Weekly News Update – 10/22/24

state & presidential election

Early Voting is Now Open. Vote early at Town Hall from October 19th through November 1st. See dates and times HERE.

Last day to request an absentee ballot is October 26

Last day to register to vote is October 26

Review the 5 Ballot Questions

Special town meeting

Save the Date: Hopkinton Special Town Meeting coming up Monday, November 18th at 7pm at the Hopkinton Middle School.

Articles for the Special Town Meeting were due Friday, October 18th. Stay tuned for the full list to be voted on.

For more information about Citizen’s Petitions and how the process works, check out the new eHop Citizen’s Petition Guide, along with YouTube videos created by our intern, HERE.

Select board

Local meals tax. At its meeting last Tuesday, the Select Board voted to put on the warrant for the November 18th Special Town Meeting a proposed 0.75% local option meals excise tax, as a potential means to raise town revenue for economic development. The Board also discussed a draft of the new Trails Committee structure.  Select Board votes for local meals tax to go before Town Meeting (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 10/16/24)

Planning board

Mixed-use development at former Hopkinton Drug. At its Monday meeting, the Planning Board was presented with an overview of the proposed development at the former Hopkinton Drug property at 48-52 Main Street and an adjacent home at 6 Cedar Street, which would include a 60-unit building, with first floor space for 2-3 businesses, a courtyard, and parking spaces. The hearing was continued until November 4th. Planning Board receives overview of mixed-used development at former Hopkinton Drug property (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 10/22/24)

COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE 

Applications reviewed for funding. The CPC began its review on Thursday evening of applicant proposals for 2026 fiscal year funding. This review focused primarily on submitted proposals for 1) Center School rehabilitation to restore the building for the joint use by town departments, namely Parks & Recreation and Youth & Family Services, and the Hopkinton Center for the Arts, and 2) the construction of an adaptive playground in town. Funding requests by the Parks & Rec department and the Open Space Preservation Commission were also addressed, along with smaller funding requests. These requests will be reviewed in greater detail at the CPC’s next meeting on November 14th. CPC kicks off application review process for FY 26 funding (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 10/18/24)

WEST MAIN STREET GAS STATION

Sign removal update. Clarification was given by the town’s building inspector who confirmed that his office was responsible for the removal of yard signs opposing the proposed West Main Street gas station. The town’s director of municipal inspections stated that this action was taken in response to a complaint, and that the reason for the removal was that the signs were on land designated as public property. Removed signs were made available for pick up by residents. Building inspector takes responsibility for yard sign removal, cites complaint (Article by Nick Schofield, 10/15/24)

health Department

Health Department Budget. The Health Department’s Monday night meeting focused on its budget for fiscal year 2026, with its primary focus on increasing its staffing. An article was submitted to the warrant for the November 18th Special Town Meeting to establish a revolving fund to help support per diem and part-time nurses as well as medical supplies. Health Department looks for avenues to help with staffing (Article by Nick Schofield, 10/22/24)

MAIN STREET CORRIDOR PROJECT 

Ongoing work update. The following work will be ongoing this week: wall and walkway work along Main Street, overhead utility line transfer work on the west side, and brick strip installation on the east side, along with Eversource preliminary transformer work. Main Street Corridor Project update: Wall, walkway work continue (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 10/18/24)

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Water use restrictions. Residents are asked to “refrain from unnecessary water use” due to the decline in levels of available groundwater. Town asks residents to avoid “unnecessary water use” as dry spell continues