Hubbardston Board of Health Sets $50 Inspector Fee, Tightens Permit Requirements

HUBBARDSTON — January 27, 2026 — Hubbardston Board of Health formalizes paid inspector position and tightens permit application rules at its first meeting under new chair. The board, chaired for the first time by Gael Moncoeur, voted 2-0 with one abstention to establish a $50-per-inspection fee for food establishment, campground, one-day event, and housing complaint inspections, payable from the board's revolving account, with outgoing member Kathy Hansgate set to fill the inspector role. A second unanimous vote requires trash haulers and septic providers to submit proof of liability insurance, workers compensation documentation where applicable, and tonnage reports with their permit applications — a gap members said the previous forms never addressed. Permits for three disposal companies and at least one food establishment were held pending receipt of the new required materials. The board also debated shifting the roughly $7,120 annual cost of closed-landfill monitoring on New Templeton Road to the DCR, which owns the land, though members acknowledged the agency previously denied a similar request and that any regulatory relief through MassDEP could take a decade or more.