Southborough Select Board launches NERI building committee process after town meeting approvals

SOUTHBOROUGH -- March 3, 2026, Southborough Select Board acts on special town meeting results, sets NERI building committee in motion. Meeting the night after a March 2 special town meeting approved a $4.5 million NERI school roof repair and a renovation feasibility study, the Select Board voted unanimously to direct Superintendent Kevin Martineau to prepare bid documents for the NERI study while simultaneously beginning work on a building committee charge, with members agreeing on a five-member panel with no reserved seats for specific boards. The roof repair heads to a May 12 debt exclusion ballot, with first-year debt service estimated at $73,356. State Senator Jamie Eldridge and State Representative Kate Donahue briefed the board on a tight state budget outlook, with Eldridge citing his Senate sponsorship of a 0.75 percent local option meals tax increase and noting Millionaires' Tax revenue is running at roughly $3 billion annually against an original $2 billion projection. The board voted 3-2 to appoint Sally Waters to the Taxation Aid Committee over fellow applicant Michael Chef, voted 5-0 against supporting a $29,000 CPA administrative set-aside article, and declined a right of first refusal on an affordable unit at 39 Meeting House Lane priced at $207,363. The FY27 budget carries a projected 4.9 percent tax increase, with the board and Advisory Committee set to meet March 10 to finalize the annual town meeting warrant, and Fire Chief Patrick Puntini is scheduled to return March 17 for a full presentation on a proposed Southborough-Westborough regional fire services feasibility study.