The Select Board on Tuesday night approved the Boston Athletic Association’s request for a parade permit for the 129th Boston Marathon, which will be held on April 21.

This request marks a historic year for the internationally renowned race, said Jack Fleming, Boston Athletic Association president and chief executive officer. It is the 250th anniversary of Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts. It also is the 50th anniversary of Bob Hall’s “pioneering effort” of participating in the marathon using a wheelchair, which led to the creation of a wheelchair race division. Bill Rodgers also will be present to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his first Boston Marathon win.

The starting point will be at  East Main Street adjacent to the Hopkinton Common. Hopkinton’s portion of the marathon will end at Route 135 at the Hopkinton/Ashland line.

Said Fleming: “Hopkinton truly does lead the way, figuratively and literally.”

“This is an example that it really does take a village to put on an event of this magnitude,” he continued, praising the town’s departments and committees for their involvement.

One example cited at the meeting was that the Hopkinton Police Department and Hopkinton Fire Department collaborated on a video on how to prevent “crowd crush,” when people stampede into each other at large events. It will be shown to all race volunteers.

Added Fleming: “We know that it doesn’t occur without your permission.”

The vote to approve the permit was 4-0. Member Shahidul Mannan was absent from the meeting.

Town receives good news on FY 24 audit

The Select Board received the fiscal year 2024 audit report, which was  prepared by Roselli, Clark & Associates based on its review of the town’s financial statements. The auditors concluded that the town’s financial statements were presented fairly and did not identify any violations in the expenditure of federal awards.

“I’m happy to say that we did not encounter any significant difficulties in completing the 2024 financial statement audit, and did not have any disagreements with management on any accounting, reporting or any other auditing matter,” said auditor Terenzio Volpicelli. He noted that this is the second year of a three-year contract with the firm.

The town’s FY 24 reserve ratio was over 31%, which he called “quite strong.” This likely will lead to Hopkinton’s keeping its AAA bond rating, which is the highest rating a community can receive. It was below 15% several years ago, according to Volpicelli.

While Volpicelli said the town entered FY 25 “with significant reserves” of about $5.4 million, he cautioned that the town has several major upcoming capital expenses that will affect the town’s budget for the next several years.

Chair Brian Herr asked Volpicelli to repeat that statement in order to stress it to the community.

HPD introduces new jail diversion clinician

HPD Chief Joseph Bennett introduced Lyan Albino, who is serving as the town’s jail diversion clinician. She has an extensive background in this area, having worked for several years with the Boston Police Department. Albino also works with Sherborn and Holliston as part of a state-funded grant position.

“Years ago, there was a pivotal shift in how we perform and respond to crisis-level situations,” said Bennett. “Out of that was born a co-response model where master’s-level clinicians respond to scenes.”

Having a clinician present when someone is going through a mental health crisis helps prevent the person from being arrested, transported to the hospital or incarcerated, he added.

Said Bennett: “This program was born here, and it’s been delivered around the country.”

Lieutenant Aaron O’Neil, the HPD’s jail diversion liaison, said Albino “will get people the help they need right on the scene through referrals or from getting hospitalization that they need.”