SWANSEA — Voters will determine the outcome of several agenda items — from the duties of the town tree warden, hotel tax rates, public housing property improvements and the incorporation of accessory dwelling units into local zoning bylaws — at the annual and special Town Meeting.
The meeting is scheduled to take place May 19 in the Joseph Case High School auditorium, 70 School St.
The special Town Meeting will invite voters to weigh in on the warrant’s eight articles, and is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. The annual Town Meeting boasts a warrant containing 29 articles, the first of which are scheduled to be heard at 7:30 p.m.
Here’s your guide to several key articles up for debate on Monday night, all of which are recommended by approval by the town’s Advisory and Finance Committee.
Isabellenhutte: A global manufacturer of electronic parts chose Swansea as its sales hub. Here’s why
Ballots being counted during the Swansea special Town Meeting on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.
Special Town Meeting to decide beach management
Article 5 will ask voters to approve a $60,000 beach management fund. The money will be transferred from a beach receipts reserved account to the Board of Selectmen, who will execute a management plan, or act related to that goal.
Additionally, Article 6 asks voters to allow selectmen to spend $50,000 on “bathymetric and sediment” surveys and relative permitting of the town beach.
Locals flock to Swansea Town Beach to keep cool on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
Swansea has recently ramped up efforts to renew interest in the town beach with the help of a “beach cam” installed in September 2024, housed in the property’s beach house cupola that overlooks a new child’s play pad and sail shade area.
Article 7 concerns the Marvel Street culvert project, wherein voters will be asked to approve $32,500 from available monies held in certified free cash accounts to design and cover permitting costs for the project.
According to earlier reports, in 2014, Marvel Street was chip-sealed for $54,664.
Full unofficial results: Swansea voters decide Selectmen race, add new faces to government
Annual Town Meeting will ask voters to approve funding for public safety
Voters will have the opportunity with Article 14 to approve up to $80,000 of available funds from the Community Housing Reserve and the Community Preservation Fund to improve the security and appearance of the Martin Court housing complex. The Housing Authority will use the money to subsidize the replacement of rotted exterior doors, locksmithing, and “other miscellaneous work.”
Articles 16 and 17 will ask the town to approve more than $203,000 and $125,000, respectively, for the purchase of gear for town police and fire departments. Article 16, if passed, will allow the police chief to purchase three new cruisers with equipment, including radios; Article 17 is related to the purchase of firefighters’ turnout gear.
Swansea chief of police Mark Foley stands in front of police headquarters on Friday, May 17, 2024.
Swansea’s tree warden has a new job to do
Article 18 will ask the town to raise up to $45,000 so the tree warden can inventory town-owned trees and rate the health of each tree.
During the Oct. 28 annual town meeting, the Board of Selectmen was approved in Article 11 as the appointing authority for the tree warden position, which will carry a term of three years.
A hotel tax increase may be on the horizon
If passed, the local hotel tax rate, as defined by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 64, Section 3A, may be amended by a vote, increasing the current rate of 4.6% to 6%.
The change may impact Swansea’s Rodeway Inn and the Holiday Inn Express and Suites on Route 6.
Residents packed the auditorium at Case High School for the Swansea special Town Meeting on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.
ADUs may be coming to Swansea, but with restrictions
Article will ask the town to amend the current zoning bylaws to add “sheds” and “garages” to a list of structures that are approved for residential use — but is only applicable to rural residential districts and are prohibited in all other districts.
According to Oct. 28 meeting minutes, accessory dwelling units were defined in by use and dimensional requirements. ADUs were provisionally allowed in rural residential and business districts.
As defined on the warrant, the proposed legislation would define a garage or a shed as a structure typically used for storage, sheltering vehicles or boats, or as workshop, provided that the building or structure may not be used commercially for industry except as allowed in the existing bylaws for “home occupations.”
Mixed-use properties will need to meet specific parking requirements, but applicants may petition the Planning Board for a reduction in requirements.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Swansea town meeting asks voters to decide spending, bylaw changes