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Select Board approves tree plantings, accepts Civic Club plaza gifts, appoints interim and business licenses
Summary
The Select Board approved DPW tree plantings at Lake Chauncey, accepted the Civic Club’s plaza gift plan for 32–34 West Main, concurred with an interim town accountant appointment, approved a jewelry business license for Tanishq at 303 Turnpike Road, and confirmed two committee appointments.
The Westborough Select Board on Oct. 14 handled multiple routine but locally visible items, voting unanimously on a cluster of approvals.
Tree plantings: Public Works presented a grant-funded plan to plant roughly 25 trees in a first phase near the cricket pitch at the State Hospital property with a second phase of up to 25 more trees if funds remain. Species proposed include oak, linden, London plane and sycamore chosen for drought resilience. The board approved the plantings funded by the grant (vote 5–0).
Civic Plaza gifts: The Civic Club presented a staged design for a plaza between 32 and 34 West Main that the club will fund with committed donations. Proposed materials included five tables (one ADA-accessible), benches, planters and a bike rack; the club said it had committed $50,000 and will purchase most items directly (town would receive only about $4,500 in donated funds to add a water source). The board accepted the gifts as presented (vote 5–0) and discussed coordination on bike-rack style with other town initiatives.
Interim town accountant: The board concurred with the Town Manager’s recommendation to appoint retired Billerica town accountant Paul Watson to an interim contract (about 16 hours/week), subject to background check and funding through a reserve fund transfer; the board voted 5–0 to concur.
Business license and appointments: The board approved a junk-dealer/precious-metal collector license for Cooperon Jewelers Inc., doing business as Tanishq, located at 303 Turnpike Road (applicant Mrs. Patel said the chain is associated with Tata Group); the board also appointed Carolyn McLeod to the Council on Aging and reappointed Thomas Burke to the treatment plant board (both votes 5–0).
Why it matters: These items create immediate changes in town operations and placemaking—public-planting work that affects streetscape and a downtown plaza that will add seating and bike parking. The interim accountant appointment restores a key finance role while the business license and committee appointments affect commercial activity and local boards.
