Marshfield Select Board Advances 30 Town Meeting Articles, Approves Full-Time Staff Post

MARSHFIELD -- March 16, 2026, Marshfield Select Board pushes more than two dozen warrant articles forward and votes 2-1 to send a $25,000 Community Development Corporation proposal to town meeting. The board, chaired by Eric Kelly, returned from a lengthy executive session before approving a $717,597.49 package of unpaid prior-year bills, including a $700,000 unemployment liability, and voting unanimously to convert the Select Board administrative assistant role to full-time with two weeks of advertising on the town website. Kerry Richardson and Rick Broullard of the Quincy Housing Authority presented the Marshfield Housing Authority's plan to seed a nonprofit CDC, arguing the federal Faircloth Amendment blocks the Housing Authority from developing new units directly and that a 501(c) corporation is the state-recommended vehicle for incremental affordable housing growth; the Housing Authority board had already voted 4-1 in favor and the Community Preservation Committee backed it unanimously. Kelly voted no, saying "I think this is dangerous stuff," while Darcy praised the Quincy Housing Authority's record, "the before and after photos stand in stark contrast", and Simpson voted aye, producing a 2-1 result. The board also voted unanimously to post the town's SJC MBTA zoning briefs on the town website, with Town Counsel Bob Shea declining further public comment while the case remains under advisement and a decision expected within roughly 130 days of the oral argument.