SAUGUS — Board of Selectmen candidates were tasked with putting their focus on the environment during a virtual forum Thursday night.
Hosted by the Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment (SAVE), the forum consisted of four questions, which all centered around how candidates would improve the environment in town if they were elected to the board. Questions were submitted by the public.
While 10 candidates are running for the five-member Board of Selectmen, only seven — Chairman Anthony Cogliano, Vice Chair Corinne Riley, members Debra Panetta and Michael Serino, and challengers Elizabeth Marchese, Leo Fonseca, and Harold Young — participated in the forum. Member Jeffrey Cicolini and challengers Darren McCullough and Domenic Montano were absent.
Candidates were asked what steps they would take to increase recycling within the town. Panetta said that when she was on the School Committee, she went to a class and taught the students about recycling and what happens with the items that they recycle.
“I really believe recycling starts with the school,” said Panetta. “It starts young and that’s how we bring up our kids and then we need to continue that through middle school and high school, so recycling is a part of their everyday life and not a chore.”
Panetta cited statistics that have been shared by Saugus Superintendent of Schools Erin McMahon, who has stated that the town’s recycling rate is between 30 to 35 percent.
Cogliano suggested looking into having uncontaminated cardboard recycled differently. He said residents should have separate bins to make sure contaminated cardboard stays out of the mainstream.
“I think our business community should have a different dumpster for contaminated cardboard and keep that out of the mainstream,” said Cogliano
In response to a question regarding how the town should increase its green investments, Young said he is a huge advocate of electric cars. Since 2010, he said Saugus has only invested in two electric cars; those two vehicles were utilized by two parking control officers. Of the two, only one remains in service, as one of the officers has left the town.
Young said the town should invest into more electric cars; he said this could be supported by installing multiple charging stations, which may even push residents to get electric cars of their own.
“The DPW (Department of Public Works) pickup truck has been around for 12 years or more and that should be an electric vehicle,” said Young.
In response to a question about climate change, Riley weighed in on how she plans to help the town overcome the effects of the changing environment in the future.
“I do believe that climate change is affecting the tides and the rise of water of the ocean and I think we should really look at east Saugus as far as the floodgates,” said Riley.
To that end, Riley said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has sent the town a list of things it needs to accomplish to alleviate some of the cost of flood insurance for residents in east Saugus, which is prone to heavy flooding. She said the town needs to work with more experts and use more outside sources.
Serino weighed in what he believes should be the next step for closing the controversial ash landfill, formerly known as Wheelabrator and now called WIN Waste Innovations.
“I’ve been opposed to the expansion of that land for years,” said Serino. “The landfill is contained with toxic ash … The plant is almost 50 years old and it releases carbon monoxide and nitrogen gases.”
In response to a query on how candidates would use their policy-setting authority to preserve and protect air and water quality for residents, Marchese said she wants to add more workers to the sewage department at the DPW with the aim of conducting more water testing.
She suggested “maybe partnering with the Metropolitan Area (Planning) Council to find an innovative way to test.”
Fonseca shared his vision for a greener Saugus, which was another question posed to candidates. He said utilizing space that is already occupied can create open areas for wildlife and other natural resources.
“I think (about) the preservation of our open spaces and continuing to … restore spaces that have maybe fallen into disrepair or have fallen down,” said Fonseca.
The town election is Nov. 2.
Hannah Chadwick can be reached at [email protected].
