Boxborough Select Board Closes Town Meeting Warrant, Renews Cell Tower Lease

BOXBOROUGH -- December 9, 2024, Boxborough Select Board approves cell tower lease, closes town meeting warrant, and hears legislators on hospital gap and MBTA deadline. State Senator Jamie Eldridge and State Representative Dan Sina joined the December 9 meeting for an hour-long update covering the Nashoba Valley Medical Center closure, the Route 111 bridge water line, and MBTA Communities Act compliance. Boxborough was excluded from a state ambulance grant that benefited Pepperell, Townsend, and other towns; both legislators said they disagreed with the state analysis that cited proximity to Emerson Hospital, and Eldridge said a broader regional health care funding package is under development through the Nashoba Valley Health Working Group. The board voted unanimously to execute a new five-year cell tower lease with SBA Communications Corporation at the Hager Well site, with a first-year base payment of $50,000, up from roughly $40,000 at the end of the prior 20-year contract. The Boxborough Minuteman Company donated $2,000 to the town's community services holiday gift drive, double its prior-year contribution. Town Administrator Mike Johns confirmed that the fiscal year 2026 Annual Town Meeting warrant is closed, with a Special Town Meeting set for March 18, 2025 to address, among other items, $100,000 in deferred OPEB funding and fire station design money.