NAHANT — The town voted to pass Article 20 during Annual Town Meeting, which would bolster the town’s efforts to pursue grant opportunities for climate preparedness projects for coastal town properties.
Article 20 reads as follows: “To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate from available funds in the treasury, transfer from available funds, or raise by borrowing the sum of $805,000 or any sum of money to fund costs and fees (i.e., professional services) associated with pursuing grants, loans or similar funding sources, for climate preparedness projects on coastal town properties and/or to serve as required local share for a possible grant award related to climate change preparedness, or take any action relative thereto.”
During initial discussion on the article, one resident asked if Short Beach would be addressed in the work the article entails, and was curious if the work would address the access points in what’s referred to as the “lowlands” area of town where flooding is most prevalent.
Town Administrator Tony Barletta elaborated on the article, the work that went into it, and what he hopes it can accomplish.
“Town Meeting approved borrowing $500,000 for this project a couple of years ago. We came to you and asked for that authorization because including that authorization in our grant application to FEMA made our grant application more competitive,” Barletta said. “We have not borrowed those funds yet, but we already have the authorization for that.”
Barletta said that based on the total cost of the project and a 73% match from FEMA, “the town has another $805,000 to cover our cost of the match.” With this approval, the town would have the total authorization needed.
“This project is to raise the height of the dunes and to improve the access points to help prevent flooding in the future,” he said.
After that, the town decided to vote on the article — and with a majority vote of 124-5, the motion carried.
