Swampscott Outreach Planned On Teen Voting, Pickleball Court Articles
SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Swampscott proposals to expand voting and the capacity to be elected to town committees to high school-age students and to take a second swing at accepting state matching funding for four pickleball courts at Phillips Park will stay on the warrant for the upcoming special town meeting as officials plan community outreach on the initiatives.
The Select Board opted to keep both articles on the March 11 warrant toward the end of a four-hour meeting Wednesday night that included both passionate support and opposition during public comment.
The proposed voting provisions would lower the voting age in local elections to 16 years old, allow 16- and 17-year-olds to run for town government positions, change the date of the annual town meeting to before the annual town election (currently it is shortly afterward) and move the election day itself from a Tuesday to consecutive weekends at the beginning of June each year.
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“Certainly we can do more public engagement,” said Select Board member Peter Spellios, who introduced the voting changes. “I am thrilled to death that for the first time in nine years, anybody took this microphone and talked about the voting. I am thrilled to death that these articles are creating that discussion.
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“I think it is the healthiest of all conversations that we’re talking about (voter) turnout in this town and that 12 percent, 13 percent, 9 percent, 22 percent, 23 percent (turnout), that’s just not OK. And by the way, we are not different from other towns.”
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Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher’s motion to postpone the article until the annual town meeting later in the spring failed to gain traction with Spellios saying that a postponement decision could be made by town meeting members on March 11 if they desire.
“I can’t wait for full-throated debate and discussion at town meeting floor about it because those are some of our most active citizens,” Spellios said. “Let’s have that conversation. … I am grateful that people showed up tonight to express their opinions. There are lots of email threads talking about how irresponsible or brilliant this is. I think that’s wonderful.”
Select Board member Doug Thompson said a public meeting will be held on Feb. 27 on a Climate Action Committee proposal to change building codes to be in line with the “specialized energy code” aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions in new construction.
Article 8 would give town meeting voters a second swing at accepting a state Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities of $56,000 toward the approximately $108,000 needed to construct four pickleball courts at Phillips Park.
At the Dec. 11 special town meeting, 106 of the town meeting members voted in favor of the motion, with 57 voting against — a margin of 65.6 percent to 34.4 percent. The motion would have required a flip of two additional voters to gain the two-thirds majority necessary to fund the town’s portion of the project through bonding.
In the upcoming warrant, the town’s portion would be funded through the use of so-called “free cash” — or town surpluses — and would require only a simple majority for passage.
Since the PARC grant was awarded based on the Phillips Park location the courts would have to go there to qualify for the matching funding, though the exact location of the courts would be determined during a public design process.
“We’ve got a community engagement meeting scheduled next week at the Senior Center next Thursday (6 p.m.)” Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said. “We have staff who are reaching out to the neighborhood. We are very much interested in anybody’s idea of where else we could put a pickleball court because we want to consider every neighborhood for recreational opportunities for a town of three square miles.
“We believe that we have a good location. But certainly want everyone to come down and inspire us with all of their good ideas about where we can get more active.”
Select Board Chair David Grishman said “sound tests” took place on the potential noise pollution of the courts on Tuesday and notices of the proposal were mailed to abutters.
“They whacked the ball, they pounded it off the ground, they couldn’t actually discern that it ever got any louder than ambient noise,” Fitzgerald said. “So the noise doesn’t really seem to be anything that challenging.
“But we’re going to do more tests.”
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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