SWAMPSCOTT — State Sen. Brendan Crighton and State Rep. Jenny Armini met with the Select Board and Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald to discuss how certain state-wide efforts impact Swampscott.
Strategies for combating beach pollution was one topic that was discussed at length. Crighton, Armini and Fitzgerald are all members of the King’s Beach Steering Committee, which was formed in 2021 with the goal of uniting leaders from Lynn, Swampscott, and the state in finding a solution to the water quality issue at the beach. Recently, the committee has been focusing on ultraviolet-light disinfection technology as a potential regional way to address the issue. Crighton advocated for continued exploration of a UV-based solution, citing the financial resources devoted to having Boston-based engineering consulting company Kleinfelder test the technology. Armini described the strategy as a temporary remedy.
“It’s really meant to open the beach as quickly as possible on good days,” Armini said. “UV has never been seen as ‘the’ solution. It’s been seen as an option to open the beach more than it is right now.”
Fitzgerald has previously expressed his doubts that UV technology should be invested in, as opposed to pursuing the construction of an outfall pipe. Kleinfelder identified the site of the former Calgon Station on New Ocean Street as a potentially suitable location for a UV treatment facility, however Fitzgerald said implementing a site like that in the densely-settled town would prove difficult.
“I’m fully open to being surprised by something, but I worry about this,” Fitzgerald said about UV strategy.
“I see that the Executive Office of the Environment supports an outfall, the head of the regional DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) supports an outfall,” he continued. “I hear that our state partners are willing to get behind something that really could, for generations, solve this problem.”
Crighton responded by saying that the operating costs for the UV system would be relatively low and that state groups have become more supportive of the procedure as it has proven to be effective.
Select Board Chair MaryEllen Fletcher expressed her frustration with what she feels is a lack of financial support for the town on a federal level.
“I feel like Swampscott as a community is not getting that benefit at all,” Fletcher said. “I’m not really feeling the love.”
Armini explained that the financial distribution process has recently changed on a federal level, in that senators are given a certain amount of money that municipalities must vie for.
“They have created basically a grants process,” Armini said. “They tend to want shovel-ready projects.”
Fletcher also requested financial assistance from the state as it prepares to implement a Delamar hotel at the site of the former Hadley Elementary School.
According to Armini, she is working on organizing a meeting between town leadership and the Executive Office of Economic Development.
