by Eric Niermeyer
9/29/2016

Wednesday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting began with the Selectmen publicly thanking those who came to the September 26th meeting regarding the future of the town’s eight arch bridge.  They followed up by resolving to formalize a committee to tackle the project of managing the bridge and surrounding area in the near future. 

This was followed by a now-routine reminder that the town’s water ban is ongoing due to a historic state of drought.  The ban will remain in effect throughout the month of October, after which it will be reevaluated.

The Selectmen then decided to send out a proposal for a joint meeting between themselves and the Selectmen of five nearby towns, tentatively scheduled for November 10th.  The agenda for such a meeting would likely focus on fiscally beneficial collaboration and resource-sharing between towns.

It was then announced that the town has found someone willing to remove the Flagg School’s scrap metal free of charge, which will save the town some money ahead of the building’s eventual demolition.  This was followed by the news that the $250,000 fuel depot project is officially finished, although it is possible that trees or a fence will be installed to shield the final product from view following concerns from a nearby resident.

In addition to this, Hollistonians were reminded that the new Recycling Center stickers will begin being offered free of charge to residents at the Town Hall on Saturday, October 1st.  Residents recycling certain heavy-duty items will be required to purchase a special $20 sticker.

Next came the prospect of updating reports for the dams at Lake Winthrop, Factory Pond, and Houghton Pond in response to a request from the Massachusetts Office of Dam Safety.  The contract for inspecting the dams was given to Leonard Engineering for $6,450, which will come from a fund that was previously allocated for the job.

The Selectmen’s attention then turned to the proposed articles for next month’s special Town Meeting.  Articles 1-4, all of a routine ‘housekeeping nature, were approved.

Article 5, which was also approved, dealt with capital requests that had been finalized by the Finance Committee.  The approved capital requests are as follows: $35,000 for a new boiler for the Library; $255,000 for a new ambulance (about $116,000 of this will be covered by an already existing fund); $85,000 for a new brush truck; $175,000 for a new radio system for the Fire Department; $5,810 to update the fiber optic network used by the Police Department, Fire Department, and Library; $6,715 for a large format printer and scanner for the Town Hall; $20,100 for a new repeater for the Police radio network; $85,000 for two new Police SUVs; $50,500 for a new dump truck with a plow; $66,975 for a new industrial strength wood chipper; $108,012 for two new pickup trucks with plows; and $15,000 for a classroom security system at Holliston Public Schools.

These were followed by articles 6 and 7, which seek to improve water infrastructure in two Holliston neighborhoods, largely using money from the Water Infrastructure Fund.  Article 6 will use $68,000 to conduct an engineering survey of water mains on Cedar Street, Turner Road, and Cheryl Lane.  Article 7 will use $1.13 million to fully replace 5,400 feet of mains in the Shaw Farm Road neighborhood. 

Articles 8 and 9 deal with specific issues that will be elaborated on at the Special Town Meeting on October 24th, while article 10 deals with a proposed $600,000 property acquisition on Adams Street.  It should be noted that all articles will be subject to a vote by Holliston residents.

Lastly, the Selectmen signed a regulatory agreement regarding the Holliston Woods condominium project and approved two temporary alcohol licenses, for a wedding and an event hosted by Cycle for Life this Saturday, October 1st.  They also waived the event fee for the Historical Society’s Oktoberfest-themed fundraising dinner on October 21st after hinting that they may go and inspect the libations themselves.