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Shrewsbury Town Meeting may increase handicapped parking fines

By Caroline Gordon Reporter SHREWSBURY - Among the Town Meeting articles on the warrant, members will decide whether to approve a $200 increase in handicapped parking fines.

Director of Public Works Jeffrey Howland and Mountain View Cemetery Program Manager Justin Dobson came before the Select Board on Sept. 27 to present their research on the potential fine increase.

“The reason why we are looking at this increase from $100 to $300 is the bylaw currently requires only a $100 fine and that bylaw was adopted in 1984 … $100 in 1984 is about $285 today,” Dobson said. “Our line of thinking is if Town Meeting members were inclined to support a $100 fine in 1984, they may be willing to support a $300 fine today.”

Dobson, who has been providing staff support for the Commission on Disabilities, said that during the last few meetings, residents discussed adopting a provision of the Massachusetts General Law that would permit the town to set aside money from handicapped parking fines for the Commission on Disabilities.

He added that the money could only be taken from a parking fund, which is a special interest account that would be accrued each year upon the recommendation of the Commission on Disabilities and be subject to further approval by the Select Board.

If Town Meeting members were to approve the change of bylaw, residents would be charged $300 for a handicapped parking fine as opposed to the current fine of $100, according to Dobson.

He noted that the Commission on Disabilities would receive $200 out of the total fine and the rest would go toward local receipts.

Among the ways the Commission on Disabilities could use the funds, Dobson noted it could pay for motivational speakers and purchase technology to assist disabled residents.

“I like the idea of raising the fees for that [handicapped parking violations],” said Select Board Chair Moe DePalo. “I think there is a lot that could be done with those funds for the commission.”

HVAC repairs to Floral Street School on Shrewsbury warrant

By Caroline Gordon Reporter

SHREWSBURY - Heating, ventilation and air conditioning repairs and changes to Floral Street School are among the articles on the Town Meeting warrant for this fall.

Assistant Director of Public Works Keith Baldinger presented the proposed HVAC repairs and improvements, which is article nine on the Town Meeting warrant, to the Select Board on Sept. 27.

According to Baldinger, this article asks to add funding to a 2023 fiscal year capital improvement project at Floral Street School to replace the five 25-year-old HVAC units that service the administrative area, media center and class- HVAC | 11

PHOTO/CAROLINE GORDON Repairs may soon be coming to Floral Street School. rooms. These rooms make up approximately 15,000 square feet of the school. Baldinger said the HVAC units at the Floral Street School are “the oldest HVAC system out of all of our buildings” as the other systems are either newer or have already been updated. The current HVAC system heats the building with natural gas, which would be replaced with a heat pump system that

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Mountain View Cemetery expansion to be voted on at Town Meeting Michael Cherry Memorial Cemetary | from page 1 considered phase one of the design process and would include a cemetery that would last 50 years.

During the Oct. 6 Select Board meeting, Howland said there are 157 graves left to sell.

The Department of Public Works is seeking to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds $200,000 to develop an adjacent cemetery across the street in part of the lower portion of Prospect Park.

Howland noted that the funding covers costs for the design, permitting and bid documents of the cemetery.

Back in 1976, the town purchased Prospect Park and established the Masonic Home Study Committee, which recommended that the park be used as an expansion of the cemetery, according to Howland.

Since then, Howland said the town has conducted many studies, which examined the park and its potential to serve as a cemetery.

