WESTFORD — Voters will be presented with 24 articles during this year’s Annual Town Meeting.
Annual Town Meeting will be held at Westford Academy, 30 Patten Rd. on Saturday, March 22 at 9 a.m.
Articles in the consent agenda are not included below. Article text has been abridged for clarity.
ARTICLE 4: Appropriate for Energy Efficiency Projects, as requested by the Town Manager’s office.
To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, borrow, or transfer from available funds, or any combination thereof a sum of money to perform lighting improvement projects, transformer upgrades, weatherization, and other energy efficiency projects and conservation measures among others.
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend on Feb. 25.
ARTICLE 5: Capital Appropriations, as requested by the Capital Planning Committee.
To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, borrow, or transfer from available funds, or any combination thereof, the sum of $9,413,773 to fund the following requests:
Technology Department
- $50,000 for town computer replacements.
- $380,000 for school computer replacements.
- $25,000 for server and storage replacements.
- $150,000 for town copier replacements.
Public buildings
- $70,000 to replace the Department of Public Works Synchro Flow Pump System.
- $28,000 to replace the second-floor air conditioning unit in the technology building.
- Police
- $30,296 for taser replacement.
Fire Department
- $1,385,000 to replace and equip Engine 1 Rescue Pumper.
Schools
- $180,000 to replace Nabnasset Elementary School
- $40,000 to replace Robinson Elementary School’s curbing.
- $90,000 will be used to replace the Blanchard Middle School standby generator.
- $50,000 to replace or repair the Abbot Elementary School wastewater treatment plant exterior wood siding, roof and trim.
- $400,000 to replace the Blanchard Elementary School wastewater treatment plant roof and HVAC.
- Department of Public Works – Engineering
- $530,00 for the engineering, design and construction for maintenance and repairs for two town-owned dams.
- $800,000 for the West Street and North Street pedestrian safety improvements, including engineering, design and construction.
- $150,000 for pedestrian safety improvements for Pleasant St. and Patten Road, including the engineering, design and construction.
Department of Public Works – Highway
- $250,000 for the purchase and equipment of a replacement bucket truck.
- $205,652 for plows for four DPW trucks.
- Parks and Grounds
- $2,000,000 for the replacement of the Nutting Road Community Fields turf.
Water Enterprise
- $86,939 for the replacement of a 4×4 utility truck with a plow.
- $27,621 for leak detection equipment/
- $100,000 for a new water source investigation.
- $546,000 for the Forge Village #1 and #2 upgrades, engineering, design and construction.
- $58,408 for surveillance camera replacements.
Ambulance Enterprise
- $170,757 for three cardiac monitors.
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend on Feb. 25.
ARTICLE 6: Approve Supplemental Appropriation for the Construction of PFAS Treatment Plants as requested by the Capital Planning Committee.
To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, borrow, or transfer from available funds, or any combination thereof, a sum of money, to supplement funding for the construction of two PFAS plants. Voters already approved $24.5 million in funding during the April 27, 2024 Town Meeting for the project.
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend to dismiss on Feb. 25.
ARTICLE 7: Approve Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Colonel John Robinson School Feasibility Study Funding as recommended by the Robinson School Building Committee.
To see if the Town will appropriate the sum of $1,600,000 for a feasibility study to replace or upgrade the facilities for the Colonel John Robinson School.
Though the MSBA’s School Building Project grant program is not necessarily guaranteed, the town has historically received up to 48.05% of its project costs reimbursed by the agency. This article does not authorize or approve a future renovation or replacement of the building.
Construction could include renovation or replacement of the facility, including consolidation with one of Westford’s other elementary schools.
The town most recently received reimbursement for the Blanchard Middle School roof replacement in 2023.
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend on Feb. 25. The School Committee unanimously voted to recommend on March 3.
ARTICLE 8: Approve Community Preservation Committee Recommendations – Community Preservation Committee
The committee is recommending the following projects:
- $341,746 for the community housing reserve.
- $350,000 for the Forge Village Veterans of Foreign Wars softball field lighting improvement project.
- $350,000 for the Westford Academy Trustees Field lighting improvement project.
- $890,000 for future open space land purchases.
- $50,000 for Westford’s rental assistant program.
- $50,000 for a multifamily detailed needs assessment.
- $15,600 for Meadowbrook Farm’s food insecurity and sustainability project.
