editor@southboroughnews.com

Archived Page 16

August 26, 2007 to  September 1, 2007

Southborough News would like to wish everyone a fun and safe Labor Day weekend.  Drive Carefully!!!

Almost dry

August 31, 2007 - The Sudbury River at the USGS sampling spot near the town lines of Westborough, Southborough and Hopkinton shows how much we need rain.  The river is less than three inches deep and about to dry up if we don't get any rain.  Just upstream of this site in 1998, the Sudbury River mainstem ran dry for two hundred feet for15 days in 1998. It was the first known time in history that this situation had occurred.  Currently the towns of Hopkinton and Ashland south of us are on water restrictions due to water problems stemming from low water in the wells adjacent to the Hopkinton Reservoir in Ashland and various aquifers near Lake Whitehall.   The outlets on these two reservoirs have main tributaries to the Sudbury River. Residents that have private wells in Hopkinton are experiencing problems as well.  Southborough gets its water from the MWRA system. The water is from the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs and arrives in town via the MWRA aqueducts.  Although that supply is in good shape it is always a good thought to conserve our water resources. Southborough does have a voluntary odd/even water ban in effect.

Signs Signs Everywhere Signs

August 31, 2007 - As you approach the Southborough Transfer station a driver is greeted by several signs.  Many remind people entering the station that they NEED a sticker ON their vehicle before entering the premises.

August 31, 2007 -  Fire Log

 SOUTHBOROUGH FIRE DEPARTMENT
DAILY LOG

Tuesday 8/21/07

09:00 SCHOOL INSPECTIONS MAIN ST
A29 FF AMENDOLA FF ROACH
C27 CAPT MAURO
E23 LT DANO FF SHANAHAN

14:13 EMS CALL,EXCLUDE VEH ACC W/INJ TURNPIKE RD
A29 FF SHANAHAN FF ROACH

14:30 COMMERCIAL INSPECTION ST MARTIN DR
C27 CAPT MAURO

15:15 SMOKE DETECTOR NEW CONSTRUCT MEETING HOUSE LN
A29 FF ROACH FF SHANAHAN
C27 CAPT MAURO
E22 LT DANO FF AMENDOLA

15:45 OIL BURNER JOHNSON RD
C27 CAPT MAURO

18:20 TRAINING - FIRE MAIN ST
HQ1 LT DANO FF COBB FF SHANAHAN FF ROACH


Wednesday 8/22/07

03:58 SMOKE DET. ACT.-NO FIRE, UNINT TURNPIKE RD
E22 LT DANO FF COBB
E23 FF SHANAHAN FF ROACH

08:00 SMOKE DETECTOR, RESALE SARSENSTONE WY
C27 CAPT MAURO

09:00 SCHOOL INSPECTIONS PARKERVILLE RD
C27 CAPT MAURO

10:15 SCHOOL INSPECTIONS PARKERVILLE RD
C27 CAPT MAURO

15:00 PLAN REVIEW MEETING NORTHBORO RD
C27 CAPT MAURO

15:58 EMS CALL,EXCLUDE VEH ACC W/INJ NEWTON ST
A29 FF KANE FF RICE
C27 FF STRONG

17:00 OIL BURNER PRENTISS ST
C27 CAPT MAURO        More Fire Log

The Board of Selectmen and Town Moderator seek volunteers to staff the following boards and committees:

• Cable Television

• Capital Budget

• Community Preservation

• Municipal Facilities

• Open Space Preservation

• Phase II Stormwater

• Scholarship Advisory

• Taxation Aid

If you are civic minded, we urge you to contact the Selectmen’s Office at 508-485-0710 or complete and return a volunteer form.

www.southboroughma.com under Boards and Committees

Want to know the score, where and when the game will be played?  Check out the http://highschoolsports.net   All you have to do is register for free, pick your state, pick your school of choice and sign up for the emails. Loads of information about your favorite school and sports. Don't forget to check it for Algonquin Regional High School or Assabet Valley High School.  Or if you have a favorite niece or nephew, grandchild click on that particular school to get games and results.

