Good Morning Gloucester

Dusk and sunset last night reminded us that Mother Nature is in charge!

Marsh Mellow…

Chief Eric Smith and the Gloucester Fire Department urge all residents to be aware and to follow these basic tips to help protect their loved ones during Fire Prevention Week, which is being recognized this year from Oct. 9 to 15.

Fire Prevention Week is organized by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and has been recognized for 100 years as of 2022. The goal of Fire Prevention Week is to educate the public about simple but important ways they can keep themselves and those they live with safe.

This year’s theme, “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape,” aims to get everyone to make a fire escape plan with their families, and to begin their preparations by ensuring their home has working smoke alarms that will properly alert in the event of a fire.

The NFPA says residents may have less than two minutes to safely escape in the event of a fire, so planning ahead is crucial.

Gloucester Fire Department and the NFPA urge all community members to take the following steps to ensure they have effective, working smoke alarms:

• Smoke alarms should be installed in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement.
• Test all of your smoke alarms by pushing the test button. If it makes a loud beep, beep, beep sound, you know it’s working. If there is no sound or the sound is low, it’s time to replace the battery. If the smoke alarm is older than 10 years old, you need to replace the whole unit.
• If your smoke alarm makes a “chirp,” that means it needs a new battery. Change the battery right away.

Gloucester Fire Department and the NFPA also urge community members to take the following steps to prepare a fire escape plan:

• Draw a map of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.
• Children, older adults, and people with disabilities may need assistance to wake up and get out. Make sure they are part of the plan.
• Make sure all escape routes are clear and not blocked by debris or objects, and that doors and windows open easily.
• Pick an outside meeting place (something permanent like a neighbor’s house, a light post, mailbox, or stop sign) that is a safe distance from your home where everyone can meet.
• Everyone in the home should know to immediately call 911 once they are safely outside.
• Practice! Practice! Practice! Practice daytime and nighttime home fire drills. Share your home escape plans with overnight guests.

Residents are also reminded of the importance of having large and clearly visible house numbers to help first responders easily find your home. Numbers should be facing the street, visible at night and not blocked by trees or bushes. Those with long driveways should have house numbers on both sides of a mailbox or sign pole at the end of their driveway near the roadway.

To learn more about Fire Prevention Week, or to speak to your local Fire Prevention officers about steps you can take to protect your family, contact Gloucester Fire at the non-emergency line (978) 281-9760 or contact the Fire Prevention Bureau at (978) 325-5300 option 2.

To learn more about Fire Prevention Week, click here.

No matter how you feel about the piping plovers in our area, this is an amazing shot and and earned honor for photographer Rajan Desai taken on our very own Crane Beach in Ipswich. I came across this and other stunning photographs in an NPR story you can find here about the 2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. You can see more about this Massachusetts photographer at his website here. More details about this photo can be found here. Wow, just wow on those photos for the competition! And to find a location nearby within is just amazing. Congratulations all.

Funding will positively impact Gloucester’s community and residents for years to come. 

 

Today, Mayor Greg Verga announced the first major investment of the Covid Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and the general plan for this funding. Under the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) local funding provisions, the City of Gloucester was allocated $23 million. Mayor Verga launched the Covid Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Listening Group to solicit public input on the funding opportunity and report their findings back to the administration. After thoroughly reviewing the group’s report and the community’s requests, Mayor Verga has determined to appropriate Covid Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to the following categories:            

 

●       Infrastructure

●       Housing

●       Economic Development

●       Public Health

●       Community Initiatives

●       Parks and Open Space

●       Arts and Culture

●       General Government/Revenue Recovery                                           

 

“I am so appreciative of all of the hard work and dedication of the Covid Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Listening Group and to all of the residents and organizations for participating in this important dialogue,” said Mayor Greg Verga. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I want to be sure we are using this funding to positively impact our residents for years to come.”

 

Mayor Verga has chosen to strategically invest a significant amount of the $23 million in the City’s infrastructure in response to several critical issues within the community. From the beginning of Mayor Verga’s administration, it has been a priority to tackle the necessary upgrades for Gloucester’s wastewater treatment plant. The City of Gloucester will allocate 65% of the Covid Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to infrastructure projects; this includes $10 million to the wastewater treatment plant and $3 million to address our City’s roads. 

 

“It is time to stop kicking the can down the road and start the work on our wastewater treatment plant,” said Verga. “We can’t invest significantly in other areas until we have an adequate wastewater treatment plant; this investment is a necessary first step. I want to do the most good for the most people over the most time, and this project does just that.”

 

The $3 million investment will build on Mayor Verga’s commitment to improving Gloucester’s streets; the Mayor significantly increased the Department of Public Works (DPW) Fiscal Year 2023 paving budget and allocated additional free cash last fiscal year to have a greater impact on our roads. Due to this increased funding, Gloucester’s DPW will be able to repave several municipal roads and has already started its work. Attached is the “Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 Paving Schedule” that has already begun; this schedule is subject to change.

