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On Tuesday the Select Board was tasked with accepting the warrant articles for the 2024 Annual Town Meeting, and accept them they did. (32:48) You can review the articles starting on page 18 here.
There were no major surprises among the articles. But we did learn a bit more about projects and initiatives that have been discussed previously. The articles are typically organized and ordered on the warrant according to a loose tradition. It did sound like there might some jockeying to move a few of the articles around. The Select Board will likely do that at a future date, so here’s a selection of noteworthy articles organized according to Sudbury Weekly’s own themes.
The “Can we all still be friends after this?” Warrant Articles:
The “Where the heck did that come from?” Warrant Article:
- Acquisition of MBTA Buildings
This one has been mentioned in Historical Commission meetings, but hasn’t been talked about much beyond those meetings. They want to acquire the Section Tool House, just off Boston Post Road along the Mass Central Rail Trail, as well as the South Sudbury Train Station, which is near Station Rd and Union Rd near the intersection of the Mass Central Rail Trail and the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. According to Town Manager Sheehan, it’s going to be one of those no-cost acquisitions, and it’s only the buildings being acquired, not the land. Both are historic assets along Sudbury’s rail trails.
The “Whatsit gonna cost?” Warrant Article:
- Atkinson Pool Renovation
The pool renovation has been discussed previously in multiple committee meetings. There were some comments in committee meetings about back-of-the-napkin prices in the $2-to-$3 million range, and there has been ample anticipation for a final number. In the packet it is listed for $2,350,000, so it’s safely on the lower end of the range that has been discussed. There have been other articles passed in recent years for various repairs at the pool, so there might be more to follow on this story.
The Deja Vu Warrant Articles:
- Building Permit Fees
- Conservation Commission Fees
- Zoning Bylaw Codification
Town Manager Sheehan had indicated that fees would come back in a different form after they were amended out of an article at Special Town Meeting in October of 2023. At the time, Sheehan pointed out that Sudbury’s fees have lagged behind other communities, and while they’re not a huge source of money for the Town, they can create flexibility in the budget. These don’t appear to be radically new articles, but they appear to be repackaged based on feedback from the hall during Special Town Meeting last fall.
“Capital Night” is February 12. The Select Board, the Finance Committee and the Capital Improvement Advisory Committee will hold a joint meeting to talk about all of the capital articles. That’s your best bet for a one-stop download on all things capital for Town Meeting. We’ll have full coverage next week.