In our most recent meeting – on July 11 – the Government Affairs Council heard Chamber updates on several topics, including the Chamber’s breakfast with Governor Baker on June 13 and the May 22 CAIC forum on the topic of “Future of Work”.

At the June meeting, the Council also discussed several new topics, including:

• • Gloucester: Proposed change to events approval process for events on Stacy Boulevard and at Stage Fort Park
  • Essex: Proposed new noise guidelines

After deliberations, the Council recommended the following:
Regarding the proposed changed to Gloucester’s events approval process, that the Chamber submit a statement to the Gloucester City Council in support of maintaining the current process through the city’s Special Events Advisory Committee;

Regarding the proposed noise guidelines for Essex, that the Chamber submit comments providing input as requested by the Board of Selectmen, and attend the July 29 Board of Selectmen meeting to answer questions and provide further input;

The Government Affairs Council leads the Chamber’s focus on economic development and public policy, one of our key platforms. This Council meets on the second Thursday of each month from 7:30 to 9 AM, and participation is open to any Chamber member with an interest in being engaged with our state and local government and helping foster a vibrant Cape Ann economy. Currently,
those who are part of our monthly meetings include representatives from Cape Ann’s industrial, tourism, government, real estate, legal, non-profit and services sectors.

In future updates, we will report on these and other activities of the Government Affairs Council. To learn more or join in these meetings, please contact Ken or me. Our next meeting is on August 8 at the Chamber.

Bill Scott | Chair, Government Affairs Council | Scott Energy Company