No resident concerns were voiced at the August 26, 2024 Acton Select Board meeting.
Board and management announcements included new hires at the library, fire department, and a new public health nurse. Plans for the town’s annual commemoration of the September 11, 2001 tragedy will be announced soon.
- Town Manager John Mangiaratti said that the Dangerous dog ruling made at the July 12, 2024 Select Board meeting was being appealed.
- Property reassessments of 4400 parcels, about half of Acton’s properties, will begin soon. Notices to affected properties will be mailed.
- The next hazardous waste day is scheduled for Tuesday September 24, 2024, 4:00 – 6:30 PM at the DPW garage.
- A Kashmir Led Zeppelin tribute band concert has been rescheduled for Friday, Sep. 6 at 8 PM at NARA Park.
- The Sudbury Valley Trustees Outdoor Voices Speaker Series will present “Nashobah Praying Indians: A Living People, A Living Landscape” at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17 at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 164 Newtown Road in Acton.
- Select Board member Vice-Chair Dean Charter announced the first public presentation by the Acton Department of Public Works (DPW) Building Committee on Thursday September 26th at 7 p.m. in the Faulkner room. Planned speakers include architects and project managers. It is hoped that the next steps for a DPW building will be brought before the town in May 2025.
- The Acton 250 Committee and the Dirigible Brewing company will feature colonial style ‘Isaac Davis Brown Ale‘ at the brewery at 24 Porter Road, Littleton, September 11 from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., as well as “Colonial Books and Brews“, an after hours event October 1, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Acton Memorial Library.
Public Hearings
The Board heard from proponents of a Site Plan Special Permit for the two buildings at 358a and 358b Great Road; materials for the hearing included detailed drawings of the proposed project. After initial review another hearing was scheduled for October 7, 2024.
Hearings for an All Alcoholic Beverage License and a Common Victualler License were held for the prospective proprietors of the Velvet Vine Cafe, to be located at 166 Great Road. The Board’s appetites were whetted by the descriptions of coming attractions, and both licenses were approved.
New business
Department of Public Works Business Manager Karen Switzer-Neff and Budget Manager Ellie Anderson presented a proposal for increased transfer station fees. During the discussion, Town Manager John Mangiaratti said that presently recycling is a cost, whereas previously recycling had been a revenue producer. A call-in participant asked about recycling for renters and the possibility of lower transfer station fees for low-income residents; the details of how that might be implemented were deferred for future discussion. The increased fees were approved by the board.
Shifting of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds between projects was on the Select Board’s agenda again tonight. Assistant Town Manager Tom Begin relayed findings of arsenic and lead in soil from the River Street dam removal project; the board approved shifting ARPA funds to pay for appropriate disposal of those materials.
Town Manager Mangiaratti gave the final financial presentation, providing an overview and update of the town’s financial status as of this second board meeting of Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, and he listed the FY2025 capital projects that are now in progress. He noted the value of the frequent reviews and budget updates of FY2024, and his presentation included a proposed schedule of events culminating in the budget to be evaluated by the Finance Committee in preparation for Acton Town Meeting.
Quotable quote from Select Board member Jim Snyder-Grant
“I can’t resist the opportunity to remind us that Massachusetts has the least transparent legislative process of any state in the USA … bills go to places – we don’t know how they’re voted, we don’t know what the process is – and periodic attempts by either … Progressive Democrats or most Republicans who try to create a more transparent system are always defeated by leadership, and it’s a constant source of annoyance for people that want to actually get something done.”
Tom Beals is a volunteer reporter from Acton.