Good morning, Hopkinton! Welcome to the daily update we call Hopkinton Today — a quick recap of yesterday’s news, highlights of what’s on tap, and a photo of the day.

Auciello Drive-related motions could come back to future meeting

Residents discuss articles on the warrant at Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting. PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

Residents will not have a chance to vote on the final two motions on a citizens’ petition related to Auciello Drive after Annual Town Meeting was dissolved on Saturday due to a lack of quorum.

Article 38, a three-motion article about Auciello Drive, was the last item the meeting needed to address on Saturday. The first motion — which failed in a 53-42 vote with a two-thirds majority required — requested the town accept the road as a public way. The other two motions related to a bylaw amendment and asking the town to appropriate funds from free cash to “support a discretionary program for the evaluation and stabilization of private ways eligible for acceptance as private ways.”

Parker Happ, who presented the article, called for a quorum vote after the first motion failed. The resulting lack of quorum let to voters dissolving Annual Town Meeting. According to Town Clerk Connor Degan, the remaining motions will not be picked up at another meeting.

“At that point [in the meeting], it was a majority saying, ‘We’re done,’ ” Degan explained. He said that the petitioners have the opportunity to bring the remaining motions back up at either a Special Town Meeting anticipated for later this year or early next year, or the next Annual Town Meeting.

Degan clarified that when there is no quorum, the only motions that can be made at a town meeting are to dissolve the meeting or to adjourn. The decision to dissolve the meeting was made because of the perceived difficulty in making quorum in a follow-up meeting.

“It would have been nice to get people’s opinions on it, but it would have been a challenge to get people to come back on another day,” said Degan.

“They could refile,” he added, acknowledging the signature threshold is higher for a Special Town Meeting. “I think it’s something still worth talking about. Maybe it’s going to be a slightly different version of it that comes up next time.”

Article 38 was the only article on the meeting warrant that was not resolved. Voters passed the fiscal year 2027 budget and amendments to the town’s MBTA Communities overlay district. A bylaw on speed limits for e-bikes on shared use paths was approved, and all of the Community Preservation Committee’s funding requests were approved except for lights at the Fruit Street pickleball courts. Residents also voted to take no action on a bylaw amendment to require fingerprinting for common victualer license applicants.

When asked about how he felt the first Saturday Annual Town Meeting went, Degan shared that he thought it “was good for the first time.” He said he got a lot of feedback on the meeting, both positive and negative.

“I think we definitely saw that it worked at least, and we got it all done in one day because of it,” said Degan. He also lauded Zachary Kosan for keeping his first Annual Town Meeting as town moderator running.

— NICK SCHOFIELD

Latest News

Superintendent Evan Bishop informed the School Committee on Thursday that Sarah Ellam will be the school district’s new assistant superintendent of teaching and learning/chief academic officer.

A man arrested on multiple charges in Hopkinton last month including cocaine trafficking and malicious destruction of property is being held without bail following a dangerousness hearing.

Jeffrey Bernard, 65, formerly of Hopkinton, passed away May 1.

Town meetings tonight include the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board (6).

Photo of the Day

Hopkinton fifth grader Luke Powers poses with the ball he used to get a rare hole-in-one Saturday on the 11th hole (a par-3) at Hopkinton Country Club. According to his father and golf partner, Chris, the youngster used a hybrid club to reach the green, and the ball rolled back into the hole.

PHOTO/CHRIS POWERS