sunday, March 4. Up to $1,395 is available for ideas that make it easier to eat healthy and be active for all. The application is open Revere's TNDreceives $50,000state grant for jobsSpecial to The JournalMonday morning the Bak-er-Polito Administration awarded $500,000 to nine projects through the Urban Agenda Grant Program. The Revere arm of The Neigh-borhood Developers (TND) was one group given $50,000 in funding to help establish workforce development ser-vices in Revere to support lo-cal residents to acquire newly created jobs.Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito along with Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash came to Revere City Hall to present the check to the Neighborhood Developers.“Our administration under-stands the importance of local leadership and its impact on the lives of residents,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “The Urban Agenda Grant Program relies on the strong partnerships between local government, non-profits and the business community that are critical to fostering eco-nomic success and building stronger neighborhoods in ev-ery region in Massachusetts.”Revere is rebuilding its economic and employment base by utilizing large-scale and high value assets includ-ing Suffolk Downs, Wonder-land, a soon-to-close NECCO plant, and the MassDevelop-ment TDI Waterfront District.The program seeks to un-lock community-driven re-sponses to local obstacles, and promote economic devel-opment opportunities through partnership-building, problem solving, and shared account-ability in urban centers. The competitive awards offer flex-ible funding for local efforts that bring together commu-nity stakeholders to pursue economic development ini-tiatives. These awards will fund projects in Boston, Clin-Real estate values continue to be strong in RevereLt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Ann Houston of The Neighborhood Developers, State Rep. RoseLee Vincent, Bob O' Brien of Revere Economic Department, Mayor Brian Arrigo and Secretary of Housing and Ecomonic Development Jay Ash at the announcement of the Urban Agenda Grant Program on Monday morning in the Revere City Council Chambers.By Sue Ellen WoodcockThe Revere real estate mar-ket in 2017 was definitely a good one with higher prices for homes than in 2016, but a drop in the number of new listings, making home-buying an adventure.“These are the highest pric-es we’ve seen in the last eight years,” said Maureen Celata, owner/broker of MCelata Real Estate. “And 2018 is going to be another banner year. Inven-tory is low now, but everyone is looking to the spring.”According to figures from the Massachusetts Associa-tion of Realtors, the median sales prices was $376,250, a 4.9 increase over prices in 2016.Homes also were also on the market 41 days, a 26.8 percent increase over the 56 days on the market in 2016.The number of listings in 2017 also dropped to 265, 10.8 percent down from 297 in 2016. The good news for sellers is that the original list-ing price was matched 100 percent of the time.The condominium mar-ket saw similar trends with the median sales price at $315,000, up 16.7 percent over 2016. Days on the mar-ket also dropped from 67 in 2016 to 47 days on the market“Inventory is low now and everyone is looking toward the spring,” Celata saidThe rental market is also strong with rents ranging from $1,200 to $3,000. Cleat noted that if someone is paying big rent they just might be capable of buying and taking advan-tage of first-time homebuyers programs.“2017 was a fantastic year to be in real estate,” said Joe Mario of Century 21 Ma-rio Real Estate. “There’s a lot of confidence and equity in homes. For 35 years now it’s been positive. Now is the time to sell. Revere is getting the overflow from the Boston market and people are moving to Revere.Mario said Revere is desir-able because of its proximity to Boston, and it’s a hidden gem with a beautiful beach.Mario is looking forward to the spring market, drawing from Boston and surrounding communities. 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There’s always been something just a little unsettling to me about this City having that much money in reserve. Government is not intended to be a profit making enterprise. Our goal isn’t to make money year after year. As a local government, our goal, our mission is to provide services to our residents. So, it is my strong opinion that with this level of reserves, we have an obligation, a fiduciary duty, to start investing more in our City. And, that will be something you will see from me this year and beyond.” State of the City Ambrosino says City needs to continue spending on residents See TOBIN Page 2 See CITY Page 2 Storm Force Frank Ippolito III carries on proud family tradition in snow removal Tobin Bridge project to begin April 1 Frank Ippolito III (left), owner of Ippolito Snow Services in East Boston, is shown on the cover of Snow Business Magazine with Travis Dassylva. The Tobin Bridge is in the

Frank Ippolito III (left), owner of Ippolito Snow Services in East Boston, is shown on the cover of Snow Business Magazine with Travis Dassylva. The Tobin Bridge is in the background.

