SWAMPSCOTT — The Finance Committee began discussing two warrant articles Wednesday that have already been approved at Town Meeting.
The FinCom will take three articles in total, but only Articles 2 and 3 were up for discussion. The committee will discuss Article 1 on Monday.
Article 2 considered the motion for approval of the General Glover Restaurant property investment, which is currently a mix of commercial and residential. There is approximately $600,000 in the developer trust fund. Adding an additional $279,000 to this upon approval will require this property to become solely residential.
Article 3 suggests the deduction of $50,000 from a $465,000 budget for paving roads.
This deduction comes from the need for $25,000, approved by the Capital Improvement Committee (CIC), for veterans in Swampscott, to invest in telehealth. This $25,000 will go towards equipment and privacy while working with the limited space provided. Any way to fit these veteran’s needs, will be met within this budget, Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said. The community will continue to show its support to this program, including five other veteran services.
Another $25,000 will be used towards the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program for Swampscott schools. This investment has also been approved by the CIC. The motion for a deduction of $50,000 in total from both of these project investments, with a remaining budget of $415,000, was approved by the FinCom.
The total budget of $879,000 will be used strategically to ensure affordable housing, to invest in stand-alone projects, and to help build more units for multi-family housing. The decision for this property to become solely residential was approved by the committee. This approval will affect Article 1 and will be further discussed Monday.
Magella Cantara can be reached at [email protected].