The $890,000 in funding will allow the Conservation Commission to purchase two tracts of undeveloped land, one totaling 15 acres and the other totaling approximately 40 acres. The commission will be able to purchase both parcels with this appropriation, along with appropriations banked from previous years. It’s important to note that in most years, the commission requests $190,000 in Community Preservation Act funding to allow it to swiftly purchase land without waiting for an appropriation from Town Meeting.
$15,600 for Meadowbrook Farm will be used for electrical, plumbing and insulation work for the existing for storage shed. The farm has previously received $165,354 in Community Preservation Act funding f in early 2023 for renovations of the property, which allowed for the installation of a new irrigation system, fencing and a shed.
The Select Board did not take a position on this article.
ARTICLE 10: Approve Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget as requested by the Town Manager’s office.
Read more from WestfordCAT on the town’s budget and the school’s budget below.
Town FY26 budget closes gap on previously projected shortfalls
District FY26 budget proposal includes expanded special education programs, interventionist cuts
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend on Feb. 25.
ARTICLE 14: Establish a 300th Anniversary Celebration Fund as requested by the Select Board.
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend on Feb. 25.
ARTICLE 16: Authorize the Select Board to Accept Easements for the Stony Brook Bridge Project as requested by the Select Board.
Voters will choose whether to authorize the Select Board to acquire, by purchase, gift and/or eminent domain, on such terms as the Select Board deems appropriate, the land and/or permanent and temporary easements in, on, under, over, across and along certain parcels of land located on or near Stony Brook Bridge at or near Polley Road.
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend on Feb. 25.
ARTICLE 19: Update Floodplain Zoning Bylaw – Planning Board
To see if the Town will vote to Amend Section 8.2 of the Zoning Bylaw to update the Town’s Floodplain Overlay District Bylaw by incorporating the district boundaries based on the latest Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
The Select Board unanimously voted to recommend on Feb. 25.
ARTICLE 20: Adopt the Specialized Energy Code – Select Board
To see if the Town will vote to amend Chapter 150 of the Town’s General Bylaws, Stretch Energy Code, by deleting the Chapter in its entirety and replacing it with the “Specialized Energy Code.”
The new code would require new construction with mixed-fuel usage that includes fossil fuels to be prewired for electrification for appliances. Additionally, homes smaller than 4,000 square feet must include rooftop solar panels and homes greater than 4,000 square feet must fully offset fossil fuel use with on-site solar panels.
Large multi-family developments must meet the “Passive House Standard,” a design philosophy that prioritizes a well-insulated and air-sealed envelope, natural light, and high-efficiency HVAC systems.
Acton, Chelmsford and Carlisle are among 48 communities in the state that have adopted the new code.
Data from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources found that residential construction costs increased by less than 2%, with multi-family construction costs increasing between 1% and 4%.
The Select Board voted 4-1 to recommend on March 11. Board Chair Scott Hazelton cast the dissenting vote.
ARTICLE 21: Fines for Violations of Dog Control Bylaw – Tickets as requested by the Town Manager’s office.
This article would update fines for violating the nuisance dog and leash bylaws.
The owner of a nuisance dog that is found to be biting, barking, howling, scratching or crying, or in any other manner disturbs the peace and quiet of any neighborhood, or destroys private property would be fined at the following levels:
- First offense: $50 fine
- Second offense: $100 fine
- Third offense: $300 fine
- Fourth and subsequent offense: $500 fine.
Fines currently scale from $10, $25 to $50 respectively.
A violation of the leash bylaw would carry the following fines:
- First offense: $50 fine
- Second offense: $100 fine
- Third offense: $300 fine
- Fourth and subsequent offense: $500 fine
Fines currently scale from a warning to $25, $50 and $100 respectively.
The Select Board voted unanimously to recommend on Feb. 25.
ARTICLE 22: Resolution to Accept Boston Road as a Public Way as requested by the Select Board.
To see whether the town will accept an approximately 1,780-foot stretch of Boston Road from approximately 45 Boston Rd. to near Blake’s Hill Road. This stretch is currently maintained by the state and is slated to be passed on to town ownership once the reconstruction of the road is complete.
The Select Board voted unanimously to recommend on Feb. 25.
ARTICLE 24: Amend the General Bylaws to Change the Date and Time of Annual Elections, from a Citizens’ Petition.
A Citizens’ Petition calls for changes to the time and date of local elections. The petition calls for moving Annual Town Elections from the first Tuesday in May to the first Saturday in May from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. This petition would not impact state or federal elections and may not necessarily impact special town elections.
The Select Board voted not to recommend on March 11.
Watch the League of Women Voters warrant review below.
