Boxborough Appoints Architect Grossman to Fire Station Building Committee

BOXBOROUGH -- August 12, 2024, Boxborough Select Board appoints architect Larry Grossman to Fire Station Building Committee amid abutter conflict concerns. The board voted 3-1-1 at its August 12 meeting to seat Grossman, a 35-year town resident and licensed architect with 40 years of professional experience, filling the committee's remaining vacancy ahead of a fall site-selection process among four candidate parcels. The appointment followed the revelation that Grossman's June 18 letter of interest had gone to the town's spam folder and was only discovered the morning of the meeting. Conflict-of-interest questions arose over two other candidates, including existing committee member Joan and applicant Michael Marshall, whose homeowners association membership places them within the legal 300-foot abutter boundary of the Mass Ave candidate site; Town Administrator Mike Johns said he would consult town counsel. The board also unanimously adopted a resolution committing Boxborough to becoming an "employer of choice," following a presentation by Personnel Board Chair Lee Slade estimating that the town's roughly 12 percent annual employee turnover carries a hidden cost of $300,000 to $1.3 million per year, and separately approved a February 10, 2025 Special Town Meeting target calendar with the warrant opening in mid-October.