At our monthly meeting held on Tuesday, September 13, Council members heard a presentation on the proposed Pier 58 development in Gloucester by special guest Tom Burger.  Council members asked questions and provided input. Olivia also provided her community relations updates (see PDF below), and Council members shared news and information from their respective communities during the meeting’s Roundtable discussions.  In other Council business:

• Ken gave an update on Cape Ann Works and its future. There was some discussion on its level of success.
• Olivia provided an update on the signage grant: In August the City selected 26 finalists and projects are being worked on now. Only one signage improvement project has been completed at this time, Jeff’s Variety, with more expected to be completed in October. The deadline for businesses to complete their improvement projects is December 31, 2022.
• We discussed where Gloucester stands on its allocation of ARPA funds. We don’t have concrete updates but know the Business Improvement District is of importance, along with other business and economic development projects, in addition to a new wastewater plant.
• We discussed the Greater Cape Ann Caucus coming up on October 21, hosted at Ipswich Town Hall. Ruth Pino and Meredith Fine suggested we invite the new Ipswich Town Manager (Stephen Crane) and Gloucester Community Development Director (David Fields) to attend, and/or invite them to an upcoming Government Affairs meeting.
• Ipswich’s draft Outdoor Entertainment Policy was discussed, and the possibility of the Chamber taking a position. We will review the policy and business input at the next Gov’t Affairs Meeting.

Other Government Affairs activities in September included scheduling Fall Division meetings, and staff follow up on accessing funding in the state budget earmarked for the Chamber in support of the Cape Ann Works program.

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 Tuesday 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 greater Cape Ann’s industrial, tourism, government, real estate, legal, non-profit and services sectors. To learn more or join in these meetings, please contact Ken, Olivia, Peter or me. Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 12.

Bill Scott
Chair, Government Affairs Council
Scott Energy Company