11:50 suspicious activity Ledge Hill Road Marlboro Road   More Police Log

Making sure baby is safe

August 30, 2007 - Southborough Police Officer Kevin Landry sets up a car seat the correct way.  Child Safety car seats are to protect babies and young children. But, if improperly installed they may not protect them.  The Southborough Police Department runs a program where they will assist with the installation to ensure a correct and proper position of the safety seat.  For more information you can call the Southborough Police Department at 508-485-2147 and ask for Officer Landry.

St. Matthew's Golf tournament, Monday, September 10th, 2007

Where: Framingham Country Club.  Registration forms are due back by September 1st!!  Raffle: Items needed for raffle such as gift certificates, etc.... Please contact Fr. Flynn if you are able to donate an item for the raffle.  Foursomes and sponsors are still needed.  Pick up forms at exits of the church. Thank you.

To purchase your sticker:  Visit the DPW office Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Reminder. There are strict fines if your sticker is not placed in the correct spot on your car (face of left rear bumper).

CPA Funding

August 30, 2007 - The All Wars Monument, the Southborough Historical Society, The Town House microfilm project, the Southborough Oral History project, Chestnut Hill Farm and Southborough Affordable Housing all received funding this year from the Southborough Community Preservation Committee through the Community Preservation Act.  For more information on how to get your project included for next year and get an application to kickstart your project see www.southborocommunitypreservation.org

August 30, 2007

School is in session.  Please drive slow and look out for the students.

Dr. Aran Kasparyan  86, of Amherst, died Thursday, August 30, 2007. He was a Staff Physician for 25 years & Medical Director for 20 years at the former Belchertown State Hospital. He was beloved husband of the late Dr. Virjin (Gurman) Kasparyan who died in June of 2007. Devoted father of Dr. Nurhan George Kasparyan and his wife Dr. Elizabeth Calmar of Southborough; loving grandfather of Catherine, Andrew, James and George; loved uncle of several adored brother of the late Bogos Kasparyan. Visiting hours will be Tuesday, Sept 4 from 4:30 to 8:30 PM at Morris Funeral Home, 40 Main (Rte 30) St, SOUTHBOROUGH. (Morrisfunerlprlor.com). A Funeral Mass will at 9 AM Thursday, September 6, at Saint Francis Catholic Church, 24 Jabish St., Belchertown. Burial in Hillcrest Park, Cemetery, Springfield.

Underwater Van

August 29, 2007 - Southborough and Marlborough Firefighters responded at 7:14 PM last night to Acre Bridge Road at the town line for a report of a van under water.  A local fisherman spotted the van in the reservoir.  Search teams responded and located the van but no driver.  The van had been stolen several months earlier.  Southborough Firefighters launched their watercraft.  Photos courtesy of Southborough Fire.

From the Planning Board:  

August 28, 2007 Selectmen's meeting

August 29, 2007 - by Linda Hubley. At last nights Southborough Selectmen’s meeting several hearings were held by various violators of the Southborough Transfer Station. Sergeant Jane Moran introduced each hearing, the offenders then were able to speak to the charges. The Selectmen then questioned why they would use the Transfer Station with no sticker since it is clearly marked. As a reminder, you MUST have a sticker on your vehicle upon entering the Transfer Station. If your car has been in an accident, the shop or you have a large item to remove and need to borrow a vehicle you must clear it with the DPW Superintendent, Karen Galligan, prior to entry.

The rest of the evening the two applicants for the Chapter 40 B projects slated for Route 9 parcels gave their presentations to a packed audience of more than 100 residents. Before opening statements by Avalon Bay, Selectman Salvatore Giorlandino gave a pretty thorough description of what a Chapter 40 B is about and what a town may or may not do with a proposal. For more information about a Chapter 40 B he referred residents to the Southborough Town website for the planning board and also the Massachusetts Housing Partnership and the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee.

