Select Board Votes 3-2 to Exclude Hawthorne Housing
Swampscott Select Board votes 3-2 to bar housing from Hawthorne RFP after months of debate. Members Wayne Spritz, Mary Ellen Fletcher and Danielle Leonard carried the motion; Chair Katie Phelan and Ted Dooley dissented, warning the town could later need to fund the project itself.
Select Board · Meeting of August 4, 2026
Swampscott Select Board votes 3-2 to bar housing from Hawthorne RFP after months of debate. Members Wayne Spritz, Mary Ellen Fletcher and Danielle Leonard carried the motion; Chair Katie Phelan and Ted Dooley dissented, warning the town could later need to fund the project itself. More than a dozen residents urged preservation of the waterfront property as open space, with one written comment calling residential use "the easy, lazy route." The board also confirmed a long-dormant $75 parking fine — approved in April 2025 but never implemented for 15 months — will now be enforced immediately, with member Mary Ellen Fletcher stating bluntly, "The job didn't get done." Separately, the board unanimously approved the September 1 state primary election warrant and appointed Michael Paquette to the Board of Registrars.
In the full story:
- Phelan, arguing for moving the project forward after years of inaction, said
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,004 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of August 4, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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