Hubbardston Select Board Reorganizes, Sets November Vote on Municipal Complex Debt Exclusion

HUBBARDSTON — June 15, 2026 — Hubbardston Select Board reorganizes under new chair and advances municipal complex debt exclusion toward a November ballot. The board, meeting June 15, opened with tribute to the late chair Jeff Williams before swearing in new member Terrence Tyler and unanimously electing Katie as chair, Peter Walker as vice chair, and Tyler as clerk. The board then voted unanimously to place a debt exclusion article on the November special town meeting warrant for a planned renovation that would consolidate the town's police station, fire station, and municipal offices in a single building; no cost estimate has been finalized, though a range of $9 million to $10 million was discussed informally and flagged as preliminary. Interim Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald separately disclosed that the town's FY26 budget shorted debt service by $66,000, underfunded regional dispatch by roughly $32,000, and carries $1.1 million in uncollected back taxes — more than 10 percent of the total tax commitment against a typical benchmark of 3 percent. The board also unanimously approved a three-year animal control agreement with the City of Gardner at annual payments rising from $20,301 in FY27 to $21,537 in FY29, then entered executive session to conduct contract negotiations with Fitzgerald.