NAHANT — Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Nahant’s May 15 Town Meeting is expected to be one of the most heavily attended in town history, with officials preparing to accommodate up to 800 residents for the event.
The reason for the expected high turnout comes down to two particularly controversial warrant articles, said Town Administrator Antonio Barletta: Article 20, which asks the Board of Selectmen to dispose of Coast Guard housing on Castle Road and apply the proceeds from the sale to the town’s outstanding debt; and Article 22, which would give the town authority to enact eminent domain over a portion of the East Point property currently occupied by Northeastern University.
This year’s warrant is also one of the longest in the town’s history, with a total of 43 articles.
“Both articles are likely to bring out a large crowd and we’re taking the appropriate approach to make sure that crowd is safe at Town Meeting,” Barletta said. “We’ve had an outdoor meeting now, so we feel a little bit better prepared so that it is safe for people who show up.”
The planned setup is a considerable change from last year’s Town Meeting, when the warrant included just 16 out of an originally-planned 28 articles after Nahant’s Board of Selectmen voted weeks earlier to remove two highly-anticipated articles related to eminent domain.
Board Chair Mark Cullinan told The Item in September 2020 that the modification had been made primarily in the hopes of reducing the number of people attending.
“People are passionate about the East Point issue, and we concluded the eminent domain articles have the potential to draw perhaps 700 or 800 people to Town Meeting in the middle of a pandemic,” Cullinan said. “Even though the meeting will be held outside, voters have safety concerns about such a heavily-attended meeting.”
However, this year’s meeting — in keeping with last year’s — is scheduled to take place at the Flash Road athletic fields located just behind the Nahant Fire Station, and is due to feature several modifications meant to minimize virus risk, including one-way isles, spaced-out chairs, and other safety measures.
Regardless of vaccination status, residents who attend will still be required to wear masks and observe strict social distancing guidelines.
“Obviously having a group that size is a concern, but that’s our form of government and these issues need to be brought before the town,” Barletta said. “So we’re going to do this in the safest way possible.”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
