Gloucester Waterways Board approves $15,000 float repair transfer, refers $42,000 equipment package to finance

Water · Meeting of March 3, 2026

Gloucester Waterways Board unanimously approved a $15,000 free cash transfer for completed emergency float repairs and referred a $42,000 equipment package to finance. The board voted 8-0 at its March 3 meeting to move funds into the harbormaster's purchase-of-services account to reimburse work already done on the Solomon and Jacob float systems, which sustained significant damage and were repaired at a cost of $14,788.80. The harbormaster also presented a separate $42,000 request covering a near-$20,000 electronics overhaul on the department's primary workboat — which currently has no functioning radar or chart plotter — along with launch electronics, fire buoy repairs, and 20 new personal flotation devices, some of which date to 1990; the finance subcommittee will review those items before the next full board meeting.

The board also received its first detailed look at plans for the $3.32 million repair and restoration of the I-4C2 pier at St. Peter's Square, backed by a $2.6 million state seaport economic council grant, with a City Council public hearing scheduled for the following week and construction potentially beginning as early as fall 2026.

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Source: the Water meeting of March 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.