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The Swampscott Department of Public Works and Massachusetts Water Resources Authority were working Wednesday to remedy a water pressure drop across town this week. (Shutterstock)
SWAMPSCOTT, MA The Swampscott Department of Public Works and Massachusetts Water Resources Authority were working Wednesday to remedy a water pressure drop across town this week.
The Swampscott DPW said some residents, especially at higher elevations, were still experiencing lower pressure on Wednesday as it was working hands-on to rectify the situation.
Swampscott DPW said the pressure drop was an unforeseen inconvenience from a water supply valve issue. The DPW said the valve was adjusted with the next process to fill the town s 3.5 million gallon water storage tank to proper levels.
Ina Michele Resnikoff / Columnist
Dana Swanstrom is many things but more than anything else, he is a devoted citizen and a loving husband, father and son.
Swanstrom s monitor on signing his e-mails reads: “Cherish your freedom” and since a young man, he has been a “Reagan Republican,” believing in the limited role of government and the concept of free markets. Another strong political influence is Gov. Charlie Baker, whom he sees as as a leader of all Massachusetts and not just his party.
His long beliefs and involvement in the governor s campaign led to his becoming a member of the Swampscott Republican Town Committee in 2010, and his current tenure as the committee’s chair began in 2016.
Wicked Local
Assistant Town Administrator for Administration and Finance Ron Mendes is leaving the town of Swampscott’s employ next month, according to an email sent to town staff on Tuesday afternoon.
“Ron has decided to leave for some great professional opportunities,” wrote Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald in an email announcing Mendes’ impending departure on May 12. “I want to really thank him for the extraordinary contributions he has made to Swampscott.”
Meanwhile, it appears Mendes has been looking for a new job at least since the late summer: He was one of five finalists for Swansea town administrator, according to reporting by the Swampscott Reporter s sibling newspaper, The Herald News, in September.
Swampscott tree huggers keep to-do list full
The half-dozen residents who sit on the Swampscott Tree Advisory Taskforce are quite the industrious bunch.
Members dutifully assist the Swampscott Department of Public Works in the protection, planting and care of the town’s public trees – from developing policies to securing resources.
“Swampscott trees are important: The town would be a very different place without them,” Swampscott resident Verena Karsten, who serves on the advisory taskforce, in a Friday call. “They play a critical part in everything: For animal life, for climate change, for public shade, for our quality of life.”
Concerned residents established the advisory taskforce in 2018 after a conveyor belt of big storms wrecked havoc on Swampscott trees.
Upcoming Swampscott public meetings
The following Swampscott public meetings below have been posted on the town’s website.
As the town practices social distancing, some will stream on the municipal website as well as broadcast on Swampscott Government Access Channels: Comcast Channel 22 and Verizon Channel 41
Almost all will be convened over the digital platform Zoom, to which residents and community members may need a unique identification number to gain access. That number can be found on the public meetings’ agendas. To read meeting agendas, visit: http://www.swampscottma.gov/calendar.
The Swampscott Reporter urges residents and community members to frequently check the town’s calendar for public-meeting updates.