WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE – 02/04/25

TOWN ELECTION 2025 UPDATE

Candidates have begun to pull papers for the 2025 Town Election on May 19th. To date, there are no contested races and several open positions. To see the list, and for information on how to apply to run for office, check out eHop’s Town Election 2025 Information Page.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Adaptive playground article for Town Meeting warrant.  In a Thursday Zoom meeting, the School Committee voted to sponsor an article for the Town Meeting warrant to fund the proposed adaptive playground, as the Capital Improvement Committee opted not to put the adaptive playground on its capital plan list. A dollar amount was not designated in the article. The projected amount for the project was $1.2 million. The Community Preservation Committee had approved $300,000 toward the project; however, the CIC will review the CPC’s funding recommendations on February 10th. If the CIC approves the CPC’s $300,000 allotment, this article will seek the remaining balance needed to fund the project and identify a source for such funds.

Superintendent search timeline. At the advice of the NESDEC consultants, the screening process for the new superintendent search has been moved up in order to obtain a decision on the new hire earlier in the spring, ahead of other districts who may also be searching for a candidate. The new date for the School Committee vote on the new superintendent has been changed to April 15th. Parents have been invited via email to get involved with focus groups to assist with search efforts.  

School Committee approves adaptive playground article for warrant (Article by Susan Gonsalves, 01/31/25)

Community assistance with superintendent search.

The School Committee is seeking community participation and feedback in the search for the new superintendent.

For residents interested in volunteering to be part of a committee to help screen  and conduct initial interviews of candidates, this committee application form should be submitted by Monday, February 10th.

Community members who would like to provide direct feedback are invited to do so through this online questionnaire before February 12th.

Hopkinton Today for Tuesday, Feb. 4: School Committee looks for resident participation in superintendent search (Hopkinton Independent, 02/04/25)

CONSERVATION COMMISSION 

Approval of town vegetative management plan. At its Tuesday meeting, the Conservation Commission voted 6-0 to approve the Department of Public Works’ proposed vegetative management plan. The five year plan is said to conform Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources regulations, and the proposed “sensitive area herbicides” require additional MDAR reviews before application. A yearly operational plan was submitted to the MDAR at a hearing on January 24th. The town VMP has been opposed by members of the Hopkinton Sustainable Green Committee’s Environmental Working Group due to the included use of herbicides. 

The commission also continued requests for certificates of compliance regarding a three-unit subdivision property at 8 and 10 Leonard Street, and approved a DPW request for exploratory geotechnical borings between 55 and 66 Fruit Street, to be placed in mid-February. 

Conservation Commission approves town vegetative management plan (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 01/29/25)

PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION

At its Tuesday meeting, the Parks & Recreation Commission authorized a Town Common reservation request for the 2025 PolyArts Festival on September 6th, as well as for the Hopkinton Garden Club plant sale on May 10th and the Friends of Hopkinton Family Fling on March 29th. Following discussion, the commission also agreed to maintain its snow plowing policy for the Fruit Street synthetic turf fields, whereby the plowing cost, if accrued, is shared between the town and the clubs registered for field use this March.

 Parks & Rec approves PolyArts Festival request, debates snow plowing policy for turf fields (Article by Nick Schofield, 01/29/25)

TRAILS COMMITTEE

The newly formed Trails Committee, consisting of 9 members appointed by the Select Board in early January, held its first meeting on Wednesday. Members shared their backgrounds and goals, and discussed a trail master plan, community outreach ideas and future goals.  New Trails Committee holds meeting to lay groundwork, discuss vision (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 01/30/25)

HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

At its Wednesday meeting, the Historic District Commission voted on a design for a plaque that will honor the lives of slaves who lived in Hopkinton. Over the past couple decades, Hopkinton Historical Society archivist Linda Connelly has compiled a list of 32 names of local slaves, which will be featured on the memorial plaque to be installed at the Town Common. The commission will clarify on the exact location of the installation with Parks & Recreation.  Historic District Commission votes on design for plaque honoring local slaves (Article by Nick Schofield, 01/30/25)

OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION COMMISSION

In a brief meeting Monday, the Open Space Preservation Commission approved a placeholder article for the warrant for Annual Town Meeting regarding a proposed land donation of a portion of Agilitas Energy property at Frankland Road for open space use. Warrant articles were due by 5 p.m. yesterday. Continued discussion on this issue is expected at the OSPC’s Thursday meeting.  OSPC approves warrant article on possible donation of Frankland Road open space parcel (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 02/03/25)