The city's new Charter Commission members were sworn in to their new roles on Friday morning. The group was elected Nov. 3 during the citywide election when voters also agreed to form a commission to review the city's charter.
The commission elected Steven Cole as the chairman, Kathleen Bailey as vice chairman and Sheila Mullins as clerk.
The commission will be charged with bringing potential changes to the charter — from term lengths for elected positions to whether the city wants a mayoral form of government — to voters in 2011 in a single ballot question. The review will last 16 months.
Elected to the commission, besides the three names above, were: C. Bruce Brown, Roger Gagnon, Hugh Kelleher, Bruce Menin, James Stiles and Bruce L. Vogel.
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The Newburyport Skate Park will close for the season on Wednesday, Nov. 25, Youth Services Director Andrea Egmont announced last week.
The Youth Services department is hoping to create a Skate Park Task Force to review the management and funding of the park for the next five years. The group will meet at least once a month, Egmont said, on the third Wednesday at 5 p.m. from November until February.
The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at the Kelley School, Egmont said.
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Blasting will begin at the Crow Lane landfill this morning and continue for portions of the next three days, the mayor's office announced last week.
The blasting is being done as part of the work to enlarge a trench and retention pond area. The Newburyport Fire Department will be at the site during the blasting to monitor the process.
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The Newburyport Republican Committee will meet at Stripers Grille in Salisbury Thursday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. For more information contact Larry Giunta at 978-265-0597 or newburyportrepublican@gmail.com.
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City Councilor-Elect Ari Herzog is continuing to use the Internet to interact with constituents and spread his thoughts on city issues.
Herzog was elected to the council on Nov. 3. He will take office Jan. 4.
In the mean time, he has set up a Facebook page where he will issue updates and announcements, as well as share thoughts and engage in dialogue with constituents. It can be viewed at http://facebook.com/ari4newburyport; he also has a blog: http://council.ariwriter.com. He also be reached on Twitter at @ari4newburyport.
Herzog used the social media sites and his blog during his campaign for the council.
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The City Council "killed" a measure last week that would have started a project to bury the utility wires in Brown Square underground. The item was submitted to the council in February. During a hearing on the project, At-large Councilor Donna Holaday said, there was no support from the public for the project. The Brown Square renovation project got underway earlier this month.
Councilors agreed to vote down the measure.
They also rejected another measure to turn Fruit Street into one-way — another bill that had little community support.
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The following meetings have been scheduled and are open to the public:
Monday
Housing Authority, 5 p.m., 25 Temple St.
School Committee, 6:30 p.m., Room 118, Newburyport High School
Planning and Development Committee, 7 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers
Tuesday
Conservation Commission, 7 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers
Wednesday
Sewer Commission, 4:30 p.m., DPS building, Perry Way
Water Commission, 6 p.m., DPS building, Perry Way
Planning Board, 7 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers
Thursday
Council on Aging, 9:30 a.m., 40 Water St.
Retirement Board, 10 a.m., Retirement Office, City Hall
Parking Task Force, 3 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers
Open Space Committee, 7 p.m., police station conference room
Board of Health, 7 p.m., City Hall, second floor conference room
Historical Commission, 7:30 p.m., City Hall Council Chambers
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Katie Farrell Lovett covers Newburyport for The Daily News. She can be reached at 978-462-6666, ext. 3232, or by e-mail at kfarrell@newburyportnews.com.
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