Hamilton Select Board Closes Annual Town Meeting Warrant With 4-1 School Vote

HAMILTON -- March 24, 2025, Hamilton Select Board advances $142 million school borrowing article and closes Annual Town Meeting warrant. The board voted 4-1 to recommend favorable action on the $142,266,034 consolidated elementary school borrowing article at its March 24 meeting, with member Rosie Kennedy casting the lone dissenting vote and calling the project "an extremely financially irresponsible decision." Member Bill Wilson countered that consolidation is "the most equitable solution" given enrollment trends and long-term cost pressures. Town Counsel Tom McKim confirmed the regional school district borrowing requires only a majority vote at town meeting under General Laws Chapter 71 Section 16D, not a two-thirds vote. The board also retained a contested Groundwater Protection Overlay District zoning amendment on the warrant on a narrow 2-1 vote with two abstentions after residents raised concerns that the change from "building" to "dwelling unit" could render existing lots non-conforming across large portions of town. A citizens petition on the warrant received no board recommendation after its proponents declined to present to the Finance Committee.