Hamilton Select Board Votes to Open Annual Town Meeting Warrant, Plans Town Hall Committee Revival

HAMILTON -- January 3, 2022, Hamilton Select Board opens 2022 with town hall revival plans and COVID test distribution overhaul. The board voted unanimously at its January 3 meeting to open the Annual Town Meeting 2022 warrant, approve a letter supporting state extended producer responsibility legislation for packaging and mattresses, a bill facing a February 4 committee reporting deadline, and authorize a one-day liquor license for Essex County Brewing at the Patton Homestead on January 22. Chair William Olsen announced plans for a late-January joint meeting to reconstitute the Town Hall Building Committee, explicitly inviting previous opponents of the project, after two prior ballot failures. Town Manager Joe McGee read a statement acknowledging that the holiday-period distribution of COVID-19 rapid test kits "could have been more collaborative" and lacked a public communications plan, and outlined a proposal to purchase additional kits through a state contract and resell them to residents at roughly five dollars per test, compared with 25 to 35 dollars at retail pharmacies. Town Clerk Corinne Kell told the board that nomination papers for the April 7 election, with seats open on the Select Board, Planning Board, School Committee, and other bodies, become available January 10.