Hello and happy weekend, you busy bees!

In this week’s Hive Roundup:

• The Tech hires a new Director of Data Assessment & Admissions
• Cardboard dumpsters are (or will be) gone
• Taxes are going down, and also up
• Cambridge Street will be repaved, but residents disagree with MassDOT on the details
• Food Drive Today

First things first: I revealed the new logo last week, and I told you I’d explain some of the design decisions we made. Here’s the logo again with some explanations:

I wanted to keep the colors I chose when I started the Buzz - the red is from the Burlington website and the gold felt like a good accent color.  The slab typeface gave a newspapery feel, and the script suggests the whimsical personality of the Buzz—we’re not your typical news outlet. And finally the hexagons. I love the hexagons because they remind me of honeycombs, which of course remind me of bees. That’s important to me because of the Buzz aspect, but I also wanted to honor the B-line, which I still associate with Burlington even though it doesn’t run anymore. Oh, and also - they’re speech bubbles. Because the Buzz reports on the things Burlington is talking about!

So, there’s a peek into my brain. And now on to the week’s news.

Shawsheen Tech hires a new Director of Data Assessment & Admissions

Hallie Larocque began work on the school’s leadership team earlier this month, filling the vacancy left when her predecessor became Business Manager. Hallie is the latest addition to the school leadership team since the addition of new Superintendent-Director Tony McIntosh this past summer.

Cardboard dumpsters are (or will be) gone

The DPW announced this week that the cardboard dumpsters behind Town Hall will be removed. They cited misuse of the dumpsters as the reason for removal, including use by non-residents and overfilling/leaving cardboard on the ground even when the dumpsters are full. The DPW says they’re looking into alternatives for cardboard disposal, but in the meantime if you don’t already have a large (95-gal) recycling toter, you can get one by emailing the DPW or calling them at 781-270-1670. I’ve heard from many residents who have ordered their large toter already, and the process has gone quickly with no issues.

Taxes are going down, and also up

The Select Board this week voted to lower the residential tax levy from $9.95 per $1000 to $9.40/$1000. However, with home values rising 9.1% over the last year, that decrease in percentage will buffer the blow but not block it completely. A $650,000 home (that is just under our median home value last year) would have had a tax bill of just under $6,500 last year. But the value of that home would have increase to almost $710,000 in the same amount of time, raising taxes by around $200 to about $6,700.

Cambridge Street will be repaved, but residents disagree with MassDOT on the details

In another big story in what seems to be a week of big stories, MassDOT held its long-awaited virtual public meeting regarding the repaving project on Cambridge Street. They presented largely what they already showed the Select Board, but went more into detail, going intersection by intersection and segment by segment to show what changes and improvements would be implemented. They explained their reasons for making the design decisions more than Lucy Ricardo, yet many residents expressed their frustration with the project and their desire to oppose it.

The main prongs of opposition were (a) the perception of going down from two lanes in each direction to one on certain portions of the roadway, (b) the fact that the traffic study upon which they based their numbers might have been done during COVID and thus underrepresented our traffic numbers and (c) the addition of bike lanes and bike access.

For MassDOT’s part, they contend that (a) the parts of the roadway they are “shrinking” are supposed to be one lane in each direction today, anyway, and it’s not safe to operate them as two (though the presenters recognized that they do often operate as two, (b) much of the traffic numbers were actually taken in 2019 and they used those numbers as a baseline while adding in exponential growth factors; they’re confident travel times will be minimally impacted, and (c) 3A is a part of the complete streets program and when considering safety they have to consider all modes of transit, including bikes and pedestrians.

I expect the engineer will receive some feedback from residents about this project, which is anticipated to begin in late spring.

Thanksgiving Food Drive Today

People Helping People will be holding a drive-through food drive at the United Church of Christ; they’re looking for the following items.

Mayonnaise
Pasta
Cereal, Oatmeal
Chicken Broth
Cooking Oil
Jelly
Sugar, Flour
Coffee, Tea, Cocoa
Liquid Dish Soap
Toiletries (shampoo, hand soap, deodorant)

Come by if you can help make Thanksgiving more joyful for our residents who are in need of some extra assistance this year.

That’s it for me - I hope you had a lovely week and that your weekend is your favorite kind.

Nicci