Nahant residents to vote on school grounds improvement

NAHANT – At the annual Town Meeting on April 26, voters will be asked to approve $125,000 for improvements to the grounds of Johnson Elementary School.Superintendent Joseph Lisi said the $125,000 would be used to complete the final phase of the Johnson Elementary School renovation project, which got underway in 2005.”The design and site plan have already been done,” he said. “The money would be used to implement the existing plan.”Lisi said the $125,000 would be used to complete the access road, the parking lot and install lighting.”Once this work is completed, we’ll take a look at the traffic patterns,” he said.Lisi pointed out the district is asking for funding through a debt exclusion article, which is not a Proposition 2 1/2 override. Lisi said by funding the project through a debt exclusion article it would not become a permanent part of the tax base.Selectman Michael Manning, who was on the renovation committee, said the traffic flow improvements were initially included in the renovation project but the bids for the project were more than expected so the landscaping and paving was dropped from the project.Other appropriation articles on the draft Town Meeting warrant include $100,000 to repair several town owned buildings, money for sidewalk/street repairs, a request for $100,000 to purchase a new backhoe for the Department of Public Works and money to repair the Pearl Road sewer pumping station.