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Town Meeting vote results

Voters approve St. Mark's Park and Gonkplex Articles, but were less welcoming to Tree & Scenic Roads bylaws and regionalizing Dispatch Services

by Beth Melo on

Above: Voters approved a lot of important town business over the course of nine hours on Saturday. (photo by Beth Melo)

2023 Annual Town Meeting was completed in one day, but it was a long one.

In the afternoon, the hall was packed with voters, with overflow in the cafeteria. Many were there to support Algonquin’s athletic facilities upgrades.

First, they had to sit through debates on the Select Board’s land swap with St. Mark’s School to complete the street relocation and park project. Ultimately, the board got the over 2/3 support it needed.

After those Articles were resolved, the Gonkplex crowd got the votes they needed to support a CPA project and the regional school’s authority to borrow close to $8M. (Although, Northborough voters still have to greenlight the shared bonding.) Read the full article →

Annual Town Meeting 2023 at-a-glance

Here's my updated overview with coverage links on everything voters will be asked to decide

by Beth Melo on

This Saturday, Southborough voters will act as the Town’s legislative branch, Annual Town Meeting. Residents will be asked to approve Town spending, delegate some authority, amend local bylaws, and “advise” officials on how we want them to govern. Here is my overview of all the details. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting 2023 at-a-glance

Annual Town Meeting: Breakneck Hill dump and bylaw deficiencies

Four Articles on the Town Warrant are related to Conservation efforts in town.

by Beth Melo on

With all of the controversial items on the Town Meeting Warrant, there are some Articles that haven’t gotten much attention. One bundle is proposed zoning amendments by the Conservation Commission. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting: Breakneck Hill dump and bylaw deficiencies

Annual Town Meeting: GonkPlex

Algonquin is asking Southborough (and Northborough) voters to approve funding "overdue" repairs, updates and improvements to its outdoor athletic faclities

by Beth Melo on

One of the big Articles on Saturday’s Town Meeting Warrant is a request to allow a close to $8M project to renovate Algonquin Regional High School’s “aging & out of compliance athletic facilities”. Borrowing for the project would be bonded over 15 years and split between the Towns. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting: GonkPlex

Annual Town Meeting: St. Mark’s Street & Park Articles

While some urge moving forward with a road discontinuance and land swap as the best plan for resolving the "mess", the Planning Board is cautioning the Town to slow down and clarify muddy details first.

by Beth Melo on

Tomorrow, the Select Board will bring the controversial St. Mark’s Street relocation and park project back to Annual Town Meeting voters. The board’s handling of the project since rebuked by voters last spring has turned around some naysayers. But with a ⅔ approval from voters needed for Article 12, and some vocal opponents still raising questions, the board was already facing a tough sell.

That just got tougher with the release of the Planning Board’s report to the Select Board as a Town Meeting handout. In it, Planning highlights why it can’t support the street discontinuance included in the Article. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting: St. Mark’s Street & Park Articles

Growing Tomatoes Workshop is Saturday morning

A gardening workshop at the Library has been rescheduled to allow attendees to also vote at Annual Town Meeting.

by Beth Melo on

This Saturday, the Southborough Library is hosting another gardening presentation by the Blackstone Valley Veggie Gardens.

Originally, the program coincided with the Annual Town Meeting. They asked me to share that the time has moved up to allow residents to attend both. Read the full article → from Growing Tomatoes Workshop is Saturday morning

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