The Select Board assembled in its namesake meeting room at Abbot Hall on June 14. There was no shortage of discussions to be had with 19 topics on the agenda. All five members attended in person, along with Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer.
The Coastal Resilience project was first as Nasser Brahim, senior climate-resiliency specialist at Woods Hole Group, gave an update on what his organization is currently working on in tandem with the town. The project is located on the coast of Cliff and Commercial streets, the site of six town-owned locations.
Brahim explained that the waterfront has been degraded due to flooding and erosion, and therefore public access is limited. Brahim believes climate change and rising sea levels will only worsen the situation if there is no intervention.
The three goals of the project are to “mitigate long-term risks from sea-level rise; support existing water-dependent, industrial, and recreational uses; and enhance public access to the waterfront.”
Town Planner Rebecca Curran Cutting gave an update on the Lead Mills project, which is a combined effort between Marblehead and Salem to transform the former industrial site to a natural conservation area for recreational use.
“We applied for another DCR [Department of Conservation and Recreation] grant for the Lead Mills portion. We are the lead community and Salem is participating,” Curran Cutting said. “It includes replacing the dry and wet bridge at Lead Mills. It goes from the Salem Trail through the Lead Mills property.”
She also mentioned the potential implementation of benches and bike lanes.
Anthony Silva of the Marblehead Cultural Council approached the board with artist TJ de Blij to propose developing a “Pride pavement” that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.
“It would be a wonderful statement to every visitor of Marblehead,” Silva said.
The board voted unanimously in support.
The Board also voted unanimously on a number of other topics, including the Horribles Parade that will be held on July 4, two private drain connections in town, and financial contracts for painting and carpentry companies to work on town buildings such as Hobbs and the Old Town House.
Kezer later introduced a financial policy for the town as a whole, which contains an array of sub-policies.
“It covers subjects such as budget guidelines, financial-reserve policies, department transfer requests, debit-management policy, investment policy, audit policy, other employment benefits policy, department receipts, turnover and expenditures, purchasing policy, user-fee policy, anti-fraud policy, petty-cash policy, employee reimbursements, contact with the media, promotion, professional development, and technology-use policy,” Kezer listed.
He said it is important to have these policies in place to provide clarity for bonding agencies and insurance companies the town works with.
Kezer emphasized that these new policies are still a work in progress, and that there are more to come. He thanked everyone who helped put the refined policies together.
Old and Historic Districts Commission members Paul Pruett and Bob Bragdon approached the table to propose a donation account to jumpstart the process of establishing a new park in the center of Old Town near the former Gerry school.
“This land is somewhat unique because it is in the center of Old Town,” Pruett said. “There’s a real opportunity to really refurbish it into something special.”
Select Board member Alexa Singer asked if there was money coming for the builder, which Pruett confirmed. Curran Cutting mentioned that there are possible grant opportunities for this project as well. The Select Board went on to vote unanimously in favor of Pruett and Bragdon’s idea.
The meeting concluded with announcements from the board itself. Chair Moses Grader lent congratulations to Glover School and Principal Hope Doran for the school’s Safe Routes to School Award, and Singer thanked everyone who contributed to the recent and upcoming events in town.
“I was somewhere today where people were talking about how amazing Marblehead is in its civic engagement with the people of Marblehead,” Singer said. “It was great because it was somebody who wasn’t from here… It was great to hear.”