Gloucester City Council Meeting | October 27, 2026

At its October 27, 2026 meeting, the Gloucester City Council received an update on the city’s wastewater treatment plant upgrade. Construction began in August and is projected to continue through 2030. The project uses a construction-manager-at-risk approach, selected after a qualifications-based process; the contractor is soliciting subcontractor bids and developing a guaranteed maximum price. Tetra Tech is the design engineer, Apex Companies is the owner’s project manager, and Veolia is the facility operator under a five-year arrangement. The presentation cited nearly $33 million for earthwork and deep foundations. Funding discussed included $5 million in EPA community grants, two $500,000 MassWorks grants, ARPA funds, and a newly awarded $5 million MassWorks grant; an initial $50 million funding package was described as being in execution. The city said it will continue pursuing grants and other funding, with further state revolving fund loan packages anticipated.

Council also considered a $132,000 Massachusetts Downtown Initiative Capital Grant for wayfinding and Harbor Walk improvements, with no local match required and a project period of January 2027 through April 2028. The proposal includes updated Harbor Walk signs and community-designed navigation markers; councilors discussed concerns about public input and potential effects on the working waterfront. A motion to accept the grant was presented, but the transcript does not capture a vote or final disposition. Separately, a motion to set the FY2027 property-tax shift at parity (factor of 1.0) failed 2–7; the transcript does not show the final vote on the original 1.03 recommendation. Council approved an ordinance removing the requirement to publish approved fee changes in a local newspaper while retaining the requirement to post fee schedules on the city website.