As I always warn is possible, new public meetings have popped up for this week after my weekly Monday post. One agenda caught my eye, since the Board of Selectmen normally meets on Tuesday evenings.
The BOS will be meeting Friday morning at 8:00 am. One of the agenda items is to appoint a negotiation team for the Town’s Host Agreement with CommCan, Inc.. CommCan is the applicant seeking to site a controversial Medical Marijuana site in Southborough.
In February, over objections from many residents, the board voted to provide a letter of non-opposition for CommCan’s application. During the discussion, potential contributions to the Town’s coffers were raised several times.
Although the property use would be for non-profit, CommCan pledged to negotiate mitigating funds in lieu of taxes with the board. Now the board is seeking to follow up on that.
Meanwhile, some residents continue to oppose the facility. Citizen’s petitions are responsible for three related Warrant Articles for this Town Meeting.
The Planning Board will host public hearings on the articles. They announced that will happen on March 28 at 7:00 pm in the Town House Hearing Room. To see the posted documents, click the following links:
- Hearing notice
- Petition to revise buffer zone
- Petition to prohibit sale of marijuana for non-medical purposes
- Petition to restrict hours
As for Friday morning’s BOS Meeting, the board will also discuss Town Meeting Warrant Articles on bylaw changes. Specifically, they will address the Salary Administration Plan and Transfer Station violations and fines.
The Transfer Station bylaw was last discussed at their January 5th meeting, where selectmen debated pulling the plug.
In the end, they opted to include it and close the Warrant. But they wanted to bringing in the article’s sponsors, the Green Technology & Recycling Committee, to explain it. The plan was for that to take place at their January 19th meeting, which was later cancelled.
This Friday’s meeting has no posted packet. But a draft of the Town Warrant was included in their February 29th meeting packet. Click links for the February 24th versions of the SAP Article and the Transfer Station fines Article.
“Shocked” that the BOS can’t confront this issue themselves. Let’s keep Southborough’s degenerative town politics as murky as possible! Maybe this will be a positive, but I still feel it is a failure of our BOS that has no connection with real opinions in the town or are legacy old family that do our town no justice and have no clue besides their clotures that vote for them. Time for some new blood.
Not that it matters, as we continue to appoint people who have clear ties to development to town bodies or people who barely attend meetings or are insanely over-committed (Kolenda). I expect this city to keep rotting with no interest in promoting a balance of development, actual planning for the future and growth vis-a-vis current assets, and preservation of what we all have come to know and love. Until people in this town really make a push to get involved we will lose why we moved here in the first place.
At this point, who the team will consist of is unclear. It may be one or two selectmen and some town officials like the administrator and treasurer. So, accusing the BOS of handing this off to other people is premature.
Southborough “Toilet” First, Southborough is a town, not a city.
It is always great to sit back and cast stones…perhaps you should heed your own words “Until people in this town really make a push to get involved we will lose why we moved here in the first place” and pick up the phone and volunteer to take on a role (either volunteer for this particular committee or another board, committee or group, or even run for office). And if you have an excuse as to why you “can’t”, remember the old saying about excuses…everyone has one…
I feel that Southborough’s “legacy old families” have their town’s best interest at heart. Why wouldn’t they? If Southborough has turned out not to be the oasis you thought it was, then perhaps it time for you to flush yourself out.
The people of Southborough voted for medical marijuana. As did the people of this Commonwealth. Elections and votes have consequences. As far as Selectman Kolenda, military service occasionally calls, a system the country supports.
I just wrote a long comment then deleted it, because it boils down to continued failures at the highest levels of town government. And nothing seems to change. I know a lot of people leaving town, maybe that is the only answer.
The issue with Dan isn’t his honorable military service, for which we all owe him our thanks. I do wonder how he can serve on both the Regional School Committee and the Board of Selectmen–both are time consuming, and the committees are often at odds with one another.
Absolutely wrong to throw stones at a guy, Dan Kolenda, who must sacrifice so much of his time to this town and this country. We could use 100 more just like him.
And after living here for almost 25 years, I don’t know of anyone who moved out of town because of the politics. My belief on the two reasons people leave town: their kids grow up and leave home and they don’t need the big 4 bedroom colonial anymore or a breadwinner gets a new job or is transferred.
I think most people really like living here.
Finally, Brian’s right… if you don’t like it, get involved and change it.
Any update? I heard the ZBA is heading its way to approve this despite we are against it.