Master Plan Committee Workshop on Econ Dev, March 20th

The Master Plan Implementation and Oversight Committee, which I've served on since 2005, will be holding a series of workshops in 2008, in order to educate the public regarding progress since the plan was released in 2004 and to focus on key action items that remain undone.

The first workshop--devoted to Economic Development--will take place Thursday, March 20th at the Cultural Center, Upper Millyard, at 7:00 p.m. We will be specifically be discussing concrete steps that Amesbury could take to spur economic growth, particularly in the Downtown and Lower Millyard area. The Mayor will be there and the public is invited. Chamber of Commerce Director Stephanie McCowan and members of the Chambers Econ Dev Committee are also expected. Here's the Press Release:

March 11, 2008

PRESS RELEASE

The Master Plan Implementation and Oversight Committee (MPIOC) is organizing a series of workshops in 2008 on major focus areas of the Master Plan. Altogether four workshops are proposed in 2008 and the first in the series will be on the Economic Development Section.

Over the last three years, the Committee has been working on different action items identified in the implementation section of the master plan. Progress has been made on several of these items which include both regulatory and non-regulatory actions. Periodic updates have been provided to the Municipal Council. The Committee would now like to not only update the community at large on progress made so far but to also discuss creative ways to use limited resources in implementing high priority action items.

The first workshop on the Economic Development Section will be held on Thursday March 20^th at 7 p.m. at the Amesbury Cultural Center in the Upper Millyard Complex. The workshop is open to the public. The Office of Community and Economic Development will be providing an overview of the accomplishments and ongoing activities. The workshop will be moderated by Jonathan Sherwood, Chair of the MPIOC. If you have any questions regarding the workshop or would like to know more about the Master Plan contact the Town Planner, Nipun Jain at 978-388-8110 ext 312.

2009 - 2013 Capital Improvement Plan

Click here to download the recently released 2009-13 Capital Improvement Plan as a PDF file.

It is an improvement over previous versions, more clearly articulating priority projects (rather than just one huge list) and details impacts and connections with other planning better.

Trash Contract Plans

From the Mayor's 3/3/08 general update memo

Solid Waste Contracts
The Department of Environmental Protection has awarded the city with a number of grants and technical assistance relative to our solid waste and recycling programs. Key to these is the technical assistance award that grants the city 80 hours of professional consulting services on the review and contracting of our solid waste and recycling programs. Additional support includes a recycling brochure designed and printed by DEP for the city.

Consistent with the Mayor’s goals of regional problem solving, we have been working closely with Newburyport on the development of solid waste and recycling contracts. With the help of our DEP consultant we have conducted conversations with our vendors to extend contracts through the end of the year, in order to allow sufficient time to analyze options and negotiate the best possible contracts. We have also developed the foundation of a Request for Information (RFI) that encompasses the wide range of options to be considered and begun conversations with various vendors.

The Mayor will be assembling a group of stakeholders to include some Councilors and residents in order to provide input on the process and negotiations. More information to follow on this.

I'm pleased to see the Mayor pursuing a regional approach on this, assuming that all involved will benefit in terms of cost-savings and effectiveness.