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Marlborough Hudson An edition of the Community Advocate
Hudson gets $1 million to complete design of new rail trail portion By Paul Hopkins Reporter HUDSON – Hudson has earned approximately $930,000 to complete design work for two remaining sections of the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail. The bulk of the money will pay for designing the section running from Priest Street to Felton Street. Hudson will provide a partial match of up to $300,000, funds which have already been allocated by the Community Preservation Committee. Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development Pam Helinek said that while the state Department of Transportation will pay for actual construction, towns are expected to fund the design. The larger of the two grants – which amounts to $727,760 plus the town match – will bring Phase 1 (Priest Street to Felton Street) design work to the 100-percent level. The smaller grant of $203,000 is from MassTrails and will bring Phase 2, which runs from Felton Street to the town’s border with Berlin, to the 25-percent design level. Helinek is enthusiastic about the news: “These two grants present an exciting opportunity to make great progress on the design of the remaining MCRT in Hudson,” she told the Community Advocate. Helinek said the trail will provide safe access to Downtown Hudson in all directions and “connect us to multiple
‘Library of Things’ coming to Marlborough Public Library By Paul Hopkins Reporter MARLBOROUGH – Need a metal detector? Maybe a musical instrument? Thanks to grant funding from the Brigham Family Trust, the Marlborough Public Library will establish a “Library of Things.” Library Director Sara Belisle said the Brigham Family Trust awarded $7,000 to launch the new resource. In a letter to Mayor J. Christian Dumais, Belisle said she is “thrilled to be supported by the Brigham Family Trust in this initiative.” Belisle said a “Library of Things” is a collection of non-traditional library items that the community will be able to borrow. She added, “Having these items in the library collection will help build equity within our community, reduce waste, and allow folks to try items before they buy it for themselves.” Items may include a thermal leak detector, a drill set, metal detectors, a blood pressure Things | 5
Hudson receives $4.9 million in delayed local aid By Paul Hopkins Reporter HUDSON – The state’s Department of Revenue (DOR) released $4.9 million in local aid that it withheld from Hudson earlier this year. The DOR says it sees evidence the town is serious about clearing up financial matters. Finance Director Neil Vaidya told the Select
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Board that town officials met with the DOR on Dec. 5. In a follow-up letter to that meeting, Deborah Wagner of the state’s Division of Local Services said, “It was made clear that the Select Board is fully supportive of doing what is necessary to move the Town beyond this challenge.”
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