For immediate release Contact: Wendy Fox
DCR WILL
HIRE 64 NEW STAFF MEMBERS
FOR THE
STATE’S BEACHES
The agency also is
purchasing $1 million in new beach maintenance and cleaning equipment
The
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) today announced
it will spend $2.4 million to fill 64 new jobs for its coastal and inland beaches
across the Commonwealth, and will invest another $1 million in beach-cleaning
and maintenance equipment at the ocean beaches in the metropolitan
The
new staff positions, recommended by the Legislature’s Metropolitan Beaches
Commission in its report earlier this year, are meant to increase the
cleanliness, safety, and programming at the beaches. Several of the 64 new
staff positions will be coordinators, each of whom will oversee a cluster of ocean
beaches. The coordinators will supervise the work of beach staff members, and
will be a personal, single point of contact for the community, Friends groups,
and others.
Other
positions will include laborers, maintenance equipment operators and mechanics,
coastal ecologists, visitor services supervisors, recreation facilities
repairers, beach program managers, horticulturalists, and rangers.
“We
thank the Legislature enormously for recognizing the importance of providing DCR with
the support and funding for these enhancements to the Commonwealth’s two dozen
ocean beaches and nearly 40 inland, freshwater beaches,” said DCR Commissioner
Richard K. Sullivan Jr. “We look forward to hiring the new staff members, and
promoting members of the existing staff, who will become ambassadors for DCR and
serve as the face of the agency. They will help support our mission of enhancing
the experience of everyone who visits DCR properties.”
State
Senator Jack Hart, cochairman of the Metropolitan
Beaches Commission, said, “We are proud of the work of the Beaches Commission
and very pleased to see it come to fruition with these new hires and equipment purchases.
We look forward to the improvements to the beaches that will emerge from this
rich collaboration that united the Legislature, the community, DCR, and beach
advocates.”
State
Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein,
cochairman of the Beaches Commission, said, “These new staff positions and
equipment are critical, important additions to the state’s beaches, both inland
and oceanfront. The residents of
In
the fall of 2005, the Legislature created the Metropolitan Beaches Commission to
assess the state’s urban beaches from Nahant to
During
a series of public hearings and workshops in all of the beach communities, the
commission collected information and opinions on the state of each beach and
where beach-goers would like to see improvements. Cleanliness, public safety,
and programming were the three areas most often mentioned as needing attention.
Last
spring, DCR implemented maintenance schedules for each Boston-area property,
which were posted on the agency’s website and outlined such areas as how often
restrooms would be cleaned, grass would be cut, and beach sand would be sifted.
Similar schedules were developed in the summer.
To
help maintain the beaches, DCR will purchase about $1 million in new beach equipment,
including two tractor beach sanitizors; 20 Big Belly solar-powered
trash compactors; several pick-up trucks, 5-ton trucks, and half-ton trucks;
dog-waste bag dispensers; 66 trash barrels; two new storage sheds; outdoor
information boards; and six new lifeguard chairs.
State
Senator Anthony Petruccelli, cochairman of the
Beaches Commission, said, “This infusion of new staff and equipment has long
been needed, is much anticipated, and will make a huge difference in the
beach-going experience of the more than 1 million state residents who live
within half an hour of one of our ocean beaches. I look forward to seeing the
results of this investment.”
Some
of the new jobs, which are all year-round positions, will be filled through the
state’s civil service process. Others will be filled through the open,
competitive interview process. All will be posted on the employment page of the
DCR website for three weeks, beginning today,
DCR Commissioner Sullivan extends his thanks to all
the members of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission who gave enormous time,
energy, and vision to this effort. They are:
Senator Jack Hart, cochairman; former State
Representative, now State Senator Anthony Petruccelli,
cochairman; Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, cochairman; Kip Becker, Boston University; Mark Cullinan, Nahant Town manager; Rosanne Foley, DotWell; Paul Grogan, the Boston Foundation; Douglas Gutro, Quincy City Council President; Carol Haney, Revere
Beach Partnership; State Senator Robert Hedlund;
State Representative Bradford Hill; Salvatore LaMattina,
Boston City Councilor; Anthony Lozzi, City of Lynn;
State Senator Thomas McGee; Joan Meschino, Hull Board
of Selectmen; Secretary Daniel O’Connell, Executive Office of Housing and
Economic Development; Joseph Orfant, Department of
Conservation and Recreation; and Richard White, Winthrop Town Manager.
###
The
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), an agency of the
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, oversees 450,000 acres of
parks and forests, beaches, trails, roadways, and bridges. Led by Commissioner
Richard K. Sullivan Jr., the agency’s mission is to protect, promote, and
enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural, and recreational resources. To
learn more about DCR, our facilities, and our programs, please visit www.mass.gov/dcr. Contact us at
mass.parks@state.ma.us.