Daily Current, Thursday, October 15

Daily Current · Thursday, October 15 · 4:31

Gloucester beach revenue stays steady after reservation switch

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Good morning. It's Thursday, October 15. This is the Daily Current, free public information for Cape Ann from the Cape Ann Current. I'm Kerry Jane. Today we look at where Gloucester's beach money goes, a water treatment change in the city, and a new date for the Stage Fort Park Halloween party.

In Gloucester, money from beach parking and resident stickers goes into the city's general fund, according to the budget. The beaches are not run as a separate fund. The general fund pays for beach costs like lifeguards and police overtime, and the rest helps fund city government. Gloucester switched to online reservations for nonresidents in 2022. According to budget books, the first three summers with reservations brought in about 79,000 dollars a year less on average than the seven summers before. Daily parking revenue stayed around 1.9 million dollars a year, while sticker money fell.

Also in Gloucester, the Department of Public Works began flushing water mains on Wednesday to switch the pipes from monochloramine to chlorine. The city says this preventive maintenance kills bacteria. The switch will last two to five weeks before the city goes back to monochloramine. You may notice a chlorine smell, and the city recommends running the cold water if your tap water looks discolored. If problems do not clear, residents can call the department at 978 325 5680 to ask for spot flushing.

In Essex, the Community Preservation Committee will review three project requests when it meets on Wednesday, October 21. According to the agenda, the committee will look at kayak racks for Red Gate Road, erosion control at Centennial Grove, and the design of a downtown rail trail. The agenda does not list costs. The committee recommends projects for Community Preservation money, which requires a town meeting vote to spend. The meeting is at 5 p.m. at Town Hall, and residents can speak.

Back in Gloucester, the city's free Halloween party at Stage Fort Park is now on Sunday, October 18, from noon to 3 p.m. The Gloucester Police Department announced the change on Wednesday, saying a coastal storm postponed the event from Saturday. The party includes a haunted hayride, touch a truck, and a candy parade. The rain date is Saturday, October 24.

Several boards meet today. In Gloucester, the Lyceum Committee meets at 5 p.m. In Rockport, the Board of Health meets at 5:30 p.m. and the Planning Board meets at 6:30 p.m. In Manchester by the Sea, the Community Preservation Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. and the Finance Committee meets at 7 p.m. In Essex, the Finance Committee and the Board of Fire Engineers both meet at 7 p.m.

For events in the next couple of days, the Captain Elias Davis House Tour is Friday from 2 to 2:30 p.m. at the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester. On Saturday, the Rockport Harvest Fest runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. downtown, and the Sawyer Free Library Tech Expo is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Gloucester. All three events are free.

In high school sports on Wednesday, Gloucester field hockey beat Marblehead 3 to 0. Manchester Essex field hockey shut out Ipswich 4 to 0. Hamilton Wenham field hockey beat Rockport 4 to 1. In boys soccer, Gloucester tied Tewksbury 2 to 2. In girls soccer, Chelsea beat Gloucester 2 to 1. In cross country, the Manchester Essex boys beat Hamilton Wenham 19 to 40, and the Hamilton Wenham girls beat Manchester Essex 20 to 41. In a late Tuesday game, Newburyport girls soccer beat Rockport 7 to 0.

The National Weather Service expects a sunny and cool Thursday, with a high near 58 and north winds gusting up to 26 miles per hour. A small craft advisory is in effect for the bays until 2 p.m. Rain is likely on Friday, with a high near 66 and a quarter to half an inch of rain possible. A gale watch is posted for the water from Friday evening through Saturday evening. High tide in Gloucester Harbor is at 2:56 p.m. today.

We also remember Rita E. Wilson Jordan, 88, of Essex.

That's the Daily Current for Thursday. Everything you heard, with its sources, is at capeanncurrent dot com, along with short editions for each town. I'm Kerry Jane, the Cape Ann Current's host. Everything we share is free public information from public records and government data, and every source is listed on our website. Catch the Daily Current again tomorrow. Keeping Cape Ann current.

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