At Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, Shannon Beloin was unanimously approved as the town’s newest police officer. Beloin worked the past five years in Provincetown, including a stint as a school resource officer. She has a B.S. in criminal justice from Bridgewater State University and is pursuing a master’s degree in law enforcement intelligence and analysis.

Beloin said she was looking to grow roots somewhere and be closer to friends and family. She also was looking for a bigger town than Provincetown and said Hopkinton appeared to be a good fit for a number of reasons.

“The administration, from the things that I’ve heard and how I’ve interacted with Chief [Joseph Bennett], just the administration in general, it’s everything I could ask for,” she said.

At Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, (from left) Brendan Tedstone, Mary Jo LaFreniere, Police Chief Joseph Bennett, Shannon Beloin, Irfan Nasrullah and Muriel Kramer posed for a photo after Beloin was approved as the town’s newest police officer. PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

Beloin added that as a child she had some tough times and developed a fear of police that she had to overcome, but she wanted to be a police officer for a long time.

She drew high praise from Bennett.

“I believe I am sitting next to someone with the highest character and honor and I know that she’ll fit in well in our organization and she’ll serve the community of Hopkinton to the highest level,” the chief said.

Priefer chosen for Planning Board

In a joint vote with the Planning Board, Ron Priefer was selected to fill the Planning Board seat recently vacated by Deb Fein-Brug, who moved to Maine. The position expires in May.

Priefer, a professor of medicinal chemistry at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science University-Boston, was tabbed over real estate agent James Burton. …

Approved by the Select Board were Jessica Miller as the young adult librarian, Karen Cooprider as the van driver for Senior Services, and Carmen Cifuentes, Sarah Murphy and Shannon Casey as traffic constables.

New precinct map approved

The board unanimously approved a new precinct map as presented by Town Clerk Connor Degan. Due to the population surge, Hopkinton is going from four precincts to five, with all five precincts around 3,700 residents.

“The goal is that no district should be above 4,000 residents,” Degan explained, noting that it’s likely the town will need to go to six districts after the 2030 census.

The approved map had a minor modification from the original map Degan presented a couple of months ago, as a tweak was made to prepare for expected development.

The map next will be submitted to the state for approval.

Board passes on land acquisition

The board voted against scheduling a public hearing to consider acquiring land off Mechanic Street, between Wood Street and Interstate 495. The 11.62-acre parcel, owned by John and Pamela Larter, is slated to be converted from agricultural use to a solar farm, and the town has a right of first refusal to acquire the land at full and fair market value because it is in the Chapter 61A tax program.