Advisory committee to draft two letters: one urging state action on local aid and another seeking town select board action on Royalston Road design funding

The Templeton Advisory Committee agreed to draft two separate advocacy letters: one modeled on a recently posted Lunenburg Select Board letter urging state lawmakers to increase local aid and Chapter 90 funding, and a second requesting that the Select Board provide a letter of commitment for additional design funding for the Royalston Road reconstruction so the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission and MassDOT will keep the project on the TIP priority list.

On the local-aid letter: committee member Jacqueline McCombra read a March letter from the Lunenburg Select Board that called on the state delegation to increase per-pupil funding, expand unrestricted general government aid, invest further in Chapter 90, and modernize the Chapter 70 school funding formula. Committee members discussed local fiscal context in Templeton and acknowledged differing views about the best path to state advocacy; the committee approved drafting a Templeton letter based on the Lunenburg model and agreed the draft would return to the committee for final review before any letter is transmitted.

On the Royalston Road request: committee members reviewed a March 26 email from Brian Doherty, transportation projects director at the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission, which said a renewed letter of commitment from the town would be included in the TIP documentation if received by April 30, 2025, and urged the town to work with the design consultant to advance the design schedule. Committee members emphasized the project’s long history — members referenced design and planning work dating back a decade and more — and expressed concern that missing the April deadline could push the project to the bottom of the region’s priority list for years. The committee voted to draft a letter to the Select Board asking the board to act promptly and to provide a commitment letter on town letterhead; the committee chair said he would prepare a draft within roughly two weeks for Select Board consideration and signature.

Formal actions recorded: - Motion to draft a Templeton letter modeled on the Lunenburg Select Board letter urging increased state local aid and Chapter 90/Chapter 70 reform: motion approved; the committee requested a draft be returned for review before transmission to the state delegation. - Motion to draft a letter to the Select Board requesting a renewed letter of commitment for the Royalston Road project and urging Select Board action to meet the Montachusett RPC April 30, 2025 inclusion deadline: motion approved. The chair will circulate a draft with the chair’s signature for Select Board consideration.

Why this matters: a town letter asking state lawmakers to pursue increased local aid can be one element of broader advocacy for municipal funding reform. For Royalston Road, the Montachusett RPC and MassDOT signaled that without a renewed town commitment to design funding the project risks losing its place in the regional TIP, which would delay construction by multiple years.

Key excerpts read at the meeting included Brian Doherty’s March 26 email noting: “If we could get that by 04/30/25, I will make sure it's included. An emailed PDF of a letter of support on town letterhead would work fine.” Committee members asked that drafts be returned to advisory for final sign-off before transmission.