NAHANT — The Nahant Housing Authority approved the FY27 capital improvement budget on Monday, with a focus on family housing unit safety. 

Installing smoke alarms has been a priority for the Housing Authority Board to address the recurring issue of tenants removing the detectors, Executive Director Kelley Collins said. 

After the Regional Capital Assistance Team (RCAT) management in the town switched over, the smoke alarm plans went unnoticed, Collins said. With the cost of the smoke alarms exceeding the remaining $27,000 in the Housing Authority’s budget, the manager suggested to Collins that they find a backup plan. 

The backup plan was to revamp the bathroom vent systems, Collins said. 

“In this building, a lot of them don’t work and can’t get parts for them,” Collins said. “So if you’re replacing it, you have to replace the whole electrical unit and everything too.” 

The issue that has been brought to light is whether the $29,000 in sustainability funding requested to update the bathroom vents will be approved, given that the building already has them installed, Collins said. 

Having to take the smoke alarms off the table for family units was a tough decision for the Housing Authority since the funding was not there to make it happen, Board Member Paul Smith said. 

Collins shared that replacing the bathroom vents will be a priority project in 2027, but it won’t be as fulfilling of a project with the amount of funding supporting it. 

“It’s not as exciting when you don’t have much money to work with,” Collins said.