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 16, 2024
- Personnel Board Meeting, 8:30 am @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Discuss constitution of the board; Employee Salary Structure; FY26; Approve FY26 Grid under Section 20 of the SAP
- Library Board of Trustees Meeting, 4:00 pm @ Southborough Library (agenda) Agenda Highlights: FY26 Budget; MPLCP update; Safe Child Policy; Submission for Annual Report and 2025 accomplishment; Library Director Contract
- Regional School Operational Budget Subcommittee Meeting, 6:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: FY26 Revised Preliminary/Recommended Budget
- Planning Board Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom or (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Proposed Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) Bylaw and Regs; Proposed Zoning Amendments (Shared Parking Bylaw & Industrial Park Zone uses); Hearings on 250 Turnpike Rd Contractor’s Yard Building, 2 East Main St Mixed-Use Bldg, 26 Meadow Ln Flexible Development; Discuss 40B Status for 120 Turnpike Rd, 250 Turnpike Rd, and 352 Turnpike Rd; On-Call Engineering Consultant
- Neary Building Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Community Feedback and outreach plan; Design Review Updates, Exterior of Building and Site Circulation; Review of Finn School Existing Conditions and Potential Capital/Future Projects
- Neary Building Committee Communications Subcommittee Meeting, 7:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Approve FAQs and project statement
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
- Board of Commissioners of Trust Funds Meeting, 8:00 am @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Emergency request from Council on Aging for resident assistance
- Select Board Meeting, 6:00 pm @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Police appointments & promotions; Town Dept 2024 accomplishments; Neary Building Committee project presentation; CIPC FY26 Capital recommendations; FY26 Town budget status; Declining the Right of First Refusal on Affordable Unit at 168 Stockwell Lane; Update on Chestnut Hill Farm farming
- Advisory Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Select Board Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint meeting with Select Board for Neary Building Committee project presentation, CIPC FY26 Capital recommendations, and FY26 Town budget status
- Neary Building Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Select Board Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Provide project update presentation to Select Board and Advisory Committee
- Southborough School Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Select Board Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Attend NBC presentation
- Capital Improvement and Planning Committee Meeting, pm @Meeting 7:00 pm @ Select Board Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Attend NBC presentation; Present FY26 Capital update and long range forecast to Select Board and Advisory Committee
- Municipal Technology Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Town Tech updates; 5 yr plan top metrics to track
- Planning Board Meeting, 6:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Hearing on Scenic Road Tree Removal request by National Grid
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
- Regional School Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Algonquin Regional High School Library (agenda and materials) Agenda Highlights: Class Size Ratios and Standardized Assessment Results; FY26 Preliminary Budget Presentation
- Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom or @ zoom only (agenda and packet, 250 Turnpike Rd hearing materials) Agenda Highlights: Hearings on 120 Turnpike Rd variance modification and 250 Turnpike Rd 40B
Thursday, December 19, 2024
- Golf Course Committee Meeting,
9:00 am @ Public Safety Training Room and zoom (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Irrigation project and effort to minimize wayward balls (3rd green, 4th tee, and 7th fairway); 1st hole cart path; Audubon certification - Master Plan Implementation Committee Meeting, 5:30 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Analysis of goals & recommendations; updates
Looking Back:
Below are meetings from last week that were posted after I ran last week’s list:
Thursday, December 12, 2024
- Tricentennial Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm (agenda, video) Agenda Highlights: Update on fundraising; Discuss quarterly report to Select Board
Friday, December 13, 2024
- Council on Aging Meeting, 11:15 am (agenda) Agenda Highlights: FY26 Budget
*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-37 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.
Tonight (Tuesday) at the Select Board meeting, the Neary Building Committee will be presenting their one (and only) solution to the condition of Neary School. The plan is to demolish Neary and build a new four grade (2-5) school. This decision, and others, will have a substantial, long-term effect on your taxes. I urge you to attend in person or via zoom.
From this blog on November 1:
“After assumed grant funding from the state, Southborough’s project share is estimated at $85M. In an FAQ flyer that was in a September newsletter** from the Superintendent, the tax implication was described:
“But in the FAQs of the updated Neary Building Project website, the committee is now referring to tax impacts as “To be answered”.” (Here is the link.)
The cost to Southborough is said to be $85 million. This is not the actual cost of the school (projected at approximately $115 million), but rather the cost the town will pay after reimbursement from the state. This amount will be bonded and paid for the NEXT 25-30 years. The 9% addition to your taxes for this project alone will be paid each year, IN ADDITON TO any “normal” yearly tax increase.
I have concerns Southborough taxpayers are not being presented with a clear, concise BIG picture of town financial expectations over the next five to 10 years and therefore cannot make a properly informed decision on the enormous expense of a new school. The school alone will be the most expensive project – by a factor of 4+x – Southborough has ever undertaken.
The population of Southborough has grown very minimally in recent years: from 9,767 residents in 2010 to its current population of just around 10,450. According to the Assessor’s office, there are currently 3,591 residential taxpayers and 196 commercial/industrial/mixed-use taxpayers. Our seniors are projected to be more than 30% of the population by 2030. But the town budget continues to expand, plus the additional expense of projects such as this. For any with a fixed or modest income, these expenses will be a huge hit. Can the limited tax base of this town really afford a move like this at this time?
I agree with Select Board Member Al Hamilton who said in response to the Nov. 1 post here, “The voters and taxpayers deserve to see the full menu of proposed projects and estimated costs as they weigh their preferences for how their tax dollars are distributed.” We have not seen that yet; perhaps tomorrow night.
No matter which side of this issue you are on, I hope you will attend the Select Board meeting tomorrow (in person or via zoom) to urge our officials to give us a complete picture of how these expenditures – and ones to come – will affect our taxes. If you have any concerns about the extensive growth of Southborough’s budget, debt, or tax bill you are paying, this is your opportunity to express your opinion. I hope you do.