August 5, 2014 — The allocation of $1.5 million in state taxpayer dollars toward the next chapter in a now 10-year-long building restoration, the rehabilitation of a nearly 90-year-old fishing boat, and a local theater company may seem an odd fit, given Gloucester’s and Cape Ann’s needs regarding seawall repairs, road infrastructure work and other issues.
Yet the overall $1.5 million targeted by the local lawmakers to go toward the continued restoration of Gloucester’s City Hall, the fishing vessel Phyllis A and Gloucester Stage Company is very much in line with both stage and local efforts — primarily to help cities, towns, private foundations and other nonprofits carry out the kind of historic preservation work that residents expect and deserve.
The money — all part of a $1.2 billion state capital bond bill approved by both the House and Senate last week — includes $1.2 million toward the next phase of the ongoing City Hall project, while $200,000 will aid the restoration efforts of the Phyllis A — Gloucester’s oldest surviving fishing vessel, built in 1925 — and $100,000 will be steered toward Gloucester Stage Company.
What do those three projects have in common? All, in their own way, are part of Gloucester’s heritage and cultural scene.
Now, if you think those efforts should be privately funded, the answer is simple: they already are.
The Phyllis A work and the Gloucester Stage Company’s capital improvements, especially, derive the vast majority of their funding through private donations and in-kind work contributions from the community, as has the City Hall project, which has also reaped the benefits of funding through the city’s own Community Preservation Act dollars.
Yet it’s important for the state to recognize and deliver a measure of support for these projects as well, given that they help today’s and tomorrow’s residents — especially school students — connect with their community’s past.
Read the full opinion at The Gloucester Daily Times