Sen. Lovely Touts District Spending In Senate Rescue Plan Bill

SALEM, MA —Specific North Shore projects could receive up to $1 million in funding from the state's $3.82 billion American Rescue Plan Act allocation if a bill the state senate passed unanimously on Wednesday is adopted.

Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem) touted the 2nd Essex District projects that could benefit from the bill that targets communities disproportionately affected during the coronavirus health crisis.

"I am proud to join my Senate colleagues in passing the $3.82 billion ARPA spending bill which makes critical investments in our commonwealth's COVID-19 recovery," Lovely said. "This funding provides a unique opportunity to improve the overall quality of life for all Massachusetts residents by investing heavily in workforce development, healthcare, and supporting our frontline workers who got us through the most challenging aspects of the pandemic.

"I am pleased to have secured funds for several projects in the Second Essex District and statewide programs to address food insecurity, support local agriculture, and expand housing programs for survivors of sexual violence."

Among Lovely's amendments included in the bill are $2.7 million to address food insecurity for community college students, $4 million to support agricultural fairs, support for survivors of sexual violence and supportive housing programs, changes to the accelerated payment of the sales tax law to provide greater flexibility for businesses, and expansion of eligibility for behavioral health loan forgiveness program for those working in hospital inpatient psychiatric units.

Specific North Shore spending includes $200,000 for enhancements to the McPherson Teen Center in Beverly, $150,000 for a Danvers strategic plan, $100,000 for cleanup of the Proctor & Goldthwaite Brooks and the North River in Peabody, $200,000 to improve lighting in downtown Peabody, $200,000 to improve accessibility for Salem playgrounds and the Salem Public Library and $50,000 for improvements to Salem Common.

Additional aspects and provisions of the Senate bill can be found here.

With both the House and Senate having passed their own versions of ARPA spending plans, the two bills must now be reconciled before heading to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)