Town of Princeton, Mass., Selectboard Meeting Minutes
November 7, 2018 – 6:00 P.M. – Princeton Senior Center
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Present: ~Chair Richard Bisk, Karen Cruise & Edith Morgan.
6:02 PM Meeting called to order.
Richy opened the meeting and explained to those present that this was a meeting of Town Buzz, but that it needed to be posted as a SB meeting due to the Open Meeting Law. He noted that there is an opening on the Advisory Board and encouraged applications by November 9. He also noted that there would be an opening on the SB in May and that Edie did not plan to run again. He then turned the meeting over to Karen.
There were eight people in attendance in addition the three SB members. WE began by each introducing ourselves.
The first topic addressed was Mechanic’s Hall. Deb Cary discussed her dream for the building and the surrounding area and her hope that a developer might have a use for the property. The SB noted that there is a committee working on recommendations for Mechanic’s Hall. Janine Baker noted that recently there was a well-attended event sponsored by the East Princeton Improvement Society.
The East Princeton Village project may increase property values. Larry Greene said that the project should start in the spring and take about two years. He described the history of the project. There was a great deal of appreciation for the work of the Road Advisory Committees and past Selectboards in moving this project forward.
There was discussion of the need for mixed use housing that would allow our aging population to stay in town. Where can people live in town if they want to downsize? Someone mentioned the Desilets property (currently for sale) as a possible site for a friendly 40B development.
Barbara Guthrie asked about the status of work on the Sonoma space. The lease has not yet been signed. A number of people noted the importance of moving forward on that.
There was a brief discuss of the status of the Charter work.
Karen asked what people thought of the idea of a volunteer open house. The general consensus was positive.
Karen asked if people liked the SB’s attempt at greater communication and whether they found our letters helpful. The answer was a definite yes.
Pat Roy from the Landmark mentioned that they are now owned by the same company as the Telegram and that the Landmark offices are being moved to Worcester.
Questions were asked about the status of the Yaglou property on Worcester Road. When will it be cleaned up? Is it in arrears on taxes? Karen briefly described the work of the town relative to these types of issues.
Karen asked if we should run future sessions like this one. The consensus was that we should try to do it every 2-3 months. It was suggested that we invite representatives of the light department to attend a future session.
7:06 PM Meeting Adjourned
Respectfully submitted, Richard Bisk, Selectboard Chair
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