WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE – 04/14/26

SELECT BOARD 

Private ways seeking town road acceptance. At its Tuesday meeting, the Select Board voted on whether to approve three private ways seeking acceptance as public roads, with the ultimate decision to be made at the May 2nd Annual Town Meeting. The first considered was Auciello Drive, which was initially intended as a family private road on property that eventually evolved to be a subdivision. In December, the Planning Board voted to remove a condition on the road that the owners be responsible for the road’s maintenance and upkeep. However, the Planning Board recently voted not to recommend acceptance at this time, in line with the opinion of DPW Director Kerry Reed, as the road is not currently up to town standards and would require $170,000 in improvements, in addition to an engineering study. The citizens’ petition requesting acceptance contains a condition that the funding timing for road improvements would be left to the discretion of the town. Despite expressed concerns, the board voted 4-0 to recommend acceptance and allow the matter to be voted on at ATM. 

The board next considered the acceptance of Linden Street as a town road, as requested in a DPW sponsored article. Linden Street is connected to the town water system and, if accepted, will be part of an East Main Street water main improvement project. A potential legal impediment was raised, as residents own half of the road under a revocable trust. Town Manager Elaine Lazarus noted that, if accepted as a public road, the town would be required to compensate the residents as their property would be taken by eminent domain. Members agreed to obtain more information before their April 14th meeting. 

Finally, the board voted 4-0 to recommend acceptance of Whisper Way as a town road, as recommended by the Planning Board and DPW. 

Select Board confronts roadblocks during hearing on 3 private ways becoming public roads (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 04/08/26)

Bylaw amendments reviewed. Also at its Tuesday meeting, the board reviewed a number of proposed general bylaw amendments which will be addressed at ATM. The following were discussed: a proposed 10 mph speed limit for e-bikes and other electric mobility vehicles on shared-use paths and the issue of enforceability; a civilian fingerprinting requirement for common victualer license applicants; the HPD’s revolving fund structure and creating more transparent accounting; the creation of a municipal aggregation revolving fund; and a new municipal electric vehicle charger revolving fund.

Final CV license renewal approvals. In other business, the board voted 4-0 to approve the last two outstanding CV license renewals for Aramark at Dell at both 176 and 228 South Street.

Select Board reviews general bylaw amendments, approves final CV license renewals (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 04/08/26)

CONSERVATION COMMISSION 

Lake Maspenock weed treatment. At its Tuesday meeting, the Conservation Commission voted 5-0 to approve the limited use of herbicides in Lake Maspenock, in line with its approval two years prior of the DPW’s “toolbox of weed management options” including extended drawdowns, hand harvesting, and herbicides as a last resort. A herbicide application in the summer of 2024 was effective in killing weed overgrowth, but the weeds came back strong the following year. New companies have been hired to survey the vegetation (Aquatics Restoration Consulting) and apply the herbicides (SOLitude). The DPW has worked with the Health Department, Citizens Input Group and Lake Maspenock Preservation Association to collect and analyze water samples, and the latter has focused on resident outreach and education. The samples showed good water quality. The Citizens Input Group has also been conducting extensive research on mechanical harvesting as a potential future alternative to herbicides. Members of the Sustainable Green Committee continue to strongly oppose the herbicide application. It was noted that the commission’s approval of the “toolbox” for a five-year period was so the effectiveness could be monitored over time.  

Conservation Commission approves Lake Maspenock weed treatment plan to use herbicides (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 04/09/26) 

75 South Street parking lot. The commission also continued a hearing on proposed parking lot revisions to 75 South Street. The applicant for this project is seeking to repurpose the building from commercial/industrial use to an office building/warehouse. Several issues were identified in peer review, and the commission noted that the scope of the project is much greater than they anticipated. Updates to the plan are necessary. 

Additional business. In other business, the commission also continued a hearing on a townwide maintenance plan, as the file is awaiting a DEP number; continued a hearing on the potential home development at 12 North Mill Street to allow for plan edits; and informally discussed a proposed plan by a Trails Committee member to improve and expand an unformalized parking area at the entrance of the Berry Acres trail off Main Street, which raised concerns among commission members. 

Conservation Commission continues 75 South Street hearing (Article by Mary Ellen Gambon, 04/09/26) 

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

At its Thursday meeting, the School Committee approved a revised FY27 operating budget of $71,207,200, a $629,288 reduction, at the town’s request due to projected increases in health insurance rates of 18%-22% from an anticipated increase of 9%. This has created a $1.3 million shortfall for the town to make up. This spike is likely caused by high employee healthcare usage, as well as rising medical and prescription costs. Administrators and directors worked around the clock to address the gap and identified areas to cut, delaying or reducing items including technology upgrades, staffing, professional development, legal fees, general supplies, and upgrades to middle school bathrooms, while also increasing use of revolving funds. The new budget reflects a 4.92% increase over last year.  

The committee also approved contracts for Helene Desjardins, director of student services, and Cynthia Mahr, director of finance/chief financial officer, and agreed to move forward with a capital request for middle school furniture, contingent on ATM approval next month. 

School Committee approves lowered FY 27 budget (Article by Susan Gonsalves, 04/10/26) 

The committee also discussed a prior Department of Elementary and Secondary Education finding that a disproportionately high number of white students in the Hopkinton school district identify with specific learning disabilities. The district has recently submitted an action plan to reduce the imbalance. The goal of this action plan is to improve equity by reviewing evaluation processes, increasing staff training, and improving outreach to families. There is a concern that non-white families may be less likely to request evaluations, leading to under-identification in other groups. The district aims to lower its disproportionality score by 2028. 

Finally, the committee approved a new position of assistant director of food services to be funded through the revolving fund at a cost of $100,000. 

DESE: Disproportionate number of white students in Hopkinton identified with specific learning disabilities (Article by Susan Gonsalves, 04/12/26)