NEWBURYPORT — Mayor Sean Reardon laid out his hopes and dreams for the city over the next year in front of a large crowd during his second annual State of the City address at City Hall on Wednesday night.
His speech touched on a number of projects, including building a new recreation center, strengthening the Lower Artichoke River dam, and addressing affordable housing issues.
“The state of the city is very strong,” he said. “We will work together to bring out the best in this city every day and make this city the strongest it can be.”
Spotted in the crowd were State Auditor Diana DiZoglio; state Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester; state Rep. Dawne Shand, D-Newburyport, Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove, and members of the Newburyport City Council and School Committee.
Among the more contentious subjects the mayor addressed was the failed districtwide vote Jan. 23 to build a new, $444.6 million Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School in Haverhill.
Reardon said there were no winners that day and he wanted to make sure Whittier students do not feel like they have lost their chance at having the superb school facilities they deserve.
“The issue of Whittier is still not resolved and I am committed to keeping the community updated on what’s next,” he said.
Reardon said he is working closely with other communities to create a Whittier task force that would bring together leaders from each municipality to assess future options.
“The Whittier district agreement has not been updated materially since 1967 and this is an excellent opportunity to consider changes to this agreement that will benefit every municipality,” he said.
Reardon pivoted to talking about the explosion at the Seqens/PCI Synthesis chemical manufacturing facility on Opportunity Way on May 4 that left a Methuen man dead.
The company announced in November it would close the facility. Reardon said he was grateful for the work of the city’s first responders on May 4, as well as all local, state and federal partners who assisted Newburyport following the explosion.
“Moving forward, safety will remain the priority in assessing what will be done with this space,” he said.
Reardon also spoke with pride about the four city department heads – Fire Chief Steven Bradbury III, Department of Public Services Director Wayne Amaral, Council on Aging Director Sara Landry and Head Librarian Kevin Bourque – who were appointed over the past year.
The mayor said the city is in a strong financial position and has maintained its long-term AAA credit rating.
“We were able to grow the city’s stabilization fund balance, better known as the rainy day account, to $4.5 million, which is 5.5% of budget revenue for fiscal year 2024,” he said. “New growth was certified over $225,000 higher than estimated, funds that went toward reducing our tax rate.”
In terms of infrastructure, the city has paved 31 streets, covering more than four miles, in the first two years of its streets and sidewalks plan, according to the mayor, who added that he will ask the City Council to add more funding to this year’s operating budget for sidewalk repairs.
Reardon also addressed a major campaign promise he made in 2021 to find a new home for Newburyport Youth Services, which has been without a home since that fall.
The mayor said his proposal to build a $5.6 million recreation center on Low Street will deliver a proper home at a reasonable cost.
NYS was also renamed the Recreation and Youth Services Department last year but Reardon said he prefers “Port Rec” instead.
“It works just fine and for some, brings back old memories,” he said.
The future of housing in the city was another issue addressed by Reardon, who reiterated his wish to turn the former Brown School on Milk Street into senior affordable housing.
“We need more places for families, more places for seniors and empty nesters to downsize to stay in this community, and more affordable housing,” he said. “We need more housing of all types.”
Reardon continued to say the city’s housing production plan is updated every five years and the most recent update is nearly complete.
“(This will) feature a number of strategies for achieving our housing goals,” he said. “Chief among these is making progress on a number of vacant sites, whether they are publicly or privately owned.”
The city will also be working closely with the state to open up opportunities at the former C&J Bus Line parking lot off Storey Avenue so that housing could potentially be added alongside its role as a transportation hub.
“This will be a difficult project, as there are many state and federal regulations we will have to navigate, but with a partner like Lt. Gov. Driscoll, we believe we’ve got a chance to make this a reality,” he said.
The Reardon administration has made a priority the 5-acre Waterfront West property owned by New England Development and located between Michael’s Harborside restaurant and the Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar.
“I have been working closely with a group of city stakeholders to determine our priorities for any potential development and have used these conversations as the foundation of our negotiations with New England Development,” he said. “When we get close to a mutually beneficial outcome, we will engage in a public process to view the proposed design and development plans.”
Reardon said any approved development will require a zoning change and the city will require a detailed development agreement as well.
“This process has been underway since 2008, but we are willing to take our time to arrive at the right plan,” he said.
Infrastructure security remains an important issue for the mayor, who said recent action by the Water Division averted harm to the city’s main water supply after a breach in the Lower Artichoke River Dam.
“Despite this success, we need to prioritize ongoing measures, including large-scale projects like strengthening the dam, securing our reservoirs, and directly connecting our largest reservoir to our main pumping station to enhance resilience against extreme weather,” he said.
Reardon added that proposed upgrades to the water treatment plant are aimed at improving water quality, addressing concerns related to potential future floods, algae blooms and contaminants like per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the water system.
“Our water is one of the most important services we provide, and we will need to ensure it is protected in the years to come,” he said.
The $9.2 million John F. Cutter Jr. Fire Station project remains on track to be completed in the city’s West End this fall, according to Reardon, who also said the $6 million first phase of the Market Landing Park construction and expansion project and the second phase of the $5.3 million bulkhead repair project are also looking to come in on time and on budget this summer.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
