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.

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, January 22, 2024

• Community Center Exploration Committee Meeting, 6:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Review & accept final consultant report and committee presentation to Select Board
• Historical Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Vote on CPA application to preserve/restore Town records; Final list of Revolutionary War Veterans’ graves; Vote on authorization for members to sign invoices; Next steps for Historic House Signs Program; Signage for Rural Cemetery water tower. Handling of Boston & Worcester Street Railway sign; National Register sign installation update
• Recreation Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Director Authority to Hire Part Time Seasonal Employees; Updates on Program Coordinator, Programs & Registration; Playground Repairs; Lundblad Field Update; Van Repairs; 9/11 Field Hockey Goals; Updates on Community Center Exploratory Committee, CPA, Tri-Centennial, and South Union Building, and Town Meeting

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

• Select Board Meeting, 9:00 am @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Introduce Interim Fire Chief; Update on recruitment for new chief
• Board of Health Meeting, 2:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: 98 Southville Rd; Opioid Settlement Money; Town Meeting; Collins Center; Employee Wellness; Bus Admin Job Description
• Board of Assessors Meeting, 4:15 pm @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Approve motor vehicle excise tax abatements; Discuss ATM article to adopt exemption clause for Gold Star parents/guardians
• Municipal Technology Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: 5 year Strategic Tech Plan updates; 2024 Tech Priorities; Town website feedback and user journey analysis; Auto-failover to Secondary ISP; Staffing & Managed services; FY25 Budget Review; Town Survey Status
• Trails Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Peninsula Trail Status; DCR MOA work plan

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

• Economic Development Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Southborough Senior Center (agenda) Agenda Highlights: EDC hosted event estimates; Updates on DBA form & business listings update, MBTA Communities preliminary zoning overlays, GSA inquiry, MassEcon EMC Meeting, 120 & 250 Turnpike Rd, Wastewater; Reprioritization of Master Plan Goals; One Stop & other grant opportunities
• Regional School Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda and materials) Agenda Highlights: Presentations on Guidance, Multilingual Learners, and Revised FY25 Budget; Transportation Update

Thursday, January 25, 2024

• Taxation Aid Committee Meeting, 4:15 pm @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Application period, grant amounts and process for review
• Conservation Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Mitigation for 90 Deerfoot Rd encroachment and 38 Presidential Dr violation; 84 Main St Restrictive Covenant; Chestnut Hill Farm Management Plan updates; Review of Standard Conditions for Orders of Conditions & Stormwater Management Permits; Breakneck Hill – Farm Dump progress; 2024 Goals Overview; Overview of draft Wetland Protection Act revisions

Looking Back:

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

Thursday, January 18, 2024

• Library Board of Trustees Meeting, 5:00 pm (agenda, video) Agenda Highlights: FY25 Budget; Updates on Mass Library Construction Program and Community Center Exploration Committee; Library Submission to Annual Town Report
• Community Preservation Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda, video) Agenda Highlights: Continued review of applications and Warrant Articles (Golf Club Irrigation, Peninsula Trail, Permanent Town Records, and Fayville Hall History & Arts Center); Finalize closing out forms

*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.