LYNN — Mayor Thomas M. McGee devoted many of his remarks at Monday night’s Inauguration Ceremony to the importance of collaboration and how that approach has helped move the city forward during his first two years in office.
Much of that collaboration, McGee said, has been with the 17 re-elected City Council and School Committee members who were sworn into office for their new terms.
City Council President Darren Cyr was optimistic in his closing remarks, and predicted that in the next two years, construction would begin on one or two new middle schools. The prediction was notable because voters overwhelmingly defeated a nearly $200 million proposal to replace Pickering Middle School with two new schools in 2017.
Along with Cyr, Councilors Gordon “Buzzy” Barton, Dianna Chakoutis, Richard Colucci, Brian Field, Frederick Hogan, Brian LaPierre, Wayne Lozzi, Hong Net, Richard Starbard, and John “Jay” Walsh were sworn in Monday night.
Also sworn in were School Committee members Brian Castellanos, Donna Coppola, John Ford, Lorraine Gately, Jared Nicholson and Michael Satterwhite.
When he was inaugurated as the city’s 58th mayor in 2018, McGee said he vowed to work with the two panels to make the city a place where residents feel safe and secure, its public finances and buildings are managed responsibly, and its infrastructure is administered in a way that allows families and businesses to function and flourish.
“When I took office two years ago, I pledged that Lynn city government would be different; that my administration would be one of collaboration and inclusivity,” said McGee. “There would be no monopoly on good ideas. I committed to working with anyone and everyone who wants to improve our great city.”
Since that time, McGee said there’s been progress made toward stabilizing the city’s financial crisis, which he inherited when he took office. He noted the importance of asking for a $14 million state loan to balance two years’ worth of city budgets, a “tough decision” that was made through collaboration and compromise.
There have been investments in public safety, with the addition of 20 new firefighters and 29 new police officers, McGee said. The city is in the midst of an “economic revitalization,” in terms of new and planned developments.
In addition, McGee said there have been investments in three major transportation infrastructure projects and a community bike path, with construction on the latter expected to begin this spring.
“We set a vision and now we are seeing it through,” said McGee. “Together, we have moved Lynn forward in so many exciting ways. We can see and feel the progress all around us.”
But the city remains far behind on addressing its capital needs, especially updating and replacing its old and dilapidated school buildings, he said.
For context, the city will celebrate its 400th anniversary in 2029. Despite other significant changes that have been made in Lynn since its last major anniversary in 1929, 41 percent of its school buildings have remained in use since that time, he said.
Building new schools is a top priority, McGee said. For instance, 80 percent of the city’s five-year capital plan, approved last year by the City Council, is devoted to an investment in its school buildings, which includes the replacement of Pickering Middle School.
But the major challenge remains finding the finances to fund the plan, while the city continues to try to achieve fiscal stability, McGee said.
“The next challenge is to come together, working from the fiscal progress we have made, and develop an inclusive plan of action that will put us on the path to building new schools that will transform the educational experience for our students and add value to our city.”
There’s still much work that needs to be done, McGee said, but he compared the city’s plight to a quote from former President John F. Kennedy who said all will not be finished in the first 100 days, 1,000 days, or even a lifetime, but “let us begin.”
“And that is what we have done. Together,” McGee said. “Together, we have begun.”
