Swampscott postpones purchase of Phillips Beach

SWAMPSCOTT – Swampscott continues its struggle to take ownership of Phillips Beach as new details arose Monday that prevented Town Meeting from approving its purchase.Instead of taking the podium to report the Finance Committee?s recommendation for favorable action on the $140,000 buy the beach from a group of people who are claiming private ownership, Chairman Don Pinkerton moved to postpone the article indefinitely. Pinkerton cited “new conditions” that had come up earlier that day as the reason for postponement.Though Pinkerton offered no explanation at the meeting and voters swiftly approved the postponement, Town Administrator Thomas Younger offered an explanation Tuesday afternoon.?We were negotiating with the owners, and some requirements came up that we could not agree with,” he said.The town had originally agreed to buy the beach for $140,000 in early April in order to avoid a land court battle. In an interview two weeks prior to Town Meeting, Younger said the struggle for ownership of the beach is about two years old. Town officials thought the town had a title for the property, but a trust of people claiming ownership presented their own deeds and documents that proved the property belongs to them. In the past, the trust had even tried to post “no trespassing” signs on the beach, he saidYounger said Tuesday that town counsel would be “exploring other avenues” to clarify ownership, of which one possibility is to take the issue to land court. He added that town counsel and other officials will continue to meet with the owners.Beachgoers will not be affected by the battle as Phillips Beach will continue to stay open.?As they said in ?Jaws,? ?The beach will be open for the Fourth of July,?” Younger said with a laugh.Phillips Beach, which sits to the right of The Beach Club on Shepard Avenue, is a stretch of land about 3.7 acres in size that is a popular destination for residents and nonresidents during the summer.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].