My thanks to Dr. Jeanne Whitten
and the School Department for all of their help on
today’s event.
My thanks to Father McLaughlin for his participation and
for his kindness to me during the past year.
I am delighted to have the participation of Firefighter
Jim Garrity, as well as the North Regional Theatre
Workshop. Thank you for your beautiful musical
contributions.
My thanks to the Methuen Fire Department Color Guard for
their participation this afternoon.
Thank you, Lt Governor Tim Murray, for your participation
and kind words. We in the City of Methuen appreciate your
hard work on our behalf. I look forward to forging an
even stronger partnership with you to produce great
results for Methuen and Massachusetts.
A special thanks to our Master of Ceremonies Steve
Baddour, and State Representative Linda Dean Campbell. I
consider you to be the best and hardest working
legislative delegation in the State and Methuen is
fortunate to have your service.
And of course Jim Jajuga: Your commitment to our great
City, and your devotion to public service has never
ceased. I appreciate your participation, but regret to
inform you that once again your request for speaking time
has been denied.
I also want to thank the members of the Methuen City
Council, and the new Chairman Phil Lahey and Vice Chair
Deborah Quinn, outgoing Chairman Steve Zanni, the School
Committee, the Library Trustees, the Methuen Housing
Authority, and the Vocational Board members, for their
willingness to give themselves to public service. The
City is grateful for your participation and willingness
to serve.
Two years ago, I stood before you, surrounded by friends,
colleagues, family and fellow citizens, and proudly took
the oath of office as Methuen’s Mayor.
It was only yesterday – but it was a lifetime ago.
Many of you here this afternoon were also present
then. And as we gather for this second inaugural
celebration, there are also many new and welcome faces in
the hall, which shows our city is a living, breathing
community that changes and evolves everyday.
Methuen is a stronger, better city than it was two years
ago – not just because of the actions of our
municipal government, but because of our residents, our
businesses, and a new sense of optimism and purpose that
has taken root in every corner of our fair city.
As I embark on a speech that chronicles the past two
years – that touches on promises kept, problems
overcome, and the challenges that remain before us –
I know you will forgive me if I begin by acknowledging my
greatest pride, my greatest joy, and my greatest source
of inspiration and purpose.
It is my family: my wife Beth, and my children –
Billy and Meaghan.
More than anything else, I am determined to make sure
that Methuen continues to be a place that they, and all
of our children, are proud to call home; a city where
opportunity, quality of life – and a sense of
community and shared purpose – are all made stronger
and better with each generation.
Like every one of you, I take great pride in being from
Methuen – and one of the biggest reasons for that
pride is the way this City comes together in the face of
adversity.
Two years ago, I told you that if we were willing to pull
together and meet our problems head on we could overcome
the difficulties we faced and make this city a showplace
for the rest of the state.
We have had quite a few accomplishments, but one of the
first reforms I made after taking office was to
immediately revamp Methuen’s Emergency Management
System. A new Emergency Management plan was constructed
and a new Director was named. I then opened the first
ever Emergency Operations Center within Methuen City
Hall.
Thankfully we took these precautions because our resolve
would be tested early, but we stood tall in face of
disaster. As floodwaters rose around us in the spring of
2006 we, as a city, sprang to action, implemented our
plan, and withstood the shock. The foresight that we
showed in the early days of my administration proved to
greatly benefit the city in a time of dire emergency. My
staff and I worked closely with state and federal
officials in order to make sure that repairs were made
and citizens, businesses and the city itself were
compensated for their losses. The lessons that we learned
in 2006 helped us in the spring of 2007, when our city
was once again impacted by flooding. As a result of good
planning we are now more than ready to face emergencies
should they occur in the future.
I am happy to report that
Methuen has almost fully recovered from the flooding
disaster. And this spring, Riverwalk Park on Osgood
Street, which was literally torn apart by floodwaters,
will be fully repaired and reopened.
Tonight, we can celebrate the progress that we’ve
made, but we cannot celebrate the completion of our
goals.
Our work has begun, but it is not even close to finished.
So today, even as we take stock of how far we have
already come, let us not lose sight of how far we have
yet to go.
The actions we take today will have a direct impact on
whether Methuen will be a cohesive community with an
optimistic future, or whether it will become a city
without an identity, without a plan, or the resources to
realize its dreams.
That is why my administration has put forward a master
plan for the city for the first time in decades. Without
a well thought out, clear, concise blueprint to the
future – we would be simply flying blind and marking
our accomplishments by chance more than by design.
Working with the City Council and the community, we
developed and adopted a strong working document to guide
us. We have become proactive as a community in dealing
with our burgeoning growth.
We can now get out in front of the curve and take control
of the serious issues affecting housing, zoning and
economic development in Methuen.
