Town Meeting to decide if property can be sold as surplus

SWAMPSCOTT – Town Meeting, which gets under way on Monday evening, will be asked to declare four town-owned properties as surplus.The articles, which were submitted by the Town Building Study Committee, asks Town Meeting to transfer the former senior center, Phillips Fire Station, Temple Israel and the former middle school to the Board of Selectmen.If passed, the articles, which would require a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting to pass, would allow the Board of Selectmen to sell or lease the properties.The Town Building Study Committee is recommending selling the Temple Israel property and former middle school on Greenwood Avenue to developers for housing. The scope of the projects and number of housing units at each site has not been determined yet. The Town Building Study Committee is recommending an oversight committee be formed to oversee the future sale and development of each of those two parcels.The committee is also recommending the Phillips Beach Fire Station, which is currently being used by an ambulance service, be sold as surplus. Although it is not part of the article, the committee’s report states if the property is sold it should only be used for a single family home with the following restrictions: the original 1903 structure is preserved and the development of the parcel is subject to oversight by a town appointed committee.Article 27 on the warrant asks Town Meeting to authorize the Board of Selectmen to sell or lease the former senior center, which is located at 89 Burrill St.In its report, the committee is recommending the town keep the property and lease it to offset maintenance costs or demolish it to provide municipal parking space.