Hamilton Select Board Approves Licenses, Appoints New Development Corporation Member 3-2

HAMILTON — December 20, 2021 — Hamilton Select Board closes 2021 with a contested 3-2 vote to fill a Hamilton Development Corporation seat. The board appointed Scott — last name not captured on audio — to the HDC over concerns raised by two members about transparency in past projects, including the Longmeadow affordable housing development and the Patton estate; HDC Chair Rick said the HDC had voted unanimously to recommend the appointment. The board approved a full slate of annual license renewals — liquor, entertainment, common victualer, and Class II — and tabled a burial plot request from a non-resident pending a staff report on cemetery capacity. Town Manager Joe briefed the board on a proposed shared assessing arrangement with Wenham estimated at roughly $214,000 annually for Hamilton, up from a current budget of approximately $200,000, with a formal vote expected as part of the FY23 budget process in early February. The Finance and Advisory Committee separately approved a $20,000 transfer to fund an ADA self-evaluation of all town facilities, a prerequisite for state disability grants.