Politics & Government

Voters Green Light Lead Mills Purchase

Town Meeting voters unanimously approved the purchase of the Lead Mills property Tuesday night.

Local residents unanimously approved a proposal to purchase the recently rehabilitated property at Town Meeting Tuesday night, paving the way for a new waterfront recreation spot in Marblehead.

If the override is approved in a Special Town Election next month, the 5-acre site, located off of Lafayette Street near the Salem/Marblehead line, would be purchased for approximately $1.6 million.

The proposed land acquisition would be a collaborative purchase between Marblehead and Salem - with Marblehead paying $1.5 million of the total cost.

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The majority of the land - about 3.5 acres of it - is in Marblehead. Although it would be deemed conservation land and would be maintained by the Marblehead Conservancy, the proposal allows for "passive recreation."

Appearing before the crowd Tuesday night was Town Planner Becky Curran, who urged town residents to "act quickly" and said the purchase would cost the median single-family household in Marblehead about $10.57 a year over 20 years.

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Curran's PowerPoint presentation included computer renderings of what the site would look like if purchased - complete with an open waterfront meadow and a small attached parking lot.

Curran went on to explain how a recently conducted showed that the majority of town residents felt Marblehead didn't offer enough .

Prior to the vote, Curran explained how grant funding from the state could possibly reduce the overall cost of the project by up to $400,000.

Having an updated Open Space and Recreation Plan will help .

How do you feel about the Lead Mills purchase? Let us know by sharing your opinion in our comments section below.


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