WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE – 11/25/25

SPECIAL TOWN MEETING – DECEMBER 4TH 

The Select Board has called a Special Town Meeting to be held on Thursday, December 4th at 7:00 pm at the Hopkinton High School Auditorium at 90 Hayden Rowe St. to adjust the town budget. 

• The High School is accessible. If you have a disability and require accommodations / modifications, please contact the Town Manager’s office at 508-497-9701 or  complete this form by November 28, 2025.

There is only one article on the warrant: 

• Article 1: Amend FY 2026 Operating Budget (Sponsor: Select Board)
  
  To see if the Town will vote to amend the Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget approved in Article 5 of the Annual Town Meeting held on May 5, 2025, by amending the General Fund budget to align with actual costs for debt and insurance.

Town Chief Financial Officer Kyla LaPierre informed the Select Board that the budget approved at ATM in May was based on estimates and there was an overestimate on both the debt payment and town employee health insurance costs. This has resulted in a surplus of approximately $5.7 million. A Special Town Meeting vote is required to give this money back to the town, thus lowering taxes, ahead of tax bills going out at the end of December. 

Select Board approves Dec. 4 Special Town Meeting to address budget issue (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 11/19/25)

A further explanation for this overestimate and the urgency of holding a STM in order to return this money to the town ahead of quarterly tax bills going out was outlined by the Town Manager in a correspondence to the Hopkinton Independent.

Town Manager explains necessity of Dec. 4 STM to return $5.7M to town (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 11/24/25)

SELECT BOARD 

The Select Board’s Tuesday meeting covered the following: 

Town Manager annual review. The board conducted Town Manager Elaine Lazarus’s first annual review and praised her for her accomplishments over her first year. They highlighted her effective communication skills and logistics in coordinating last year’s Special Town Meeting and Annual Town Meeting. Lazarus discussed goals for her second year, for which the board offered its support. Lazarus’s review score was 3.8 out of 5, showing that she met and, at times, exceeded expectations. 

Marathon charity bibs. The board also issued the 50 invitational entry bibs for the 2026 Boston Marathon that it received from the Boston Athletic Association to qualified charities. The board had received 12 entry applications from 6 town departments and committees, and 67 applications from 44 nonprofit organizations.  

CV policy review. The board continued its discussions about revising its policy on issuing common victualer and related licenses. Members agreed to seek the advice of town counsel on a number of proposed matters including CORI and SORI checks, FBI database checks through fingerprinting, and the legality of reviewing businesses’ financial records. Concerns were expressed about potential “overreach” when discussing these matters.  

Select Board roundup: Town Manager gets positive review; CV license discussion resumes (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 11/19/25)

Special Town Meeting. The board voted 4-1 to approve a Special Town Meeting to be held on Thursday, December 4th at 7 p.m. to adjust the operating budget for FY26, due to a surplus. Chair Joe Clark noted that the Department of Revenue needs the budget information the day after the December 4th STM in order to be reflected in residents’ tax bills, hence the speedy timing. Concern was raised over the ability to obtain a quorum given busy December schedules. Member Matthew Kizner was the lone vote against the December 4th date in light of the vote last May to move ATM to the first Saturday in May beginning in 2026, which he stated set the expectation for all Town Meetings to be held on Saturdays. 

2026 Tax Rate. The board also voted unanimously to set a single tax rate for residential and commercial properties, in line with prior years. 

Select Board approves Dec. 4 Special Town Meeting to address budget issue (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 11/19/25)

PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION

Pyne Field Project. In a brief Tuesday meeting, the Parks & Recreation Commission discussed the future of its Pyne Field redevelopment project following recent feedback by the Planning Board expressing its safety concerns regarding the location of the parking area in its current design which requires crossing an access road, and its disinclination to allow an EV infrastructure waiver for the parking lot. A parking area on the same side of the field would result in more limited parking, and EV infrastructure work would significantly increase costs, which have already doubled from original project estimates. Members discussed three options: continue to pursue the current design; begin a redesign process using Planning Board feedback; or halt the project. No decision was made but Chair Dan Terry encouraged letting the process play out with the Planning Board, while being transparent with the CPC about a potential change in their request for additional project funding. 

