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Library trustees weigh options after failing 2007 fence removed; refer options to building and grounds committee
Summary
Trustees reported removal of a failing 2007 fence and discussed options to satisfy a 2007 ZBA condition that a six-foot buffer be installed; DPW recommended chain link with privacy slats as durable and cost-effective, while some trustees proposed a living hedge option. Board referred options and costs to the building and grounds committee.
The Town of Northborough Library Board of Trustees discussed replacing a failing fence that had been removed for safety and agreed to refer options and costs to the building and grounds committee.
Chair Michelle Rehil said the nominating committee and other items complete, and the board then turned to the fence behind the library’s parking lot. The director reported that parts of the 2007 fence had been falling into the parking area and that DPW had repeatedly had to prop it up; she said the fence was removed while HVAC work allowed access.
The board reviewed language from the 2007 ZBA decision that requires the parking area to be buffered with a six-foot fence. The director said DPW advised that a chain-link fence with privacy slats, set in concrete, would be the most durable and cost-effective replacement because the site is small and sloped; the board heard that the heavy wooden fence previously installed did not hold well in that location. “They DPW did say that probably the best option… would be chain link with a privacy like, the privacy slats,” the director said.
Chair Rehil and others suggested considering a living fence—rows of arborvitae or similar plantings—that could serve the same visual-buffer function but would require regular maintenance and pruning. Rehil suggested arborvitae specifically: “I wondered if it's possible that we can install what I would call a living fence and put up those pine trees ... they grow tall and thin.” Trustees discussed costs and whether the ZBA decision could be amended; the director noted that landscaping does not currently satisfy the existing decision and that amending the ZBA decision would require a formal application and likely a public hearing.
The board directed the building and grounds committee to research options, including cost estimates and maintenance impacts on DPW, and to bring recommendations back to the full board. No formal vote to fund replacement was taken and no timeline for reinstalling a buffer was set.
