Weekly News Roundup – 09/27/2021

Center School Usage

The Select Board at its meeting Tuesday night considered several issues, including future uses for the Center School property.

McIntyre said a new study of the town’s municipal needs should be done to replace the one from three years ago to more accurately assess the best purposes for the buildings. Three options were proposed. The least feasible appeared to be rehabilitating the existing site because of issues regarding compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, flooding and asbestos.

Related: Center School Building & Site Reuse

One of the questions eHop heard at PolyArts was “What are we doing with Center School?” To help answer that question, please see the attached presentation by the Permanent Building Committee which was presented to the Select Board on 9/21/21.

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ADA Oversight Committee discussed

Town Manager Norman Khumalo asked the board to reconsider the role of the ADA Oversight Committee, suggesting that steps be taken to make it a formal commission.

“I think in the spirit of acknowledging our shared humanity as well as our commitment to inclusion that we should all work hard to find members for it,” he said.

LNG facility policy adopted

Khumalo proposed that the process about notifying the town departments about developments at the LNG facility on Wilson Street go through his office. This would allow information to be distributed from a central location. The policy was adopted unanimously.

Town website overhaul suggested

The board discussed the need to update the town website in order to make it more easily accessible to the public. Ritterbusch and Muriel Kramer volunteered to work with Khumalo on modifications. Ritterbusch mentioned the difficulty in accessing board and committee information.

NOI filed on Mechanic Street solar project conversion

Khumalo announced that a Chapter 61A Notice of Intent was filed for the solar property at 0 and 5 Mechanic Street and Wood Street.

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View Select Board Actions Taken – 09/21/2021

Health director: Frustrated residents should ‘take a civil tone’ when dealing with COVID team

“Right now they are recognized widely throughout the commonwealth as being one the top COVID response teams out there,” a weary-sounding McAuliffe said, adding that two visiting nurse associations (VNA) recently called to ask for assistance. “We know what we’re doing. We’ve got different agencies that are coning to us for advice on how to handle cases. So, my hats off to those guys. They’re really a well-oiled machine.

“With that said, we’re almost two years into COVID. I know people are frustrated. I know that they’re inconvenienced. I know that they’re tired. But I’m just asking people — and there’s a small minority — but I’m just asking them to be a little civil when they are dealing with that team, because they have a job to do, they have regulatory responsibilities that they need to fulfill. We had several instances last week where residents were swearing at them and just really being uncivil. If someone has an issue they can come to me as the department head. But I’m just asking that people take a civil tone when they are dealing with the nurses.”

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Related:

Covid-19 Updates and Precautions

As of 9/23/21, Hopkinton’s Health Department is reporting 1215 total confirmed COVID-19 cases; 19 of those cases are active, with 1,179 recoveries and 17 deaths. (these metrics are cumulative since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic).

Superintendent: ‘Strong return to full-time, in-person learning’ at Hopkinton schools

There have been some COVID cases at the Hopkinton Public Schools, but overall, the first few weeks have gone well, according to Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh.

In an email to school families on Friday, Cavanaugh wrote that the schools “have enjoyed a strong return to full-time, in-person learning for all students. It’s wonderful to have our students back in our school buildings!”

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School Committee roundup: Enrollment numbers updated; HHS addition still not finished; additional food staff requested

The School Committee met on Thursday night to discuss several issues, including progress on the high school addition, the need for more staff to prepare school lunches, and the implementation of the test and stay program at the district’s schools.

In her superintendent’s report, Carol Cavanaugh updated the committee on the district’s enrollment numbers. The bulk of enrollments occurred for students in kindergarten, with 266 currently registered out of 397 new students overall.

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Hopkinton Reports Elevated Levels of PFAS Detected in Water Sample, Encourages Residents to Review Educational Resources

HOPKINTON — Town Manager Norman Khumalo and Water & Sewer Superintendent Eric Carty report that water from Well #6 near Fruit Street has shown slightly elevated levels of a regulated group of chemicals called PFAS. The Town of Hopkinton encourages residents to review the available public education resources provided by the town about these chemicals and noted concerns about long-term exposure.

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HPD Offering Free RAD Training

Rape Aggression Defense Systems Training Training for Women – offered for free from HPD.  Separate classes for men due to liability purposes.

To enroll or if you have questions, simply email Officer Matt Santoro at msantoro@hopkintonpd.org and leave your name, email address and phone number. If email is not available to you, please call 508-497-3401 x1259 and leave a (clear and slow) message with the same information. The first 30 women to enroll will be admitted (maximum number of students is 30). Confirmations will be done by email to the first 30 women that email Officer Santoro. Please ensure you can make all 5 classes before enrolling. The class will run from 6pm – 9pm.

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