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Candidates Night — Wednesday, April 29th

Attend the Q&A for candidates competing for Select Board. (Plus, other election details and reminders.)

by Beth Melo on

The annual forum to get to know the candidates running for contested positions is a week from tonight. It allows residents to essentially take part in the job interview for seats on one of the most powerful boards in the executive branch of our Town government.

Three candidates are vying for two seats on the Select Board.

As usual, the event will include a meet and greet followed by a moderated Q&A hosted by the Trustees of the Southborough Library.  Read the full article → from Candidates Night — Wednesday, April 29th

Town Meeting debates line between balanced and exclusionary Industrial Park zoning

Voters debated polar opposite amendments to Planning's proposed zoning changes. One focused on better attracting AI Data Centers with looser restrictions. The other sought more protections for abutting residential zones.

by Beth Melo on

Earlier this week, I wrote that Annual Town Meeting passed everything Town officials asked for and rejected the only thing officials opposed.

It turns out, that’s not quite accurate — since not all officials were on the same page. A key example was the Industrial Park zoning changes proposed under Article 17. Read the full article → from Town Meeting debates line between balanced and exclusionary Industrial Park zoning

$25M for Roads & Sidewalks

Recapping the ATM presentation and discussion, plus the next steps voters still need to take.

by Beth Melo on

Only 207 voters checked in to participate in Saturday’s Town Meeting. Based on the timing of who left mid-meeting, it seemed many of them were there to weigh in on the request to borrow up to $25M to invest in improving roads and sidewalks. Read the full article → from $25M for Roads & Sidewalks

ATM passes everything Town officials asked for (and nothing it didn’t)

A recap on what voters approved — including two Articles now headed to ballot questions this May.

by Beth Melo on

On Saturday, at a meeting with low turnout and big financial asks, Southborough Town officials had resounding success. Annual Town Meeting (ATM) voters passed every Article put forward by the Town without any amendments. The only Article that didn’t pass was a Citizen’s Petition that officials didn’t support.

Approved requests included borrowing authorization for Trottier Middle School’s roof and the $25M for a 5-year road and sidewalk improvements plan. To move forward, those two projects will still need Annual Town Election voters’ support next month. Read the full article → from ATM passes everything Town officials asked for (and nothing it didn’t)

Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting at-a-glance

Basic details and quick links for info about the Budgets, Zoning Articles, Trottier roof, $25M for road & sidewalks, preparing to amend Articles, and more

by Beth Melo on

The Town’s legislative branch, Town Meeting, will convene a week from Saturday to approve spending, possibly increase budgets, amend local bylaws, and “advise” officials.

I’ll be digging into some of the Warrant Articles leading up to Annual Town Meeting. For now, I’m providing a general overview, including the hot topics on the Warrant most likely to spark debate. Read the full article → from Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting at-a-glance

Article 34: Citizen Petition on Plastic Bag Ban

Select Board advised teen sponsors to postpone the vaguely worded effort and work on a future proposal with more specifics.

by Beth Melo on

Two Southborough teen submitted a Citizen’s Petition Article seeking to ban non-reusable plastic bags (with some exceptions).

At a presentation last month, Select Board members applauded their efforts. But they encouraged the girls to go back to the drawing board. As written, the Article is vague and lacks penalties or enforcement mechanisms for violating the bylaw. Read the full article → from Article 34: Citizen Petition on Plastic Bag Ban

More Zoning Articles at Town Meeting

Zoning Articles seek to allow Tricentennial Signs, and fix errors in bylaws (MBTA Communities dimension restrictions, and outdated references to a defunct committee)

by Beth Melo on

The Warrant for tomorrow’s Town Meeting includes five zoning Articles. I’ve recently covered two of them. Today, I’m focusing on the three remaining proposed bylaw revisions. Read the full article → from More Zoning Articles at Town Meeting

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