Tom Beals

Photo of an Acton Select Board meeting.

March 18, 2024 Select Board Notes: Another year, another dam

April 1, 2024

by Tom Beals

In opening remarks at the March 18, 2024 Select Board meeting, Town Manager John Mangiaratti announced the appointment of Detective Ana Dapkas as school resource officer (SRO), and mentioned that the Police Academy will be offered again this year. (This reporter attended last year’s Police Academy and highly…

Deputy Chief Sammet in a fire station is pinned by his son, Jordan

Select Board Meeting of March 4, 2024: Taking Care of Business

March 23, 2024

by Tom Beals

Opening remarks: In the customary opening remarks to the March 4, 2024 Select Board meeting, Select Board Member David Martin noted the pinning ceremony for Deputy Fire Chief Chris Sammett, and mentioned that a planning meeting had been held for a natural meadow behind the “Red House” on…

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Select Board Meeting of February 26, 2024: More on Finances and Car Dealerships

March 6, 2024

by Tom Beals

he February 26, 2024 Select Board meeting opened as usual by hearing Resident Concerns. Those included the following: In Town Manager and Board Member updates: With an override vote pending, financial issues were again prominent at this meeting. The town continues to update fees for services. Assistant Town…

Photo of an Acton Select Board meeting.

Select Board Meeting, February 5, 2024: Finance in a Time of Overrides

February 15, 2024

by Tom Beals

The February 5, 2024 Select Board meeting led off with finance and budget talk. Select Board chair Jim Snyder-Grant reported that the Acton Leadership Group had reached a consensus on a $6.6M override amount; he emphasized that the division of override funds between schools and town had not…

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Override Talks and Economic Development Plans: Finance Committee and Acton Leadership Group Meetings

February 7, 2024

by Tom Beals

The upcoming budget override, its amount, and how it would be split between the town and schools, were the primary topics of discussion at the January 23, 2024 Finance Committee and January 29, 2024 Acton Leadership Group meetings. Of note at the Finance Committee meeting was a presentation…

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January 22, 2024 Select Board Meeting Notes

February 1, 2024

by Tom Beals

Finances update At the January 8 Select Board meeting the Board asked Town Manager John Mangiaratti to prepare a budget that reduced the level services budget by $1 million. Before presenting the revised budget, Mr. Mangiaratti gave a brief update on health insurance, saying that a hiring freeze and other…

a group seated behind desks

January 8 Select Board Meeting: Concerns on Resident Concerns, Budget Issues, and Town Meeting Warrant

January 17, 2024

by Tom Beals

The January 8, 2024 Acton Select Board meeting opened as usual with “Resident Concerns”, a forum for brief remarks from residents to the Board. A resident spoke regarding the use of a “Point of Order” to interrupt residents’ remarks at previous meetings, reminding the Board of the Supreme…

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Backgrounder: Lessons from History: Acton’s 2005 Override

January 8, 2024

by Tom Beals

A tax limit override that, if approved by Acton voters, would raise property taxes beyond the Proposition 2½ statutory limits has recently been discussed at the Select Board, Finance Committee, and Acton Leadership Group meetings. It seems likely, following those discussions, that an override will be on the…

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Budgets, Finances, and a Possible Override at Board and Committee Meetings

November 13, 2023

by Tom Beals

The budget and the potential for an override were prominent at the November 2, 2023 Acton-Boxborough (AB) School Committee meeting, the November 6, 2023 Acton Leadership Group and Select Board meetings, and the November 7, 2023 Acton Finance Committee meeting. Health care costs for both Town and School…

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Acton Leadership Group Considers Override

October 23, 2023

by Tom Beals

In opening remarks at the Acton Leadership Group (ALG) meeting on October 16, 2023, Town Manager John Mangiaratti said that the state had designated Minuteman Inn in Acton as a 33-bed emergency migrant shelter. School Superintendent Peter Light recognized the possibility of increased costs due to that designation.…

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Acton Select Board Discusses Volunteer Recruitment

October 8, 2023

by Tom Beals

The October 2, 2023 Acton Select Board meeting opened, as usual, with an opportunity for Acton residents to bring issues before the Board, and with updates from the Board. Residents’ comments are heard, but not discussed, by the Board at these sessions. In his update, Select Board Chair…

Hanscom Airport Control Tower and Jet.

Nagog Park and Hanscom Field Discussions at the September 18, 2023 Acton Select Board Meeting

September 21, 2023

by Tom Beals

The proposed auto dealership at Nagog Park, and a possible expansion at Hanscom Field, were each revisited at the September 18, 2023 Acton Select Board meeting. The September 18 Nagog Park discussion had been continued from September 11, 2023, extending a pattern of scheduled appearances with requests for…

Two trash bins await pickup off a residential street.

Curbside Waste Pickup Presentation at the Acton Senior Center

September 14, 2023

by Tom Beals

The possibility of town-wide curbside trash and recycling pickup, and the implications of that possibility for the future of the transfer station, was the topic of a presentation by Acton Department of Public Works Director Corey York, Acton Director of Sustainability Andrea Becerra, and Financial Solutions Analyst Ellie…

Street side sign for the West Acton Citizens Library

Select Board Discusses West Acton Citizens Library

August 28, 2023

by Tom Beals

Governance issues concerning the West Acton Citizens Library (WACL) were discussed at length at the August 21, 2023 Acton Select Board Meeting. WACL governance had been considered at earlier Select Board meetings and at the May 1, 2023 Town Meeting, where Warrant Article 11 (“Amend General Bylaws – Board…

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Notes from the July 24, 2023 Acton Select Board Meeting

July 30, 2023

by Tom Beals

At the Monday July 24 Acton Select Board meeting, Town Manager John Mangiaratti updated the Board on the effort to form a Regional Dispatch Center with the Town of Concord. Mangiaratti notified the Board of a Fiscal Year 2024 grant from the State 911 Department for $50,000 for…

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Newly Formed Department of Public Works Building Committee Seeks Public Participation

July 15, 2023

by Tom Beals

At the July 10, 2023 Acton Select Board meeting, the Board approved the formation of a Department of Public Works (DPW) Building committee to implement the 60% design measure that was approved at the May 1, 2023 Town Meeting for the 14 Forest Street building. The committee will…

Sign at the entrance to the Nagog Park commercial zone

Acton Select Board – Nagog Park redevelopment hearing

June 28, 2023

by Tom Beals

At the June 26, 2023 meeting of Acton’s Select Board representatives for McGovern Auto Group, as well as their law and engineering firms, presented a substantially revised redevelopment plan for Nagog Park. The first Nagog Park redevelopment plan that was submitted to the Town in February 2023 aroused…

Cyclist on the Bruce Freeman Bike Trail

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail – An Introduction and Invitation

April 30, 2023

by Tom Beals

I recently rode the newly expanded Bruce Freeman Rail Trail from its north end in Chelmsford to its south end almost at the Sudbury border. I was familiar with the trail from Acton northwards; the extension south into Concord is a welcome addition. If you have never been…