GA Blog: Hamilton

1.9.12 Hamilton Resident Gives Property to Town as Gift

The Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle recently reported that Hamilton has been offered a 27.22-acre parcel of land as a gift from resident Joanne Patton. The town is in the works of figuring out what to do with the land if they should accept the parcel at 650 Ashbury Street.

The property is valued at $1.9 million, which includes a historic house and most of the surrounding land with a river access point, and would most likely be used as public playing fields and recreational space.

The historic house on location may be used as a museum by Gordon College, with Lombardo scheduled to meet with the college to discuss long term rental options. The town is considering conducting a traffic study to see the impact of public use of the land.

The gift proposal was recently presented to the town in a commitment letter. Hamilton Town Manager Michael Lombardo had worked with Patton for “several months” to put the proposal together. To accept the gift, Hamilton would need to receive selectmen approval on a gift agreement and also a positive Town Meeting vote.

Read the entire Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle article.

6.17.11 Project Creates Affordable Housing and Improved Home for Food Pantry

The Salem News recently reported that construction of an affordable housing project that is years in the making will begin this week in Hamilton, MA.

Located at 69 Willow Street, Firehouse Place will create a newly improved space for the Acord Food pantry-- which has served for residents of Hamilton, Wenham, Ipswich, Topsfield, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea-- and will also include four, one-bedroom affordable housing apartment units. When first built the building was used as a firehouse.

The Project is a mission of Harborlight Community Partners, a Beverly-based nonprofit organization, and will be supported by Community Preservation Act funds.

Construction of the project is expected to finish in the fall.

Read the entire Salem News article: http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1557867765/Housing-project-gets-off-ground

6.15.11 Hamilton Looks into Smart Growth Opportunity

The Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle recently reported that Hamilton is looking into the possibilities of working with a local “smart growth” developer, Genesis Planners, Inc. The developers specialize in projects that focus on “locating development near existing town centers, facilitating walking, limiting sprawl, yet preserving open space and utilizing existing infrastructure.”

“Our research indicates that the majority of households in the U.S. are made up of one and two people,” said land developer Dan Gainsboro. After studying the work of a well known smart-growth architect, Gainsboro saw potential for his Hamilton lot and based his plans around one project in particular that consisted of 2-3 bedroom cottages.

Upcoming plans include Gainsboro and a real estate attorney to “assist” the Town with local cottage bylaws. The local planning board will be holding public meetings June 14th and 28th.

Read the entire Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle article.

3.10.11 Accidental $225K Taken from Hamilton Taxpayers

The Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle recently reported that Hamilton residents will be getting some money back that was wrongfully taken in their taxes due to an accounting error on 2011 paperwork.

An additional $225,000 in taxes was collected from residents and was only noticed when Hamilton Town Manager Michael Lombardo noticed the mistake when a “recap sheet” was being submitted to state officials. The average Hamilton homeowner will get back roughly $85 on their 2012 tax bill.

There was some discussion of using the collected money to add to the town’s reserve account, which has been struggling over the years, but after more consideration it was decided that the money should be returned to the residents.

Read the entire Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle article.

8.9.10 North Shore Regional Planning Receives $68,000 Grant

The Hamilton Wenham Chronicle reports that 6 North Shore communities are collaborating on a regional project to address regional issues, including housing, transportation and open space protection.

Hamilton, Wenham, Beverly, Danvers, Ipswich and Salem won a total of $68,000 in funding for “MetroFuture: Making a Greater Boston Region.”  Project activities will include holding public forums to identify local and regional priority housing and economic development districts, priority preservation areas, regionally significant transportation improvements and regional growth centers. The project will start in late summer and conclude by December 2010.

The Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development awarded a $40,000 Regional Strategic Planning Grant which will be matched by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council with an additional $28,000 for public engagement.

For more information, visit www.mapc.org/subregions/nstf or click here to read the entire Hamilton Wenham Chronicle article.

5.27.10 North Shore Towns Amongst 35 Massachusetts “Green” Communities

The Boston Globe reports that Governor Deval Patrick designated 4 North Shore cities/towns amongst the 35 first official “Green Communities”, making them eligible for $8.1 million in grants for local renewable power and energy-efficiency projects.  In order to qualify, cities/towns must meet five clean energy goals, including:

• Adopting local zoning bylaws to encourage and speed up permitting for renewable energy projects
• Purchasing only fuel-efficient vehicles for their municipal fleet whenever possible
• Requiring all new residential construction over 3,000 square feet, as well as all new commercial and industrial real estate construction, to save energy by adopting new building codes.

Green Communities are eligible for millions in local aid under the 2008 Green Communities Act; they include Acton, Arlington, Athol, Andover, Becket, Belchertown, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Easthampton, Greenfield, Hamilton, Hanover, Holyoke, Hopkinton, Kingston, Lancaster, Lenox, Lexington, Lincoln, Lowell, Mashpee, Medford, Melrose, Montague, Natick, Newton, Northampton, Palmer, Pittsfield, Salem, Springfield, Sudbury, Tyngsborough, Wenham, and Worcester.

The communities’ deadline to apply for a piece of the $8 million is June 4; the grants will be awarded in late June.  Each community will also receive a Big Belly solar waste compactor to be delivered in time for the summer parks and beaches season.

Read the entire Boston Globe article.