NAHANT – At the annual Town Meeting on Saturday, voters approved the motion to raise and appropriate $18 million to cover the costs of repairing or replacing portions of the town’s collection system.
The allocation of $500,000 for climate change preparedness was also approved, as well as other fund appropriations.
“It was super important for the future,” said Barbara Beatty, who sits on the Advisory and Finance Committee.
According to Dan McMackin, president of the McMackin Corporation, replacing the old sanitary system that “has been failing miserably and was going to become extremely problematic” is vital, and other spending initiatives are not as crucial as that. Historically, the sanitary system was used to prevent the spread of diseases, said McMackin.
“With our aging infrastructure, we have been approaching a critical mass of failures,” he said.
Another major item on the agenda Climate Change Preparedness funding of $500,000. According to Town Administrator Antonio Barletta, it is going to be used to help fund infrastructure projects, especially along the coast, to help the town combat sea-level rise. Barletta named Short Beach dune improvements, the nourishment of Forty Steps Beach and the coastal bank among the priority projects within the framework of this initiative.
“We will use the funds to match grant programs offered by the state and federal government to maximize those dollars,” said Barletta.
A minor issue of appropriating $11,000 from FY2023 Community Preservation that would help provide funding for the modification, construction and planning of a partially rerouted section of the Nahant Heritage Trail between Flash Road and the community garden behind Johnson School, and for the new signage there, unexpectedly provoked a broad community discussion.
While some of the residents expressed their “support for this project going forward” as it should help the kids “get to school safely,” as Beth Anderson, a Nahant resident and public school leader put it, others mentioned that it was not the best expenditure.
“As kids, we didn’t care about any signage,” said Nahant resident Brendan Baranek-Olmstead. “This project would help people from out of town, but it is not the best use of money right now.”
The meeting finally approved of the funding, as the project was “not just about signage,” said Lynne Spencer, chair of the Community Preservation Committee, but to make the trail safer to navigate.
“It’s not just for directional purposes, but to learn about the plants and animals and their habitat,” said Spencer.
A citizen petition to appropriate up to $400,000 to repair and improve drainage in the Lowlands was withdrawn after the proposal to appropriate $550,000 from the available funds for Lowlands drainage was adopted. All other fund allocations and by-law amendments (see Item of May 15, 2022) passed unanimously in most cases.
The meeting named Anna and Edwin Manzano the citizens of the year and announced Grace Hudson as the Nahant American Legion Scholarship winner and Abigail Morse as the Charles Kelley Scholarship recipient.
“The essays that we had this year were amazing, and it was a difficult choice,” said Josh Antrim, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, about this year’s Charles Kelley Scholarship applications.
The town also honored senior firefighter Frank Pappalardo and firefighter Matthew Canty and police officer Eugene Spelta for rescuing two residents from a fire last December.
“Because of their heroic efforts and disregard for their own safety, the two residents are alive today,” said Barletta.
Oksana Kotkina can be reached at [email protected].