He added that funding for a cemetery expansion concept plan, which was developed by a consultant hired by the town, was approved during the 2019 Town Meeting. Howland said the cemetery would not be a “conventional cemetery,” but a “passive open space” type of cemetery, which would include “meandering graves tucked within the existing landscape.” Furthermore, the proposal includes the addition of a parking lot that is “just beyond” the Prospect Park gate and a walking path between the entrance to the cemetery park and the Prospect Park entrance, according to Howland. “We would like people to be able to prepare for their long-term final resting place in a more planful and thoughtful way than [their families] having to wait to see if there would be something available after their passage,” said Town Manager Kevin Mizikar. Shrewsbury’s Town Meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Oak Middle School. GRAFTON - The Oddball Foundation is gearing up for the second annual Michael Cherry Memorial Walk on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Grafton High School. The walk was created in honor of Michael S. Cherry, an Army Reserves member who died from a battle with depression and anxiety. Organizers will be reading the names of all of those lost and honoring them in their memory throughout the event. Registration for the event is $25 per person, with all proceeds being distributed between the Cherry Family Scholarship, Kiva Center, Wildflower Alliance and the Oddball Foundation. The Kiva Center and Wildflower Alliance are both nonprofit organizations that specialize in peer-support advocacy and training with a focus on harm reduction and human rights. The Oddball Foundation — a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization working to increase mental health advocacy by giving back to the community and promoting diversity and inclusion — focuses on social justice and mental health advocacy on airways, through art, literature, and media through Oddball Magazine and the Oddball Show podcast. A scholarship established in Cherry’s memory will be awarded to a Grafton High School student or students who have lost a parent/ guardian. To donate, visit https:// runsignup.com/Race/Donate/ MA/Grafton/MichaelCherryMemorialRun. To sign up, visit https:// runsignup.com/Race/ Register/?raceId=114395. For more information and further announcements, visit www.oddballmagazine.com.

PHOTO/CAROLINE GORDON

Mountain View Cemetery is nearly at capacity, according to the town.

Walk is Oct. 15

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Shrewsbury seeks members for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee

By Caroline Gordon Reporter SHREWSBURY - The newly established Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Committee is looking for new members.

The committee, which was approved by the Select Board during a meeting on Aug. 23, aims to foster an environment that embraces diversity.

According to Select Board member Beth Casavant, who also served on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force, the committee must have seven members, including one high school junior or senior.

However, there were initially not enough applicants. “Of course, I was expecting more interest given the topic and because this is a new committee, but people are busy and may just need additional time to express their interest,” Casavant said.

In response to the initial lack of interest from residents, the board extended their application deadline until Oct. 18 and so far, has received interest from four applicants, according to Principal Department Assistant Taylor Galusha.

Difference between task force, committee

Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, the Select Board established the task force.

The task force ran for one year, and it later wrote and presented a final report to the Select Board last fall. Among their suggestions, the task force recommended forming a permanent committee.

As Casavant described it, the task force was made up of 25 members, who primarily focused on issues regarding race. The committee has a broader focus and diversity of all kinds can be supported, she said.

Throughout the development of the committee, the task force worked with Visions Inc., a nonprofit organization aimed at educating people through innovative training tools, public advocacy and consulting models, so they can create environments where differences are embraced and utilized to benefit their community.

“The place that we started from was a task force. The task force actually did many of the things that these more traditional diversity and inclusion committees are doing,” Casavant said.

Unlike the task force, the committee will have fewer members and will exclude members who already serve on town boards and committees.

However, the committee will not have to go through this process or base its work on the recommendations of the task force, according to Casavant.

“The DEIB Committee has its own charge, which is separate from the original task force,” Casavant said.

Town officials weighed in

Town Manager Kevin Mizikar said that the committee will help the town government “excel” by ensuring that the board is composed of diverse members and that the policies and practices of the committee enables a “strong sense of belonging for all employees.”

School Committee Chair Lynsey Heffernan, who also served on the task force, said she believes that enough residents will apply to fill the vacant spots.

“This is important work. I still feel very optimistic that as a community Shrewsbury is going to step up,” she said.

If you are interested in applying to serve on the DEIB Committee, you must be a Shrewsbury resident and must submit a letter of interest and qualifications to the Office of the Select Board, or by email to selectmen@shrewsburyma.gov no later than October 18, 2022 at 4:30 p.m.

For more information https:// shrewsburyma.gov/CivicAlerts. aspx?AID=6972