Hubbardston board agrees to advance debt-exclusion article for municipal public-safety complex

The Hubbardston Select Board voted to place a debt-exclusion article on the November special town meeting warrant to finance renovation of an acquired strip-mall property into a combined police, fire and town government facility.

Carrie Sacrimony, chair of the municipal complex building committee, told the board two designs are nearly complete and cost estimates are being finalized. She said the committee wants a debt-exclusion question on the November ballot and that the exact wording must be delivered to the Secretary of State by Aug. 5; the committee is also clarifying requirements imposed by a special act that may require for-and-against summaries to appear with the ballot question.

Board members discussed options to fill the current Select Board vacancy (a separate special election, placement on a state ballot not allowed for local seats according to the elections division guidance relayed in the meeting, or leaving the seat vacant until the next regular election) and the relative costs of separate versus combined special election events. Members also debated whether to hold an executive session to discuss expediting the project timeline and any legal issues.

The board voted in favor of a motion to place the debt-exclusion article on the November warrant and asked staff and architects to accelerate cost estimates and to work with bond counsel so the public can be informed ahead of town meeting and ballot mailing deadlines. Committee and staff cautioned that earlier planning figures discussed in 2024 (a previously cited range of about $9–10 million) should be treated as historical references only; members emphasized that final estimates are not yet provided and would be shared before public materials are issued.

The decision to advance a ballot question does not itself authorize spending; it places the debt-exclusion question before voters at the special town meeting and on the ballot for their approval.