“We’re digging in our heels, rolling up our sleeves, and getting ready for 18 months of zoning fun.” That’s what Town Planner Vera Kolias told a group of about two dozen residents and committee members who assembled last night at the Town House to discuss zoning bylaw review. Fueled by free Starbuck’s coffee and chocolate Read the full article → from Residents weigh in on zoning questions
Fire department logs posted
Last week I asked you whether you wanted the fire department logs to be a weekly feature on My Southborough. Nine of you said yes and seven of you said no. That’s hardly overwhelming, but the aye’s have it. Since they take up a bunch of space, I’ve put them on a separate page where Read the full article → from Fire department logs posted
Some tips on paying your excise tax
If you’re like us, you got your excise tax bills in the mail this week. How many envelopes arrived in your mailbox? Two? Three? Four? We got two, one for each car we own. My ever-thrifty husband wondered why the bills weren’t mailed in the same envelope. The Board of Selectmen and Advisory Committee wondered Read the full article → from Some tips on paying your excise tax
A picture is worth 40,000 words
Southborough’s main zoning bylaws — Chapter 174 of the town code — contain 6 articles, 47 sections, and almost 40,000 words. In all that text, there are a total of two pictures. Two. That’s not a particularly good image-to-text ratio. One of the goals of the zoning bylaw review project is to make the bylaws Read the full article → from A picture is worth 40,000 words
Southborough in the news
Quotes from stories in the local media that have a Southborough connection, and for the second week in a row, video! It’s a wonder more Southborough residents aren’t missing teeth “It was probably the best party in the middle of winter. It was 15 degrees and everyone had a great time.” -Southborough resident Alex Alpert Read the full article → from Southborough in the news
First exhibit at Arts Center features Algonquin seniors
The Arts Council just got access to their exhibit space last month when their long-broken elevator was finally fixed. And they wasted no time filling the space with art. On Wednesday night they’ll celebrate the opening of their first exhibit in several years — a showing of Algonquin seniors in the Advanced/AP art studio program. Read the full article → from First exhibit at Arts Center features Algonquin seniors
Madoff scandal hits close to home
The talk has been all about the high-profile investors: Kevin Bacon, John Malkovich, Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax. But once you get past the big guys on the list of potential Madoff victims, you’ll find a couple of names from Southborough. A complete list of Madoff investors was released recently as part of Read the full article → from Madoff scandal hits close to home
Why you should care about zoning review
Frontage, setbacks, minimum lot sizes, floor area ratio, subdivisions, use regulation. It all sounds rather dull, doesn’t it? And it’s exactly what you might expect from something called the Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw Review and Update Project. But look below the surface and you’ll find something a bit more interesting. Something that will play a major Read the full article → from Why you should care about zoning review
Your chance to meet the Algonquin principal candidates
The two finalists vying for the job of Algonquin principal will do a meet-and-greet for students and parents this week. Here are the details. Tuesday: Tom Mead, assistant principal at Andover High School, 3:00 to 4:00 pm or 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Algonquin library Thursday: Linda Murdock, principal at Trottier Middle School, 3:00 Read the full article → from Your chance to meet the Algonquin principal candidates
A winter walk at Breakneck Hill
We took a late afternoon walk on the Breakneck Hill conservation land on Saturday. The sky was blue when we left the house, but dark clouds quickly moved in, creating some moody scenes. The rolling hills make for a lovely winter walk, and the trails are well-trodden, so it’s easy to see the path. We Read the full article → from A winter walk at Breakneck Hill
Algonquin has a high graduation rate
That’s probably not ground-breaking news, is it? Numbers released last week by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education revealed Algonquin’s graduation rate is significantly higher than the state average. Across the state, 81.2% of students who started high school as freshmen in 2004 graduated in 2008. At Algonquin that number was 97.2%. That’s up Read the full article → from Algonquin has a high graduation rate
More pretty pictures of Main Street
Hot off the presses, here are the latest in a series of images showing what Main Street could look like without above-ground utility wires. This set of images show Main Street near the Common (in front of the Library). They depict what the area might look like after the Main Street reconstruction project and utility Read the full article → from More pretty pictures of Main Street
The week in town government
Here are the department and committee meetings for the week. I’m still waiting for details on the agenda for the Planning Board, Board of Selectmen, and Zoning Board of Appeals. I’ll update this post when I have them — hopefully later today. Of note this week is the Zoning Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday. As Read the full article → from The week in town government
Algonquin winter choral concert
The Algonquin Chorus will stage their winter concert tomorrow night at 7:30 pm in the auditorium. Read the full article → from Algonquin winter choral concert