Opening remarks:
- School Committee liaison to the Select Board Glen Cote noted the seating of new School Committee members, leadership updates. and the initial phases of post-reorganization student acclimation.
- Board chair Alissa Nicol mentioned upcoming events: a forum for public comment on the Concord Rotary renovation design, the annual Pridefest, and the Great American Campout – Acton!
- Town Manager John Mangiaratti announced the upcoming retirements of Council on Aging Director Sharon Mercurio and Senior Services Coordinator Beverly Hutchings; and the promotions of Building Commissioner John Garside and Assistant IT Director Justin Flynn.
- Board member—and certified Arborist—Dean Charter responded to questions regarding the young trees that were delivered to Kelley’s Corner; noting what appeared to be insufficient root-ball and storage on “a paved parking lot for prolonged periods of time under baking sun”. He further remarked that those trees are a Massachusetts state responsibility until the project is turned over to the Town.
- Board liaison to the Historical Commission Fran Arsenault called attention to a Discovery Museum presentation to the Commission.
46 Taylor Road acquisition update:
Acton Conservation Trust President Susan Mitchell-Hardt and Treasurer Hart Millett presented a ceremonial oversize check to the Town as a contribution for the purchase of 46 Taylor Road. 103 donors contributed a total of $116,620. The Board voted to accept the donation, and to authorize the Town Manager to sign the deed for the purchase.
Enterprise funds review:
The Town’s ambulances and sewer systems are financed as enterprise funds— separate accounts intended to pay for those services through fees charged to their users. Each year, the Finance Department reviews those funds with the Select Board. In the final FY2026 Select Board meeting, Finance Director Ellie Anderson reviewed the sewer and ambulance enterprise funds.
As background to her presentation for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 sewer rates, Ms. Anderson briefly reviewed the history of the present sewer system from its completion in 2002 and its 2025 “upgrade”, followed by listing the sewer enterprise fund’s revenues and costs (including debt service). Looking ahead, she said the Town expects increased sewer flows and operating costs as the new Powdermill Place and McManus Manor apartment developments come fully online.
Ms. Anderson recommended a 4.5% FY2027 rate increase for all three classes of sewer users (residential, commercial, and school), lower than the 6.5% increases approved for both FY2025 and FY2026. The FY2027 rates were projected to result in $3.89 more per month for the average single family residential customer, $149 more for the average commercial customer and $90.73 for the average school account. The increase would cover expected operating costs for the coming year while keeping the sewer enterprise fund on track to maintain retained earnings equal to at least 50% of its annual budget.
Ms. Anderson then presented the FY2027 Ambulance Rate Recommendation, following up on an ambulance enterprise fund financial model that was presented to the Board in April 2025, and intended to both stabilize ambulance finances and to reduce dependence on subsidies from the general fund. For FY2027, she noted that Town Meeting had approved a $2.1 million ambulance budget, an increase of nearly $160,000 (7.9%) over the current year. Looking ahead, the Town expects additional cost pressures, including a planned $125,000 increase in FY2028 overtime, to better match actual spending; and an estimated $150,000 annual increase in ambulance leasing costs beginning in FY2029 as vehicles are replaced.
To support those costs, Ms. Anderson recommended a 10% increase across all ambulance run types: $2,999 for ALS(Advanced Life Support)1 calls, $4,211 for ALS2 calls, $2,249 for BLS (Basic Life Support) calls, and $43 per mile. She said ambulance revenues remain difficult to forecast because payments depend heavily on the mix of Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and direct patient billing, each with different reimbursement rates. In FY2025, Medicare accounted for 43% of ambulance runs but reimbursed only 23% of billed charges; Medicaid accounted for 13% of runs and reimbursed 16%, while private insurance covered 41% of runs and reimbursed 54%. Ms. Anderson said the Town collects only about 37% of total ambulance billings overall, making periodic rate increases necessary to sustain the fund and to reduce the current general fund subsidy, which was $454,000 in FY2027. After discussion, the Select Board unanimously approved the new rates.
FY26 budget update:
Town Manager John Mangiaratti gave the Select Board an early preview of the Town’s fiscal year-end budget closeout, describing it as a mix of “good news” and “interesting news.” He said the town expects to return about $400,000 to $500,000 from health insurance and another $300,000 to $400,000 from salary savings due to vacancies and turnover, but much of that surplus was offset by an $800,000 overrun in snow and ice removal after the severe winter. As a result, the net operating turnback is expected to be about $100,000 — lower than the town’s usual target.
Mr. Mangiaratti said stronger-than-expected revenues helped offset those pressures. The town collected about $1 million more than projected, including roughly $500,000 in additional motor vehicle excise taxes, higher-than-expected building permit revenue driven largely by the Powder Mill project, and $380,000 in investment income above projections. Taken together, he said the town is still on track to add at least $1 million to free cash certification, though legal expenses tied to ongoing litigation over a South Acton subdivision have run over budget.
