NAHANT — Board of Selectmen Chair Josh Antrim announced he will not be running for re-election and sat down Monday morning to reflect on the changes he’s worked to make in town in the six years he served the board.
“I’ve been in the role for six years, and I feel really good about the progress the town has made over the past six years,” Antrim said. “I hope that I helped in my own way to get us to a better place, but now it’s time for me to take a break and give someone else the opportunity to bring their ideas to town.”
Antrim spoke on what initially compelled him to run for the board.
“Looking back, I think there was a fair bit of turmoil in town. Everyone was trying to do their jobs, but it felt like they were in lockstep,” he said. “When I ran, I used the campaign slogan, ‘Let’s all work together for Nahant,’ and that’s really what I tried to bring to the job — a spirit of collaboration and teamwork.”
Antrim said there were a number of issues that reinforced his decision to get involved. “The town’s finances at the time weren’t great, there were some major infrastructure needs, and we were trying to take care of our open spaces. Those were all things that were important to me,” Antrim said.
“Preserving our open spaces, public places and natural resource areas were all very high priorities for me,” Antrim explained. “Nahant’s a small town, geographically speaking, and it’s densely populated… To me, that means taking care of our open spaces was all the more important.”
Antrim also mentioned addressing the drainage issues in the area of town dubbed the “lowland area,” where flooding is most prevalent. “I used to live in that area; it’s where our first house was, so I know the challenges of that neighborhood first-hand,” he said.
Antrim also expressed a strategic approach to finances as a huge element of concern for his approach to the board, as well as the town’s work with the Coast Guard Housing Property getting sold.
He elaborated on what he viewed as obstacles in making changes in town and fighting to preserve open spaces. “The preservation of East Point has been and continues to be a challenge, as well as the Coast Guard Housing… A lot of things look so simple from the outside looking in, but things aren’t always as simple as they appear,” Antrim said.
He continued, “Then there are other things that pop up that were unexpected, like COVID-19. We worked through COVID, or even things like an abundance of coyotes a couple years back was challenging because they’re so emotional,” Antrim said. “Sometimes, the emotional things are the most challenging.”
Antrim said that he feels really good about the position the town is currently in. “We got there through a spirit of collaboration. We have a great team in place from top to bottom,” he said. “It all feels like everyone is working toward common goals, and that feels really good.”
