The week in government: Planning on Mooney lights, Selectmen, Regional School Committee and more

Above: These days, most meetings that used to welcome the public to attend in the Town House Hearing Room or other public facilities are accessible to the public by video/audio conference calls only.

Here are the posted committee and board meetings for this week along with my selected highlights from the agendas. All currently scheduled meetings are available to the public virtually.*

As always, be aware that changes to the meeting schedule are known to happen throughout the week. (Last week, 2 meetings popped up that I didn’t list last Monday – scroll down for those details.) For an updated list of meetings, visit the town website

Monday, November 16, 2020

  • Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Review and Discuss EDC Downtown Initiative Updates; Proposed updates to ZBA applications
  • Recreation Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Attending Planning Board on Mooney and Richardson lighting projects
  • Planning Board Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Hearings 7 Chestnut Hill Rd Site Plan; Mooney Baseball Field Lights; Richardson Tennis Court Lights; 12A Pinehill Rd – Scenic Stonewall Removal; Discussion 20 Turnpike Rd – NY Bagel Factory roof sign; EDC – Downtown Initiative Bylaw Status; FY22 Planning Budget

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

  • NSPAC Meeting, 10:00 am @ Virtual Meeting (agenda, flyer) Agenda Highlights: Northborough/Southborough Special Education Parent Advisory Council updates followed by an open session with other parents
  • Library Board of Trustees Meeting, 12:00 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: FY22 Budget Update; Library Façade Restoration Project update; “Pop In & Pick Up” Service Discussion; Proposed Downtown Zoning Bylaw Changes update
  • Board of Assessors Meeting, 4:15 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Contract for 504 Personal Property Accounts; FY22 Budget; Proposed article making changes to Chapter 59 Section 41A Tax; Discuss additional compensation for Deputy Assessor for obtaining Mass Assoc of Assessing Officers Designation Deferral income limits and interest rates
  • Recreation Commission Meeting, 6:00 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Joint meeting with Board of Selectmen on Rec Dept and Commission updates
  • Board of Selectmen Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Updates from Youth & Family Services, Arts Council, and Rec Commission; Quarterly Financial Report; Update on FEMA and CARES Act Reimbursements; and Updated Town financial policy for monitoring of expenses; Winter Parking Ban; Performance evaluation policies; Discussion on 45 Highland St
  • Municipal Technology Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Facilities Dept tech strategy; Town Technology Department process/docs/knowledge hand-off and continuity; Tech Status updates; Cyber resiliency planning; IT Policy Review

Wednesday, November 18, 2020 

  • Personnel Board Meeting, 12:00 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: follow up to meeting with selectmen; Personnel Bylaw FY22 Revisions for Town Meeting; Quadrennial Review
  • Southborough Housing Authority Meeting, 5:00 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: FY21 Operating Budget; capital projects and payments
  • Northborough-Southborough Regional School Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: COVID-19 Update; Circuit Breaker Audit; Class Size Ratios and Standardized Assessments Results; Update on winter athletic season; enrollment projections; FY22 Budget priorities (Click here to register for webinar) 
  • Master Plan Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Objectives, Goals and Recommendations for Schools, Recreation, and due to MVP report; Next steps

Thursday, November 19, 2020

  • Capital Planning Committee – School Research Subcommittee Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Virtual Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Updates on MSBA Conversations, NESDEC study, and Feedback from School Committee and Capital Planning Committee; next steps

Looking Back:

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

Thursday, November 12, 2020

  • Advisory Committee Meeting (agenda, video) Agenda Highlights: Discussion of concerns over cybersecurity/IT/MIS; FY22 budget process; CPC FY22 recommendation; Discussion of CPC work including evaluation of number of schools

Friday, November 13, 2020

  • Southborough Housing Opportunity Partnership Committee Meeting (agenda, video) Agenda Highlights: Housing Production Plan Implementation Planning; Affordable Housing Trust – 5-year plan contract; Recap meeting with BOS on Downtown Initiative

*The Town intends to make each of its meetings available for viewing/listening via streaming live (and saved) video and audio on YouTube with some available for public comment by zoom. Live streaming of school committee meetings is only available for viewing via webinars. There is the caveat that there could be technical glitches that force the Town to take backup actions:

No in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time, via technological means. In the event that we are unable to do so, despite best efforts, we will post on Southborough’s website an audio or video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting.

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