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. 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.)**
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
- Recreation Commission Meeting, 9:00 am @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Approve part time employee
- Select Board Meeting, 6:30 pm @ Town House and zoom (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Updates on EDC and Fire Chief Search; Discuss Annual Town Meeting Warrant & potential Article to require super-majority vote for CPA funds to be used for improvements to private property; Naming of St. Mark’s Street Park; contracting to investigate potential contamination of Atwood St parcel; GonkPlex funding agreement
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
- Planning Board Meeting, 1:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Working session to discuss members’ proposals for MBTA Communities zoning districts
- Capital Improvement and Planning Committee Meeting, 7:45 pm @ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Review requests for Phone System Upgrade, Record Retention, and Field Maintenance; Vote on all FY25 Capital Request recommendations and presentation to Select Board & Advisory
Thursday, January 4, 2024
- Conservation Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm @ zoom only (agenda and packet) Agenda Highlights: Public Hearings on Southborough Golf Club drainage and path improvements, 30 Presidential Dr invasive plant management, and 20 Sears Rd replacing stream pipe with naturalized channel; Discuss mitigation for 90 & 38 Deerfoot Rd violations, comments for ZBA on Park Central & 120 Turnpike 40Bs, and 84 Main St restrictive covenants
- Master Plan Implementation Committee Meeting, 7:00 pm@ zoom only (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Discuss January report to Planning Board and member updates
Friday, January 5, 2024
- Council on Aging Meeting, 11:30 am @ Cordaville Hall, 9 Cordaville Rd (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Update on marketing materials; Select Board update; Age & dementia friendly initiatives; next steps on proposal for town assessment
Saturday, January 6, 2024
- Joint Select Board & Advisory Committee Meeting, 9:00 am @ Public Safety Training Room, 32 Cordaville Road (agenda not yet posted) Agenda Highlights: Planned meeting to discuss FY25 budgets, especially Capital expenses, IT, Police, Fire, DPW, and Schools
- Capital Improvement & Planning Committee Meeting, 9:00 am @ Select Board & Advisory Committee Meeting (agenda) Agenda Highlights: Present committee’s recommendations for FY25 Capital Expenses to Select Board and Advisory
*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-38 and Charter-194).
Updated (1/2/24 5:23 pm): I recalled that the Select Board and Advisory are scheduled to hold their special meeting on budgets this weekend. So I added that and the three agendas posted since this morning, including CIPC’s participation in the Saturday meeting.
Why does the planning board keep having meetings in the afternoon on a workday? No other board does this. Do they not want public input anymore.
It’s not true that no other board does this. However, it does seem that they view these “working” sessions as really for their board to discuss issues without public input during the meeting. That doesn’t mean they don’t want input “anymore”.
It seems their plan is to hunker down and come up with at least one scenario to propose to the public. Then they will solicit feedback through their regular public meetings and public hearings. Their timeline initially had them further in the process at this stage, and they need to come up with something in time to hold hearings leading up to the Annual Town Meeting in March.
I’d advise reserving harsh judgement at this stage to see what they come up with and how they handle the next steps.
Ok Beth. I will just never comment on anything again. Apparently whatever I have to say is wrong in your mind. Way to run a blog.
I don’t know why you feel attacked. I am simply sharing my point of view and you are free to disagree.