I just got an email from Assistant Town Planner Vanessa Hale saying CSX needs to do some emergency repair work tomorrow on the railroad tracks that cross Main Street in downtown Southborough. The road will be down to one lane for most of the day on Friday, and will be closed entirely for one 3-hour Read the full article → from Alert: Main Street closed for part of Friday
Government
Emergency preparedness groups need volunteers, offer training
With all the news about swine flu this week, now seems like a good time to talk about emergency preparedness. Southborough has two emergency response teams — the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) — and they’re both looking for volunteers. The groups will hold a joint open house on Read the full article → from Emergency preparedness groups need volunteers, offer training
Town meeting attendance ‘very low’
I checked in with Town Clerk Paul Berry on the attendance numbers for town meeting this year. Turns out it was pretty grim. On Monday night, 227 voters showed up. On Tuesday night it was down to 131. The quorum is 100. Berry described the turnout as “very low.” He said town meeting normally sees Read the full article → from Town meeting attendance ‘very low’
Northborough’s ‘warm spirit of compromise’
The Metrowest Daily News reports Northborough Town Meeting last night approved the Algonquin debt reimbursement compromise rejected by Southborough earlier this month. The compromise was proposed by the Regional School Committee as a way to resolve the dispute between the two towns over how to split mortgage payments for Algonquin over the next 17 years. Read the full article → from Northborough’s ‘warm spirit of compromise’
A new approach for Woodland Meadows?
Woodland Meadows is a proposed 40B development at the intersection of Route 9 east and Woodland Road. Because it’s a 40B, certain zoning laws can be relaxed in return for a portion of the development being affordable housing. But that doesn’t mean the developers have had an easy time getting approval. The Conservation Commission has Read the full article → from A new approach for Woodland Meadows?
What you need to know about swine flu
Last week you had no idea pigs even got the flu. This week it’s all anyone is talking about. While there have been no cases of swine flu reported in our area at this point, the Southborough Fire Department wants to make sure you stay informed. “The important fact to remember is that it is Read the full article → from What you need to know about swine flu
Public workshop on Southborough’s villages
What would you like downtown to look like in 20 years? What about Cordaville? Or Fayville or Southville? The Zoning Advisory Committee (ZAC) wants to know what you think. In the current bylaws, zoning for each of Southborough’s four business villages is exactly the same. But as part of their project to revamp the town’s Read the full article → from Public workshop on Southborough’s villages
The week in town government
Here are the committee and department meetings for the week. Of note is Wednesday’s public workshop on Southborough’s Villages sponsored by the Zoning Advisory Committee. I’ll have more information on the workshop in a post later today. Monday,April 27 Board of Assessors meeting, 7:30 am @ Hearing Room, Town House Southborough Housing Opportunity Partnership Committee, Read the full article → from The week in town government
Truck hits bridge and one resident wants changes
I didn’t know this, but apparently it’s not uncommon for trucks to hit the low bridge on River Street (Route 85) near the commuter rail station. Southborough resident John Kendall who lives on nearby Cottage Street says he always hears them when they hit. When a too-tall box truck struck the bridge last week, Kendall Read the full article → from Truck hits bridge and one resident wants changes
Tax work-off program full, but there are other ways for seniors to save
Registration opened earlier this month for the senior tax work-off program — a program that lets seniors volunteer at town jobs in exchange for a break on their property taxes. The program is a popular one, and Senior Center Coordinator Pam LeFrancois tells me the spots have all been filled. There were 30 spots and Read the full article → from Tax work-off program full, but there are other ways for seniors to save
Happy Earth Day, Southborough
Here are some ways you can celebrate Earth Day in Southborough. Clean up your ‘hood There’s no better way to celebrate Earth Day in my opinion than by working in your own community. And here’s your chance. Southborough’s 19th Annual Earth Day Clean Up will take place on Saturday May 2. Why not get a Read the full article → from Happy Earth Day, Southborough
Advisory Committee member disappointed in Town Meeting ‘foolishness’
Advisory Committee member John Boiardi had a letter to the editor published in the Metrowest Daily News on Sunday. In the letter he admonishes town meeting voters for approving a higher assessment for the Algonquin budget when town officials recommended against it. It is a sad situation when a relative handful of Town Meeting members Read the full article → from Advisory Committee member disappointed in Town Meeting ‘foolishness’
Town Meeting votes to dip into rainy day fund
“If today isn’t a rainy day, I don’t know what one is.” That’s what a Clemmons Street resident said at town meeting last week, and he wasn’t talking about the weather. Voters at town meeting decided to pull a total of $290K from the town’s stabilization fund, also known as the rainy day fund, to Read the full article → from Town Meeting votes to dip into rainy day fund
Town Meeting agrees to additional $67K for school technology
Last-minute negotiations in the run up to town meeting helped the school district get an additional $67K to use toward technology purchases next year. In the lead up to town meeting, the Selectmen and Advisory Committee both supported a mere $65K of the $205K requested by the Southborough schools for capital technology purchases. But in Read the full article → from Town Meeting agrees to additional $67K for school technology