By K.B. Sherman, Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – Moira Miller was elected chair of the Board of Selectmen at the board’s annual reorganization during its May 12 meeting. Maurice DePalo was elected as vice-chair and John Lebeaux was elected as clerk. Selectman James Kane was recently re-elected to a three year term on the Board, beating challenger Benjamin Tartaglia.
Kane, in general remarks, gave a “salute” to all members of the armed forces, past and present, in recognition of Armed Forces Day on May 16.
The next item of business was a discussion on the House Budget Amendment and the Conservation Land Tax Credit. Under this program, the state “seeks to define real property interests eligible for state tax credits for those property interests deemed to have sufficient natural resources in the public interest which qualify for the Massachusetts Conservation Land Tax Credit Program (CLTC) when protected in perpetuity.”
Shrewsbury, like other towns in Worcester County, has land that townspeople wish to be preserved in its natural state, and Massachusetts encourages this practice with tax breaks for the owners. Kane related that several years ago, Shrewsbury purchased approximately 300 acres under this program, and that he encouraged other land owners to embrace the program, especially people who own 10 or 20 acres of land who have no plans to develop it. Lebeaux then moved to have the board draft a letter to the state legislature, encouraging the town’s representatives at the state level to push this tax credit plan at their end.
A discussion on changing polling places for town voting led to the suggestion that the town clerk be invited to a subsequent meeting where this discussion will be continued.
A one day all alcoholic beverage license was approved for St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, 1 Industrial Drive for a fundraising event to be held Saturday, May 16. In a discussion about an article on the town meeting warrant for the May 18 Annual Town Meeting, Lebeaux asked that in the future, maps showing roads proposed for acceptance to the town include a wider area of depiction. This proposal was adopted in a vote of 4-0 (DePalo was absent from the meeting). An item regarding the appointment of a commissioner for the Shrewsbury Housing Authority was tabled pending more applicants and approval from the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency. (http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/).