The upper and main beaches at Hopkinton State Park remain closed after being deemed unsafe for swimming due to high bacteria counts, an issue that is being seen this week in beaches throughout the state. The state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation announced...
Mary Ellen Gambon
Select Board discusses priorities for upcoming fiscal year
The Select Board met for nearly two hours on Thursday night to discuss members’ most pressing priorities, reflect on the past year’s accomplishments and brainstorm about overarching town goals. Select Board chair Muriel Kramer led an icebreaker exercise over pizza...
Parks & Rec roundup: Band requests Sandy Beach for music video
A Boston-based alternative rock band requested permission to film a music video at Sandy Beach in September, the Parks & Recreation Department interim director announced at Wednesday's Parks & Recreation Commission meeting. King City Productions, a dedicated...
CPC addresses confusion about land considered for Upper Charles Trail
The Community Preservation Committee at its meeting Thursday night discussed an apparent misunderstanding about the parameters of outreach required for a $40,000 grant approved at May's Annual Town Meeting for the Trail Coordination and Management Committee. The TCMC...
TCMC votes unanimously on new name, recommends Upper Charles Trail Committee become subcommittee
The Trail Coordination and Management Committee on Wednesday night voted unanimously to rename itself as the Trails Committee and to recommend that the Upper Charles Trail Committee become a Trails Committee subcommittee under the new name of the Upper Charles Trail...
Conservation Commission discusses proposed subdivision off Blueberry Lane, addresses new stormwater issues at The Trails, Leonard Street
The Conservation Commission on Tuesday continued a hearing on five subdivision units on Myrtle Avenue — a road that is to be built off Blueberry Lane — after commissioners spoke about encroachment into the buffer zone. Notices of intent were filed for five...
Town Manager provides update on work to link town properties with municipal, community needs
Town Manager Norman Khumalo announced on Tuesday progress made on facilities planning work to evaluate how town properties can be utilized to meet current and future municipal and community needs. The Permanent Building Committee spearheaded this effort. The idea for...
Community Preservation Committee roundup: Project extensions approved; ‘War on Japanese knotweed’ discussed
The Community Preservation Committee at its meeting Thursday approved several extensions until next July 1 for projects that previously were awarded funding. Trail Coordination and Management Committee chair Peter LaGoy requested that the three projects he requested...
Health Department seeks participants for survey related to health impacts of long COVID
The Hopkinton Health Department is sponsoring a Massachusetts Department of Public Health intern who is researching the health impacts of long COVID, and as part of her research, the intern is conducting an online survey that residents are invited to fill out....
Compliance hearing held in Hillers Pizza owner’s court case
The owner of Hillers Pizza appeared in Framingham District Court on Wednesday at a compliance hearing, and a final compliance hearing was granted for Sept. 6. Petros “Peter” Sismanis appeared in court but did not speak, according to Sarah Lamson, a spokesperson from...
Select Board roundup: New DPW director, first economic development manager approved
The Select Board at its four-hour meeting Tuesday night voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Conservation Commission co-chair Kerry Reed as the town’s new Department of Public Works director and Julia Chun as the new sustainability, economic development and...
Select Board continues suspension of Upper Charles Trail Committee pending review at Aug. 1 meeting
The Select Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to continue the suspension on the Upper Charles Trail Committee until Aug. 1, when the board will continue to discuss the results of a recently released survey on residents’ goals for the committee and the trail. The...
Sustainable Green Committee proposes Special Town Meeting article on energy code
The Sustainable Green Committee at its meeting Monday night unanimously voted to submit an article for the expected November Special Town Meeting requesting that the town adopt a building energy code so that all new buildings will be capable of being heated and cooled...
Work on Fruit Street bridges resumes this week; railroad bridge opening delayed to fall
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced that a new temporary off-ramp from Interstate 90 (MassPike) eastbound to I-495 northbound and southbound will be opening on Tuesday as part of the ongoing work at the I-495/I-90 interchange to improve traffic...
Open Space Preservation Commission continues discussion about Springwood-area land
The Open Space Preservation Commission at its hybrid meeting Thursday night discussed several topics, including some progress on the potential for the town to purchase 60-plus acres of wooded property in the Springwood neighborhood that was slated to be clear cut for...
Conservation Commission reviews Mass. Laborers’ request to move gas line
The Conservation Commission at its Tuesday night meeting continued a hearing on a request to move a gas line that previously prompted neighborhood concerns at the Mass. Laborers Training facility. Located at 37 East Street, the project has been discussed over the...
Parks & Recreation roundup: Cricket pitch resurfacing stalled; Little League fields ‘in bad shape’
The Parks & Recreation Commission at its 90-minute meeting Tuesday evening discussed progress on several pending projects, including the resurfacing of the public cricket pitch at the Fruit Street fields, the anticipated construction time frame on the new cricket...
Planning Board approves 2 bond releases, parcel conveyance
The Planning Board approved two bond releases and a parcel conveyance during its half-hour meeting Monday evening. Vice chair Rob Benson ran the meeting in the absence of chair Gary Trendel. It was shorter than expected because the one scheduled hearing for a...
Board of Health roundup: Biosafety regulation announced; YMCA addresses PFAS issue
The Board of Health at its meeting this past Thursday announced that the town will implement a new biosafety regulation at the request of the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce to regulate biotech laboratories as that industry expands in town. Health Director Shaun...
State orders Golden Pond not to accept new residents after failed compliance review
This past Wednesday, employees from the Assisted Living Certification Unit of the state Executive Office of Elder Affairs visited Hopkinton to investigate conditions at an assisted living residence that failed a compliance review in March. The state’s Executive Office...