Fire Department Deployment update:
Fire Chief Anita Arnum described the near-final results of the Fire Department Operational Deployment Pilot Study, a year-long evaluation of station staffing and apparatus deployment funded by a state grant and conducted with the Collins Center for Public Management. The study grew out of challenges that emerged after the North Acton station opened in 2022 without additional staffing, leaving only two firefighters assigned to each of the town’s four stations. That arrangement strained supervision, training, morale, and operational efficiency, prompting a pilot that first consolidated staffing into two stations and later into three. Chief Arnum said the study confirmed that concentrating personnel generally improves safety, training, and service delivery, while also highlighting weaknesses in data collection and dispatch tracking that limited some of the report’s conclusions.
Chief Arnum said several improvements have already been implemented, including reopening the Center Fire Station, updating operating procedures, improving dispatch protocols, expanding training opportunities, and creating an ALS (Advanced Life Support) engine position in North Acton. The report also reinforced national standards showing that larger crews improve firefighting effectiveness and safety. Chief Arnum said the department continues to face recruitment and retention challenges but has recently improved hiring, bringing total staffing to 40 members, with five more positions still to fill. She emphasized that firefighter morale and teamwork remain central concerns, noting that firefighters “don’t join departments to work with a single other person.”
Discussion among Select Board members focused less on the pilot’s immediate findings than on the long-term implications for station planning and staffing. Board members debated whether Acton’s future should be based on two, three, or four stations, but agreed that the town needs a clearer feasibility plan for its aging fire stations before making major staffing commitments. Members raised concerns about the cost and practicality of expanding or replacing older village-based stations, while also acknowledging that staffing increases may be needed before any long-term facilities plan is realized. Chair Alissa Nicol steered the discussion toward identifying what additional information is needed, including updated call-location data as new housing developments come online and better understanding of how station configurations affect staff morale, safety, and operational efficiency.
Primrose School permit approved:
The Select Board approved Primrose School’s site plan permit for a proposed childcare center at 457 Massachusetts Avenue on a 3–2 vote, after revisiting several final conditions in the draft decision. One significant late change came when Town staff reported that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Mass DoT) would not permit a new crosswalk across Mass. Ave. at the site because an existing crosswalk already serves that stretch of road. In response, board members agreed to drop an earlier condition requiring the applicant to build sidewalk frontage west of the proposed driveway, concluding that a sidewalk without a legal crossing could create a new hazard by encouraging pedestrians to cross unsafely. Instead, the applicant will make a roughly $13,000 payment in lieu to the town’s sidewalk fund.
Traffic safety concerns remained central even at this final stage. Board Chair Alissa Nicol reiterated her ongoing concern about vehicle conflicts near the adjacent R.J. Grey Junior High School driveway, particularly during school arrival and dismissal periods. A brief discussion over internal parking-lot traffic clarified an earlier misunderstanding: a “no left turn” restriction shown on the site plan applies only within the Primrose parking lot itself, not to vehicles exiting onto Massachusetts Avenue. Board members otherwise left broader traffic controls to future MassDOT review.
Board clerk Fran Arsenault made a motion to deny the application, the motion failed for lack of a second. Ms. Arsenault then outlined her objections for the record, arguing that the project’s size, requested zoning waivers, groundwater impacts, traffic risks, and likely demolition of the historic house on the site made it inappropriate for the parcel. Ms. Nicol said she shared many of those concerns, especially regarding traffic conflicts, tree loss, and what she described as the applicant’s reliance on state childcare protections to override local constraints.
Vice Chair David Martin then moved approval of the permit, including the requested waivers and the revised sidewalk condition. The motion was seconded and passed on a 3–2 vote, with Ms. Nicol and Ms. Arsenault opposed. The vote ends a long and often contentious review process, allowing the project to move forward subject to the board’s conditions and any additional requirements imposed by MassDOT.
Town Hall HVAC project update:
Deputy Town Manager Thom Begin reported that the Town Hall HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) and emergency power replacement project has been temporarily paused while designers review newer equipment options and possible changes to the exterior layout. The original plan called for three large air-source heat pumps and a generator enclosure, but staff said rapid changes in available technology and feedback from the Historic District Commission and Design Review Board have prompted a re-evaluation. Much of that feedback focused on the exterior appearance and siting of the equipment enclosure, including setback concerns and whether some equipment might be consolidated into or nearer existing utility areas to reduce its visual impact.
The review is also being coordinated with the long-planned bell tower restoration and related renovations in the finance wing, with the goal of bidding those pieces together to achieve cost savings. Mr. Begin said the bell tower work would require temporarily removing the historic bell while structural supports are replaced. Board members expressed support for combining the projects, though noted it would likely extend the schedule.
The current estimate is that the project will be delayed by one to two months. That would likely push the municipal government’s move-out from Town Hall — potentially into the former Conant School building or another temporary location — from late summer into October, with construction timing to become clearer once the revised bid package is finalized.
Briefly noted:
- The Board approved its 2026 Short and Long Term Goals after a brief discussion of minor wording edits. Relative to the above discussion, the goals include “Establish a Sewer Commission appointed by the Select Board”.
- The Board discussed, and agreed to revise, a draft Asaph Parlin Building Use Policy.
Hearings:
A Site Plan Special Permit for 13 School Street was continued to July 6, 2026. In addition, to accommodate the permitting process the Board approved an extension of the closing date for the 3 and 13 School Street properties to August 7, 2026.
Tom Beals is the Acton Exchange Select Board beat reporter.
