Southborough readies multiple grant applications, submits Route 9 wastewater packet; downtown wastewater application held for zoning vetting

Town officials told the Select Board they were submitting several major grant applications this week, including a regional “one‑stop” application filed jointly with Westborough and Northborough and a Route 9 wastewater treatment application intended to help address sewer needs along the corridor.

Vanessa, a town staff member managing grant work, said the application deadline was imminent and that staff had been working with consultants Weston & Sampson and regional partners. "We are submitting the regional application with Westborough and Northborough," she said, and added that the wayfinding placemaking application for the historic center and the Route 9 wastewater packet were being finalized for submission between that evening and the following morning.

Officials also said they had received letters of support from state legislators for the wastewater application. Vanessa reported the town had obtained letters of support from Senator Eldridge and Representative Kate Donahue and from local property owners and businesses. The board noted additional letters from Bill DiPietri and Dave Farris filed in support of the wastewater submission.

Town staff said there had been a fourth, separate downtown wastewater application but that the committee decided to hold that packet because the proposal included zoning changes that had not been fully vetted with the Planning Board and Economic Development Committee. "The committee felt that we're gonna wait and possibly fund that at a town meeting, because it included a hefty piece of zoning, and we had not had time to really vet that with planning and EDC," Vanessa said.

Select Board members and staff also discussed how wastewater access along Route 9 affects economic development. One board member said the town may be the only community on Route 9 between Goshen and Boston without municipal wastewater, a point board members said was raised in the application materials; the meeting transcript records that the claim was presented as a researched fact but not independently verified in the discussion.

Vanessa and the board acknowledged the grant programs are competitive and that the town had been working quickly to compile required documents, including consultant analyses and letters of support. If awarded, the Route 9 wastewater grant would fund design and construction steps the town would need to coordinate with local stakeholders and property owners.

The board did not take a formal vote on the applications during the meeting; staff reported that most submissions were being uploaded electronically and that signatures were not required. The board did decide to hold the downtown wastewater application pending zoning review and potential town meeting funding.