A joint meeting of Northborough elected and appointed boards on Dec. 11 focused on economic development priorities for the town and directed the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission to continue technical support and explore a District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) application.

The meeting, convened by Carrie Moniak and attended by members of the Select Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board and the Master Plan Implementation Committee, brought wide-ranging discussion about downtown revitalization, reuse of municipal properties, infrastructure constraints along Route 9 and Route 20, and whether the town should form an economic development committee or hire a paid coordinator.

Central Mass Regional Planning Commission economic development director Carrie Sala told the group that CMRPC had interviewed local stakeholders, reviewed the master plan and downtown plan, and identified potential priorities including reuse of underutilized municipal buildings such as White Cliffs and 4 West Main and gateway improvements along Route 9 and Route 20. "I'm Carrie Sala. Like Carrie said, I'm the, director of economic development for the Central Mass Regional Planning Commission," she said while outlining the agency's role and services.

Why it matters: board members said a clearer, shared set of priorities would help staff and volunteers guide recruitment and retention of businesses, support grant applications and focus limited town resources. Several speakers raised concerns that the town's permitting climate and infrastructure constraints (notably sewer capacity) have created a perception that Northborough is difficult for developers and business owners to work with — a perception they said would take active outreach, clearer permitting steps and marketing to change.

Discussion highlights

- Committee vs. coordinator: Select Board member Mike Teejian said he favored starting with a volunteer economic development committee and “if there’s more speed needed” consider a paid coordinator later. "I would prefer going the committee route first and then if there's more speed needed, maybe seeing if there's a paid position in there," he said. Several planning and zoning members expressed similar caution about adding staff without firm data on costs and benefits.

- Business-facing support: Multiple speakers urged a single point of contact or clearer, proactive outreach to help existing and prospective businesses navigate permitting. Planning Director Lori Connor cautioned that staff capacity is limited: "I cannot staff that committee," she said, noting she already supports multiple committees.

- Infrastructure and grants: Participants repeatedly returned to sewer capacity as a gating constraint for development along the Route 9 corridor. The group also discussed grant programs that could be layered to fund infrastructure and downtown projects; CMRPC staff pointed to MassWorks, DLTA and other sources as possible matches.

- Reuse and downtown strategy: Boards discussed the potential reuse of town-owned properties (White Cliffs, 4 West Main and the former fire station), improving downtown walkability (connections such as Gale and Blake streets), and leveraging trails connectivity — including the Mass Central Rail Trail and the Aqueduct Trail — to drive visitors and support downtown businesses.

- Sport and hospitality opportunities: Several participants suggested regional sports complexes, hotels and hospitality uses near Route 9/20 and highway interchanges could draw overnight visitors and help fill local restaurants and lodging, while generating tax revenue with limited school impacts.

Dissent and practical cautions

- Some attendees warned that without clearer, consistent policy direction across boards, a coordinator or committee would struggle to act. Fran Badgem of the Master Plan Implementation Committee said priorities must first be set: "this meeting is supposed to come to start building consensus of what are our priorities," she said. Todd Helwig, a member of the Conservation Commission who also practices commercial real estate law, warned that perceptions of lengthy or uncertain permitting can discourage applicants: "if somebody comes to our office...it's like, don't even bother," he said, urging clearer, more predictable rules before active recruitment.

Direction given and next steps

By informal consensus (an informal show of hands recorded during the meeting), members indicated support for CMRPC to continue working with town staff to refine priorities and to pursue an appropriate DLTA or other technical-assistance request; CMRPC staff said the DLTA solicitation was open and that a January 9 deadline was forthcoming. Planning and town staff agreed to discuss a focused project for CMRPC to pursue through DLTA and to provide sign-off from the planning board chair as needed for the application.

Formal motions: the meeting included standard procedural motions to adjourn the boards; no ordinance, rezoning or binding land-use decisions were taken at the session.

What remains unresolved

Boards did not adopt a single prioritized economic development plan, nor did they approve hiring a coordinator or creating a permanent committee at this meeting. Several participants asked for a short list (three to four) of priorities to pursue first — examples raised included: (1) focus on downtown reuses such as 4 West Main and White Cliffs; (2) pursue grants and feasibility work to extend sewer to strategic sites on Route 9; (3) create a gateway strategy for Route 9/20; and (4) form a town-backed approach to better welcome and retain small businesses.

CMRPC offered to draft a scoped proposal for DLTA or similar technical assistance based on the meeting's discussion; town staff and committee members asked CMRPC to confer with Planning Director Lori Connor and return with a recommended next step and a draft scope.

The meeting concluded with staff and board members agreeing to review the discussion and to work with CMRPC on a specific DLTA application or small technical-assistance project to be proposed before the grant deadline.

Ending note: the joint session brought multiple boards into a single discussion of common economic goals and immediate constraints; participants said they hoped the next steps would convert tonight's broad ideas into a narrow, fundable work plan that staff and volunteers could support.