PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Patrick Jones, Matthew Strauss and Donald Hause, from left, participate in the Item’s forum for Swampscott selectmen.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
SWAMPSCOTT — Three candidates for a pair of seats on the Board of Selectmen talked taxes, reuse of the former Machon Elementary School and regionalization in a forum Tuesday night.
Donald Hause of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Patrick Jones, a former member of the Planning Board and incumbent Matthew Strauss participated in the forum sponsored by the Item. It was moderated by Item News Editor Thor Jourgensen.
If re-elected, Strauss said he would continue to advocate for Swampscott taxpayers, saying that the town has gone from having the 20th highest property tax rate in Massachusetts to 99th.
Candidates were asked if the property tax raising burden should be split evenly between homeowners and businesses.
“Given that we’re a small community that’s driven by taxes, I think that we need to do anything and everything we can do to reduce the burden on the homeowner,” Hause said.
He said this can be done by attracting more sustainable businesses to Swampscott that can afford higher taxes.
Jones said despite the lowered tax rate for homeowners, the tax bill for residents increased. He said placing the tax burden on the homeowner is far too risky.
Strauss said during his tenure on the board, some members wanted to lower the rate for businesses.
“While I do understand we want to give businesses relief, I’ve always been an advocate for maintaining the split rate where it is today,” Strauss said. “For every dollar you remove away from the businesses, it would fall onto the backs of the taxpayers, which I am vehemently opposed to.”
Each of the candidates favor transforming the shuttered Machon School on Burpee Road into senior housing. They agreed that demolishing the facility and replacing it with a park would be too expensive.
But Jones said one proposal for 41 units and a parking garage is too large and would be too much of a burden in that neighborhood.
B’Nai B’Rith Housing/Covenant Commonwealth Corp. has proposed a development that would include 41 one-bedroom units and 38 parking spaces.
The other proposal from Stratford Capital Group & North Shore Community Development Coalition calls for 26 one-bedroom, 10 two-bedroom units and 35 parking spaces.
Jones said he would favor a residential project of about 20 units.
Strauss said the town’s master plan shows an aging population in Swampscott and a need for senior housing. He said the bids for redevelopment were strong and the board is trying to determine which project will fit into the one-acre parcel. He expressed concerns over potential parking issues, but prefers the school be turned into senior housing, not open space.
Hause agreed with his competitors.
“I think what would best serve the needs of the town is some sort of senior housing,” he said. “Turning it back into open space may not be financially viable.”
But he said the town must be careful with the size and density of the project, citing the lesson learned with the Greenwood Avenue Middle School project, where a Massachusetts Land Court judge revoked multi-family zoning in 2014. Strauss also cited density as one of his concerns.
The final question was about whether the town should take advantage of increased regionalization opportunities with other communities as a cost saving move.
Strauss said regionalization of town services has been explored with the Article 6 Committee, which focused on consolidation, outsourcing and alternative approaches to delivery of town services.
The panel worked with the University of Massachusetts/Boston’s Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management to explore ways to consolidate, saying there’s no better place to look than “our own backyard.”
Strauss said there has been discussion about regionalizing fire departments, by joining forces with neighboring towns. But he said emergency response time would be too long.
Hause agreed, saying that regionalization of the 911 call center can increase response times. With regionalizing critical services, he said, his answer would be “no.”
Jones also said consolidating life saving services would increase response times.
“We have to look at the cost benefit analysis,” he said. “We don’t want to sacrifice the services we have, especially those for life safety and public health.”
He said the town should consider other options, questioning whether fire and police departments could share a business manager.
The Town Election is April 26.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at gca[email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.