NAHANT — A proposed expansion of the Northeastern University Marine Science Center, the town’s controversial wetlands bylaw, and its impending budget squeeze caused by escalating infrastructure costs were the main topics of Wednesday night’s debate between Board of Selectmen candidates Carl Maccario and Josh Antrim at Town Hall.
Antrim, an engineer, said the Northeastern situation was the town’s most pressing problem, while Maccario feels the financial situation, which could be remedied by an override to Proposition 2½, needs immediate attention.
“We won’t have to worry about Northeastern if we go into receivership,” said Maccario, who has a background in homeland security. “If we don’t get our financial house in order, Northeastern is going to be an afterthought. We have a financial crisis.”
Both candidates agree that the town’s aging water and sewer infrastructure has been neglected for too long, and the results of such neglect are seen every time there’s a severe storm. Both also agree that the voters should approve the override, which is on the ballot as part of Saturday’s election.
“If we don’t approve the override, the state will come in and take over the town,” Maccario said. “I know it’s easy to keep running to the taxpayers. But in this case, we need it. How are we going to avoid it?”
Antrim agreed.
“Nobody wants to pay more taxes,” he said. “But we have an $11 million deficit, plus storm damage costs. I believe this time, we’re going to have to bite the bullet and pass the override.”
Though the debate was a civil discourse between two candidates, there were differences of opinion. One of them was on the subject of Northeastern. Maccario’s view is that the town should listen to what the university has to say on the subject of expansion so that it can better negotiate and end up with someone everyone can live with.
“To do anything else,” he said, “would be a disservice to the town.”
He also said he’s sat down with university officials, reminding voters that his background is not only in security, but in negotiation and mediation too.
“If we don’t like what we hear, we can always walk away,” Maccario said.
Antrim said he did not trust Northeastern and was not impressed with any of the three proposals the university has presented. He said he would prefer the town identify its legal position with regards to the university’s plans.
“We should exert our legal position,” Antrim said, “and negotiate with strength. Let us dictate the terms so we can negotiate something that’s acceptable to Nahant.”
Antrim’s position is tied in with the wetlands bylaw that was passed last summer on a hot and humid Saturday. He supports the bylaw, which prohibits the removal, filling, dredging, building upon, degrading, discharging into, or otherwise altering the listed resource areas (freshwater or coastal wetlands, marshes, etc.) except as authorized by the conservation commission. The measure will be re-examined at Town Meeting.
Antrim supports the bylaw, and notes the town “is not an outlier” in having one. He said most coastal communities on the North and South shores have wetlands bylaws.
“We’re hoping we can get grant money (to help with some of the town’s issues),” he said. “It’s not going to look very good striking down the bylaw.”
Maccario charged that the law targeted Northeastern to keep it from expanding.
“That bothers me,” he said. “I cannot see passing a law that can hurt some people at the expense of others.”
