The Hubbardston Select Board on Dec. 30 voted to authorize $12,904.84 to complete Cat 5 wiring and related work needed to move town operations into a temporary town hall at 48 Gardner Road. Town Administrator Nate said the wiring is “100% necessary” and that the town could not reach operational status at the temporary site without the work. The board approved the expenditure by voice vote.

The board also approved several administrative actions in a single meeting, including ratifying two committee appointments, adopting an updated building permit fee schedule with several deletions, formalizing a winter-storm closure policy and a town-council legal-access policy, and adopting a waiver-of-fees policy that sets a $500 limit on the town administrator’s waiver authority and adds language directing that permit fees funded by grants should be included in grant requests.

On personnel matters, the board voted to approve and sign the town administrator’s FY26–FY28 contract. A board member moved to approve Nate’s contract and the motion carried by voice vote.

During discussion of the wiring project, members asked whether existing cable could be reused and whether the quoted price included prevailing wage. Nate said the quote came from a state-bid contractor and that the $12,904.84 figure includes prevailing-wage labor; he also said a local vendor, Paul from Centimeters Geeks, would donate time to assist with setup. “We would not be able to get to an operational status if we did not do this project,” Nate said when outlining the need.

On fees and licensing, the board reviewed regional comparators and ways to simplify building and inspector fees; members asked staff to clarify items such as the tent-permit definition and how permit revenue is split with outside inspectors. The board approved a motion to strike three items from the proposed fee schedule — the local Sunday alcohol sales permit, the transient vendor license, and the lunch cart category — and passed the revised schedule.

The waiver-of-fees policy that passed sets a $500 threshold for the town administrator’s unilateral waivers and expressly allows building-fee waivers for municipal projects while directing staff to avoid waiving fees that could be covered by grants. A board member asked staff to keep documentation of waived fees so the board can account for exceptions.

Nate’s administrative report covered several operational items: the public-safety building committee is down to two designer finalists; a trash-services RFP will be issued in January; Microsoft 365 implementation is underway; website branding work is in progress; and four staff will attend the Massachusetts Municipal Association conference in January (Nate discussed an estimated cost for staff attendance). He also announced delivery of a new police cruiser and thanked the Tom Forest Memorial Foundation for donating a mobile cruiser radio.

Chair remarks closed the meeting with appreciation for the year’s volunteers and municipal staff and seasonal greetings. The board adjourned after passing the final motions by voice vote.