Opening remarks: A resident made detailed comments concerning the proposed Department of Public Works (DPW) building, pursuant to a request for sidewalk construction on Forest Road. Select Board Chair Fran Arsenault noted the pinning and swearing in of three new, and the promotion of four, Acton firefighters. Town Manager John Mangiaratti said award of contract for renovation of the ‘Asa Parlin’ house at 17 Woodbury Lane was imminent. Board member David Martin announced that he will run for re-election to the Select Board. Board member Jim Snyder-Grant noted that the Volunteer Coordinating Committee, as well as other committees, was in need of members.
Town Finances update: Town Manager Mangiaratti presented his fourth scheduled Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget update, including a current FY2026 – FY2035 Capital Improvement Plan that includes the DPW building replacement; Mr. Mangiaratti made a number of points regarding that project’s cost, revisions to its scheduling, and why its construction should not be delayed. He reviewed other capital expenditures, grouped into those proposed to be funded by debt vs. those funded from free cash. Turning to operational expenses Mr. Mangiaratti updated the Board on staffing requests and on his present level services estimate of 4.64% over FY2025 services.
Habitat for All: Senior Planner Ms. Kaila Sauer presented the current version of the ‘Habitat for All’ zoning proposal which included some sections of a more extensive on-line document. The overall goals of the proposal are to “…preserve nature and ensure affordable housing”. To achieve those goals, some combination of restrictions and requirements are to be rendered into zoning law text to be brought before the May 2025 Acton Town Meeting.
The zoning definitions, restrictions, and requirements that can be mixed and matched include house size (“cottage” to “large”), housing density (units per acre), and affordability requirements (the percent of a development’s units that are priced below a high area median income). And if housing is actually to be built, those factors must make development economically feasible.
Acton Libraries: Governance of the West Acton Citizens Library has been a recurrent topic at the Select Board. At the present meeting, Board member Alissa Nicol presented a report from the Citizens’ Library Governance Advisory Committee (CLGAC) that revisited the operations and governance of the library, as well as the deliberations of the advisory committee; appendices to the report gave a timeline of efforts to define library Trustee authority and identified the various groups that were involved. The CLGAC recommended:
Unite the two boards into a single board of 12 trustees to oversee the two libraries which comprise the Acton Libraries system, bringing any necessary update to the Town bylaws at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting and any necessary amendment to the Memorial Library Trustee governance documents.
These library governance issues have been contentious. Select Board members were generally supportive but asked for clarifications on details, and they recognized that further legal consultation would be required. Similarly, a resident spoke of unaddressed concerns including a legal memo that the resident felt had not been fully addressed. Overall the sense was that real progress had been made but that there was further to go.
Hearings:
Transfer of licenses: transfer of an “All Alcoholic Beverage License” to Seafood from Heaven, LLC, 77 Great Road, Acton, and transfer of a “Malt and Wine License” to RSY Store, LLC, 465 Great Road, Acton, were approved.
A Site Plan Special Permit for 358A & 358B Great Road was discussed at length and continued to January 13, 2025.
Briefly Noted:
- Sustainability Director Andrea Becerra and DPW Director Corey York presented a 2024 Update to the Town of Acton Hazard Mitigation Plan as well as a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Team document. The Board approved a Certificate of Adoption of the 2024 update.
- The Board weighed the merits of proposals on a list of Applications for Community Preservation Act funding.
- The Board discussed and approved:
◦ an approval letter for a Decarbonization Roadmap,
◦ the current allocations of ARPA funding,
◦ a 2025 License Renewals list, and
◦ authorization of the Town Manager to execute further steps pursuant to the sale of the ‘McManus Manor’ property to the Acton Housing Authority.
Tom Beals is the Acton Exchange beat reporter.