Good Morning!

Two things that I neglected to mention this week, but that you might be interested in:

• Thursday, November 17, at 6:30 – MassDOT virtual public meeting to discuss the plan for resurfacing and related work on 3A in Burlington and Billerica. Register here.
• Saturday, November 19, at 8:30 or 11:30 – Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School Open House. Learn more about the school here!

Select Board Accepts New, Lower Residential Tax Levy

As always, the Select Board meeting last night was packed and eventful. Some highlights:

• Some vacancies were filled in the Police Department via promotions following some retirements.

• Jesse Angeley was named the newest Library Trustee.

• The Tax Classification was set for FY23. I didn’t know what that meant until last night, but essentially (Thanks, Chair Priest for the explanation mid-meeting) the Assessor’s office looks at the commercial taxes and the budget, and poses some options for residential tax levy that will make up the difference. This year, the residential tax levy actually went down (though it’s worth noting that property prices went up by 9.1%). Last year’s levy was $9.95/$1000 and this year’s is $9.40/$1000.

• The meadow at the Landlocked forest will be mowed this Sunday by volunteers. Feel free to come out with work gloves and a rake if you’d like to help! They’ll be providing a pizza lunch to volunteers and will be working until 1 or 2.

• Sidewalk Project is incorporating Donald, Vincent, and Hart into the prioritization program, and the plan was approved by the Select Board. You can see the map, with estimated completion dates, on page 14 of this document. Plans span from this year through 2035.

• The Transportation Committee gave its final report, and they are recommending a Transportation and Mobility Coordinator. The tl;dr of this report is that we need more transportation, particularly in our commercial areas but we’re basically at the end of the line for several different pubic transportation services and also the suburbs weren’t built for public transit. A TMC could help bring us up to speed with neighboring communities and decrease the number of cars on the road while also providing transportation for our daytime population to access all our wonderful resources without having to drive everywhere. The Committee posits that this position would essentially pay for itself with all the grant money available for transportation and infrastructure.

  • A small detail I learned that is exciting to many is that we were able to preserve the 354 bus route direct to Boston with the new redesign. We are also advocating for route 80 direct from Davis Square.

• We were gifted almost two acres of land on Drake Road abutting Mill Pond!

• The Town Common use policy was approved. The issue of flag, flagpoles, community flagpoles, etc. was not discussed, but I hope to see this on an upcoming meeting.

• Burlington’s Accounting Department has earned an award for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the sixth consecutive year.

• The Select Board plans to submit an article to January Town Meeting for an electronic sign to replace the banner at the corner of Cambridge and Bedford Streets.

• Reminder that textiles are no longer accepted into our waste stream. Clothing pickup and mattress pickup, etc, can be arranged; check the DPW website for details.

The Board also would like to remind residents not to put a frozen turkey into a hot deep fryer – and if you’re going to fry one, please do it on an asphalt surface.

Today in Burlington

Meetings and Events

• 5:00 PM – Housing Partnership Committee will talk about the next steps for the creation of an Affordable Housing Trust and housing Production Plan, among other regular agenda items. (Join online)
• 6:00 PM – General Bylaw Review Committee will review the articles for January Town meeting (deadline has already passed) and start talking about what articles they might want to get onto May Town Meeting. (The deadline for these is February.) (Join online)
• 7:00 PM – Board of Appeals (Administrative meeting at 7:00; public meeting at 7:30) will discuss the signage at the proposed new EMS building at 90 Middlesex Turnpike, which is apparently over where BurgerIM, VisionWorks and AFC Urgent care are located.
• 7:00 PM – School Committee will be having some waste management conversations, from composting in schools to waste reduction. They’ll also discuss a trip to Rome (!) for the Latin class. (Join online)

I don’t have any sports and activities info for today, but I think I’ve held you long enough.

Thanks so much for your time and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Nicci