Above: Unless otherwise noted, the Town’s committees are meeting over zoom.
Here are the posted open committee and board meetings for this week along with my selected highlights from the agendas.
Unless otherwise noted, meetings are all remote sessions open to the public.*
As always, be aware that changes to the meeting schedule are known to happen throughout the week. (Scroll down for details on meetings that popped up after last Monday’s post.) For an updated list of meetings, visit the town website.
Monday, April 11, 2022
- Southborough Stewardship Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Promoting Earth Day guided walk, Town Forest Trail sign installation, Breakneck Hill trail prep and coverage for Scoop the Poop Campaign
- Planning Board Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda and packet, Hearing Materials) Agenda Highlights: Public Hearings on Ken’s Foods expansion, 200 Turnpike Rd snow removal/landscaping contractor facility, 154-156 Northborough Rd site plan modification, and proposed Warrant Articles on Trees and Scenic Roads; MBTA Communities discussion
- Neary Building Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Project history and progress; vote on Feasibility Study Article; public education on Warrant Article; work on FAQ
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
- Board of Health Meeting, 9:30 am (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Food permits (rates, re-inspection fee, and adding request for inspection to Town website); FY23 Budget; Covid update (vaccine clinics & re-appointing temporary clerks); 3-Month numbers update; Planning for Mental Health Awareness Month; Noise issues (Noise bylway, reporting for for complaints, Ken’s Warehouse & Planning for BOH visit); Tobacco regulations & smoking in public
- Southborough Trails Committee Meeting, 6:00 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights:Mental Health Awareness Month guided hike; volunteer planning and opportunity; vote on Master Plan; Updates on Aqueduct Connector Trail project, Peninsula Trail permit, ARPA Committee project list, Annual Town Meeting bylaw; vote on Dog Waste Education Campaign and Guided Hike; grant planning; Accessibility and Inclusion Purpose Statement
- Historical Commission Meeting, 6:00 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Public Hearing on 42 Main St demolition application by Fay School; Updates on ARPA funds request for Historic District signage and St. Mark’s St triangle and park project; Master Plan implementation
- Regional School Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Algonquin Regional High School Library, 79 Bartlett St, Northborough** (agenda) Agenda Highlights: ARHS Athletic Complex Presentation; Social-Emotional Learning presentation; Warrant Articles update; School Choice hearing & vote; Covid update
- Select Board Meeting, 6:30 pm (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: MassDEP Consent Order and Notice of Noncompliance re farm dump at Breakneck Hill; Public Works’ Superintendent contract; Board statement on Park Central decision; FY23 Budget; Town Meeting Warrant Article positions; Update on SB/EDC business visit with Ferris Development; Discuss Historical Society Flagg School Lease
- Noise Bylaw Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Join Select Board meeting
- Youth Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda and materials) Agenda Highlights: Shop with a Purpose event; Strategic Plan discussions; ARPA funds request; Ellen Piontek scholarship applications; outreach opportunities
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
- Personnel Board Meeting, 9:00 am (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Handbook development schedule; Salary Study; SAP Revisions materials for Town Meeting; Benefits Employee volunteer solicitation; Performance appraisals communication with managers; Vacation request for IT new hire; Employee Development Request
- Southborough School Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Trottier Middle School Library, 49 Parkerville Rd*** (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Social-Emotional Learning Presentation; Covid Update; ADA report; Rec Dept overview & request for support; School Choice; Updates on Extended Day, Neary Building Committee
- Advisory Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint meeting with the Planning Board and the Select Board on proposed Trees and Scenic Roads Articles; vote on FY23 Budget and Article positions
- Select Board Meeting, 7:30 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Join Advisory meeting for review of Planning Board warrant articles
Thursday, April 14, 2022
- Regional School Committee Meeting, 6:00 pm @ Algonquin Regional High School Library, 79 Bartlett St, Northborough** (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joining Northborough’s ARPA public input meeting (Look for those details to be posted here)
- ARPA Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm – The committee asked readers be informed they are meeting weekly at this time “to discuss how to spend $3+ million allotted to the town via the American Recovery Plan Act.” Public comment is welcomed after completion of the agenda or can be emailed in advance. For details, click here. To look for the agenda to be posted later this week, click here.
Looking Back:
Below are meetings from last week that were posted after I ran last week’s list:
Thursday, April 7, 2022
- Scholarship Advisory Committee Meeting, 4:00 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Funds status; 2022 Aplication process and status; Ideas for promoting awareness and fundraising (video not yet posted)
- St. Mark’s Street Park Working Group Meeting, 6:00 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Reports on Burial Records, Archeological Study (cost, timetable and vendor options), ADA options for design, Library feedback on design; Discuss possible recommendations to Select Board (video not yet posted)
- Conservation Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda and packet, video) Agenda Highlights: Public Hearings on 12 & 10 Brigham St construction of new homes, 26 Meadow Lane installation of trench with piping, Ken’s Foods Warehouse addition, and 71 Main St & 1 Sears Road construction of new homes; 84 Main St discussion
*The Town intends to make each of its remote public meetings available for viewing/listening via streaming live (and saved) video and audio on YouTube with some available for public comment by zoom. Live streaming of school committee meetings is only available for viewing via webinars.
I don’t include closed Executive Sessions unless the agenda indicates the possibility of some action in an open public session at the opening or closing of the meeting.
**While the Regional School Committee is back to in-person meetings, those are usually live streamed (for viewing, not participation) by Northborough Cable Access’ education channel. (Eventually, they are also shared on NCAT’s YouTube channel.)
***Updated (4/11/22 10:28 am): Southborough Access Media will cover the Southborough School Committee. The hope is to broadcast live over the Government Channel (Charter 192/Verizon 37) and to rebroadcast later on the same channel and its YouTube Channel.
Anyone interested in maintaining the historic character and rural charm of Southborough should pay attention to the Historic Commission meeting tonight. It will include a public hearing to discuss Fay School’s request to demolish 42 Main St., commonly known as Doc. Stone’s house. This house was purchased by Fay School in 2017 for $375,000 and, apparently, has been left unused, abandoned and unheated ever since. Now Fay says it is uninhabitable and should be demolished. According to the Massachusetts Historical Commission this house “is still one of Southborough’s best examples of a typical 1850s-era Greek Revival…” It is also at the center of Southborough’s newly designated Main Street Area Historic District as listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And Fay wants to tear it down with little to no regard for it’s long-standing history at the center of this community.
The prominent location of 42 Main St. is across from the town house and library, and it’s history as a home and a business in Southborough make it especially important as part of our town’s story. Every effort should be made to restore it. If Fay School does not care about the history of downtown Southborough and it’s buildings, the school should sell it to someone who will properly care for it and it’s legacy (PLUS, then it would also generate property taxes for the town – not the case when it is owned by a “non profit” school).
PLEASE attend this public hearing to understand the importance of this historic structure, it’s value to the history of Southborough and help to guide its future.
I wonder how the DPW Superintendent made out with her contract at the Select Board executive session on April 12th? Another secret?
The Open Meeting later that evening included an agenda item to aprove “successor employment agreement for Public Works Superintendent”. In the meeting, Chair Lisa Braccio said they were skipping the item because it wasn’t ready yet. It’s not on the agenda for this week’s meeting.