Dark days for Newburyport

Well, it finally happened. The wooded area behind High Street and adjacent to the Oak Hill Cemetery has been leveled. Construction began last week, as the above photo from the Daily News clearly illustrates. If you read the article that went along with the photo you would know that the 4 homes destined to be constructed on the sight are going to sell for $1 million dollars or so. So not only has the physical character of the city been destroyed, so will the personal character, as more yuppies flock to a promise of a brand new Mcmansion in our town. My biggest problem with the situation is that the owner of the land , Todd Freemont-Smith, said he wanted to develop the land so that he could build a new home for he and his family, since they aren’t happy with their historical home on High Street. I think the public would have been able to swallow Smith build a new home for himself on the Ridge, but the fact that he’s building 4 means his desire for a new home of his own is a bit disingenuous at best. The real kicker is that while he and his family may live there for decades, they will more than likely, as many who move to Newburyport these days, live there a couple years until they move on to their next business or financial opportunity , leaving us with their legacy, and leaving perhaps the city’s greatest resident, William Wheelwright, spinning in his grave. But at least he’ll have a nice view of those new homes…

No news is good news…

Another slow week around these parts, but this week is shaping up to have some local action.

As far as i can tell, Tuesday night is the vote (or perhaps the initial reading) of the proposed plan for a senior center at Cushing Park (better known as the Kent St. parking lot). From previous posts you can see where i stand on the issue, but there are those that insist this is the best place for the center. Of course, if you happened to read the letters to the editor today in the Newburyport Daily News then you may have seen the letter from George Roaf, who states that even the Seniors themselves do not want the senior center there. I concede that the poll he cites may not be completely accurate, it does state that 511 seniors interviewed are opposed to the location. I don’t know how many seniors there are in Newburyport, and i don’t know how many were asked, but I’m confident that the number represents a large portion. So at any rate, Tuesday will be an interesting night at City Hall.

And while you’re down there on Tuesday, pop in to the ZBA hearing and see what is to become of the beloved Clam Shack on Water Street. There is scheduled to be a hearing to determine its fate, whether it shall remain as is, or be improved to a single family home. I surely hope that the shack remains a shack, whether or not it has a toilet and a heating system. God knows the last thing we need is another monstrosity on the waterfront.

Other than that the weather looks great for the next few days so get out there and enjoy it. Those of you with dogs should take them to the beach while you’re still allowed too, and before it disappears into the ocean, and with school vacation, i’m sure there will be plenty of activity in the town parks.

Slow week

Sorry for the lack of posts this past week or so, but it’s been kinda slow, not much has got my dander up. I’ve been having a running debate with reader Dan about whether or not a Senior Center at Cushing Park is a good idea, and if our discussion is any indication of how the city in general views the subject, it may be a difficult and interesting project to get completed.

I try to keep this blog strictly local, but there have been a few issues on the State level that would have a direct effect on cities like ours so I’m going to mention them.

First, I think that the call for Police details to replaced by flag men is long over due. This isn’t an anti cop issue, its become a necessary change to save our towns. You hear these stories of paying a cop $30+ an hour for a minimum of 4 hours (8 in some towns like Gloucester, I believe). That means if the job only takes 45 minutes you are still paying for that police officer long after he has gone home. This all adds up. If you look at the salaries of the top paid city employees on any given year, there are always a number of police officers way up on that list, many making more in overtime than they do for salary.

Now, we’re in a tough situation because those cops depend on that overtime money, especially in Newburyport. A police officer would be hard pressed to be able to afford to live in Newburyport based on their salary alone. The overtime offers them a way to live in the very town they are sworn to protect, and that is something i think is extremely important. But we as a state and a city are broke, and we can’t afford to keep taxing our citizens to make up the difference.

Perhaps a compromise could be worked out where police officers could be hired as the flag men, to work on their days off and their free time, but at a reasonable rate, and paid for the hours they are actually on the site. Its not perfect for the cops, but it’s better than nothing, and the city could save some money.

At any rate it will be interesting to see what happens.

Kent St. Parking Lot

Sorry for the lack of recent posts, I’ve been extremely busy and just hadn’t had the time, but I’ve got a few minutes for a new one, so here goes…

I read recently in both local newspapers that Mayor Moak intends on pushing ahead with a plan for a senior center at the Kent St. Parking lot. My problem is that no one has yet addressed the concerns of the residents who live in that neighborhood.

This isn’t a “i don’t want a senior center in my back yard” issue. Not at all. It is strictly a parking issue. Where are these people supposed to park their cars during snow storms? That lot is 100% full during EVERY snow emergency, so obviously there is a need for it.

The city painted itself into this corner a long time ago when houses in the neighborhood were being bought up and restored to condo’s and two family homes, and weren’t required to provide parking. For decades that lot has been the only off street parking that many of the homes in that neighborhood have, and for people that have bought homes there recently, they bought it with the promise that they had off street parking in the winter.

I believe the Mayor suggested that the people that park there now can park at Cashman Park. The same Cashman Park that floods during major storms. So, it would be my assumption that either the city will prevent the river from flooding, or pay for all damages suffered by the citizens forced to park there. Seems fair, right?

Further, the students at the High School are instructed to park at the Kent St. lot during all snow emergencies, where are they to park now? It must be hard enough to find a parking spot there now, but cutting it in half is going to make it all but impossible. We’ve all seen the number of cars parked out side the High School, couple that with the local neighbors and you’re going to have a serious problem.

Again, this has nothing to do with a Senior Center. Everyone wants a Senior Center, but it has to be done right, not quickly. Find a good, solid plan that works for everyone, and don’t try to get it done before your term runs out so you can have a platform to run on next election.