Town Meeting OK's Swansea's share of a new Diman, Sandy Beach parking, ADA playground

SWANSEA — Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School received the final community vote needed to move forward with a new school building.

That vote came at Monday’s annual Town Meeting, where Swansea residents also approved a new local meals tax, a revised soil bylaw, a new playground and various other community improvements. The meeting also set the fiscal 2023 budget.

It was preceded by a short special Town Meeting, in which voters approved more parking at Sandy Beach and improvements to the Milford Road basketball courts, among other items.

Prior to the meeting, Town Administrator Mallory Aronstein said there is only boater parking around the Sandy Beach area. In response, officials put forward a $30,000 line item at the special Town Meeting, so the parking lot can be expanded and a sitting area at the beach can also be implemented.

For the Diman item, Superintendent Elvio Ferreira said the state mandates approval from all four sending districts: Somerset, Fall River, Swansea and Westport.

The Swansea vote on Diman represented the final one before the district goes before the state School Building Authority, which will support borrowing for the town’s share of building a new $293,479,760 Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School building.

Last December, the MSBA awarded Diman a grant of up to $145,772,694 for a new school.

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Swansea Town Meeting voters on Monday unanimously approved the funds for Diman, but some asked why plans for the new regional vocational technical high school building are only for a student population of 1,500, which is equivalent to current enrollment numbers and not potential growth.

Ferreira has mentioned at past town meetings that the current Diman building on Stonehaven Road was built in the 1960s for a much smaller student population. He said school officials planned for a new building for a 1,500-student enrollment to keep costs modest for taxpayers.

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Swansea OKs 0.75% local meal tax

Based on Monday’s vote, Swansea will join other area communities in imposing a local meals tax of 0.75 percent.

Some taxpayers raised concerns about the need for it. One taxpayer called it a form of “stealing” and was redirected by the town moderator.

Selectman Steven Kitchin said this modest tax increase will be for all consumers of town restaurants, which would include gas stations and coffee shops.

Kitchin and other officials noted that Rhode Island consumers pay a higher meals tax than Massachusetts communities that pay both a local and the state meals tax. Overall Massachusetts imposes a 6.25% tax. As an example, Kitchin said a 99-cent coffee in Swansea costs around $1.05 due to the state sales tax. A local tax would just add around a penny to that price, but would generate revenue for the town, he said, while still charging consumers less than Rhode Island’s tax.

Kitchin said among area communities, only Acushnet and Freetown bypass this meal tax.

Advisory and Finance Committee Chairman Robbie Alford said that neighboring Seekonk generated over $523,000 last year from this tax while neighboring Somerset generated approximately $294,000. Alford, citing state Department of Revenue data from July of last year to the end of the year, said Swansea would have netted more than $110,000.

Kitchin and Alford said that money could go toward various capital projects in town.

New ADA playground approved

Swansea also approved funding for a new playground at Swansea Memorial Park.

Before the meeting, Aronstein says the current playground was first built in 1997 and recent inspections indicate the need for repairs. The Parks Commission has been discussing a new, American with Disabilities Act compliant playground and requested voters support the replacement.

Parks Commission officials noted that more and more safety issues have been reported over the last five years and the park is utilized often.

Some questioned if the town was paying too much on parks and recreation expenses.

Timothy Reynolds, a former Advisory and Finance Committee chairman, questioned many financial expenses and maintenance of certain areas.

Conservation restriction OK'd

Voters also approved a conservation restriction on a mile of wetlands along the Palmer River adjacent to the Swansea Country Club golf course.

“This preservation restriction utilizes a grant opportunity as well as working with local conservationists and the owners of the Country Club to focus efforts on protections of this special area that is home to amazing wildlife and also significant in terms of flood control over the next decade,” Aronstein said before the meeting on Monday.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Swansea Town Meeting voters OK funds for new Diman Voc-Tech building