Looking Forward to 2023

REGIONAL – Now that we are a few days into 2023 and several of your resolutions are looking unrealistic, let’s look at what we can expect and hope for in the coming months.
On Beacon Hill, there will be major changes as Republicans, Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, after eight years are replaced by Democrats, former Atty. Gen. Maura Healey as governor and former Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll as lieutenant governor.
The 2022 election and the legislative redistricting after the 2020 census brought major changes to the North Shore. Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester now represents Newburyport, Salisbury and Topsfield, which was previously represented in the Senate by Diana DiZoglio.
The Methuen Democrat was elected to join the nearly all-female state administration as the next state auditor.
“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to partner with people in the 17 municipalities in our current Senate district, and excited about the prospect of also representing three new communities after the coming election,” Tarr said. 
Two more women, Dwayne Shand and Kristin Kassner, will represent Essex County in the state House. They replace two Republican men, Jim Kelcourse, who left the House to join the state Parole Board, and Lenny Mirra, whose district was drastically redrawn in the redistricting.
When Driscoll delivers her last State of the City address this week and resigns as Salem’s long-serving mayor, it may have a ripple effect in Salisbury. Neil Harrington, who has been the Salisbury manager for almost 20 years, is running for mayor of Salem, his hometown and where he served as mayor before taking the helm in Salisbury. If elected, the Salisbury Board of Selectmen will have to choose a new town manager.
Salisbury will also have to share its police chief, Thomas Fowler, this year with the rest of the state. He was sworn in last month by Polito as the president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police organization. Salisbury Board of Selectmen Chairman Chuck Takesian praised Fowler as “an excellent chief.”
Several major infrastructure projects will improve roads and sewers. The Salisbury sewer project will be completed this year, which along with rezoning properties on Rte. 1 should attract long-awaited, new construction.
The state will rebuild Rte. 1 from Rowley to the New Hampshire state line, including a redesign of the Newburyport Rotary. Buckle up for construction delays.
Georgetown will hold its town elections in May where it is expected that two races for the Select Board are likely to be hotly contested. While approval of a second marijuana distribution plant has not been well received, the bigger issue in the Select Board races may be the future of the G. Mello Disposal Corp.’s plans for a 500-ton, per day trash transfer station.
The town is awaiting the results of an appeal of the town’s Conservation Commission (ConCom) decision to deny the proposed plant. The Select Board, which appears to have a majority of members who support the Mello proposal, refused to reappoint two ConCom members and rejected a landscape designer for one of the vacant seats.
Selectmen Peter Kershaw and Gary Fowler face reelection. Kershaw may not run, leaving Fowler to face voters, who oppose the Mello project.
The Belleville Roots Music Series will host one of Ireland’s leading bands for more than two decades. On Sunday, March 5, “as wee bit early” to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, Teada along with Enda Reilly will preform at the Belleville Congregational Church in Newburyport. In April, the SteeDrivers will perform at the church.
Possibly by spring, the Newburyport Youth Services will have found a new home for its programs. It has been looking for a site since October of 2021 when the Brown School on Milk Street was closed because its heating system was too broken to fix.
Mayor Sean Reardon, who campaigned on finding the NYS a home, is hopeful that the City Council will approve one of three options in January.
Reardon is also trying to restructure the city’s parks department. A proposal to merge the parks department into the public works department ran into opposition on the city council. A new proposal is expected soon.
The design for the Market Landing Park on the Merrimack River is almost complete. Expect this year to see a concerted effort by the city’s Planning Director Andy Port and his team to raise money from state and federal agencies, private foundations and individuals to begin construction in 2024.
At Plum Island, the ocean and river continue to breach the beach, destroying homes along Reservation Terrace, while dredges plow the river, making the mouth of the river safer for navigation by removing sand and placing it where it can act as a barrier.
In Ipswich, the long fight over the development of the Waldingfield estate into a corporate headquarters will likely be resolved in court. And the town may pick a new use for its old police and fire stations and move forward with a new public safety building and elementary school.
Triton Regional School Committee, which represents Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury, will probably hear in the next few weeks if its application for funding by the Massachusetts School Building Committee for a new high school and middle school building will be accepted.
Pickleball is expected to continue to gain in popularity, particularly among the North Shore seniors. Cities and towns are being forced to find new courts. The Morrill Foundation plans to fund the repaving of tennis courts at Atkinson Park to help the high school teams and recreational players.
Supporters of The Pink House (STPH), probably the most photographed and painted site on the North Shore, will continue – with the community’s support – to work on the lengthy and complex process of procuring a perpetual Preservation Restriction that would protect the integrity of the house.
Have a great 2023 from The Town Common.