Hamilton Select Board advances downtown parking overhaul, tables cemetery equipment purchase

HAMILTON -- November 21, 2022, Hamilton Select Board unanimously advances a downtown parking overhaul while rejecting a $9,000 cemetery leaf blower purchase on environmental grounds. Planning and Inspections Director Patrick Rafferty presented findings from a consultant study begun in 2020 showing the town has nearly 2,000 parking spaces in its downtown study area, with outdated and unreadable signage as the central problem rather than supply; the board approved a conceptual plan calling for four-hour parking along Willow Street and friendlier wayfinding signage, with a formal bylaw vote to follow after Town Counsel review. A separate request to spend Perpetual Care Fund money on a gas-powered ride-on leaf blower for the cemetery drew sharp pushback from members Jamie Ruder and Caroline Whalen, who cited Hamilton's recently adopted climate resolution and the absence of any municipal equipment purchasing policy; Town Manager Joe Doyle withdrew the approximately $9,000 request rather than face a losing vote. The board also appointed Ted Acworth, Greg Keller, and former Select Board member Bill Wilson to the reviving Master Plan Steering Committee, and Town Clerk Karen Kale confirmed a hand recount in the state representative race between Hamilton's Kristin Kastner and incumbent Lenny Mirra of Georgetown is expected the week of December 5, with the current margin standing at 10 votes.