Douglas Board Approves Revised Gleason Court RFP With Clawback, Deed Restriction

DOUGLAS -- March 3, 2026, Douglas Select Board approves revised Gleason Court RFP and a shared conservation agent deal with Sutton. The board voted 5-0 Tuesday to adopt two protective provisions for the sale of the town-owned historic building at 11 Gleason Court: a clawback clause requiring proceeds to sit in escrow until a buyer completes the promised project, and a deed restriction barring alterations beyond what the winning bidder proposes and the town accepts. In a separate 5-0 vote, the board approved an intermunicipal agreement to co-employ a part-time conservation agent with neighboring Sutton, a position to be hosted by Douglas and billed to Sutton quarterly; Town Administrator Matt Charbonneau said the existing $45,500 vendor budget would cover most of Douglas's share. The board also lifted a local state of emergency, effective 7 a.m. February 25, that had been declared by phone ahead of a major winter storm, with Charbonneau noting FEMA reimbursement was unlikely because Worcester County did not meet the damage threshold. On the FY27 budget, Charbonneau described a nearly flat municipal operating line of approximately $8.6 million but warned that fiscal year 2028 "is going to be a mess" because of special education funding pressures and school-choice-out assessments now exceeding $100,000.