Charlton Launches Opioid Grant Program With $2,500 Per-Application Cap

CHARLTON — June 16, 2026 — Charlton Select Board creates opioid grant program, approves AI policy, and hears plowing dispute. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to establish a formal Opioid Settlement Fund grant program, capping initial individual awards at $2,500 from roughly $10,000 in uncommitted settlement funds, with Town Administrator Andrew M. Golas committing to notify the nonprofit Adams Parachute — whose May request prompted the move — once the application process is live. The board also unanimously approved a revised Artificial Intelligence Use Policy after amending one phrase, changing language on disciplinary violations from "may result" to "shall result" in sanctions. Six residents — Nancy Tully, Elizabeth LaFrance, Kara Holland, Sherry Westbury, Ryan Black, and Kelly Sesla — were appointed to the new Master Plan Steering Committee tied to a planning engagement with firm VHB. Golas announced that Charlton will receive $335,377.93 from a state Fair Share Supplement appropriation for snow and ice recovery costs, and that incoming Planning Director Dylan Maxfield will begin July 6. During open forum, representatives of the 30-unit Upham Farms condominium on Highfield Road told the board their association spends approximately $40,000 annually plowing a road the town once maintained, and asked for help unraveling the history of the arrangement.