Assessors prepare to fill seat

The town's Board of Assessors is close to filling the vacancy created by the resignation of a longtime member, Diane Peterson. The board interviewed two candidates at its regular meeting last week and is expected to make a decision by tomorrow. The panel would then make a joint appointment with the Board of Selectmen this week. The two finalists for the position are Tom Flaherty, former town administrator in Lynnfield, and Jackie Healy, an appraiser and real estate agent. The three-person board has been a member short since Peterson stepped down last month, after moving out of Berlin. However, she still is working for the town as its chief assessor. - Julia Rappaport

ENERGY EFFICIENCY - The town's Energy Committee began a series of lectures and workshops last week with a talk given by Michael Duclos of Energy Efficiency Associates in Stow. The lecture was titled "Reducing Energy Use and Costs in Homes." The next lecture will be held in January and the series will continue monthly after that, organizers said. More information and a request for volunteers and suggestions for future topics can be found on the municipal website, www.townofbolton.com. - Matt Gunderson

DRAFTING ALTERNATIVE BUDGETS - Faced with tight finances, town officials are planning to assemble two preliminary budgets, which are expected to be ready by the middle of next month, according to the interim town administrator, Joseph Connelly. The first budget would be based on the amount of state aid the town expects for the next fiscal year, said Connelly, while the second would reflect a lower amount, with no funds budgeted for new services or hiring. Officials may revise the fiscal year 2010 budgets in January, when the first round of state aid numbers are announced, he said. - Matt Gunderson

DECISION ON SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY - The School Committee and selectmen are planning to appoint a new School Committee member from among four candidates during the selectmen's meeting Dec. 2. The new member will fill a vacancy through April, when the seat would be on the town election ballot. The opening was created when Cesar Monzon resigned from the board. The four people being considered are Richard Finlay, a Town Meeting member who serves on its Standing Committee on Education; Eric Silverman, a Wheelock College professor with children in the town's schools; Ron Sudmyer, a retired Framingham High vice principal; and Diane Throop, who previously served two terms on the School Committee. The appointment will be decided in a joint vote by selectmen and the School Committee, said Ann Greenberg, administrative assistant for the committee. - Tanya Pérez-Brennan

WINTER PARKING BAN - The Police Department has issued a notice reminding residents about the town's overnight onstreet parking ban, which took effect Nov. 15 and will remain in force until April 1. Parking on public ways is prohibited from midnight to 7 a.m. to allow Department of Public Works plows to clear snow and ice. The fine for parking overnight during the winter is $10. Cars that block snowplows will also be towed at the owner's expense. The police notice also reminds residents that parking on sidewalks is illegal and carries a $10 fine. - John Dyer

TOWN MEETING VOTES - Despite economic hard times, Hudson residents were in a spending mood during Monday night's Special Town Meeting. Voters approved spending $1.3 million to install water mains on four town roads, $50,000 on an affordable housing project, and $61,000 to renovate the town's senior center. Funding for the affordable housing project and the senior center renovations will come out of the Community Preservation Committee's coffers. Residents did not approve spending an additional $239,000 from the committee's fund for more extensive improvements to the senior center. The funding of the water main project will likely be split between the town and residents of the area to be affected, with property owners along Hosmer Street and Murphy, Parmenter, and White Pond roads paying a special assessment. The town would seek state and federal aid to help cover the project's cost, according to the warrant articles. Executive Assistant Paul Blazar said it is unclear when work on the water-main project will begin. - Julia Rappaport

CALL FOR SEPRACOR TAX BREAK - The City Council's Finance Committee will present a proposal to the full board tomorrow night that would give a Marlborough-based pharmaceutical research company, Sepracor Inc., a $3.8 million tax break in exchange for the creation of 250 jobs. The committee last week voted 4-1 in favor of the proposal, with Councilor Paul Ferro casting the dissenting vote. Sepracor is in the midst of one construction project and has plans for another at its headquarters on Waterford Road. The tax break would apply to both projects. City Council chairman Arthur Vigeant said last week that without the tax break, the city would see roughly $9.5 million in added tax revenue. With the tax break, the city will take in roughly $7 million. But, he said, the aim of the incentive is to spur business growth in Marlborough. "Without the buildings, we wouldn't have taken in anything. That's the whole incentive here," Vigeant said. "If the building wasn't there, we wouldn't take in any of these revenues." - Julia Rappaport

