Good Morning, Burlington, and happy Friday!

I can’t believe the week is over already. I hope you have something fun planned this weekend. If holiday lights are your thing, don’t forget the 50th (!) annual tree lighting, which is happening on the Common at 4:00 on Sunday.

Planning Board Hears from LEGO Robotics and Select Board

The Planning Board held a very full meeting last night, and while I wasn’t there for the entire time, I’ll give some very high level highlights.

First, the LEGO Robotics Team, which includes one student from Francis Wyman and three from Marshall Simonds, presented their project: A water wheel designed to generate electricity. They worked very hard and ultimately created, I think, six iterations of this super cool project and generated 1.25 V of electricity.
The Select Board, Land Use Committee, and Zoning Bylaw Review Committee joined the Planning Board to discuss amending the zoning bylaws to allow the installation of a digital sign on the Town Common at the corner of Bedford and Cambridge Streets. Some questions that came up:
- How often will the information on the sign be updated?
- How many signs will there be?
- Is there a better location than the corner?
- Will we be using a designer?
Many attendees felt that some updates to the language were needed before the article is ready for Town Meeting, but they did vote 5-0-1 to approve the concept and the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee will meet on 12/14 to finalize the language. Ultimately this will be going in front of Town Meeting in January, and Town Meeting will vote on whether or not to update the zoning bylaw. The Planning Board Vote is just a recommendation to Town Meeting.
A grocery store is planned to go in where Metro Credit Union used to be—it’s an existing business, Foodland, that’s just moving, and the owner was present to request a special permit. But some questions came up regarding parking lot usage and waste disposal, and some residents spoke to advocate for strong trash disposal regulations for food products, as the Dumpster smell tends to waft through the neighborhood, and new fencing. The matter was continued to a future Planning Board Meeting.
A new massage therapy will be going in at 36 Winn Street.
There was more meeting, but I had to log off!

Sports

Basketball season looks to be getting its start today, as our boys’ varsity team faces off against Lawrence right here at 6:00.

Friday Funny

A selection of Thanksgiving jokes for you today. I meant to post these last week, but as there was no Friday Buzz, there was no Friday Funny. Hopefully you find something here that tickles your funny bone.