Hamilton appoints Megan Benson to Regional School Committee in 8-3 vote

HAMILTON — July 21, 2025 — Hamilton appoints Megan Benson to its Regional School Committee and bans automated irrigation amid record-low river levels. The Select Board and Hamilton-Wenham Regional School Committee met jointly Monday, voting 8-3 to seat Benson, an associate director at MADNA and a Hamilton parent, over two other candidates including Melissa Saxel and Robert McManis, filling a vacancy ahead of the district's September 15 school-building ballot question. DPW Director Tim Olsson told the board the Ipswich River had dropped to roughly 10.9 cubic feet per second — well below the 52.5-cubic-feet-per-second permit trigger — prompting a unanimous vote to prohibit all automated residential lawn irrigation effective immediately, with handheld watering the only permitted option until flow recovers for three consecutive days. Community Preservation Committee Chair Jay Butler, in his annual presentation, reported Hamilton's 2 percent surcharge generated just over $687,000 in total revenue last fiscal year but warned that bond repayments of just over $600,000 in FY26 leave the CPC with no capacity to bond any new large projects; the board also unanimously approved the address 461 Asbury Street for the new Asbury Commons affordable housing development.