He was the familiar face and kind gentleman at Ippy’s Amoco Gas Station at the corner of Washington and Garfield Avenues who owned that popular service station and car repair business in addition to Ippy’s Plowing that he started in 1973.

“My grandfather, Frank Sr. started it, and my dad, Frank Jr., continued it for 50 years,” said Frank Ippolito III.

The Ippolito name still resonates with pride in the city. Frank III’s uncle, Joseph Ippolito, has guided the beautiful renovation project at the Sagamore Club that is enjoying a resurgence of new members. Uncle Jimmy Ippolito was known for his athletic talents and Jimmy and Jane’s daughter, Jamie, became the greatest softball player in Savio Prep history before continuing her brilliant career at Stonehill College.

Frank Ippolito Jr. passed away in 2012 and his son, Frank III, assumed command of the plowing business, changing its name to Ippolito Snow Services LLC. The business is located on Chelsea Street in East Boston, making for easy access to its Boston clients.

The level of excellence that the father brought to his business has continued under the son’s capable leadership – and then some.

In 2015 after the snowiest winter (108 inches) in Boston history, Ippolito Snow Services received the National Snow and Ice Management Award. Ippolito’s company was recently featured on the cover of Snow Business magazine.

Ippolito oversees a staff of approximately 50 employees. He seeks out part-time employees from businesses such as auto repair shops and car washes, and the commercial fishing industry, many of whom who don’t usually work in their regular jobs during snowstorms.

“We’re a snow only business – we don’t do anything else,” said Ippolito. “In the offseason, we attend national training conferences and start negotiating snow-plowing contracts in the summer. We really want to focus on what we do well.”

Whether it’s an inch of snow or a major snowstorm hitting the Boston area, Ippolito has to be ready to send out an army of snow removal vehicles. “We have plow trucks, obviously, but we have loaders, Wildcats, and Bobcats. We do a lot of sidewalks in Boston so we recently invested in a lot of sidewalk-clearing equipment.”

Ippolito has become one of the region’s foremost experts on snow removal and often fields inquiries from business owners such as: How can a company project its snowplowing services from year to year and what if there is a winter with very little snow (Boston averages 42 inches per season, according to Ippolito).

“There are two models,” said Ippolito. “One is that a company pays a certain amount and no matter how much snow we get, that is the amount for a three-year period. Other companies pay by the storm and by the inch.”

The unforgettable winter of 2015 was a major test for Ippolito and his staff. “There were 78 inches of snow in February,” recalled Ippolito. “It was overwhelming. We brought in a lot of people from out of state to help out. It was non-stop snow removal for weeks. That’s when we knew as a company that there could be a real business here. That winter really put us on the map. But we don’t want to be the biggest, we just want to be the best.”

Ippolito said his company uses Eastern Minerals on Marginal Street for its salt for snow removal. “We’re fortunate to have a great business like that just three minutes away,” said Ippolito.

Ippolito utilizes the latest technology to mnitor his company’s work during snowstorms. “We put GPS tracking in all the trucks,” he said. “We’re able to move resources around quickly if a snowstorm shifts.”

Though he now lives in Revere, Frank III still relishes his ties to Chelsea. “I am proud of our family’s connection to Chelsea. I’m proud of the way my grandfather and father worked hard and the great business they ran in Chelsea. This city will always have a special place in my heart..”

Though he lives in Revere, Frank Ippolito III still relishes his family’s connection to Chelsea. “I am proud of our ties to Chelsea and I am proud of my father and my grandfather and the great business they ran in Chelsea. This city will also have a special place in my heart.”

And vice versa, the city of Chelsea  will always have a fondness for Ippy’s Amoco and the entire Ippolito family.

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