After weeks of closed-door discussions and a wave of public criticism, the Select Board Tuesday cleared the way for a housing developer to buy 138 acres of formerly protected land in Cedarville, with the deciding votes cast by two members who hold personal and political ties to him. The 3-2 decision to waive the town’s […]
Author Archives: Mark Pothier - Independent Staff
Posted inGovernment
Closed-door talks over land deal muddied by Select Board members’ link to developer
The Select Board on Tuesday held the latest in a series of closed-door meetings to consider whether it should recommend the town purchase 138 acres in Cedarville for about $5 million or allow a developer to buy the land and build homes on part of it. Under the best of circumstances, the decision would involve […]
Posted inGovernment
‘On the Road’ again: Select Board plans another series of neighborhood meetings
The annual election was supposed to be a reset for the politically fractured Select Board, but it didn’t take long for longstanding tensions to resurface Tuesday during its first full meeting with new chair Deb Iaquinto behind the gavel. The latest round of squabbling wasn’t set off by an overarching issue like the precarious state […]
Posted inReal Estate Sales
Of the 87 homes sold in town last month, 43 went at or above asking price
If you’ve got the money or equity to hunt for a new home in town, expect to run into plenty of similarly minded people at open houses. While the cost of homeownership in Plymouth is rapidly catching up to some of its northern neighbors, higher prices are not deterring buyers of means. The most coveted […]
Posted inGovernment
After a nasty election, an olive branch extended
Well, that was kind of awkward. Following the most divisive election season in memory, the Select Board Tuesday convened with the same lineup and same tense atmosphere that marked the last 12 months. But after an unusually somber meeting, it adjourned with a new chair – the third one in a year – and the […]
Posted inCulture
Prospects for July Fourth festivities looking up
When July Fourth parade and fireworks organizer Matt Tavares spoke with me in April, he sounded slightly down about the prospect of pyrotechnics going up over the harbor this year. Tavares – who took over responsibility for the longstanding celebrations from his father, Ken – said fundraising efforts were in danger of fizzling. If the […]
Posted inBusiness
Resource center to offer housing, services, and shelter for homeless
The effort to stem homelessness in Plymouth took a major step forward this week with news that a planned Housing Resource Center has received crucial state funding. The center, operated by the regional nonprofit Father Bill’s & MainSpring, is set to be built at 41 Westerly Road, off Summer Street, on the site of the […]
Posted inGovernment
Why did Town Meeting reject a 1% budget cut?
You’ve heard the saying “kick the can down the road.” Politicians have fashioned it into an art form, especially in Washington, where decisions on thorny issues like Social Security and a ballooning national deficit are endlessly deferred. Some say Plymouth’s own legislators – its 162 elected Town Meeting members – acted the same way last […]
Posted inBusiness
Downtown changes bloom with spring
Aside from peeling paint and weather-worn facades, the effects of a brutal winter have faded from the downtown area. Restaurants and shops are emerging from the year’s slowest stretch – almost as fast as people stripped off cold-weather clothes for a few days earlier this month. Merchants and restaurateurs hope to rebound from what was […]
Posted inReal Estate Sales
There are 84 houses for sale in town. Thirty-seven are priced at $1 million or more.
This week’s cool temperatures are a reminder of spring’s fickle nature in New England. But to the relief of real estate brokers, weather doesn’t necessarily correlate with activity in the local housing market this time of year. It comes as no surprise that home sales in Plymouth rose last month following a frigid February. Sixty-two […]