Month: September 2021

SWANSEA — Swansea Board of Selectmen Chair Derek Heim and Town Administrator Mallory Aronstein are pleased to report that the Board of Selectmen held its annual solid waste public hearing last week and voted to lower the annual user fee for residents.

During the meeting held Thursday, Sept. 16, the Board of Selectmen set the Town’s solid waste fees for the coming fiscal year. The annual user fee for solid waste removal has been lowered from $120 a year to $115 a year. The board, at the meeting, also held a public hearing to deliberate on the setting of the fees.

Billing will now be conducted twice annually. The user fee will be billed at $60 in the first billing, which will occur later this month, and will be billed at $55 in the second billing.

The Town’s ability to bill semi-annually is the result of passing a bylaw at Town Meeting in June, and the Town has received approval from the Attorney General’s office to make the change.

Users who fail to pay the fees shall be subject to a 14% annual interest rate. A penalty fee of $25 will result when the resident has not paid their bill after a second notice.

Additionally, abatements will now only be accepted 30 days or less after the date of billing, as opposed to the town’s previous practice of accepting abatements on a rolling basis. Applications for abatements are filed with the Highway Department.

“We are pleased to be able to lower this annual fee for residents, and feel the new structure will allow us to get a better handle on the actual costs of the program and to make sure that the fees are appropriate,” Town Administrator Aronstein said.

Bag fees for residents remain the same, at $1 for small bags and $2 for large bags.

The Town’s solid waste program is funded through an Enterprise Fund, with receipts received through user fees, trash bag receipts, penalties and other additional charges. There is also curbside recycling in town, curbside yard waste collection and pay-as-you-throw trash removal.

To view the Town of Swansea’s solid waste regulations and procedures, and to access an abatement application, click here.

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Dedication Will Coincide With 20th Anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001 Attacks

SWANSEA — Fire Chief Eric Hajder would like to invite the community and members of the media to a dedication ceremony for the Town of Swansea’s new Sept. 11 memorial this weekend.

The ceremony will also serve as an opportunity to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

The memorial is centered around two 11-foot lengths of steel rail recovered from the World Trade Center site following the attacks, and also honors the lives lost at both the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

“It’s hard to believe that 20 years has passed since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, but it is important that we never forget the events of that day,” Chief Hajder said. “That is why it is so important to honor the lives lost that day with a permanent memorial that residents are able to see each and every day. We thank the members of our 9/11 Memorial Committee, in particular former Fire Chief Peter Burke, who put in countless hours to design this memorial and make it a reality.”

WHEN:

The dedication ceremony will be held on Saturday, Sept. 11 beginning at 1 p.m.

WHERE:

Swansea Fire Station #1, 137 Main St.

Those wishing to attend are asked to park in the rear lot of the Joseph Case Junior High School, 195 Main St.

WHO:

Local town and state officials will be on hand, as will first responders from the Town of Swansea.

WHAT:

The Town of Swansea and the Swansea Fire Department will be unveiling and dedicating its new Sept. 11 memorial.

In early 2015, then-Swansea Fire Chief Peter Burke began the process of securing a section of steel from the World Trade Center site in hopes of constructing a permanent memorial in town. In May of 2016, a group of Swansea firefighters traveled to New Jersey to receive multiple lengths of steel recovered from the WTC site and return it to Swansea.

Shortly thereafter, a 9/11 Memorial Committee, consisting of active and retired Swansea Fire members, began informal meetings to explore potential sites and the design of a suitable memorial. The steel was secured at the Swansea DPW and displayed annually at the town’s Public Safety Day.

After exploring a number of locations, the committee agreed on Station #1 to house the permanent memorial. The committee met periodically to discuss design ideas in hopes of beginning construction in 2020. Progress on the design, stalled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, began again in earnest in the spring of 2020 with construction commencing in early summer.

What was initially a simple design quickly grew in size and scope resulting in a memorial that will be a fitting tribute to the four separate attacks that took place on Sept 11, 2001:

World Trade Center: The design centers around two 11-foot lengths of steel rail donated to the Town by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. The rails, which had run beneath the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, were recovered from Ground Zero and made available to numerous public safety entities for display in remembrance of the 9/11 attacks.

Pentagon: The rails stand inside a raised limestone pentagon shape. This honors the lives lost at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

Pennsylvania: The memorial is centered on a base of Pennsylvania bluestone pavers. This honors the lives lost in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

A flag pole along with two bronze plaques describing the events of Sept. 11, 2001 will complete the memorial site. One of the plaques reads, in part:

“This memorial is dedicated to the 2,977 Men, Women, Children, members of the Military and First Responders who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and to the brave men and women who continue to serve today. ‘We Will Never Forget.’”

The design was created by the members of the 9/11 Memorial Committee, including Joshua Coroa, a professional landscape architect who is also a former fire department member.

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As required by the State, the Town Clerk’s office must run a Mass Inactivation Report. This report is a list of active voters who have not responded to the 2021 Annual Town Census. My office is sending out postcard notices – postcards are two sided. If you receive one of these postcards, it is because you are now flagged as “inactive” due to a non-response to the Annual Town Census. Please complete the postcard, postage is already included for your convenience, simply fold over so your information is inside and either tape it or staple it and return it by us mail, dropping it in the drop box located at the Swansea Town Hall, or drop it off in person at the Town Clerk’s Office, 81 Main Street. Once the postcard is received back, according to your information on the it, you will be “reactivated”. Should you have any questions about your status, please feel free to call the office at 508-678-9389 ext. #2. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Diane Pelland, Town Clerk