Boxborough Finance Committee Deadlocks 3-3 on Fire Station Site Preference

BOXBOROUGH -- January 6, 2026, Boxborough Finance Committee deadlocks 3-3 on which property should house a new fire station. Chair Tony Newton moved to recommend 984 Mass. Ave. a 4.2-acre parcel on Route 111 with a purchase price of $2.4 million, over the alternative site at 72 Stow Road, which is priced at $1.2 million but carries active abutter opposition including a formal threat of federal litigation. Member Maria Neyland, who represents FinCom on the Fire Station Building Committee, calculated the total cost premium for 984 at approximately $2.8 million, translating to roughly $50 per household per year over 30 years, but argued the litigation risk and escalation costs at Stow Road, estimated at $4,000 per day, made it the riskier choice. Newton, Neyland, and John Greven voted yes; Michelle Ryan, Joe Stulpin, and John Connor voted no. The Fire Station Building Committee is scheduled to vote on a site recommendation January 8, ahead of a Special Town Meeting planned for March 9 and a warrant print deadline of February 6. The committee also heard from Town Accountant Honghoa Le that the previous treasurer-collector failed to post tax payments from lockbox and electronic vendors into the town's VADAR system, with at least one unrecorded payment dating to July 2025, a discovery described as day one of what may be a broader reconciliation effort.