To the editor:

The vote on May 13 is not a vote of seniors vs families or renters vs. homeowners. This vote is a chance to make clear that we are a city that prioritizes community. As a resident of Newburyport for the past 15 years, I'm as enthusiastic a spokesperson for this city as you could find and after crunching the numbers and indulging my default skeptic, I am equally as enthusiastic about voting yes for the rec center on May 13. By now you may have pondered the nuts and bolts of the May 13 vote, namely a property tax increase of $0.05 for every $1,000 assessed value. This calculates to $55 per year for a home of average value in our city. In addition to being fiscally responsible, this vote is also about the sum of us as a community. Heather McGhee's recent book by the same title "The Sum of Us" argues that we all do better when most of us are doing better. This project represents that sentiment.

The data is abundant and clear for all demographics in the last few years that adults and children are isolated to a degree that has not been seen in any of our lifetimes. This disconnection from real world relationships has measurable and negative effects on our health and even lifespan. The data are equally clear that people are healthier and happier when connected to and supportive of one another. Recreation and Youth Services does exactly that. To the envy of the North Shore during the Covid peak, RYS provided supervised sessions for online learning so parents could keep working, they make Christmas possible for seniors and families in need through its ELF program, they create programming for our city's residents to try something new, play basketball with other dads, connect with other single parents and on and on.

As a parent and pediatric nurse practitioner it is my default to wonder about the impact of decisions on the well being of families. Kids in this generation have been handed a set of circumstances, namely a pandemic and ubiquitous screens/social media, that have made connecting with other people more challenging than at any other moment in human development. It is RYS' mission to help our community do just that. On May 13 we have the chance to show up and demonstrate that the sum of Newburyport's residents prioritize and support their work.

EILEEN CONNOR

Newburyport