The week in government

Here are the posted open, public Southborough committee and board meetings for this week* along with my selected highlights from the agendas.

These days, some meetings are over zoom, some in-person, and others are hybrids that allow both participation through both options. (Most, but not all, can be participated in, watched live, and replayed from home.)**

As always, be aware that changes to the meeting schedule (and agendas) are known to happen throughout the week. (Scroll down for details on meetings that I missed or popped up after last Monday’s post.) For an updated list of meetings, visit the Town website.

Monday, January 30, 2023

• Joint Meeting of the Policy Development Subcommittees for Northborough, Southborough, and Regional School Committees, 5:00 pm @ webinar only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: 2nd Review of policies related to alcohol, tobacco, drugs, wellness, and head injury/concussions; 1st review of policies on School Committee meeting conduct, defibrillation program, Narcan, Animals in school, Parental Notification for Sex Education, and dispensing medications
• Board of Health Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint Meeting with Northborough Board of Health and School Department to discuss proposed installation of turf fields at Algonquin Athletic Complex
• Capital Improvement and Planning Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Updates on committees for Neary Building, South Union, and Community Center Exploration; DPW Aerator update; Assign CIPC member to PILOT Committee; Vote on using revolving funds for parking lots for Trottier School and Golf Course; positions on Warrant Articles for Algonquin Athletic Complex and Trottier HVAC; capital item priorities and funding sources

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

• Select Board Meeting, 6:00 pm @ Town House Hearing Room, zoom, and live broadcast by SAM** (agenda and materials) Agenda Highlights: Appoint Police Lt; FY24 Budget; Updates on Hopkinton Water connectin, St. Mark’s St Park Working Group, and Regional Dispatch; Approve amended order for Breakneck Hill Farm Dump remediation; Approve new ambulance rates (fees for transported patients); Select Board representative to PILOT Committee; Approve legal agreement for St. Mark’s land swap; ARPA fund use; DPW Superintendent recruitment update
• Trails Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: DCR MOA trails agreement status; MassTrails grant next steps and draft bid for project

Thursday, February 2, 2023

• Taxation Aid Committee Meeting, 4:30 pm @ Town House Hearing Room only – not to be recorded (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Updates on Community Fund decision making and new year of applications; Process applications for selected banks for assistance to the Fund
• Council on Aging Meeting, 1:00 pm @ Senior Center, 9 Cordaville Rd only – not to be recorded (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Defined mission and vision; trends in aging; Prioritize issues to be addressed

Looking Back:

Below are meetings from last week that were posted after I ran last week’s list, plus one I missed (Conservation) that looks like it had been posted:

Thursday, January 26, 2023

• Southborough Cultural Arts Council Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Plan Grant Reception; Review application guidelines (not recorded)
• Conservation Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda and materials, video) Agenda Highlights: Hearings on 200 Turnpike Rd (for warehouse and salt shed) and Right-of-Way within Turnpike and Cordaville roads (to replace/install gas main); Discuss position proposed by EDC, request to extend permit for Bartolini Business Park (276, 278, 280 Turnpike Rd), 84 Main St Restrictive Covenant compliance, and Warrant Articles to update Stormwater Management Permit bylaws and regs; Update on active sites and Breakneck Hill Dump

Friday, January 27, 2023

• Personnel Board Meeting, 9:00 am (agenda and materials, video) Agenda Highlights: Approval of Job descriptions for Youth and Family Services Clinician, Economic Development Coordinator (full-time Community Development Coordinator), and Assistant Town Clerk; Revisions to Salary Administration Plan (Benefits, removing Election Workers and Schedule D employees from SAP, on-call payments)

Saturday, January 28, 2023

• Joint Meeting of Select Board and Advisory Committee, 8:30 am (SB agenda, AC agenda, video) Agenda Highlights: (Although I previewed last Monday that this was scheduled, the agendas hadn’t been posted with details.) Full day session with several departments and committees to discuss their proposed budgets for Fiscal Year 2024 and their Articles planned for Annual Town Meeting. The following were scheduled (with linked agendas for committees that expected a quorum):
  • Southborough and Regional schools
  • Police & Fire Departments
  • Board of Health
  • IT Department
  • Town Clerk
  • Assessors & Treasurer/Collector
  • Municipal Technology Committee
  • Board of Health 
  • Facilities Department
  • Economic Development Committee
  • Council on Aging
  • Youth Commission
  • Recreation Department
  • Dept of Public Works
  • Planning Board
  • Library (Trustees)

*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.

**Details on watching meetings remotely:

• • Town Committee/Board Meetings:
    • If in-person meetings don’t also advertise a zoom option, assume that it won’t be captured on video.
    • To remotely participate in meetings that allow zoom, click here.
    • Southborough Access Media has resumed recording the regular evening meetings for the Select Board, Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals that take place in the Town House Hearing Room. (They will still allow zoom participation.) View SAM’s live and replayed broadcasts via their Government cable access channel (Verizon-38, Charter-194, and streamed here) and on their YouTube Channel (here). (There may be occasional special meetings of those boards — especially the Select Board — not covered by SAM.)
    • To stream (or view later) remote or hybrid meetings not covered by SAM, use the Town’s YouTube Channel for Remote Meetings. 
  • School Committee Meetings:
    • Subcommittee meetings and some special meetings are only available to attend/view live (in person or by “webinar”) with no later rebroadcast.
    • Regular Southborough School Committee meetings are generally broadcast live by Southborough Access Media here and on Verizon-37 and Charter-192. (Video replays are also usually made available through their YouTube channel within a couple of days.) 
    • Regular Regional School Committee meetings (or Combined meetings based at Algonquin) are live broadcast by Northborough Cable Access here and on Southborough’s Education Channel (Verizon-29 and Charter-194). The meetings are also eventually rebroadcast and available through NCAT’s VideoOnDemand player and YouTube channel (though that can take several days).

Updated (1/31/232:37 pm): Initially, I missed that the Select Board agenda also included appointing a new Police Lieutenant.