MARBLEHEAD — The Board of Health held a last-minute meeting on Friday, during which the members voted unanimously to lower the sticker prices they had previously approved on Tuesday evening.
These stickers will allow Marblehead residents to attend the beach and access the transfer station. On Tuesday, the Board voted to make the primary sticker price $125, but after discussion among the community, the Board decided to revote on the price.
Board of Health Chair Helaine Hazlett opened the conversation by expressing that the price of $125 would allow the Board to catch up on any other costs as well. Hazlett also shared that compared to other communities with prices at roughly $180, the increase to $125 is still lower.
Board Member Tom McMahon countered Hazlett’s argument, sharing the Board should not be comparing prices to other towns and what Marblehead should be looking to do is cost-covering. Compared to creating a price to generate revenue, cost-covering would simply cover all costs needed without extra income.
McMahon then explained the jump from $80 to $125 would be approximately a 28% increase, something he does not want to see for his community. The prices for stickers have not increased since 2020, when they only increased from $65 to $80.
Increasing the price by $45 sparked concern, specifically for McMahon concerning community frustration. He said he already receives calls and messages asking about the price and how the total is derived.
As the debate continued, different number variations were thrown around, one option from Hazlett was to raise the secondary sticker price to $50. This offer was countered when the point was brought to the attention that there cannot be a reliance on secondary sticker purchases.
One goal from McMahon was to eventually have a split between the parks and recreation, which oversees the beach access, and the transfer station. Currently, the one sticker allows access to both, but some residents only use one or the other and are stuck paying for both. Having them separate would allow the Board of Health to have a better grasp on the exact numbers, and not the numbers coming in from beach residents.
Another goal presented was to have Marblehead residents not pay at all for the transfer station in the future and only have out-of-town residents pay a fee for services.
In the spring, a new license plate reader is hoped to be installed at the transfer station that would more closely monitor the separation between residents and out-of-town users. It would also help understand the difference between those who purchase the sticker for the beach and those who purchase it for the station.
Bringing the debate to an end, Hazlett was very stern on her stance for at least $105 for the primary sticker, while McMahon was stern on seeing the price be no higher than $100. Hazlett also wanted to see the secondary be greater than $35 and increased to $50, while McMahon thought that was too high and residents would not purchase it.
The third member of the Board of Health, Thomas Massaro occasionally added to the conversation, expressing he wanted the price to remain at $80. Massaro said he did not want to see any revenue from this and, in agreement with McMahon, he only wanted to see the costs be covered.
Massaro also said the primary car is the most important purchase for residents with the secondary car being a luxury. He expressed he would be more comfortable with a lower price considering some residents pay out-of-pocket for the stickers.
After approximately an hour, McMahon proposed the primary sticker be $100 and the secondary sticker be $40. All three members voted unanimously to approve the new sticker price, reversing their decision on Tuesday.
