The week in government

Planning Board hearings and St. Mark's MOU discussion; Select Board on MOU and joint meetings on Planning Board Warrant Articles and 5 Cordaville Rd property

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. For an updated list of meetings, visit the Town website.

Monday, February 27, 2023

  • Southborough Housing Opportunity Partnership Committee Meeting, 9:30 am @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Warrant Article; 5 Cordaville Rd property
  • Personnel Board Meeting, 10:30 am @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Salary Administration Plan Revisions including section 11 and Vacation; Revisions to Building Commissioner job description
  • Planning Board Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda and packet, Hearing Materials) Agenda Highlights: Discussion with Town Counsel on contingency in MOU with St. Mark’s School & Road Discontinuance; Hearings on 241-245 Turnpike Rd, 325 Turnpike Road sound barrier wall, Warrant Articles on bylaws for  Tree Protection and Scenic Roads, and Conservation’s zoning amendments; Approval Not Required application for 150 Parkerville Rd; Discuss MBTA Communities, St Mark’s Street relocation and park/trees/stonewall status, and Citizen’s Petition to Amend Public Works Planning Board Appointment Authority

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

  • Board of Commissioners of Trust Funds Meeting, 8:00 am @ Town House Hearing Room (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Updates on process to create assistance center – website update, and developing strategy to review structure of funds and possibly look for an endowment type fund
  • Select Board Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Hearing on Pole at 8 Brigham St; Historical Commission appointment; Approve FY24 Budget; Joint meeting with Planning Board on Town Meeting Articles; Joint Meeting with AHTFC, SHOPC, and Historical Commission on 5 Cordaville Rd; revised MOU with St. Mark’s School with goal of finalizing document; Update on Building Commissioner search; Board positions on Warrant Articles
    • Joint Meeting — Planning Board, 6:30 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint meeting with Select Board to discuss Town Meeting Warrant Articles including Scenic Road and Tree Bylaw Articles, and St. Mark’s MOU & Street Relocation/Park/Trees/Stonewall 
    • Joint Meeting — Advisory Committee, 6:30 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint meeting with Select Board and Planning Board on Planning’s Scenic Road and Tree Bylaw Warrant Articles
    • Joint Meeting — Historical Commission, 6:30 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint meeting with the Select Board, SHOPC, and Affordable Housing Trust Fund Committee to review options for 5 Cordaville Road, currently under demolition delay.
    • Joint Meeting — Affordable Housing Trust Fund Committee , 6:30 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint meeting with the Select Board, Historical Commission, and SHOPC to discuss 5 Cordaville Road
    • Joint Meeting — SHOPC (Southborough Housing Opportunity Partnership Committee) , 7:00 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint Meeting with Select Board to discuss 5 Cordaville Road
  • Community Preservation Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Algonquin Regional High School Athletic Complex Project – Tennis Court Replacement revised application, MOU, and Article; Discuss Peninsula Trail Project
  • Municipal Technology Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Practice management software for youth and family services; Town and School tech status updates; Cellular desserts – guide for residents to use wifi calling; Transfer Station Electronic Permit Validation System; Tech related to possible regional dispatch center; Review tech related items in Annual Town Meeting Warrant

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

  • MWRTA Advisory Board Meeting, 10:00 am @ 15 Blandin Ave, Framingham and zoom (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Operating Metrics; MWRTA Comprehensive Regional Transit Plan; Mid-Year Budget Review
  • Stewardship Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Southborough Public Safety Building Training Room, 32 Cordaville Road (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Community Gardens; Town Forest; Shed Update; Breakneck hill map review; Roadside Meadow; Invasive management of creeping buttercup; Wildflower Hill; North Pasture; Planet Palooza; Updates on farm dump

Thursday, March 2, 2023

  • Golf Course Committee Meeting, 9:00 am @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Project status for tee box movement and paving; signage; marketing; irrigation
  • Trottier School Council Meeting, 2:30 – 3:30 pm @ Trottier Middle School, Room 190 (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Update on School Culture Work; Adult-Student Connection Activity; Trottier’s Response to Acts of Hate and Intolerance

*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 broadcast or captured on video.
    • To remotely participate in meetings that allow zoom, click here.
    • Cable Access — Southborough Access Media has resumed broadcasting 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).
    • 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.)
  • 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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