Boxborough Select Board Approves Steel Farm Charter, Chooses Blanchard for Town Meeting

BOXBOROUGH -- February 26, 2024, Boxborough Select Board approves first-ever Steel Farm charter and picks Blanchard School for its 49-article annual town meeting. The board voted unanimously Monday to formally charter the Steel Farm Committee, dropping "Advisory" from its name after 30 years of operating without a written governing document, after Chair Christopher Hydeck said the charter simply codifies what the group already does. The board also voted unanimously to hold the 2024 Annual Town Meeting at Blanchard Memorial School rather than the Regency event center, with Town Administrator Mike citing a projected attendance of around 300 and noting the Regency option would add roughly $3,000 in audio-visual costs on top of $750-per-night rental fees. Town Moderator Dennis presented historical attendance data showing that only the 2013 school regionalization vote, at 634 attendees, would have strained Blanchard's capacity of roughly 400 with rearrangements. The board also heard a presentation from Sustainability Committee co-chairs Francie Noldy and Kate Davies on a revised sustainability policy built around five guiding principles and a call for a town sustainability position, but deferred that vote and the Select Board-Town Administrator goals to the next full meeting; the school budget increase of 14.46 percent has pushed the total projected FY25 budget increase to 9.7 percent.