Sturbridge Select Board Advances $3.2 Million MassDOT Water Line Project

Select Board · Meeting of June 1, 2026

Sturbridge Select Board advances $3.2 million MassDOT-funded water line for salt-contaminated Walker Pond wells. The board voted unanimously to move forward, tentatively, on a directional-drill water main under the Massachusetts Turnpike that would connect up to 30 households whose private wells have tested above EPA chloride limits from decades of highway salting; MassDOT supervisor Laureen Poland said the state would cover design, construction and connection costs but not residents' water bills. Chair Jamie Goodwin pressed for an itemized list of eligible and at-risk addresses before final approval, saying "it seems like there's possibly additional remuneration available to them." In other business, the board named Garrett Skinner the town's veterans services director, approved the sale of $2,110,000 in general obligation bonds to Oppenheimer & Co. carrying a reaffirmed S&P AA-plus rating, and tabled a $7,272.89 water bill abatement request from resident Jennifer Olson Pratt tied to a failed water filtration system.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of June 1, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.