NAHANT — Ahead of the upcoming Town Meeting, Town Administrator Alison Nieto hosted an informational session with Nahant residents to discuss articles that will be on this year’s warrant on Tuesday.
Town Meeting will be held at Town Hall on Saturday, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Of the warrants mentioned, the transferable parking sticker petition was the first to be brought up during the session. A resident shared his take on the matter from a “resident’s point of view,” after his family’s nanny received a $40 ticket for parking at Short Beach using his sticker.
“If I’m working in Waltham, and my wife is working in Danvers, why can’t the nanny use one of our beach stickers and go down to the Short Beach lot? To me, it doesn’t make sense. It’s not increasing the number of cars down there; it’s just replacing the blue car with the red car,” he said. “It’s not changing the rules on who’s eligible to get a sticker, which I completely agree with.”
He added, “There’s a whole number of reasons why out-of-towners might want to use your sticker to park for the beach, and I don’t think it should be a problem.”
He said he will be presenting his article and the motion, which he explained is to develop a committee with the Board of Selectmen to further discuss this issue.
“It seems that some of the public’s desires are not necessarily represented in our current policy, but it basically just is instigating a committee and a discussion,” he said.
Planning Board alternate member Jeff Lewis asked how he would specifically treat the case of short-term rentals, to which he replied: “I don’t know that this deals with short-term rentals at all, other than if the short-term rental owner wanted to put their registered car sticker on a piece of plastic, then it’s still one car to one car. If the short-term rental owner wanted to go and park at the beach, they can.”
Nieto then concluded the session by addressing the three budget scenarios for fiscal year 2027.
A level-services budget with no override, a $650,000 “modest override,” and a $1 million “full override.”
The level-services budget would maintain existing services while funding contractual increases within the limits of Proposition 2½. However, it would not include additional contributions to stabilization funds or debt reduction and could require a future override.
Both override proposals would increase operating expenses to address inflation pressures, expand education support, and include financial measures such as increasing stabilization fund contributions and paying down debt.
Another article includes the creation of an Affordable Housing Trust, which both Nieto and Lewis said they have worked diligently on.
“I really see the (Affordable Housing) trust as establishing programs that can aid families in Nahant to maybe make a down payment on a house or… (for) tax abatement incentives for offering lower rental amounts,” Nieto said.
Lewis added, “The trust is a great financial tool for accumulating money to apply toward affordable housing in the town. Nothing exists if it doesn’t pass; nothing will change.”
To prepare for Saturday, Nieto urged residents to reach out to her directly with questions if they have any, and shared that there will also be accessible viewing options for residents, including live transcriptions that will be shared on-screen.
Nieto said that “a lot of work has gone into” preparing for Town Meeting.
She thanked the Select Board, Advisory Finance Committee, the Planning Board, town volunteers, her staff, and the Town Clerk for preparing for Saturday.
