Other Initiatives

MBTA

                  TOV Zoning (If needed, depending on outcome of 29 April Special Town Meeting), work with Planning Board to develop an alternative to the Bohler Plan being presented for a vote on April 29 Special Town Meeting, pursuing a creative and less impactful path to comply with the Commonwealth mandate by the end of 2024, leveraging the distinctly dissimilar  characteristics of Rockport that may reduce the amount of new building required:

  • our status as a small adjacent community, comprised of fewer than 7,000 fulltime residents
  • the fact that we are surrounded by ocean on three sides and have only one abutting community, Gloucester
  • seasonal characteristics of our town resulting in high vacancy issues, which may affect the “count” 
  • fewer than 100 developable acres in town

        As needed, let’s try and reduce the total number of new buildings down to a size that better suits the unique characteristics of our community.

         Idling trains: Work with State Representatives to finally stop the pollution and noise from idling of MBTA diesel trains

Rockport Public Schools

                  An excellent school system is essential for a thriving, multigenerational community — and for our currently high property values. Whether or not one has children currently in public schools, a strong school system affects property values of all homeowners; while encouraging multiple generations of residents to live and work in Town.

                  I’d like to see the reintroduction of an Adult Education program to restore the school campus as a center for lifelong education for all, regardless of age, while adding income to the Town, as we did in the 1990s when I served two terms on the School Committee

                  Let’s encourage Superintendent Branco’s plans to collaborate with other North Shore school districts to focus on excellence in each system while collaborating among multiple schools on the satisfaction of state mandates in areas such as Special Education, while also offering High School AP courses for our advanced students. Rockport students have benefited from the school system’s collaboration with the Shalin Liu Performance Center and other organizations in town, which could be enhanced. 

 

Water and Sewer Infrastructure

         Residents will be quick to note that Rockport has some of the highest water and sewer rates in the country. But we have the enormous benefit of managing the complete system ourselves, from drawing the water out of the ground, treating it, delivering it through our infrastructure, treating it once again, and then, once clean,  sending it out to the ocean. Our soup-to-nuts system is independent, and relies on talented and dedicated DPW employees to manage the system. In Dock Square and Back Beach, critical portions of our pumping systems are at sea level and thus extremely vulnerable to sea level rise. Our infrastructure dates back over 100 years and needs constant I&I maintenance to continue to serve a growing Town. I have served on the Ad Hoc Water Committee for over twelve years, and on the Conservation Commission for almost two years; as a Select Board member I will support our DPW and our volunteer committees in creative ways to keep our water supply safe, efficient, and functioning properly.

Public/Private Collaboration

        Rockport offers unique possibilities for such collaboration. We see it when local companies sponsor Little League Teams, when the Shalin Liu brings world class, accomplished musicians to our schools and offers free public concerts to townspeople and visitors. The Farmer’s Markets, Rockport New Year’s Eve, the Harvest Fest, Millbrook Meadow concerts, Christmas in Rockport, and July 4th Parade and Bonfire all blend the offerings and talents of our lively downtown businesses, volunteer committees, and much-valued hospitality industry. As a Select Board member I want to do more to encourage creativity in this regard to incentivize our businesses to prosper in Town. During Covid, we experimented with outdoor seating for restaurants; might we reintroduce this amenity and encourage more visitors to linger? Might we encourage more businesses to come to town through creative tax incentives such as TIFFs?

       Such successful collaboration is all about balance. We need to achieve a balance between our need for affordable living and retail space, and property owners’ rights to earn income from short-term rentals such as AirBnBs and VRBOs. During my term as Select Board member, I will work with the Finance Committee and others to identify creative ways to build our year-round community, while encouraging business development and welcoming visitors, to help sustain and maintain our Town. 

Personnel

  • Reinstate Volunteer Personnel Board, as stipulated in our Town Bylaws, so that townspeople and employees have a peer-based resource for resolution of employment and work issues – without costing the town money for any but most extreme cases.
  • Hire full-time Community Planner to collaboratively plan for and oversee growth, change, and development 
  • Post and fill the position of Assistant Town Administrator
  • Post and fill the Director of Community Engagement in the Cultural District position to support our businesses, our visitors, and our community
  • Post and fill the .5 FTE position of Administrative Assistant for the Conservation Commission, and appoint someone to take notes at meetings

 

Library

          Work with our Town Grant Writer to identify and apply for grants to make up for this year’s 10% budget cut in materials for this critical part of our Town’s intellectual infrastructure.

          Work with the schools to offer positions in the library where students might fill Community Service hours with tasks such as cataloging the music collection at the library

Volunteers and Committees

         I have a strong respect for and commitment to committees and volunteer entities that serve the Rockport Public. Just to name a few (and this list is hardly exhaustive — thanks to all volunteers in Town!)

                  Conservation Commission and its mission not only to answer fairly the needs and requests of citizens wanting to build their properties, but focusing on preservation of our water and wildlife, as our mission states. To that end, together with the Rights of Way Committee, I am spearheading the Earth Day Beach clean-up effort this year.

                  Garden Club – would welcome seeing them get them back to regular quarterly meetings at the Community House, encouraging their creative and beautiful work across Town

                  Rights of Way – with especial focus on the Atlantic Path and keeping this legacy treasure open to all for public access

                  Green Community Task Force – would like to encourage this Task Force to be reconstituted to help the Town meet the goal we voted in 2022: achieve Net Carbon 0 by the year 2040.

 

Time, Transparency, and Accountabililty

        Anticipating putting in approximately 20 hours per week; I will track my time and anyone who wants to know “what a Select Board Member does” will be able to see monthly reports on how my time is spent, so Townspeople can better understand what goes into this position and how they may fill it going forward

        I will have an open door policy and hold weekly office hours in Town Hall where all are welcome to come and talk with me in person. We started this during the campaign, with Wednesday Open meetings from 12 -2 at local restaurants.

Legacy Knowledge

       Having lived and worked in town for 44 years, raised a family here, I have seen a lot and know a fair number of local people. That will enable me as a Select Board Member to call on fellow Townspeople for knowledge and help. They’re already chiming in. The daughter of one former Select Board member of many years recently asked me to find out about her father’s pet Town Bylaw: “The Rate of Development Bylaw,” which has expired. Another former Finance Committee member recently told me that if I wanted a strategic plan for the Town, I just had to ask him because he had written one ten years ago and it was never implemented and still has many valid points in it. A former Ad Hoc Water Committee member’s estate asked me seven years ago to hand over to the Town and catalog all of his files and drawings for dams and desalinization plans, which are now in Town Hall. My time on the Select Board will definitely be our time on the Select Board during this time of change, and I thank you in advance for the privilege of serving you.