Mr. Kevin Giblin and Avalon Bay were first up. Mr. Giblin explained that he had met with the Southborough Housing Opportunity Committee and the Selectmen several weeks ago. At that time he suggested to the Selectmen that they would like to have the project come in under the Chapter 40 B Local Initiative Program also referred to as a friendly Chapter 40 B or LIP. This program allows the developer and the town to engage in a back and forth conversation about the project and its impacts on the town and what the town would like to see from the project. Avalon Bay actually presented two plans tonight. One that would fall under the LIP and another that will be filed today under a standard chapter 40 B. Under the LIP Chapter 40 B Avalon Bay communities have applied for 240 units of mixed one, two and three bedroom units located in eight - three story buildings and one larger four story building and with amenities. The project encompasses land on the south side of Route 9 between EMC and Crystal Pond Road. They have procured an easement that was brought up in earlier meetings that will connect the project with Crystal Pond Road to assist with emergency vehicle access and safer routing for residents. They are working with the MA Highway department on an acceleration and deceleration lane on Route 9 for the project. Their mitigation package is in the two and half million dollar range for projects such as repair/replace pumping station, police and fire departments, schools and the recreation departments and general funds. Under the standard Chapter 40 B proposal a new plan showing the three story buildings and a smaller four-story building with 200 units was presented.

The Alexan of Southborough plan was introduced by Mr. Phil Jenks and their team. They had earlier presented to the Southborough Selectmen and the Southborough Housing Opportunity Committee several weeks prior. They explained their project as a 200 unit project of mixed bedroom units. Many that would be of the one bedroom size. The project will sit off Route 9 on the northside behind the Red Roof Inn and Park Central. There is already a pre-approved waste water treatment facility planned for that property that would sufficiently handle the amount of housing. Alexan of Southborough also offering a LIP plan. They also have suggested to the town that if they were allowed even more housing units to satisfy the projected upcoming 2010 census that they would be happy to build them. A power point presentation was given of the property and also of the traffic within the vicinity. Traffic counts were taken in June and videos of the traffic in two areas were taken in August of this year. During the peak AM hour of 7:30 to 8:30 AM 3100 vehicles traveled Route 9 with 3100 of those cars Eastbound. On the reverse trip the peak hour was 5:30 to 6:30 PM and 3100 vehicles traveled West and 2200 East on Route 9 near the proposed project. The longest wait at Flagg Road to enter Route 9 during the video taping was 45 seconds. The team went on to explain the fiscal impact and benefits of this development. Noting that the Town would receive tax revenue from property and excise tax from the vehicles. They estimated a fiscal net of roughly $65,000 per year to the Town. Their mitigation proposals were much smaller than proposed by Avalon. Alexan would pay for an engineering firm hired by the town to study their project. Also included would be working with MA Highway department on Route 9, water connections, full code sprinkler system, pay for all false alarms to the property and about $900,000 to spread out as the town sees fit.

Questions from the Selectmen and Town Board members came next. Most dealt with the traffic that these projects will generate. Mr. Morris of the Planning Board said that the Town will not be able to handle the traffic from these major developments that are proposed for the four corners of Route 495 and Route 9. The traffic was a major concern with many of the audience members voicing concerns primarily about the Alexan Southborough project and what it would do to their local streets, especially Flagg Road, Deerfoot Road, Lynbrook Road, Lovers Lane and Route 30. Other residents voiced their concern about an electronic gate proposed as an emergency entrance/exit for police, fire and potentially school busses off of Bantry Road. Mrs. Phaneuf explained that she wants that left on the table for emergency service egress.

Concerns about the height of buildings, buffers and school aged children also topped the list of concerns. Another major concern with abutters was what will happen to the rest of the land that Flatley owns surrounding the Alexan apartments. Both Avalon and Alexan answered that they do security checks on their occupants. They also mentioned that with the Avalon plan the projected school enrollment would be just over 30 students and the Alexan development would add about 27 students. Both proposals are Chapter 40 B apartments that would be built on currently zoned Industrial Land. Mr. Boland had an issue with it. He said the Town of Southborough is in the process of updating its Master Plan and Industrial zones are hard to come by in Southborough and he would not like to see those parcels lost.

