BOSTON, MA– Representative John Keenan, Senator Fred Berry, and Mayor Kim Driscoll today announced that the Commonwealth’s Department of Conservation and Recreation has awarded a grant of $156,503 to fund repairs to the sea wall at the Salem Willows.

The funding comes from a one-time appropriation by the state legislature in a recently enacted supplemental budget for capital projects across Massachusetts.  In all, seventeen seawall projects across the Commonwealth, including the one in Salem, will be funded through this special appropriation.  In order to satisfy the terms of the grant, the city must complete the repair work by June 30, 2007.

“Senator Berry, I, and many of our colleagues who represent coastal communities have been pushing for more funding to repair our seawalls for a while,” said Representative Keenan, “This grant award is great news for Salem Willows.  I am pleased that DCR saw fit to provide this funding to our community and I look forward to this important work being completed by next summer.  I have many fond memories of Salem Willows as a child and now enjoy it as an adult with my kids.  This will help preserve this treasure for the next generation.”

“I am pleased that Salem was one of the 17 communities awarded a seawall repair grant from the Department of Conservation and Recreation,” said Senator Berry.  “Improving the infrastructure of the waterfront is a worthwhile project to ensure the safety of city residents, industries, and tourists who utilize Salem’s historic maritime area.”

“I am excited about receiving the grant from the Department of Conservation and Recreation,” stated Mayor Kimberley Driscoll.  “I would like to thank State Representative John Keenan and State Senator Fred Berry for their tireless efforts to ensure that these much needed repairs to the Salem Willows seawall are completed.”