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TEWKSBURY — The Tewksbury Select Board met recently at town hall. Members Jayne Wellman and James Mackey were absent. The meeting was the first for new town manager John Curran.
The board expected to hold a working session to discuss design proposals for mixed-income housing at the former Trahan School site, but neither proponent — CHOICE, Inc. and MCO & Associates — was able to attend. Curran proposed appropriating $20,000 from the Affordable Housing Trust for the purpose of hiring a consultant to conduct financial assessment of each of the two housing plans. The board voted to approve the appropriation.
The board approved annual renewals for amusement, class auto, common victualler, entertainment, and liquor licenses. The board also accepted a donation to the annual veterans department holiday luncheon.
The board voted to approve a host community agreement for Route 133 Cannabis LLC at 1625 Andover St. The town’s third and final retail marijuana license was approved for the site by the Select Board and the Planning Board, joining Lazy River and Smyth Cannabis as Tewksbury’s three retail cannabis ventures.
Curran delivered his first town manager’s report and reflected on his first several weeks with the town, highlighting interactions with the staff and praising their hard work and qualifications. Curran said that the Shawsheen Valley Technical School is moving forward with the eligibility process to rebuild or renovate the high school through the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
Though Curran projected a cost of $300-400 million, he noted the project is very far down the road.
He is continuing to work on the town budget with town accountant Al Rego and will present preliminary budget numbers to the board in January.
The board approved a new pole installation for National Grid and Verizon at 175 Pine St., and continued a discussion on a special permit for an electronic billboard at 3 Executive Place.
The board took up a discussion on parking at Tree House Brewing Company on Main Street, after hearing from local businesses that customers are parking across the street from Tree House in private lots. Chief of staff Sarah Maggi Morin appeared and noted that the Planning Board approved an overflow parking lot at the former Funland mini golf site — construction will be completed when the weather breaks.
Maggi Morin added that the company is not yet at full operation — golf is not open on the weekends — and said for that reason they are “extra motivated” to get the overflow lot finished.
“We absolutely want to be good members of the community and really good neighbors,” she said.
Maggi Morin added that staff have been telling customers to not park in other businesses’ lots, and that nearby businesses have “no trespassing” signs. Maggi Morin said she would work with the operations team to assess traffic flow and peak hours for order pickup to try to maximize parking spaces. Maggi Morin committed to continuing to work with the town manager to find acceptable solutions.
”}]] TEWKSBURY — The Tewksbury Select Board met recently at town hall. Members Jayne Wellman and James Mackey were absent. The meeting was the first for new town manager John Curran. Read More
