Boxborough Finance Committee Recommends $50,000 for Library Interior Renovation Project

BOXBOROUGH — January 14, 2025 — Boxborough Finance Committee backs $50,000 library renovation and clears five Special Town Meeting warrant articles. The committee voted unanimously at its January 14 meeting to recommend a $50,000 town appropriation for a $224,466 interior rearrangement of the Boxborough Public Library, with the Library Foundation contributing $200,000 and the Friends of the Library adding $7,500, leaving the town as the lender of last resort. Library Director Paishan Bartlett presented the scaled-down project — reduced from a $650,000 proposal the prior year — which would install three study pods, replace children's area shelving, and relocate the young adult collection into the main hall. The committee also voted 6-0 to recommend five Special Town Meeting articles covering zoning compliance, hazardous waste, a Community Preservation Committee accounting fix, and expanded investment authority for town reserve funds — the last accompanied by a planned written caveat opposing private equity investments. Two articles were held: a $100,000 OPEB contribution confirmed moved to Annual Town Meeting, and a Taylor Farm land donation pending legal review. Town Administrator Mike Johns acknowledged the FY26 budgeting software ClearGov still cannot natively distinguish salary from non-salary lines or produce a clean summary budget document, with a training session set for January 16.