Welcome to Gloucester’s busiest weekend of the year.

Friday September 2 -Schooner Festival – Approximately twenty-five schooners will descend upon our waterfront for the 32nd Annual Schooner Festival

Friday-Downtown Block Party. 5:00p.m.-10:00p.m. – Main Street will be closed from Pleasant Street to Tally’s Corner. Expect heavy traffic in the downtown area.

Saturday September 3 – Maritime Gloucester Heritage Day 10:00a.m.-4:00p.m. Harbor Loop. Harbor Loop will be closed in front of the Maritime Gloucester Building.

Schooner Fest Lobster Bake 1:00p.m.-9:00p.m. at the Gloucester House.

Concert on the Boulevard, Boat Light Parade, Fireworks, 6:00p.m.-10:00p.m. This area with all activities will be very congested. One lane of the boulevard will be closed for a short period to accommodate the crowds. Come down to the Boulevard, enjoy the weather, the festive atmosphere, the holiday. Park outside the area and walk if possible. Expect delays if driving in the Western Avenue, Stacey Boulevard area.

Sunday September 4 – Schooner Fest Parade of Sail 10:30a.m. Start. Expect the Downtown Area and Stacey Boulevard to have traffic congestion for approximately one hour.

Sunday Start of Mayors Race off of Eastern Point 1:00pm

Sunday Open House at the United States Coast Guard Station on Harbor Loop from 12:00noon -4:00p.m.

We are anticipating normal beach conditions for Saturday, September 3. Sunday and Monday we will be keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Hermine anticipated to be passing by the east coast. During high winds and heavy surf, coastal areas should be avoided to ensure the safety of the public. Emergency personnel have been fully briefed and are on standby.

Monday September 5 – YMCA 25k Around the Cape Road Race 8:00a.m. Beginning at the O’ Maley School. Expect traffic delays from Washington Street to the Rockport Line and on Thatcher Road, Bass Avenue, and on Main Street. This is an open course so we are asking motorists to be aware of the pedestrian traffic, to please slow down and to use caution around the runners.

Any updates and cancellations due to weather will be posted on Police outlets.

 

 Important Trash & Recycling Information

Good Afternoon,

Effective Thursday September 1, 2016, JRM Hauling & Recycling Services will begin collecting residential trash and recycling for the City of Gloucester. With recent delays in trash and recycling collection, the City is taking the proactive measure of accelerating the start of JRM. 

 

Although there will be no change in normal collection days, the transition is bound to have an occasional glitch.  We anticipate a delay in the appliance collection scheduled for Thursday September 1.  Public Works will have crews out Thursday and Friday collecting these items.  

 

In the event that your trash or recycling is not collected, please contact Public Works at978-281-9785, and we will dispatch someone to collect what was missed.  The City truly appreciates the patience and understanding from our customers.

Regards,

—

Rose LoPiccoloExecutive Secretary to

The Director of Public Works

Good Afternoon All,

This is what has just been posted to the City’s website, Facebook page and Twitter account:

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the recycling collection will be on a holiday schedule. Wednesday collection will be Thursday, Thursday collection will be Friday, Friday collection will be Saturday.

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding.

Thank you.

—

Rose LoPiccolo

Executive Secretary to

The Director of Public Works

August 25, 2016 – Thursday Concert At Harbor Loop 6:00 p.m. On Stage will be “What Time is Mr. Fox”. Traffic will be heavier than normal at Rogers Street and Harbor Loop from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

August 27, 2016 and August 28, 2016 Public Beaches – Both Saturday and Sunday weather conditions are predicted to be conducive for popular Beach attendance.  Expectations are for heavy traffic on Eastern Avenue and Thatcher Road, as well as Concord and Atlantic Streets from 9:00 a.m. until noon.  Police will be on duty at Good Harbor Beach.  Wingaersheek Beach and Stage Fort Park.  We will also have area cruisers monitoring traffic at the Eastern Avenue Lights and Concord and Atlantic Streets when available.

August 27, 2016 – Saturday – The Annual Magnolia Road Race – The race will take place beginning at 7:30 a.m. Expectations are for traffic delays and for brief road closures on Lexington Avenue, Norman Avenue, Magnolia Avenue and Shore Road until approximately 10:00 a.m.

August 27, 2016 – Saturday – The Fishermen’s Memorial Service – The service will begin at 5:00 p.m. proceeding from Legion Square to Stacy Boulevard.  Expectations are for minor traffic delays.  The public is encouraged to join us in commemoration to honor our Fishermen.

We will continue our increased Police Patrol of the quarries, Long Wharf and after hours at Wingaersheek Beach.

In conjunction with our DPW and Water Compliance Office, the Mayor just approved water restriction measures which will be announced as effectively enforced immediately.

The full release is attached within this email and we wanted you all to be aware before we distributed widely throughout the community. Please note that this is not a full water ban, instead, water restricted to use after 5PM and before 9AM.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask, but the main bullets are:

• Outdoor watering is limited to “handheld” with a hose or a watering can after 5 p.m. or before 9 a.m.;
• Outdoor watering with irrigation systems and sprinklers is prohibited;
• Watering of municipal parks and recreation fields with irrigation systems and sprinklers will be limited and be before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m.
• In Gloucester watering is only at essential locations and at areas where vegetation is being reestablished for erosion control such as at the Little River Restoration Project;
• Filling swimming pools, washing cars and washing buildings is prohibited.

Thanks,

Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken

City Hall – 9 Dale Avenue

Gloucester, MA 01930

Movie night Wednesday. Hey Joey C Gmg every Wednesday Homey comes sits on the movie screen and keeps us company. Thank you sponsors.

And Look For Special Rainbow Colored Fireworks For the Orlando Victims

Dear Residents:

The Mayor’s office and administration is aware of the ongoing staffing shortages at our beaches, especially seen at Niles and Plum Cove. I can assure you that we are actively working on this issue, which is affecting all of the Commonwealth and especially here in Essex County. This staffing shortage is due to the fact that there is a high demand for lifeguards with a limited pool of qualified candidates currently available. Our DPW wisely suggested that we start our lifeguard hiring earlier in the season, which our team started conducting earlier than any past year.

Thankfully, we hired new lifeguards this past week with more interviews, training and outreach being conducted through next week.  Additionally, I authorized a pay rate increase for lifeguard candidates to better compete in this tough job market.

As always, our larger beaches remain staffed, but the fact remains that young, certified and available lifeguards are a difficult commodity. Even though we opened up our hiring process earlier, we hope that this pay increase and additional networking will help attract the candidates we need to better patrol our beaches.

Please remain patient and thank you for the understanding.

Mayor Sefatia Romeo-Theken

Update on Gloucester Sign

The face ought to be near done today. The rope trim and the welcome to and Americas oldest seaport should be done today.

All that will be left is to paint the support beams in the back of the sign.

This will take the sign all through the summer and this fall a new sign will need to be designed and done.

Thank you
Cheryal’s Signs