At the end of the meeting the Selectmen asked if they wanted to take a vote right then to determine which project was worthy of promoting through the system. Mr. Salvatore Giorlandino said at the present time he would lean toward the Avalon project mostly because it has less disadvantages when it comes to traffic whereas the Alexan property has a major traffic impact in the residential area. He also had issues relative to the infrastructure of such a large project as the Alexan property. Mr. Boland reiterated basically the same issues and was leaning also toward Avalon. Mrs. Phaneuf would like to see more one bedroom apartments and also stated traffic issues. No vote was taken, however. The Selectmen would like to have more time to look over the proposals before they do a vote. They will be submitting comments which are due shortly though to the MA housing re the Alexan Southborough project. For more information on the type of developments and maps of the proposals check out Southborough News archived pages.

A Family Affair

August 29, 2007 - Peter Phaneuf and grandson Shea assist with compacting the stonedust and gravel at the All Wars Memorial.  Adam Phaneuf wets the material down ahead of them.

High Speed Video Fire

August 28, 2007 - These photos are contributed by Southborough Fire Chief John Mauro.  Friday, August 24th, a bark mulch fire extended to the High Speed Video building on Cordaville Road.  Firefighters managed to stop the fire from extending to interior portions of the building.  Below photo shows Firefighters opening up the post that the fire had traveled.

Southborough meetings

August 27, 2007 - August 31, 2007

August 28, 2007 - During Saturday's horse show portion at the 4-H Fair, the show was halted for nearly 20 minutes as a Snapping Turtle nest hatched sending nearly 50 baby snapping turtles crawling through the ring toward the swamp.  Children were called down for buckets as the adults picked up as many snappers as they could find and placed them in the buckets.  All captured turtles were then transported a short distance to the edge of the swamp where they were released unharmed.

Every day a little closer

August 28, 2007 - Richards Road gets a little closer everyday to being completed. New curbing, traffic signals at the Route 85 intersection and new sidewalks will complete the project.

Kick off the school year right.....

August 28, 2007 - Southborough Rider Lauren takes her horse Skye through the Pole Bending class while Southborough rider Kelsey takes Josie over the jumps at the Middlesex County 4H Fair.

Senior Center Weekly Schedule

A Touch of Fall

August 28, 2007 - The trees near the Southborough Historical Museum show off some early colors.  Actually they are most likely beginning to turn due to lack of rainfall as we begin to leave summer behind.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Northborough and Southborough Public Schools invite all members of the community to share their time, talent and expertise with the students in our elementary, middle and high schools.  This is a unique opportunity to make a contribution to your community. 

Library aides, clerical aides, and enrichment and seasonal programs are some examples of on-going services.  You may also have a particular skill or interest that you can share.

Please contact one of the building principals if you are interested in volunteering. Finn School, Principal Mary Ryan, 508-485-3176; Woodward School Principal James Randell, 508-229-1250; Neary School, Principal Joanne Irish, 508-481-2300; Trottier School, Principal Linda Murdock, 508-485-2400 or Algonquin Regional High School, Principal Edward J. Gallagher III, 508-351-7010.

08:17 smoke Detector activation Crystal Pond Road, E22, E23, 1 Lieutenant, 3 Firefighters

August 27, 2007 - Sorry for the delay in updating the website but as a 4H Assistant leader I was in charge of 27 4H members, their horses and several parent chaperones for the last four days and three nights at the Middlesex County 4H Fair in Westford, MA.  It was an extremely hot weekend but there was a lot of fun and a lot to see at the fair.  If you went to the fair, I hope you enjoyed it.  Here are several photos taken from the 2007 fair.  All are 4H member projects.  Special exhibits such as the owl above peppered the fairgrounds. Above photos a young visitor gets to see what it is like to halter lead a calve.  Eyes on Owls presents a Spectacled Owl. Below visitors check out the antique car display and Southborough rider Tanya takes her horse over the bridge.

New Chimney

August 27, 2007 - A new chimney rises amid the rehabilitation of the Southborough Historical Museum.  Funds for the restoration were raised through CPA funding at Town meeting.

Pole Lean

August 27, 2007 - This leaning pole with light and transformer needed some major attention by National Grid last week.  The pole was on Oregon Road and the photo is submitted by Lisa Braccio.

Southborough School Bus Routes available now