Lake Quinsigamond Commission defers Newton Pond dock permits pending legal opinion

SHREWSBURY -- May 27, 2026, Shrewsbury's Lake Quinsigamond Commission deferred dock permit decisions for Newton Pond residents in Boylston after the commission chair disclosed that Town Counsel Stephen Mattis had identified two legal limits on the commission's authority. Mattis, who serves as counsel for both Shrewsbury and Boylston, found that the commission holds no jurisdiction over any part of Newton Pond or its shoreline in Boylston, and that the commission's headwaters authority is confined to Shrewsbury, Grafton, and Worcester, citing the Acts of October 11, 1989, Section 3, and the Acts of February 9, 2018. The commission voted unanimously to suspend dock permit action for Boylston abutters pending Mattis's formal written report to Town Manager Kevin Metzger. Separately, commissioners unanimously scheduled a public hearing on wakeboat use on Lake Quinsigamond for June 24 during the regular 7 p.m. meeting, after multiple residents raised concerns about wake damage to docks and dangerous jet ski activity near the boat ramp. The commission approved four expense items including a $4,031.82 buoy and lighting purchase and three new dock permit applications, and received word that a Worcester Police boat funded in part by City Councillor John Fruzzolo will return to Point Rock Condos this summer.