This morning, the Select Board voted to approve hiring a Building Commissioner to fill the position vacant since March 3rd. Casey Burlingame is expected to start work on April 24th. Read the full article → from New Building Commissioner hired
Two discussions at Annual Town Meeting raised awareness of Town Committees that have vacancies (the Advisory Committee and the Southborough Public Accessibility Committee). So, I took a look at the current status and discovered over two dozen other vacancies. Read the full article → from Volunteer opportunities on Town Committee
I’m writing up some highlights from the Annual Town Meeting discussion and potential implications of the Citizen’s Petition to lower the voting age in Town elections to 17 years old. I also followed up our Town’s representatives in the state legislature about their positions. Read the full article → from Town Meeting’s vote to lower the voting age is just the first step (Updated)
On Saturday, voters who stuck around long enough to hear the last few Citizen Petition Articles informed Select Board members that they weren’t happy with plans for regionalizing emergency communications. Read the full article → from ATM Voters disfavor Regionalization of Public Safety Dispatch
[This spring, Southborough voters will be able to choose among three candidates for two seats on the Southborough School Committee. To help you make that decision, each candidate is invited to submit one letter to readers promoting their campaign.] Read the full article → from Candidate’s Letter: Johanna Sheyner for School Committee
I’m recapping highlights from the Town sponsored articles during the lesser attended evening session of Annual Town Meeting. (Stay tuned for coverage of the Citizen Petition Articles.) Read the full article → from Other Town Meeting Highlights
On Saturday, proponents of athletic facilities improvements at Algonquin got over the first of the two big hurdles for funding the close to $8M project. Southborough Town Meeting voters approved authorizing the school to incur the necessary debt. Read the full article → from Packed hall overwhelmingly approves GonkPlex project
Highlights and local coverage of the discussions about the St. Mark’s Street Read the full article → from ATM debates and approves completing St. Mark’s Street and Park
Here is a selection of the committee and board meetings for the week along with my selected highlights from the agendas. Read the full article → from The week in government
Voters approved a lot of important town business over the course of nine hours on Saturday. Read the full article → from Town Meeting vote results
This Saturday, Southborough voters will act as the Town’s legislative branch, Annual Town Meeting. Residents will be asked to approve Town spending, delegate some authority, amend local bylaws, and “advise” officials on how we want them to govern. Here is my overview of all the details. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting 2023 at-a-glance
With all of the controversial items on the Town Meeting Warrant, there are some Articles that haven’t gotten much attention. One bundle is proposed zoning amendments by the Conservation Commission. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting: Breakneck Hill dump and bylaw deficiencies
One of the big Articles on Saturday’s Town Meeting Warrant is a request to allow a close to $8M project to renovate Algonquin Regional High School’s “aging & out of compliance athletic facilities”. Borrowing for the project would be bonded over 15 years and split between the Towns. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting: GonkPlex
Tomorrow, the Select Board will bring the controversial St. Mark’s Street relocation and park project back to Annual Town Meeting voters. The board’s handling of the project since rebuked by voters last spring has turned around some naysayers. But with a ⅔ approval from voters needed for Article 12, and some vocal opponents still raising questions, the board was already facing a tough sell.
That just got tougher with the release of the Planning Board’s report to the Select Board as a Town Meeting handout. In it, Planning highlights why it can’t support the street discontinuance included in the Article. Read the full article → from Annual Town Meeting: St. Mark’s Street & Park Articles