MAYOR’S UPDATE
November 30th, 2020
Mayor Donna D. Holaday
COVID-19 Update: In the last two months we’ve seen our total positive case count double. As of the state’s last report on Friday, Newburyport is considered a “Yellow” risk community by the state, which is the 3rd highest of the 4 risk levels. However, we have surpassed 1 out of 2 measurements to be categorized as a “Red”, high risk community. Our recent 14-day positive test of 3.38% is still below the high-risk rate of 5%. But our 14-day positive case rate of 29.4 per 100,000 is well above the red threshold of 10 per 100,000 and we expect it to continue rising. We have had 47 positive cases since this past Wednesday with a total of 357 confirmed cases.
We have added temporary part time contact tracers to aid in the Health Department’s contact tracing and positive case management. We have asked residents who have tested position or if someone in their household tests positive for COVID-19 to proactively reach out to our Health Department to begin the quarantine and contact tracing process. We ask that all contacted be honest and forthright with our contact tracers.
We have more active cases now than we ever had during the surge last spring. Fortunately, we are in a better position as a whole and know much more about the virus and how it spreads. For one, residents are adhering to the CDC guidelines and mask wearing compliance is very high in Newburyport. Adhering to the guidelines will allow us to avoid another shutdown or stay at home order. This afternoon I held my bi-weekly meeting with Anna Jaques Hospital administration, who confirmed that they are experiencing the same number of COVID patients as in the spring, but that the hospitalization stays are much shorter than in the spring due to improved treatment and increased knowledge of the virus.
As far as information on the positive cases our Health Department continues to see the virus spreading mainly through family contact within the household and contact through social interactions outside of school and work. There have been several restaurants in the past few weeks with positive cases, but it does not appear that there has been any spread within the workplace. There are currently 2 assisted living facilities with clusters of cases and our Health Department is working with these facilities.
FY2021 Tax Rate: Thank you Budget and Finance Committee for unanimously supporting my proposal to set the FY2021 Tax Rate at $12.64 per $1,000. This tax rate represents a 1.0% increase to the prior year levy limit compared to the 2.5% increase provided by Proposition 2½, which results in a decrease to the tax rate of $0.20 per $1,000 compared to the FY2020 tax rate of $12.84. I am hopeful that this tax rate proposal will provide some relief to households and businesses. We continue to be hopeful that additional support from the state and federal government will be approved to provide much needed assistance for those struggling to get by. More information on the tax rate is available on the City’s finance webpage, cityofnewburyport.com/financials
Waste Water Treatment Facility (WWTF) Shoreline Resiliency Project – I am pleased to report that we have awarded the construction contract to George R. Cairns & Sons. They were the lowest bidder and their bid came in well under the estimated construction cost at $999,442. GZA will provide construction management oversight at $91,738. A pre-construction meeting will be held in the next few weeks with construction anticipated to begin in January.
Parker Street Shared Use Pathway/ Complete Streets – The contractor Aqualine has completed their scheduled fall work for this construction season, including rough grading, drainage, curbing and foundation work for the HAWK signal. The HAWK signal is scheduled to be installed in December. Aqualine will continue construction for the remainder of the project in the Spring.
High Street Safe Routes to School – Sidewalk, curbing, and driveway work will continue over the next few weeks and then construction will stop for the winter. The contractor will pick up with the remainder of the work in the spring, which includes final paving of High Street within the project area.
Congratulations Roseann Robillard – I’d like to congratulate Roseann for her retirement and to thank her for successfully leading our Council on Aging for 27 years. Roseann worked diligently to address the needs of seniors for many years out of the Salvation Army and finally, for the past five years in a beautiful facility supporting our elders. She always found ways to address even the most challenging situations and her dedication and commitment to our elders has been recognized by the State and local Red Cross. All the best Roseann.
Santa Parade and Holiday Tree – Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce for coordinating the beautiful holiday decorations throughout the downtown and to the Chamber and Rotary for creating an alternative to the tree lighting with a rolling Santa Parade- it was wonderful to see the children’s expression as Santa and Mrs. Claus came through the city!
Thankful for City Staff – Finally, in the spirit of the holiday season, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the entire City staff that have been working so hard in such unprecedented times throughout this pandemic. I’m proud of all of our staff and all departments for rising to the challenge and adjusting their operations to function throughout the pandemic and provide City services without disruptions. Our public servants continue to serve our community in this difficult time. I thought this would be a good opportunity to provide some statistics below for the work accomplished by our DPS Department since the COVID-19 emergency began in March as they transition from the construction season and into the snow season.
Thank you again to all city staff for their hard work and perseverance throughout the pandemic.
DPS Report, March 1 – November 30, 2020
2020 Road Paving – 9,850 LF:
- Merrimac St – 5,400 LF
- Malcom Hoyt Dr – 1,420 LF
- Dennett Dr – 1,170 LF
- Finnegan Way – 1,250 LF
- East Boylston St – 340 LF
2020 Sidewalk Construction:
- Merrimac St 2,168 LF (Concrete and Brick)
- Coordination with MassDOT on High Street Safe Routes to School sidewalks (Concrete and Brick)
Total Workorders processed, Highway Dept: 800
- Construction Crew – 102 Completed/ Closed work orders that include
- sidewalk preparation
- sidewalk installation
- berm repairs
- catch basin repairs
- sinkhole repairs, etc.
- Tree Crew
- 450 completed/closed work orders including evaluations/pruning/and removals
- Electrical
- 28 streetlight repairs
- 10 traffic light repairs
- 21 general electric repairs
- Street Signs
- Replaced/ Installed 60 Replacements/ installations of signs. including mask signs in the mask zone area
- Street Sweeping
- Entire city has been swept 4 times, totaling 384 total miles of roads swept
- Lawn Cutting
- Without summer temporary crew, Cemeteries and schools were cut 26 times during the summer
Sewer Division:
- Sewer plant has operated under EPA/DEP permit (NPDES) with no disruptions in service or violations, including treating and discharging 48 Million Gillions per day (GPD)
- Sewer Collection Team responded to
- 24 pump station emergency calls
- 18 sewer back up calls
- 20 plum island sewer emergency calls
Water Division:
- Water plant overcame an algae bloom, without disruption to residents. Also, during one of the driest summers, kept water quality within the guild lines of the EPA/DEP permit.
- Spring and fall hydrant flushing.
- Emergency call outs/ Water breaks: 62 combined both call outs and breaks
Facilities
- Installed COVID prevention throughout all City building, including City Hall, Senior Center, DPS Water and Sewer Office, Police Station, and Brown school: instilling barriers/ partitions in all offices, signs, air purifier, etc.
- Oversee procurement and maintain adequate supply of PPE, hand sanitizers for all staff
Misc.
- Plum Island Stabilization Project
- Filled and placed 350, 3,000 lbs. Super Sacs creating a temporary barrier to stabilize the remaining dune at Reservation Terrace.
- Set up early voting at the Senior Center and polling stations and generally Supported the City Clerk Office in the primary and Presidential elections
- 12 burials