 

In addition to infrastructure, the Covid Local Fiscal Recovery Funds will be distributed across various priorities. The current economic landscape and post-Covid society have highlighted the need to invest in affordable housing, parks and recreation, and public health. Mayor Verga will allocate much-needed funds to support several projects and initiatives in these areas. Additional information regarding these categories will be announced in the coming weeks.

 

“This is an exciting opportunity and gives us the ability to have a real impact on our community,” said Verga. “This framework gives a good idea of our investment plan for this funding, and I look forward to continuing our work.”

 

For the final Covid Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Listening Group report and public submissions, please visit: https://arpa.gloucester-ma.gov/

 

Gloucester’s most iconic brand has made a charitable donation of $250,000 to Sawyer Free 2025 (visit sawyerfree2025.org), the philanthropic capital campaign to fund a comprehensive renovation, modernization and expansion of Gloucester’s public library building. The donation is earmarked to cover the cost of a new Library History Center inside the library’s existing footprint. 

“Gorton’s is proud to support the renovation and modernization of the Sawyer Free Library and its mission,” said Gorton’s CEO Kurt Hogan. “The library is a place of learning, creativity and innovation that nurtures and develops the community. We hope many generations will enjoy the new library for years to come.”

The Sawyer Free 2025 project will preserve the original exterior of Cape Ann’s oldest public library, which will house a fully redesigned interior, and will also double the size of the library’s current footprint with a 15,000-square foot addition. With the gift, Gorton’s secured another of the multiple donor-naming opportunities available in support of the campaign—one that will revolutionize the manner in which Gloucester’s historical artifacts and research materials are curated, archived, accessed and preserved. Currently, the library’s local history space is neither enclosed nor climate-controlled. 

“Sawyer Free Library boasts a 140-year legacy as a cultural, educational, communal, civic and social-services hub for the City of Gloucester,” said Barry Weiner, a retired attorney and the campaign chair for Sawyer Free 2025. “Thanks to Gorton’s, the new Library History Center will house invaluable pieces of Gloucester’s history and will take on international relevance as a place people can contact from anywhere in the world with a question about Gloucester. Authors, scholars, reporters, actors and everyday citizens everywhere will obtain a free, insider’s passport to the rich cultural history of this city and region that we all love.”

The design principles of Sawyer Free 2025 are grounded in the human experience and an ambition to put people first. The completion of the new facility—featuring a sound studio, a film studio, a digital tech lab and 110-seat community meeting space inside one of the most walkable destinations in the city—will result in a 25-percent increase in annual visitors, a 25-percent increase in the number of public programs offered each month by the library and a 50-percent increase in the number of programs hosted at the library by partner agencies.

The Sawyer Free 2025 project’s total cost is $28 million, a sum that includes built-in inflation costs through the completion of the project in 2025. The Sawyer Library Foundation, the fundraising arm of the campaign, has already inspired more than $15 million in pledged donations and grant awards, including $1 million in the first 150 days following the public launch of the campaign this past May. 

The newly renovated and expanded Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library will stand as a model for what a 21st century civic hub can and should be in terms of architecture, accessibility, sustainability, the use of natural resources and light, layouts, lines of sight, air quality and public safety. The end product will exponentially amplify the library’s ability to deliver critical services and outcomes not only for Gloucester, but for communities across Cape Ann and the North Shore as a place of equity, inclusion, connection, creation, compassion, renewal and advancement.

Since this spring, six of the project’s 14 naming opportunities have already been funded, including financing for a dedicated Children’s Room by the Institution for Savings, a separate Children’s Programming Room by BankGloucester, an all-ages digital makerspace by Cape Ann Savings Bank, a Teen Creation Center by Sudbay Automotive Group and a new, 16-seat library conference room by a private family foundation.

Since 1849, Gorton’s mission has been to help people everywhere enjoy the goodness of great seafood. Headquartered in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Gorton’s is one of America’s oldest continuously operating companies, and continues to be an innovative leader in the frozen seafood industry. The Gorton’s Fisherman, in his yellow slicker and rain hat, embodies this commitment. For more information, please visit http://www.gortons.com or call 1-800-222-6846.

✓ How do I learn more or contact Sawyer Free 2025?

Visit sawyerfree2025.org

info@sawyerfree2025.org

media@sawyerfree2025.org

Call 978.225.0363 or 978.225.0915

Facebook: Sawyer Free 2025

Instagram: Sawyer Free 2025

YouTube: Sawyer Library Foundation 2025

✓ How Do I Give to Sawyer Free 2025?

• Visit sawyerfree2025.org
• Text to donate: Text “325182” to 1-855-575-7888 and select an amount
• Checks: SF2025, 2 Dale Ave., Gloucester, 01930 (Checks payable to: “Sawyer Library Foundation”)
• Volunteer! Reach out if you want to pitch in at the library or with the capital campaign, either in person or virtually. Help your neighbors, serve your community and share your expertise. No matter what kind of volunteer work you do for us, you are contributing in invaluable ways.