Swampscott Board Votes to Cut Recycling Pickup to Every Other Week Starting January

SWAMPSCOTT — July 21, 2026 — Swampscott Select Board votes 4-1 to shift to every-other-week curbside recycling beginning January 1, 2027, projecting $168,000 in annual savings. The board unanimously approved $285,000 in fiscal year 2026 year-end budget transfers — down from $663,000 the prior year — including a transfer to cover fire department overtime of $795,000 and a $20,000 overage on a $1.6 million ladder truck purchase. Finance Director Patrick Donahue presented an initial FY27 water and sewer rate recommendation of 4 percent for sewer and 3 percent for water, which would raise the average household bill roughly $52 annually; the board deferred a vote pending additional analysis. Dixon Mallory, Director of Business Development for Hotel Delamar, walked the board through updated construction drawings for the planned 57- to 58-room boutique hotel at the former Hadley School, including a reversed parking-lot circulation pattern to address neighbor light-spillage concerns, with all permits due by February 2027 under the town's Land Development Agreement. The board authorized the Select Board chair and member Wayne Spritz to complete final review and sign a new recycling and solid waste contract with Republic Services, while deferring pricing for an optional second trash barrel — expected to land between $150 and $200 annually — to the July 21 meeting.