NAHANT — The first in-person meeting at Town Hall was quite the contentious occasion.
The Conservation Commission met on Wednesday night and the final items on the agenda all involved Northeastern University.
The fireworks began with Northeastern looking to close out a permit for two different projects. The university was also looking for a certificate of compliance.
The first project was settled by the town without any long debate, but the second element, which involved the Shoreline Protection project, is where things got heated.
Kristen Kent, chair of the Conservation Commission, said that the narrative for the certificate of compliance was “revisionist.” She added that one of the project’s “history points” was completely left out.
“I feel that it’s a little disingenuous to say ‘yeah, that’s no big deal, we’re just going to step away from this’ but you’ve left access to your site vulnerable,” she said.
Northeastern also claimed that it met with the Conservation Commission regarding the “sacrificial dune approach,” and the two sides agreed it was not appropriate. Kent said that this meeting never happened.
Kent added that she was disappointed in the narrative because it was untrue and disingenuous. Commission members also asked why they should close out projects that Northeastern never finished.
Currently, a “temporary trailer” still resides by the manmade dunes and has been there for 14 years. A representative from Northeastern said that they are working on removing those trailers.
The commission unanimously voted to not grant the certificate of compliance for the Shoreline Protection project.
Also, Northeastern was looking to construct a new building on top of the existing bunker on 430 Nahant Road, along with two new parking areas. In yet another project, the university was looking to replace existing seawater intake lines, the pump house and the discharge system.
In regards to the two projects, commission members complained about not receiving documents that Northeastern said that they delivered. The university stated that everything was sent to the commission by email.
When talking about the parking areas, commission member Henry Hall asked Northeastern to show the math behind the calculation for the amount of parking spaces Nahant needs to provide.
“I don’t understand why this brilliant university can’t answer that question,” said Hall. “Somebody must know it and why you refuse to tell us, I just don’t understand.”
Kent added that this “sows distrust” and makes the commission feel as though it can’t trust the university.
The commission approved — with conditions — these projects under the Wetlands Protection Act. Under the Nahant Wetlands bylaw, the notice of intent was not approved.
One of the last comments from the public was from Marilyn Mahoney, a resident of 179 Willow Road; she put an exclamation mark on the evening. Mahoney stated that she requested a public meeting prior to Thursday due to a lack of transparency.
“You are an educational institution and that’s what I think you should be really a shining star about: educating the public of Nahant,” Mahoney said. “Showing us some respect by trying to educate us in an open, honest and transparent way.”
While speaking, Mahoney asked representatives from Northeastern to pay attention and to be respectful. She also stated that the university “didn’t tell us the truth.”
“What we want is open, honest, transparent conversations,” she added. “No more B.S. I’m sick of it.”