Support for Swampscott Senior Center lacking, local advocates argue
Swampscott town administrator: It s been a complicated year
Leigh Blander and William J. Dowd
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Supporters of the Swampscott Senior Center are asking the town to hire a director and additional staff as soon as possible, as the center scrambles to serve thousands of area seniors during the pandemic.
“There’s a real lack of support from the town,” said Deb Bogardus with Friends of the Swampscott Senior Center.
According to the group, the senior center serves more than 5,000 seniors every year for meals, fitness classes, activities, and, above all, socialization. Longtime director Marilyn Hurwitz retired in early September, and nearly eight months later, the town has yet to replace her. Outreach Coordinator Gina Bush is the center’s only full-time employee.
Neil Zolot / Correspondant
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2020 was a year unlike any other in living memory. The COVID-19 pandemic affected daily life across the country and around the world.
Hamilton and Wenham were not immune. Politics and education, among other things, were affected by the coronavirus directly or indirectly.
Meetings of all kinds became virtual Internet video conferences accessed through Zoom after some early attempts at socially distanced meetings. Selectmen and School Committee members, among others, tuned in from their home offices, bedrooms or kitchens.
Ina Michele Resnikoff
By the time we have even thought about the first cup of coffee, an entire whorl of activity has unfolded at the Swampscott Department of Public Works Garage on Paradise Road. The crew of 16 men meet at 7 a.m. with Assistant Town Administrator for Operations Gino Cresta for the day’s schedule and assignments. The three women in the department begin each day at 8 a.m.
The crew members have so many and varied skills. They take care of everything from grounds maintenance to water and sewer control, asphalt repair to piping assessment.
They keep the cemetery lovely, the streets free of leaves and trash, the vehicles maintained and repaired, and they stay connected with all town departments. It is quite something: totally unsolicited, everyone interviewed applauded Cresta. Rarely, in public or private service, is a boss so beloved and respected.
Swampscott sets tax rates for FY2021
Average single-family home bill will remain unchanged, officials tout
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The average single-family home tax bill will neither decrease nor increase but rather remain unchanged at $8,999 in Fiscal Year 2021, based on the tax rates that the Swampscott Board of Selectmen recently set.
Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald touted a four-year streak in regard to the town’s tax bill for the average single-family home in Swampscott.
“Every year since 2017, Swampscott’s average, single-family home tax bill has dropped or stayed level – and that’s unique, exceptional,” said Fitzgerald in the fiscal 2021 tax classification hearing on Dec. 9. “You won’t be able to find another community in the commonwealth that has spent as much time really trying to find balance and stability. Many peer communities have increased their taxes every year over the past four years.”