By Jason Brisbois / capeann@wickedlocal.com
Posted Oct. 23, 2015 at 2:05 PM
GLOUCESTER
Residents who have already signed up for one may be getting their Cape Ann license plate a bit earlier than expected.
Locals interested in obtaining a Cape Ann license plate began submitting their information to the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce in the spring of this year. The goal was to obtain the 1,500 applications necessary to be submitted to the Registry of Motor Vehicles before production could begin on the plates.
While the Chamber has steadily been collecting applications and applicant information since that time, chamber members found out a few months ago that the 1,500 application threshold will officially be reduced to 750. With the current number of commitments to purchase Cape Ann plates just above 900, it looks like the applications can be submitted at the start of the year and the production process can begin.
“We got a surprise phone call in early August,” explains Ken Riehl, Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce. “We have worked directly with the Registry, putting this whole thing together. We got a call from them saying that the regulation had been changed, the news was that it was now 750. We were thrilled to hear that.”
There is still work to be done, however. In an effort to streamline the process, the Chamber has been taking commitments along with contact info, with the notion that follow up would be done at a later date to fully complete the applications. This means more follow up work from now until the Jan. 1 submittal date to track all of those commitments down and finalize the applications.
“That’s where we are now, following up with those people, and filling out applications,” says Riehl. “Right now, we have about half of the applications that we need before it’s complete. We will follow up with everyone, asking for any information that might be missing, and asking for the check for $40.”
Once those applications are completed and submitted to the RMV at the start of the new year, it might be a while before residents can display their local pride with the special plate, with the earliest estimates landing around June 2016.
“Even if we submit it all in January, somebody else has to put the design together, they have to make the plates,” says Riehl. “It could take upward of six months before they see the plates.”
Money from $40 plate fee will go to a non-profit foundation started by the Chamber specifically for this project, the Cape Ann Community Foundation. The money is then distributed to each of the four communities based on the total number of registered vehicles in each community.
The $40 fee renews every two years with a driver’s registry renewal — it is not a one-time fee — and anyone who picks up their plates for the first time is subject to a one-time $20 plate transfer fee.
For more information on the Cape Ann license plate, visit lovecapeann.com
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