TOWN OF DRACUT

Northeastern Massachusetts, bordered by Methuen and Andover on the east; Tewksbury and Lowell on the south; Tyngsborough on the west; and Pelham, New Hampshire, on the north. Dracut is 8 miles west of Lawrence, 27 miles north of Boston, 30 miles northeast of Fitchburg, and 230 miles from New York City.

Dracut Website

TOWN SERVICES:

Town Contacts: (as of May 2004) 

Board of Selectmen: (978) 452 – 1908
Jack DiTillo - Chairman
Douglas G. Willett 
Joseph DiRocco
James O’ Loughlin
Kenneth Cunha 

Town Manager: (978) 452 – 1227
Dennis Piendak 

Asst. Town Manager/Town Planner: (978) 453-4557
Glen Edwards 

Town Clerk: (978) 453-0951
Kathleen M. Graham

Building Inspector: (978) 454 – 0603
Daniel McLaughlin

Conservation Agent: (978) 458-4478
Lori Cahill

Conservation Commission: (978) 458-4478
John Hassan
Franz Eberth
James Jendro
Leo P. Lambert
Kathleen McDonough
William Witkum
Steve Graham
William Zannoni

Planning Board: (978) 454-2594
Philip Greene
Kevin McCarthy
Robert Donnelly
Phillippe Thibault      

Highway Department (978) 957-0411
Michael Buxton - Superintendent

Public Water System:
Approximately 90% of the town is serviced by public water systems through one of the community’s two water districts – Kenwood Supply District in the eastern part of town or Dracut Water Supply District. 

Trash Collection:
The Town has curbside trash collection and recycling. In FY99 total solid waste collected from Dracut and hauled to the NESWIC facility in North Andover was approx. 10,500 tons. 

Sewer:
Public sewer services 65% of households in Dracut. Treatment is at the Lowell regional Wastewater Utility (LRWU), which treats an average dry weather flow of 32 million gallons per day (MGD). The LRWU has allocated 2.6 MGD of wastewater capacity to Dracut, which currently uses approximately 1.35 MGD. 

Library:
The Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library holds 73,000 volumes and in FY00 has a circulation of 157,535 volumes. 

Schools:
Dracut School System operates four k – 6 elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. 1999 – 2000 enrollment: 4,069 pupils. The Town is also member community of the Greater Lowell Vocational Technical High School. 

Public Safety:
42 permanent uniformed officers staff Dracut Police Dept. The Fire Dept. Roster totals 36 firefighters.

Chief of Police: Chief Louis Panas, (978)957-2123  

Chief of Fire Department: Chief Leo Gaudette, (987) 454-2113

Rail:
Commuter rail service to North Station, Boston is available at Lowell Gallagher Terminal or at the newly renovated North Billerica Station (Travel time 40 mins). Freight rail service is available from the Springfield Terminal Railway, contact number: (978) 663 – 1073 

Bus:
Dracut is a member of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA). Fixed bus service is provided, and paratransit services, including medical trips to Boston, are available for the elderly and disabled through LRTA’s Road Runner program.   

FY2002 TAX RATE: Residential: - $11.74 per $1,000, Commercial: - $11.74 per $1,000

Population Trends – DRACUT  (2000 U.S. Census) 
(Updated May 25, 2002)

1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	#Change 1990-2000	%Change 1990-2000
13,674	18,214	21,249	25,594	28,562	2,698	11.6%

 

Persons by Sex (2000 U.S. Census) 

Male	14,007
Female	14,555

 

Age Distribution (2000 U.S. Census) 

	Persons	%
Under 5	1,935	6.8%
5 – 14	4,199	14.7%
15 – 44	12,793	44.8%
45 – 64	6,330	22.2%
65 & over	3,305	11.6%

   

Race and Ethnicity (2000 U.S. Census) 

	Persons	%
White	27,170	95.1
Black	222	0.8
Am Indian, Eskimo or Aleut	27	0.1
Asian or Pacific Islander	738	2.6
Hispanic Origin	443	1.6

 

Households (2000 U.S. Census) 

1980	1990	2000
6,768	8,992	10,451

 

Household Size (2000 U.S. Census) 

  2.89 persons per household 

Poverty Status (2000 U.S. Census) 

Persons Below Poverty Level:	Dracut	Mass.
	1,055	573,421
	3.7	9.3%

 

Households by Type (2000 U.S. Census)                                   

	Households	%
Married Couple/ Family	7,736	74.0
Female Householder	1,208	11.6
Non-Family Household	2,715	26

 

Income Distribution (2000 U.S. Census) 

	Households	%
Less than $ 10,000	459	4.4%
$ 10,000 - $ 14,999	423	4.0%
$ 15,000 - $ 24,999	773	7.4%
$ 25,000 - $ 34,999	937	9.0%
$ 35,000 - $ 49,999	1,657	15.9%
$ 50,000 - $ 74,999	2,889	27.6%
$ 75,000 - $ 99,999	1,593	15.2%
$ 100,000 - $ 149,999	1,272	12.2%
$ 150,000 - $ 199,999	273	3.5%
$ 200,000 or more	120	1.5%

 

Sources of Income (2000 U.S. Census) 

	# Of Households	Average Income
Wage & Salary	8,945	$ 65,266
Supplemental Security	266	$  7,749
Social Security	2,546	$ 10,946
Public Assistance	75	$   3,779
Retirement	1,633	$ 13,695

