Boxborough Finance Committee Unanimously Rejects $4-6 Million Fire Station Cost-Premium Article

BOXBOROUGH -- August 19, 2025, Boxborough Finance Committee votes 6-0 against recommending a $4 to $6 million fire station cost premium. The six-member panel, meeting August 19, unanimously rejected a sense-of-the-meeting warrant article that would have gauged resident willingness to pay that premium above the 72 Stowe Road baseline to build a new fire station at one of three alternative sites, 750-832 Mass Ave, 1300 Mass Ave, or 502 Mass Ave. Town Administrator Mike Hongwa disclosed he had signed a demolition contract that day to replace the existing station's deteriorating exterior fire escape and described an interior egress door that opens inward, a life-safety hazard for firefighters evacuating the building. Member Maria Nealon warned that repeated town meeting failures carry compounding costs, but John Connor argued that the committee "could not in good conscience" recommend spending more given other capital demands. The committee also previewed three Planning Board-approved zoning articles, including an MBTA Communities Overlay District using a "paper compliance" approach on Hill Road, approved 3-2 and 5-0 respectively, and deferred its recommendation on a second sense-of-the-meeting article asking voters to fund up to $2 million in green construction upgrades, citing insufficient payback data.