Town Committee Digest

[CORRECTION: a prior version of this story characterized the appeal to the Planning Board decision incorrectly. It has been corrected in this story.]

Here’s what happened in the committee meetings this week:

Board of Health

• The Board of Health had a long discussion about the Atkinson Pool at the top of their meeting.
• The path to a reopening appears to be quite arduous and the Board of Health is taking public health quite seriously. They want chloramine levels at 0.0 parts per million in order for the pool to be reopened. That’s stricter than the 0.2 parts per million allowed by the State.
• The chloramine levels in the pool tested well above the allowable limits when the pool was initially closed by the Health Department, and the Town is still struggling to bring the levels down with shock treatments. When the pool was closed, the lap pool tested at 0.6 parts per million.

Community Preservation Committee

• The Community Preservation Committee fine-tuned the language in their articles for Annual Town Meeting.
• They also discussed potential changes to the process they use to vet applications. They are wrapping up their current cycle, but may have a future meeting to deliberate further on possible changes next fiscal year. Member Dan Carty voiced dissatisfaction with the process of submitting questions for applicants through the Planning Department staff, as well as the amount of time the committee has before its meetings to review packet materials.

Planning Board

• The Planning Board briefly discussed Master Plan implementation. Specifically, they were informed that the Town has engaged BSC Group to assist with economic development and planning along the Route 20 corridor. They expect to meet with the consultant in February. The Town expects the engagement with the consultant to be completed by the springtime.
• Here’s the Planning Department memo explaining the scope of the project from the Select Board’s packet for next week:

• The board voted unanimously to submit an Accessory Dwelling Unit bylaw update as an article for Annual Town Meeting.
• They held a rare executive session to discuss an appeal regarding an application on Harvey’s Farm Lane.

Sudbury Historical Commission

• There isn’t any big news to report – but the first hour of the meeting is almost like a virtual history tour of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.
• The commission was tasked with feedback of the draft interpretive signage that will be placed along the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. They did that, but instead of a group copyediting exercise, it resulted in colorful conversation about Sudbury’s history, train stations, and other historic assets.
• If you’re a history buff or a rail trail enthusiast, it’s worth a watch here.