Select Board Notes, September 9, 2024: the nights are getting longer…

A four-plus hour Select Board meeting on September 9, 2024 dealt with a variety of issues. A resident asked about plane noise; board member Jim Snyder-Grant took note and promised a response.

Announcements:

• Town Manager John Mangiaratti called attention to a recent “reverse 911” call that went to about 6000 residents; Mr. Mangiaratti noted that initial sign-ups to the system may have been from the landline era, and he encouraged those that did not receive the call to sign up. From “Blackboard Connect” on the town website, “The Blackboard Connect system allows authorized Town officials to create and rapidly disseminate time-sensitive messages to every telephone number stored in the notification database.” That web page contains asign-up link.
• TheSenior Center at 30 Sudbury Road will hold an ice cream social on Friday, October 11 (not yet on theSenior Center Calendar).
• ANational Drug takeback event will be held on October 26, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the public safety facility.
• Continuing the hazardous waste theme – on Tuesday, September 24th, 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., hazardous waste will be accepted at the Forest Road Department of Public Works (DPW). And yet further unwanted material –anotherround of water chestnut weeding is scheduled at Ice House Pond on Saturday, September 28 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.;sign up here.
• A rescheduled free children’s concert featuringMister Vic will be held Sunday, September 29, at 3 p.m. at the Nara Park Amphitheater.
• Board member Dean Charter updated the board and the public about a number of upcoming Acton 250 committee events that can be seen at the committeewebsite. On a different note, Mr. Charter said that the DPW building committee would make a public presentation of the current plan for a new DPW building in the Town Hall Faulkner Room on Thursday, September 26th at 7 p.m..

Director of Public Works Corey York gave astatus report and planning update for ongoing and upcoming projects. His presentation included the following items.

• A proposal and diagram of parking lot design and traffic flow at the Town Hall and Memorial Library. The Board discussed the plan in great detail. The needs of various users of that lot, especially of the playground and the library, were considered. The Board voted unanimously to approve the plan.
• Automobile traffic control at the intersection of Hayward and Main streets, including a detailed diagram of a current proposal for traffic lights at that intersection, was shown. A call-in participant, as well as members of the Board, noted objections to traffic lights. The Board hoped to hear and resolve those objections before bringing a request for construction funding to Town Meeting.
• A diagram showing a redesign at the intersection of Prospect and Main streets was shown and discussed.
• Director York reviewed the status of plans for several sections of Great Road, many of which were labeled “Conceptual Plan…” indicating that these projects are still at an early phase. A concern for improved pedestrian and bicycle connections along Great Road was evident throughout, both in the presentation and in the Board’s discussion.
• Plans for the River Street area included discussion of pedestrian walkways as well as the status of bridges and culverts.
• Transition planning for a DPW building replacement was shown in diagrams and discussed, as well as an update on the status of the fuel station at the DPW building site.

Flag policy. For several years the National Flag of Indiahas been flown in front of the Town Hall, afterapproval by the Select Board. Board member Alissa Nicol foresaw the possibility of difficult decisions in case of requests to fly contentious or objectionable flags, and she advocated proactive creation of a Board flag policy. Board discussions mentioned the U.S. Supreme Court decision inShurtleff v. City of Boston, decided unanimously in favor of Petitioner Shurtleff. The city of Boston had denied Shurtleff’s request to fly a Christian flag outside Boston City Hall; in itsdecision the Court established precedent regarding private vs. government speech.

Briefly noted:

• Mr. Leo Mercado, who has served as Deputy Town Clerk since 2021, wasappointed Acton Town Clerk for a three-year term by a unanimous vote of the Board.
• Unresolvedquestions over tree plantings along Bumblebee Way were discussed at length by Acton’s Town Counsel and a lawyer representing Seal Harbor LLC; the matter also attracted comment by neighbors. The Board eventually passed the matter over to the Town Manager.
• The Board reviewed a request for a streetlight at the intersection of Downey and Nash Roads. Neighbors weighed in both in dissent and agreement. The Board considered pedestrian safety, the cumulative cost of street lighting, and ecological considerations before unanimously denying their approval.
• AnotherARPA funding shift, this time for the Acton Rides taxi program, was approved by the Board. That funding will last until the end of the year; the fate of the program thereafter was mentioned without a definitive answer.

Hearings

Dawn (Eve) Aguiar and Tamara (Murray) Deluzio, proprietors ofEve & Murray’s,returned to the Select Board for approval ofentertainment andcommon victualler’s licenses for the plannedSilver Girl restaurant; both licenses were granted.