Swansea sewers clear a hurdle at town meeting, but saving a historic house didn't

SWANSEA – Installation of business district sewers got a thumbs up from voters while the Preserved Gardner House was likely issued a death sentence during a town meeting doubleheader on Monday night at the Joseph Case High School auditorium.

The four-plus-hour gathering consisted of the annual town meeting preceded, in part, by special town meeting that addressed transfers and appropriations to be performed before the end of Fiscal Year 2024 on June 30.

There were actually three articles, involving both meetings, pertaining to the sewers. The article for a proposed renovation and restoration of the nearby Preserved Gardner House at Swansea Memorial Park was part of the annual town meeting. It was rejected 227-111 on a ballot after a voice vote was deemed inconclusive.

Citizens immediately thereafter approved 204-92 by stand-up vote an article to spend $85,000 for demolition of the boarded-up 213-year-old house in need of costly renovations.

Special town meeting extends into town meeting

Special town meeting started at 7 p.m. and the first four of its six articles were approved before moderator Paul Burke, noting that town meeting was supposed to start at 7:30 p.m., called for a special town meeting recess, at 7:36 p.m., with a sewer article not yet addressed.

In the next-to-last article at town meeting, voters approved by a 241-26 ballot vote to appropriate $21,600,000 “for the purpose of financing the construction of Phase 1A of the Route 6 Corridor and Route 118 wastewater collection system” throughout the town.

Before that vote, Sewer Commission Chairman Jim Pelletier said that Swansea's business district very much needs a wastewater collection system and that now is the time to act because the Massachusetts DOT will be soon be performing reconstruction of that Route 6 corridor, roughly from the Venus de Milo to Swansea Mall Drive. That construction will facilitate the installation of sewer infrastructure.

He said passing on this opportunity would close the sewer installation window for five years.

Swansea and Somerset have agreed to have Swansea tie into Somerset's wastewater treatment system.

How Swansea plans to fund sewers

Pelletier said the vast majority of citizens, fearing increased taxes, need not be concerned by the $21.6 million price tag. He said loan payments will be covered by the betterment fees, paid only by those (mostly businesses) who tie into the sewers. He said failed septic systems regularly plague Swansea businesses, noting that Target, along the corridor, is on at least its third system.

The installation of sewers, he said, will not only be a plus for existing businesses but will also attract new businesses. That would translate into increased tax revenue to a town which boasts, he said, the lowest business tax rate in the area yet struggles to attract businesses.

Pelletier said there is extensive room for new businesses in the corridor. The area, he said, has 54 undeveloped acres and more than a half million square feet of unrented storefront.

“This is going to help bring restaurants. It's going to help bring economic development to Swansea,” he said.

Swansea Town Administrator Mallory Aronstein said the town will borrow the money from the Massachusetts Cleanwater Trust, which provides low-interest and no-interest loans.

“This is a critical, critical, critical project,” she said, “and I'm really happy to see that we a focus on economic development, the next chapter for us. … This also allows us to ease up the burden on the residential side of things. It allows us to kind of share those costs a little bit more how the split tax rate is designed to go.

“This is a great day for Swansea. They did a good job for their community.”

The following and final town meeting article, approved by voice vote, was for establishing Sewer Services as an enterprise fund effective Fiscal Year 2025.

Special Town Meeting reconvened at 11:04 p.m. The last article of the night, approved by voice vote, green lighted the transfer of $1,678,384 to fund the sewer infrastructure installation in conjunction with the DOT's work.

Debate on the Preserved Gardner House

The Preserved Gardner House article prompted extensive citizen input, from both sides of the debate.

Cheryl Bogle, chairman of the Swansea Historical Commission, said that while the addition portion of the Gardner House is in poor shape, the original house is structurally sound, its walls and roof straight. She said the plan would be to secure $1.5 million in grant money . “We're not asking for $2 million,” she said. “This is what we had to do to get here.”

Opponents of the article questioned whether the repair/restoration price tag would ultimately be greater, possibly far greater, than the $2 million.

What was rejected at Swansea town meeting

Town Meeting consisted of 39 articles. Among those that were rejected were:

$110,000 mechanical barriers to address flooding hazards along Old Providence Road.

$130,000 for a skid steer for the Highway Department.

$372,000 for the Highway Department to purchase a Western Star truck, chassis, swap loader system and related equipment.

$250,000 for field study, permitting and design of intersection improvements for Gardners Neck Road and New Gardners Neck Road at Route 103.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Swansea sewers in business district get ok at town meeting