A blog for locals, by a local

The week in government

Select Board on Planning request for Special Counsel & Budget positions with Advisory; Combined Schools on school calendar; CPC application presentations; Conservation; and more

by Beth Melo on

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

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

These days, most (but not all) meetings, can be participated in, watched live, and replayed from home.)** 

Monday, December 4, 2023

  • Personnel Board Meeting, 9:00 am @ zoom only (agenda, video) Agenda Highlights: Pay rate request for Local Inspector and vacation request for Maintenance Technician
  • Capital Improvement and Planning Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Consider Article to reduce membership to 5; Review DPW Capital Plan and overall FY25 outlook

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

  • Select Board Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom or @ zoom only (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Public hearings on utility pole at 157 Cordaville Road and Auto Sales licence for 145 Boston Road; Joint meeting with Advisory on FY25 budget; Planning Board request for Special Counsel related to 120 Turnpike Road 40B; Task authorization for Breakneck Hill Farm cleanup project Winter Parking Ban; Approve revised Building Dept fees; 2024 License Approvals for selling alcohol, food, and autos; ARPA request from Town Clerk for scanning historical documents; Town Common & cemeteries restoration project; Update on Public Works Planning Board/Public Works Advisory Committee bylaw Discus MassHousing letter for 250 Turnpike Rd 40B; Discuss potential Accessory Dwelling Units bylaw
    • Planning Board Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Select Board Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Request for board to have Special Counsel for 120 Turnpike Rd 40B permit
    • Advisory Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Select Board Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint meeting with Select Board on FY25 budget, and possible votes on supporting individual dept/committee budgets

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

  • Southborough School Committee Meeting, 7:30 am @ webinar only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: FY25 Budget Discussion
  • Combined School Committees Meeting, 5:30 pm @ Algonquin Regional High School Library, 79 Bartlett St, Northborough (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Superintendent’s Mid-Cycle Review; Solar Update; Summary of Wellness Day Survey Data; Vote on Draft 2024-2025 Student Calendars; 1st Readings on Policies for School Immunization Requirements, Child Abuse and Neglect, and Substance Use Prevention and Education
  • Community Preservation Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Public Safety Building-Training Room, 32 Cordaville Rd and zoom (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Project presentation by Southborough Historical Society; Discuss 21 Boston Rd preservation project with applicant; Review Town Clerk application to digitize Town records; Closing out projects; Review draft budget

Thursday, December 7 , 2023

  • Conservation Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Hearings on 20 Sears Rd Intent to replace existing pipe with naturalized channel, 104 Sears Road home renovation and site work, and 78 Main Street construction of detached garage; Comments to ZBA on 40Bs (Park Central & 120 Turnpike Rd); 38 Presidential Drive mitigation of violation; 84 Main Street Restrictive Covenant discussion; Chestnut Hill Farm Management Plan updates; Breakneck Hill Farm Dump progress
Looking Back:

Below are meetings from last week that were posted after I ran last week’s list:

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

  • Historical Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda, video) Agenda Highlights: Review proposed FY25 Budget; Discuss 84 Main St Preservation Restriction with owner; Vote on CPA application to digitize permanent town records; Updates on Working Group for Rural Cemetery water tower sign, Revolutionary War Veterans research, site visits to 21 Boston Rd and Engine 25, Boston and Worcester Street Railway sign, addressing conditions at the Town Common & cemeteries, Master Plan Committee, and Historic House Signs Program

Friday, December 1, 2023

  • Affordable Housing Trust Fund Committee Meeting, 9:00 am (agenda, look for future video here) Agenda Highlights: Discuss transfer of the Old Water Tower Site on Atwood Road from the Town of Southborough to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and a plan for affordable housing development on the site

*I don’t list meetings that are only 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 broadcast or captured on video.
    • To remotely participate in meetings that allow zoom, click here.
    • To live stream (or view later) remote or hybrid meetings (even those covered by Southborough Access Media) over the internet, use the Town’s YouTube Channel for Remote Meetings. (The meetings covered by SAM can also be streamed on their website here, and eventually on SAM’s YouTube Channel.)
    • Cable Access — Southborough Access Media broadcasts the regular evening meetings for the Select Board, Planning Board, and Zoning Board of Appeals that take place in the Town House Hearing Room. (Those meetings will still allow zoom participation.) View SAM’s live and replayed broadcasts via their Government cable access channel (Verizon-38 and Charter-194).
  • 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).
  • Other:
    • Southborough does participate in some regional collaboratives hosted in other towns. Those committees follow their own rules and may not offer a way to re-watch zoom meetings.

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