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.