SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board voted unanimously to allocate $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for a sewer repair project at Fisherman’s Beach.
Prior to Town Meeting in April, a proposal by Board Member MaryEllen Fletcher to use $1.7 million of the remaining $2.1 million of the town’s ARPA funds for the beach failed by a vote of 3-2. In the aftermath, the board agreed to fund the repairs through the Sewer Enterprise Fund as part of the town’s capital budget for fiscal year 2025. However, Fletcher, with the support of Vice Chair Katie Phelan and newest-elected member Danielle Leonard, reintroduced the topic Wednesday night with the hopes of a different result.
“We pass this tonight, Gino (Cresta) can start tomorrow,” Fletcher said. “We have a shovel-ready project that Kleinfelder has drawn out… they are saying ‘this is imperative that you fix this.’ We have the EPA screaming about this.”
Phelan named a lesser tax burden on residents as her main reason for supporting using ARPA funds for the project as opposed to the SEF. Leonard expressed that based on her communication with residents, the bacterial beach issue is what is most important to them.
“Everybody says the same thing. It’s the beaches and the bacteria,” Leonard said. “At the end of the day, we’re here based on what the residents and taxpayers of this town want to see us do.”
Board Member Doug Thompson, an advocate among the board for using SEF funds for the sewer repairs, argued that the original plan has already been endorsed by the town based upon the results of Town Meeting.
“We had a Town Meeting where people saw the whole plan for how we are going to fix the pipes, Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly to do $3.5 million for the pipes just as we had planned,” Thompson said. “A discussion we all voted on, all approved… $3.5 million in debt through the Sewer Enterprise Fund to fix the pipes.”
One aspect that assisted in the unanimous decision reached by the board was the realization that parks and education were not eligible uses for ARPA money, making more than $400,000 now available for a new source such as Fisherman’s Beach. Also, if the town receives a grant form the state to fund a coastal resiliency study, an additional $160,000 will also become available to use.
While Thompson ultimately voted in favor of Fletcher’s motion, he hopes the board can better balance its financial priorities moving forward.
“I was disappointed that we couldn’t take the time to thoroughly discuss all of the different priorities,” Thompson said. “I am glad that a number of critical investments were funded through this vote, but I hope we can find a better balance as we move forward.”
