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.**
As always, be aware that changes to the meeting schedule (and agendas) are known to happen throughout the week. (Scroll down for details on meetings that popped up after last Monday’s post.) For an updated list of meetings, visit the Town website.
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
- Select Board Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Town House Hearing Room and zoom (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Public hearing to transfer Mauro’s Market alcohol license; Joint Hearing with Planning Board on potential removal of 105 public shade trees; Tree Policy; Results of truck/Heavy Vehicle Exclusion traffic study; Comments to Mass Housing on Park Central 40B proposal; Update on Police Chief hiring process; Appoint staff (part time Building Inspector, ZBA Business Assistant, and Full-Time Communications Officer); Approve Civil War era flag agreement with Historical Society; Consider $8,500 in ARPA funds for consultant to support SHOPC; approve FY23 Goals details; Special Town Meeting Warrant (see related posts for more background on tree hearing and policy, HVE traffic study and Park Central, and ARPA agenda items)
- Planning Board Meeting, pm (agenda, Tree Hearing Materials) Agenda Highlights: Consolidated Tree Hearings with Select Board on removal of 105 trees (see related post for more background)
- Recreation Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm @ Recreation Office, 21 Highland Street (agenda, materials) Agenda Highlights: Summer Camp reflections and opportunities; Summer Nights; Fall programming; status of projects and van purchase; request from Algonquin Baseball and Softball Association for Fence Install; Revolving Fund capacity for spending/expenses/projects analysis; Ludblad study; Commission reps on Community Preservation Committee and Community Center Exploratory Committee
- Municipal Technology Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Town website upgrade proposal; User Experience research; Standardized tech vendor question list; digital content accessibility; Updates on IT staffing, new servers, security assessments, and synergy b/t school and Town IT; digital control options for Transfer Station; and cellular coverage holes
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
- Personnel Board Meeting, 9:00 am (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Working Group update on revisions to SAP employee benefits; Draft Employee Handbook; request to increase pay rate for Local Inspector; Library Employee Salary Adjustments; Review of Deputy Town Clerk and Assistant Town Clerk proposed Job Descriptions
- Capital Planning Committee Meeting, 7:30 pm (agenda, road list announcement) Agenda Highlights: Pavement Management Program update; Capital and Finance Software; Review of DPW Road and Sidewalk Maintenance allocation for RFP; Request to add Fire/Police Shelter Relocation for radios and Trails crosswalk to Capital Plan (see related post for more details on road/sidwalk list)
Looking Back:
Below are meetings from last week that was posted after I ran last week’s list:
Thursday, August 4, 2022
- Planning Board Meeting, 3:00 pm (agenda, video) Agenda Highlights: Draft letter to MassHousing commenting on Park Central 40B application
- St. Mark’s Street Park Working Group Meeting, 7:00 pm (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Discussion with landscape architect [The video wasn’t yet available – check here.]
*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:
- 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 day or two.)
- Regional School Committee meetings (or Combined meetings based at Algonquin) are broadcast by Northborough Cable Access here and on Verizon-29 and Charter-194. The meetings are also eventually rebroadcast and available through NCAT’s VOD player and YouTube channel (though that can take several days).
- Town committees and boards that advertise remote meetings can be joined on zoom (details here). They are also streamed live and saved for replay via the Town’s YouTube Channel for Remote Meetings. (Though, occasionally there are glitches.) If they don’t advertise a remote option, assume that only in-person attendance is allowed.
