Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – WEDnESDAy, DECEmbEr 24, 2025 COVER STORIES | FROM PAGE 1 filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) with the commission. FEBRUARY More than a year after falling one vote short of obtaining a special permit to operate a retail marijuana dispensary on Route 1 in Saugus, Uma Flowers prevailed on a second chance before selectmen, becoming the second pot business to obtain a permit to loADVOCATE NEWSPAPERS HOLIDAY OFFICE SCHEDULE NOTICE The Advocate Newspapers will observe a holiday closure from December 29, 2025, through January 2, 2026. Our next editions will be published on Friday, January 9, 2026. During this period, our office will be open intermittently, and all voicemail messages nd emails will be monitored and responded to in a timely manner. For questions, legal notices, or advertising submissions for the January 9 publications, please contact us at 781-233-4446 or Jmitchell@advocatenews.net We extend our sincere appreciation to our readers and advertisers and wish you a happy holiday season and a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year. Thank you for your continued support. - James D. Mitchell, President/Publisher Lawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lien * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net cate on Route 1. Just two days before a Conservation Commission public hearing related to a proposed dog park at Stocker Playground, Town Counsel John Vasapolli issued a legal opinion that the dog park is a permitted use. Opponents of the dog park maintained that the project would violate the deed restriction that was filed when the town acquired the Frederick Stocker Playground parcel in 1930. An arbitrator ruled that the Saugus School Committee fired Ex-Supt. Erin McMahon without proper cause. The arbitrator awarded McMahon substantial lost wages and benefits to make her whole. Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree recommended $34.3 million for the School Department for the 2026 Fiscal Year that begins July 1 – an increase of $500,000 over the Fiscal Year 2025 budget approved last spring by the Annual Town Meeting. That’s $2 million less than the proposed Saugus Public Schools budget recommended by Supt. Michael Hashem and approved by the School Committee earlier this year. MARCH The Town announced that it would be calling on residents and businesses to make appointments to replace their water meters as the town begins a new technological age of water metering operations that will allow customers to monitor their water usage and receive an alert when they have a water leak or burst pipe that could prove costly. St. Patrick’s Day marks the 10-year-anniversary of the day the town voted to oust four selectmen who fired Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree. The new board members soon after voted with Selectman Debra Panetta to hire back Crabtree, who continues to serve as the administrative leader of town government. Selectman Corinne Riley got unanimous support from her colleagues on the Board of Selectmen in calling for a meeting with local state legislators to address traffic backups caused by the Route 1 North traffic light in Peabody. Selectman Corinne Riley announced that she will not seek a fourth two-year term on the Board of Selectmen, adding that she planned to stay active in community affairs while pursuing other interests outside of politics. APRIL An attorney representing a Lynn business near the site of the state’s Belden Bly Bridge replacement project threatened to seek a judge’s order to stop the project over a marina building he alleged was damaged by the bridge work. WIN Waste Innovations received high praise for compliance in the annual air monitoring report compiled by an environmental consultant hired by the Saugus Board of Health. WIN complied fully with federal and state air quality standards related to the operation of its trash-to-energy plant and the adjacent ash landfill on Route 107 last year, according to the town consultant. Saugus residents received a PowerPoint presentation on an all-encompassing public safety facility designed to improve police, fire and ambulance service to the town. This project expands on the four-decadesold pursuit of a third fire station to cover the west side of town. Town Meeting members prepared to tackle three Special Town Meetings before they begin the Annual Town Meeting on May 5. MAY Town Meeting members surveyed by The Saugus Advocate cited fiscal stability with a well-managed town government as their top priority as they prepared for the Annual Town Meeting. Members voted unanimously in support of an article to spend $825,000 on a feasibility study for the West Side Public Safety and EMS Response Facility during a Special Town Meeting. Precinct 10 Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian questioned whether the School Department had made the most of the Supplemental Student Support Reserve Fund after noting that the department had only spent a quarter of about $4 million it had available in a fund created three years ago to help students who are behind because of COVID-19 pandemic-related issues. The Annual Town Meeting voted unanimously in favor of a zoning article that would limit the number of marijuana establishments within the Business Highway Sustainable District to two businesses – one on each side of Route 1. Members prepared for a Special Town Meeting to consider a warrant article to amend the town’s zoning bylaws to add an MBTA Communities Multi-family Overlay District (MCMOD). COVER STORIES | SEE PAGE 9
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