Gloucester Council Approves Applied Materials Height Variance, School Advocates Demand Budget Action

GLOUCESTER -- May 12, 2026, Gloucester council approves Applied Materials expansion permit as school advocates pack public comment. The Gloucester City Council voted 7-0 at its May 12 meeting to grant a special permit allowing Applied Materials Incorporated to build a three-story manufacturing and engineering addition at 35 Dory Road that will reach 50.9 feet, exceeding the business park district's 40-foot standard. Eight speakers during oral communications, led by School Committee Chair Kathy Clancy and Vice Chair Bill Melvin, urged the council to increase school funding beyond the mayor's submission, with Melvin warning that the proposed budget provides "zero extra dollars" beyond covering rising health insurance costs for a district where 24 percent of students carry documented learning disabilities. The council also accepted a $45,000 state hazardous fuels mitigation grant, approved a $300,000 supplemental appropriation from the school special education stabilization fund for unbudgeted FY2026 positions, and heard DPW Director Mike Hale project the city's next solid waste contract at approximately $5 million annually, up from roughly $2 million in 2009, with automated cart collection and a new recycling disposal fee averaging $125 per ton adding an estimated $750,000 or more to the bill. Library Director Jenny Benedict reported the renovated Sawyer Free Library's $27.4 million construction phase came in under its $29 million authorization, with the Library Corporation on track to transfer $1.6 million annually toward the outstanding $14 million bond anticipation note.