 

HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS 

Housing Units (2000 U.S. Census) 

1970	1980	1990	2000
5,001	6,947	9,279	10,451

 

Median Household Income (2000 U.S. Census) 

1970	1980	1990	2000
$11,200	$21,163	$43,978	$57,676

 

Median Home Sale Price (Banker & Tradesman) 

	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000
1 – Family	$117,000	$118,500	$125,000	$138,000	$180,000
Condo	$60,000	$55,125	$59,000	$76,500	$92,900
All Sales	$85,900	$86,000	$87,000	$107,000	$141,500

 

Housing Unit Permit Data 

1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000
139	307	83	87	59	94

 

Housing Breakdown by Occupancy (2000 U.S. Census) 

		% OF TOTAL
TOTAL HOUSING UNITS	10,643
Total Occupied Units	10,451	98.2%
Owner Occupied	8,201	78.5%
Renter Occupied	2,250	21.5%
Total Vacant	192	1.8%

 

LAND USE CLASSIFICATION (Mass. GIS 1991)

DRACUT LAND USE	ACREAGE	% OF TOTAL
Residential	4,417.42 Acres	32.3%
Commercial	84.84 Acres	0.6%
Industrial	173.99 Acres	1.3%
Agriculture	1,917.23 Acres	14.0%
Open Space/ Recreation	6,275.2 Acres	45.8%
Transportation/Mining/Waste	739.98 Acres	5.4%
Water	84.74 Acres	0.6%
TOTAL ACREAGE	13,693.37 Acres	100%

 

RECREATION

Lori Cahill - Recreation Director
Dracut Recreation Commission
Town Hall Annex, 11 Spring Park Ave.
Dracut, Ma. 01826
Tel #:  (978) 458 – 4478

Recreational Facilities 

Lowell Dracut Tyngsborough State Forest (1,040 Acres)
Bicycling, non – motorized boating, camping, cross country skiing, fresh water fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, ice skating, nature observation, organized events, walking/jogging.  ATV and Snowmobiling are not permitted in the State Forest. 

Dracut High Complex (89 Acres)
Baseball/softball, football/soccer, freshwater fishing, organized events, team activities, and walking/jogging 

Municipal Landfill (70 Acres)
Baseball/softball, football/soccer 

Centerville Sport Club (35 Acres)
Fresh water fishing, hunting, nature observation, target archery 

Polubinski Land (23 Acres)
Baseball/softball 

Colburn Land (19 Acres)
Nature observation, picnicking

Parker Avenue School (7 Acres)
Baseball/softball 

Dracut Tennis Center (6 Acres)
Tennis 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

Employment Base – 2000 

LABOR FORCE – 2000	16,898
# Residents Employed	16,482
# Residents Unemployed	416
Dracut’s Unemployment Rate	2.5%
NMCOG Region Unemployment Rate	2.5%
State Unemployment Rate	2.6%

 

Employment by Industry Sector – 2001 (Mass Division of Employment & Training ES - 202 Series)

Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing	94
Government	851
Construction	642
Manufacturing	331
TCPU	519
Trade	1,471
FIRE	190
Services	836
Total Employment/Dracut	4,904

TCPU = Transportation, Communication and Public Utilities
FIRE = Finance, Insurance and Real Estate
conf = Data suppressed due to confidentiality

Means Of Transportation To Work - 2000 (Census Transportation Planning Package 2000)

Subject	1990 Census		2000 Census		Change 1990 to 2000
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Workers 16 years & over	13,391	100.0	15,036	100.0	1,645	12.3
Drove alone	11,015	82.3	13,188	87.7	2,173	19.7
Carpooled	1,779	13.3	1,152	7.7	-627	-35.2
Public transportation (including taxicab)	171	1.3	229	1.5	58	33.9
Bicycle or walked	156	1.2	98	0.7	-58	-37.2
Motorcycle or other means	78	0.6	73	0.5	-5	-6.4
Worked at home	192	1.4	296	2.0	104	54.2

Commuting to Work  - 2000 (Census Transportation Planning Package 2000)

Subject	1990 Census		2000 Census		Change 1990 to 2000
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Workers who did not work at home	13,199	100.0	14,740	100.0	1,541	11.7
Less than 5 minutes	326	2.5	302	2.0	-24	-7.4
5 to 9 minutes	1,048	7.9	1,072	7.3	24	2.3
10 to 14 minutes	1,724	13.1	1,616	11.0	-108	-6.3
15 to 19 minutes	2,397	18.2	2,306	15.6	-91	-3.8
20 to 29 minutes	3,170	24.0	3,215	21.8	45	1.4
30 to 44 minutes	2,808	21.3	3,458	23.5	650	23.1
45 or more minutes	1,726	13.1	2,771	18.8	1,045	60.5
Mean travel time to work (minutes)	24.0	X	28.1	X	4.1	X

 

MEDIA:

Lowell Sun
15 Kearney Square, Lowell  (978) 458 – 7100

Dracut Dispatch
P.O. Box 198, Dracut, Ma 01826 

The Merrimack Journal
1794 Bridge Street, Unit 27B, Dracut, Ma 01826 

REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY:  

Northern Middlesex Council of Governments
115 Thorndike Street, Lowell MA 01852
Robert W. Flynn, Executive Director
Phone: (978) 454 – 8021
Fax: (978) 454 – 8023