Opening remarks
- Ms. Carolyn Read, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts, described volunteer opportunities at 416 Great Road, where the former Le Lyonnais restaurant is being converted to housing. Applications for ownership are open now and will close August 4.
- Select Board Chair Alissa Nicol urged residents to contact legislators in support of the Municipal Empowerment Act, wide-ranging legislation that would, among many other provisions, make permanent the pandemic-era allowance of remote (“Zoom”) and hybrid meetings. Ms. Nicol also noted the termination of the last obligations of the Health Insurance Trust, which had provided health insurance for the Town and Schools.
- Assistant Town Manager Thom Begin announced that Interim Chief Police Douglas Sturniolo has officially been appointed Chief; that Ms. Erin Woodbury had been named as the new director of the Council on Aging; and that an electric vehicle event would be held July 14 at the Acton Memorial Library parking lot.
- Board member Pam Nourse, mentioned the continuing need for volunteers for Town Boards and Committees, and announced that the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School Committee’s Acton representative seat is open (Ms. Nourse was the former representative).
13 School Street Hearing
Following a brief review of updates to the project plan, primarily concerning changes to the parking arrangement, and after receiving approvals from the Conservation Commission and Historic District commission, the Board unanimously approved the Site Plan Special Permit.
An excerpt from the Planning division draft decision: “The South Acton Vision & Action Plan, Housing Production Plan, and Acton 2020 all include goals of encouraging mixed-use development in village centers and transit-accessible locations. Two years after the adoption of the South Acton Village 1 zoning at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting, this proposal represents an exciting opportunity to utilize the new zoning framework and advance many of the community’s long-standing planning goals.”
Stow Street Complete Streets Final Report
Mr. Haralampos (Bob) Stathopoulos of Howard Stein Hudson, accompanied by Town Engineer Evan White, presented a detailed overview of a lengthy and detailed Final Report. Although entitled “Stow Street Complete Streets”, the report addressed the larger area encompassing Robbins, Martin, Liberty, and Stow streets; the Jones field playground, the adjacent South Acton train station, and Stonefield and Liberty Tree Farms.
Little background or historical context was presented during the meeting itself. However, Mr. Stathopoulos’ presentation, the written report, and the impassioned public comment that followed, clearly established the issues under consideration.
Mr. Stathopoulos described the project’s primary purpose as improving safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. A secondary objective, inferred from the presentation, is to improve traffic flow, including clarifying intersection priority at the “five-way” intersection of Stow, Liberty, and Martin streets. Following two public input meetings, the preferred alternative was to widen Stow Street and construct a parallel shared-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Many residents commented, and those comments repeated a consistent theme of unsafe pedestrian conditions. Parents described walking children to Jones Field, the rail trail, the train station, and nearby childcare while sharing a narrow roadway with fast-moving traffic. Several residents recounted near-miss incidents, and one described a collision that killed a dog while a child in a stroller narrowly escaped injury. Although opinion differed on the preferred engineering solution—particularly the proposed one-way street option, roundabouts, and the extent of wetland impacts—there was broad agreement that for decades the Stow Street area has lacked safe accommodations for pedestrians. Board members urged that, while the preferred long-term design undergoes further survey and environmental review, the Town pursues near-term measures such as additional speed-limit signage, vegetation clearing, and other traffic-calming improvements.
Wastewater Governance (Sewer Commissioners)
The 2023 Acton Town Meeting approved a non-binding citizens’ petition calling for an evaluation of creating either an independent Sewer Commission or an advisory Sewer Committee, and establishing a Sewer Commission is a Select Board 2026 long term goal. Although the Collins Center’s Municipal Wastewater Governance Review, first discussed by the Board in June 2025, was included in this meeting’s packet, the discussion focused on defining the proposed Commission’s structure, authority, and relationship to the Select Board.
Board members reaffirmed that major financial and policy decisions—including sewer rates and fees, borrowing, land acquisitions and easements, major system expansions, contracts, and authorization of new projects—would remain the responsibility of the Select Board, generally acting upon recommendations from the new commission.
The commission would assume responsibility for technical oversight of wastewater operations, day-to-day governance, policy development, and communication with the Acton Water District and Water Resources Advisory Committee, while providing greater public engagement than the Select Board’s agenda typically allows.
Board members debated whether the commission should have authority to waive sewer privilege fees, ultimately concluding that fee waivers should remain Select Board decisions following recommendations from the commission. Members agreed that the commission should consist of five Select Board-appointed members selected for relevant technical expertise, rather than by election given the relatively small portion of the town served by the sewer district. The Board agreed that Select Board participation should be through a non-voting liaison rather than a voting member, preserving the commission’s independence while maintaining communication between the two bodies.
Town staff will now prepare draft bylaw language reflecting the Board’s consensus for future consideration.
Briefly noted
- IT director Karl Voelker briefed the Board on options for official Town email addresses and email forwarding in conjunction with the Town’s migration to Microsoft 365.
- Planning for the Town Hall renovation project continued with discussion of a Memorandum of Agreement and a space use plan for relocating Town staff to the Conant School Building.
- The outgoing and incoming chairs of the Transportation Advisory Committee made a brief presentation, and asked the Board for guidance regarding the Committee’s future objectives.
- The Board continued its discussion of policy guidelines governing use of the Asaph Parlin house.
Tom Beals is the Acton Exchange Select Board beat reporter.
