To the editor:
As a member of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and a resident of this beautiful town, I am excited to be voting “Yes” on Question 6 to enact the Community Preservation Act (CPA) in Swampscott this November.
Enacting this in Swampscott will allow us to preserve and protect the things we love about our town and let us prepare for the future.
The state’s CPA trust fund revenues are derived from a surcharge placed on all real estate transactions at the state’s Registries of Deeds, but only towns that have enacted it locally are able to receive money from this fund. This means many Swampscott residents have paid into this fund, but we have not gotten anything out of it.
Nahant has added chairlifts to elderly housing, replaced the roofs on veterans housing; and Salem has rehabilitated existing subsidized housing, converted an old school building into mixed-income housing.
One hundred ninety-six communities throughout the commonwealth have used these funds to do wonderful things. But not us…yet.
The Community Preservation Act will be of benefit to all of the residents of Swampscott and I urge all of those voting in November to be sure and fill in the “Yes” bubble for Question 6 to help this town continue to do great things.
Aaron Berdofe
Swampscott