Parks & Rec debates future of Pyne Field project following Planning Board input (Article by Nick Schofield, 11/19/25)

COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMISSION

At its Tuesday meeting, the Community Preservation Committee heard from Parks & Rec Director Jon Lewitus on Pyne Field project feedback from the Planning Board and the Parks & Recreation Commission from their meeting just prior. He requested that the Parks & Rec’s $1 million funding request for FY27 be kept as a placeholder until more certain estimates are ascertained. The CPC suggested changing the scope of the project, in light of the Planning Board’s concerns, opining that they are trying to fit too much onto the property. The hearing was continued until December 17th, at which time the CPC will vote on funding for FY 27 projects. 

In other business, the CPC complimented Lewitus on the progress made on Parks & Rec’s smaller projects since his hiring last year. They also heard from DPW Director Kerry Reed about her request for a conceptual design for Ice House Pond area improvements to update the deteriorated parking lot. She deemed CPC funding appropriate under the historical, recreational and open space usage categories. However, CPC members questioned justifying the funding request as a CPC project and urged Reed to offer “better reasons” for the ask prior to the next meeting. 

CPC chair advises Parks & Rec to alter focus of Pyne Field redesign project (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 11/20/25)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE

At its Tuesday meeting, the Elementary School Building Committee heard from Charleswood School executive project manager Chris Eberly of Vertex that general contractor Brait Builders Corp. has adopted a 6-day work week schedule that could result in an earlier completion date of the project from the original date of October 21, 2027 to July 1, 2027. Members were cautioned to manage their expectations, as it is still very early in the process and this work schedule is “quite aggressive.” This change would necessitate a revised payment schedule to cover the additional work day. 

The committee also reviewed the November 4th groundbreaking ceremony for the project and ongoing work at the site, and heard a budget update. 

 Charleswood contractor employs aggressive work schedule (Article by Susan Gonsalves, 11/19/25)

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

At its Thursday meeting, the School Committee reviewed budget requests from four departments: special education, buildings and grounds, curriculum and instruction, and central office. A full breakdown of these department requests can be read in the article cited below. The school budget proposal will be presented to the Select Board in a joint meeting on December 18th. 

The committee is set to vote on the school calender for 2026-27 at its December 11th meeting, changed from December 4th due to the Special Town Meeting on that date. 

School Committee discusses department budget requests (Article by Susan Gonsalves, 11/21/25)

Also at its meeting, the School Committee heard from the Special Education Parent Advisory Council about their organization. The committee heard about SEPAC’s recent activities and upcoming events. The committee also heard from Superintendent Evan Bishop about themes that he has seen thus far on his “listening tour” with staff, students, and members of the community. His findings will be presented to the committee in March. 

Additionally, the committee approved using existing HVAC district-wide articles for the design and engineering for the geothermal water-to-water heat pump project for the high school. 

School Committee discusses SEPAC, superintendent’s observations (Article by Susan Gonsalves, 11/22/25)

ZONING ADVISORY COMMITTEE 

At its Monday meeting, the Zoning Advisory Committee discussed a potential change to the town’s MBTA Communities Act zoning, which was approved at the 2024 Special Town Meeting to comply with state law zoning requirements as an MBTA-adjacent community. After reviewing Hopkinton’s bylaw, the state gave the town partial compliance approval, however, found that the town did not meet the contiguous area requirement, meaning that at least one of the three districts created by the town to comply with the state zoning law had to span 27.3 acres and none were that large. The town has until May 2026 to approve a new bylaw that complies with this requirement. Potential options were discussed and the matter continued until the December 8th meeting, at which the committee expects to make a recommendation. 

Zoning Advisory Committee considers revisions to MBTA Communities zoning (Article by Nick Schofield, 11/25/25)

MAIN STREET CORRIDOR PROJECT 

The latest project update reports that paving was completed on the west side of the project last week, and Amorello will be on site this week to finish winter cleanup before remaining off site for the winter. Paving on the east side of the project will be scheduled after the Boston Marathon.