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Select Board authorizes opening account to accept Be Well carnival sponsorships; counsel to weigh in on other donations
Summary
The Select Board approved opening a dedicated town account to receive sponsorship checks for the Be Well last‑day‑of‑school carnival after presenters reported two $5,000 sponsors. Members asked town counsel to review whether accepting further donations from a company engaged in concurrent negotiations poses a conflict or optics concern.
Ally Lane and Jen Bruno presented the Be Well last‑day‑of‑school carnival at the Feb. 23 Select Board meeting and asked the board to authorize opening a town account to accept sponsorship checks. They said the event — held annually at Ellsworth‑McAfee and funded previously with ARPA dollars — costs about $10,000 and has grown over four years.
Lane told the board she had secured two sponsors of approximately $5,000 each: Central 1 Credit Union and Cinco Bean. The presenters said they hoped creating a dedicated account would allow the program to continue after ARPA funds were exhausted and to accept additional donation offers.
Board members thanked staff and volunteers. Several members asked procedural questions about accepting and holding gifts: Finance staff explained that donations typically are held in a special revenue or gift account rather than as general fund revenue, and that the Select Board has oversight for expenditures tied to restricted gifts.
Chair Julianne Hirsch and others signaled concern about one potential sponsor because the town is simultaneously engaged in related negotiations; the board agreed to have town counsel review any questionably timed donations before cashing checks beyond the first approved deposit. The board moved to open the account and accept the donation from Central 1 while soliciting legal guidance about accepting additional donations; the motion passed on a roll call vote.
Public commenters from the Northborough Rotary Club praised the program and offered continuing support.
Next steps: staff will open a dedicated deposit account for Be Well sponsorships as authorized, and will advise the board when town counsel has provided guidance about any other potential donors.
