Beverly and Salem City Councils Vote to Adopt Joint Resilient Together Climate Plan

BEVERLY -- October 13, 2021, Beverly and Salem hold their first-ever joint city council meeting to formally receive a shared climate action plan. The two councils met remotely on October 13, 2021, to hear a presentation on the Resilient Together plan, a joint climate action and resilience document funded in part through the state's Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program and developed with consultant Kim Lundgren Associates, before both bodies voted to receive it and place it on file. Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll called the gathering "pretty historic," noting the cities share a coastline, hospitals, and colleges. Beverly Sustainability Director Irina Keith highlighted completed projects including the city's nearly net-zero geothermal police station and 15 existing level-two EV charging stations, and outlined a goal of 50 percent greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Councilors from both cities pressed for equity in renewable energy access, a regional EV charging network strategy, and movement on a green construction ordinance Salem has been drafting.