VERIZON LICENSE HEARING - Selectmen will hold a public hearing Tuesday on Verizon New England Inc.'s proposal to offer cable-TV services in town, according to the municipal website, www.townofmaynard-ma.gov. Selectmen will be determining the qualifications of Verizon to provide the service. The hearing begins at 7:15 p.m. in the Town Building.

- Matt Gunderson

DEADLINE TO SEEK GRANTS - The town's Community Preservation Committee is seeking grant applications from local organizations requesting funds for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The committee administers the money raised through a special property tax surcharge under the Community Preservation Act, which supports affordable housing, historic preservation, and open space and recreation projects. Proposals need to include a budget, statement of goals, why the community would benefit from the project, and a timeline of when the proposal would begin and end, according to the committee's notice on the municipal website, www.town.northborough.ma.us. The applications are due at the Town Offices on Main Street by 10 a.m. on Dec. 1. For additional details, contact Town Planner Kathy Joubert at 508-393-5019. - John Dyer

MODERATOR RETAINS ROLE - Town Moderator Kevin T. Byrne will continue to appoint members to the Finance Committee, after Monday night's Special Town Meeting turned down a proposal to have the positions elected by voters. Approximately 200 members turned out at Oak Middle School to decide the issue, which Selectman Benjamin W. Tartaglia raised in August through a petition to put it on the warrant. Byrne recused himself from the proceedings, appointing Town Counsel Philip Leader as temporary moderator. Byrne resumed his place at the podium for the session's second article, in which voters unanimously approved transferring $400,000 to water service and water system projects. - James O'Brien

LIGHT SHINES ON SOLAR POWER - The town has received a free solar-powered light from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative that will illuminate a flagpole at the town's firehouse, Fire Chief John Mauro said recently. Designed by SolarOne Solutions, a manufacturer with offices in Framingham, the fixture is intended to raise the profile of solar technology and renewable energy among residents. A crew of volunteers from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers installed the light.

- John Dyer

Stow
REVIEWING FAY SCHOOL'S PLANS - The Planning Board is scheduled tomorrow to continue its review of the Fay School's proposed expansion on Middle Road. A private institution that has day students in grades 1 through 9 and boarders starting in Grade 6, the school wants to renovate and incorporate its two-story Goodnow House into a 29,800-square-foot complex for prekindergarten, kindergarten, and expanded first and second grades. Town Planner Vera Kolias said a chief concern is the expansion's effect on traffic, with more students being dropped off by parents. The school's director of finance and operations, Gary Reed, said the project would likely reduce traffic on Middle Road, but might increase traffic on adjoining Main Street (Route 30). - James O'Brien MASTER PLAN SURVEY - Local officials are requesting that residents complete a new survey that will help the town update its master plan in the next year. The survey, which can be found on the town website, www.stow-ma.gov, asks residents to answer a number of questions about their priorities on land use, housing, and municipal services. Copies of the survey can also be picked up at the Randall Library and at the Town Building. - Matt Gunderson

BUDGET INFORMATION - The town's Finance Committee will host a budget information forum on Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Town Building, 41 Cochituate Road. The committee will lead a discussion of the fiscal year 2010 financial outlook, including revenues, expenses, and the resulting budget pressures. Anyone with questions can contact Michael DiPietro, the town's finance director, at 508-358-3611, or mdipietro@wayland.ma.us. - John M. Guilfoil BAG THOSE LEAVES - As the leaves seem to multiply in their journey from trees to ground, temptation to forgo a complete fall clean-up may take hold. But the town's Department of Public Works is watching, and its officials remind residents to bag their leaves and not push them into the street. Offenders are subject to a $100 fine. - Megan McKee