HANSON – While the town budget is at a $ 2.6 million deficit as the budget season begins, according to Town Accountant Eric Kinsherf, the town did receive some good financial news this week on the grant front.
One of those announcements came after 36 hours of concentrated bipartisan legislative pushback from state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton and state Rep. Ken Sweezey, R-Pembroke, when a $19,000 grant the Hanson Fire Department has been counting on to fund firefighting equipment. was rescinded because Hanson is not MBTA Communities compliant as of Dec. 31.
Another $9,000 grant funding safety programs for children and seniors is still in jeopardy, O’Brien said Wednesday morning.
“A letter that awarded them, a paragraph that should have had a happy tone, had a whole paragraph about the future of additional grant money, and said very explicitly ALL future grant money awards will take compliance into consideration,” Sweezey said.
The grant had been awarded last November.
“Thank you very much for the support,” Fire Chief Robert O’Brien Jr., said, adding that Sweezey had started making phone calls before he could get started working the phones. … It meant a lot to us.”
Fire Chief Robert O’Brien Jr., also addressed the situation, thanking Sweezey and Brady’s legislative aide, and noted that, as well as Hanson officials, they were getting talks or phone calls or texts to the point where they cloud see that the grant would be restored.
“I want to thank you and Sen. Brady for your very timely support on our little ‘fire drill’ last week,” Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett punned during the Tuesday, Jan. 28 meeting. “I called [them] and, after a ‘therapeutic session’ with both of them, in which I expressed my very strong views [they went to work to restore the funding]. That was one of the lowest things I’ve seen in many, many years.”
Within four hours, FitzGerald-Kemmett had received a follow-up call to the effect that the state had “changed their mind.”
“I want to thank you for your ‘right out of the gate’ partnership,” she said as Sweezey attended the Select Board’s meeting to provide a legislative update. “I didn’t expect anything different, having served with you on the Economic Development Committee, but I did want to thank you.”
Sweezey said he’s had a very busy but productive 28 days in office since being sworn in on Jan. 1.
He’s also filed 26 of the 7,000 bills filed by the Jan. 16 legislation filing deadline this year.
Sweezey noted that the Supreme Judicial Court had ruled on Jan 8 that the state’s attorney general can enforce the MBTA Communities law, which they ruled is constitutional, but they did not rule on the law’s guidelines. There are 23 separate bills filed on MBTA zoning by 11 different representatives of both parties.
“I do very much believe this is going to get worse, to be honest with everybody,” Sweezey said.
The following week, the governor’s office and the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities issued emergency regulations with new deadlines. As of now, Sweezey said, every community is back into “interim compliance,” which is why Hanson was awarded the fire safety equipment grant.
On Feb. 13, all towns must file an action plan, whether they plan on being compliant or not. Hanson had done a couple of years ago before the timeline had been changed because of the court challenge, before beginning the process of bringing it back to Town Meeting by July 14.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said the action plan would be further discussed and voted on at the Select Board’s Feb. 11 meeting.
“At that point, if no zone is created, then that town – if they filed an action plan – would then be out of compliance,” Sweezey said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said Sweezey liked the letter received by Hanson Fire, also came short of saying ‘You won’t get it,” she said. “But you won’t get it.”
She noted that, as the law is structured now, educational grants, first responder grants, could be on the table.
“There’s no guardrails there,” she said.
“The townspeople overwhelmingly, gave us decision,” said Vice Chair Ann Rein. “They don’t want to be in compliance. Starting that process up, makes it look like we are going against the townspeople’s desires, and trying to bring Hanson into compliance. I have to say, I do not want to be compliant.
“I don’t want Hanson to change the way they want it to change, the way they want Hanson to change,” she said.
The Hanson Public Library has also been awarded a sizeable grant – $100,000 to be funded immediately – by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners at it’s January Board meeting.
The MPLCP awards grants in two phases: Planning and Design Phase and Construction Phase. All the projects will move through the planning and design phase at the same time, regardless of status. At the culmination of this phase in late 2025 or early 2026, all projects will undergo an independent review of the MPLCP Level of Design. The immediately funded projects that pass the review will be recommended for a construction phase grant immediately.