We have focused on the promotion of smart and responsible
economic development, all the while keeping an eye
towards the control and regulation of growth. We have
remained vigilant to the consequences of the
Commonwealth’s Chapter 40B regulations.
As I committed to you in my first address, within 30 days
of taking office, I presented a plan to the City Council
outlining the reorganization of the Economic Development
and Planning Departments. Together we worked to
reintegrate Economic Development with Planning. We
re-tethered control of land use back under the purview of
the Economic Development Director and in doing so, we
have ensured that Methuen's development, economic and
otherwise, will not be at odds with itself.
We must work to retain and attract new businesses to our
community. It is imperative that we strive to continue to
make Methuen the centerpiece of the Merrimack Valley. New
businesses bring in new jobs and new sources of revenue.
Expanding our commercial tax base allows us to lessen the
tax burden on you, our residents, and establishes a base
to ensure our economic viability into the future. Nothing
we do will have a greater impact in keeping Methuen
affordable to those who live here and attractive to those
want to join us here.
The success of government is now directly related to its
ability to manage its Information Technology.
Understanding that, Methuen's website has been
overhauled, and new, cutting edge ways of communicating
with our citizens have been instituted. Coming soon, this
month in fact, residents and businesses will have the
ability to complete and submit forms and applications
electronically through our newly created on-line
permitting system. This will alleviate the need for
additional paperwork and multiple trips to City Hall.
We have searched for ways to reduce regulatory red tape
for both citizens and businesses. We will continue that
effort in the next two years, leveraging Information
Technology to provide simpler, less burdensome, and more
convenient interaction with government.
Recently, our efforts were recognized when the city
received the 2007 E-Government Award from Common Cause.
The award credited Methuen’s commitment to open
government by its posting of all key government records
on its website. I am also pleased to report that all of
the changes that were made to the website were done
in-house by the City’s IT Department at no
additional cost to the taxpayers.
We must also continue to pay close attention to one of
the main duties of our community, providing quality
education. As leaders and parents, we must never waver in
our quest to provide the best possible opportunities to
cultivate our greatest natural resource - our children.
Recently, after much hard work and partnership with Sen.
Baddour and Rep. Campbell, Methuen was informed that it
was chosen as one of 49 communities to receive State
money to conduct a feasibility study regarding the
modernization of Methuen High School. This is great news
for our community. It means that we are well on our way
to achieving our goal of having a modern high school
facility in the near future. In light of that I will
submit to the City Council this month my appointments to
the Building Committee that will oversee and assist in
the completion of this project. Our needs are clear: New
Science labs, an end to the open concept, and a facility
that promotes the best in instruction. There will be
nothing more important for Methuen in the next two years.
Our High School is not the only challenge we face in
education. To illustrate how we have begun to address our
educational challenges let me borrow a phrase from
Superintendent Jeanne Whitten, who frequently cites
“the centrality of the classroom”. This
philosophy calls for bringing additional resources to
bear where it matters most, in our classrooms. Our
Superintendent, using this philosophy, hired twenty four
new teachers this past year to address instructional
issues and create manageable class sizes. We will
continue to work hard to provide our children with the
very best in educational opportunity.
As we attend to the children of Methuen we cannot, nor
will we ever, abandon the senior citizens who have been
responsible for lighting the path we now travel. I offer
my solemn promise to you to always have a seat at the
table on any action my administration takes. I will
always value your experience and guidance, for it can
only help to make Methuen a better place. The greatest
generation this country has ever known has earned our
respect and affection, and I will continue to strive to
make our government responsive to you.
As with my first Inaugural this second celebration takes
place with our troops engaged in two major war theatres
overseas. Our City suffered a great loss in 2004 when
Marine Cpl. David Vicente lost his life in Iraq. I was
proud to stand with the Vicente family and our State
delegation and Methuen’s Fire Department this past
year as we dedicated the Cpl. David Vicente Bridge in
Methuen. Our love and affection for David and his family
truly reflect the kind of community Methuen is. Please
join me in applauding the service of our Veterans, whose
sacrifice allows us to practice the democracy we
celebrate today.
As I look back on the last two years, I am very proud
that many of our ideas have now come to fruition. This
renews my belief that, as Robert Kennedy said,
“There is no basic inconsistency between ideals and
realistic possibilities. No separation between the
deepest desires of heart and mind, and the rational
application of human effort to human problems.”
As we again move forward, I
will continue to be inspired by those words.
When I walk into City Hall to begin my second term as
your Mayor, I do it two years older, but two years wiser
as well. I will go to work as I have done for the past
two years, as a kid from Methuen living the dream of a
lifetime. I am honored to be your Mayor and will continue
to work hard to justify your confidence in me.
Together we will continue the work at hand.
Together, we have proven how much can be accomplished in
two short years.
Together, let us do even more - in the years - that lie -
ahead.
Thank you.
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com The January 2008 Edition
of the Valley Patriot The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
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