Swampscott ARPA Funding Votes Pushed Off At Least 1 More Week

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — A Select Board discussion and possible vote on spending $2.1 million in expiring town COVID-19 American Recovery Plan Act funds was delayed another week on Wednesday night after Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald recommended using the one-time federal funding on a variety of initiatives, including a mobile town hall, pedestrian safety projects, a resiliency manager position, the Swampscott Housing Redevelopment and public health programs.

Fitzgerald made the recommendations at the same time he proposed an additional $1.8 million — for a total of $3.5 million — in sewer infrastructure spending using the town's sewer enterprise funds that would require what he said would be "a little bit of an increase in the sewer rate" that he said currently ranks 44th out of 54 Massachusetts Water Resources Authority communities.

The Select Board opted to postpone the discussion for time considerations as part of what turned out to be a four-hour meeting that included a review of the annual town meeting warrant and extensive public comment — some of which centered around the desire to spend most or all available ARPA funding on sewer line repair and the cleanup of King's Beach and Fisherman's Beach.

"This is a regional problem," Fitzgerald said of the beach concerns. "People have to understand that we could spend millions and you will still not be able to feel safe when you go to that (King's) beach because (the issue) is regional. Really what I'm hoping we can do is just come up with a common sense and steady-head perspective that we can support over a timeline of decades that says that we're going to get good at a status of good repair similar to what we've done to address some of our school buildings and other infrastructure challenges."

For months, however, members of Save King's Beach — amid a groundswell of town support — have been pressing to use as much discretionary spending in the town as possible to go toward the pipe-sleeving and other ways to fix the sewer leaking that contributes to the beach pollution.

"I want to be really clear," Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher said, "I want to see all ARPA money go into our infrastructure. That's how I see it. I think it's needed. It's necessary. And it will give relief to every member of this community. So, I am going to be right up front there. If there is something (in the town capital budget) that has to do with water and sewer, I am saying ARPA."

Fletcher argued the ARPA funding should be used on the projects before looking for residents to pay additional money through increased sewer rates.

Select Board member Peter Spellios said the town should be looking to fund the sewer repairs at the same time that it forwards projects that may be of utmost importance to other segments of the town population.

"I find it, frankly, I'm going to use the word offensive when someone who is learned about something gets up and says: 'I would love money for the library but there are so many other things (that need resources),'" Spellios said. "This is a decade-long plan. We're planning now for a decade from now, people ... We have to be talking about a decade from now because these things don't just magically appear.

"All these things that Sean's asking for, yes, he's trying to take advantage of the fact that we do have a one-time opportunity to do things that we've deferred. (Some of us) might not deem those things as 'must-haves' but there are people in our community for which they are must-haves."

Fitzgerald's ARPA proposals included $400,000 for the mobile town hall that could bring services to different neighbors of the 3-square-mile town, $500,000 in pedestrian safety initiatives, investments in parks and historical preservation, $100,000 for a town resiliency manager, $200,000 for Swampscott Housing Redevelopment renovations, $100,000 for a townwide economic development study, $200,000 for resiliency projects and $121,00 for public health and mental health programs.

"These are recommendations but ultimately it is the Board's prerogative to decide how to allocate a few of these dollars," Fitzgerald said. "I fully expect there is going to be some movement here."

Select Board David Grishman said the ARPA discussion would be early in the agenda at the Board's next meeting on April 17.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)