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Marlborough Hudson An edition of the Community Advocate
Vol. 50 | No. 14 | April 5, 2024
City Council halts proposal to increase senior assessor hours
All it was cracked up to be: 22,000 eggs collected at Ward Park
By Maureen Sullivan Assistant Editor
By Evan Walsh Reporter
MARLBOROUGH – A proposal on whether to increase the hours of the city’s senior assessor from 35 to 40 hours will return to the City Council after it was halted. During its meeting on March 25, council members discussed the proposal, which had been approved by the Finance Committee 4-1. When it came time for a vote, Council President Michael Ossing moved to suspend the first reading and adopt. Seven councilors voted to approve — one short of what was needed for passage. Following a brief recess, Councilor Sean Navin recommended a motion to reconsider, which was approved. The proposal will be part of the City Council’s next agenda on Monday, April 8. Eight votes will still be required to carry the proposal. Should it be approved, the extra hours would be used toward more field inspections, according to Principal Assessor John Valade. The proposal also called for a transfer of $3,653 to cover the salary increase for the remainder of fiscal 2024. The main issue was increasing the hours for one position while other 35-hour-per-week positions remain untouched. “This is a poor precedent,” said Councilor Teona Brown. “We need to take a look at the whole picture.” Councilor Mark Oram said he’s been waiting on the city’s Human Resources Department to conduct a salary survey. “I hope this is the spark that gets HR going,” he said. Councilor Kathleen Robey agreed that a salary survey should be undertaken. “This could be a conversation that the council has,” she said. Ossing pointed out that the proposal was the result of a signed agreement between the city and the union, and that it should be supported. During the Finance Committee meeting earlier this month, there was discussion about a $200,000 fund with the assessors office used for outside contractors. The committee was told that should the extra hours be approved, this budget would be reduced.
MARLBOROUGH – It took less than two minutes for 22,000 eggs to be collected. On March 30, Marlborough’s Fraternal Order of Eagles held the annual egg hunt at Ward Park. The event, which drew eager children from across the city, has been held by the Eagles for well over three decades. “It’s like locusts. You just watch the kids here and they go ‘whoop’ all the way across the field. We’ll see 22,000 eggs gone almost instantly,” event organizer and Eagles member Steve Kerrigan told the Community Advocate. To get ready for the event, the Eagles spent several hours on March 28 stuffing the eggs with 50,000 pieces — roughly
Egg hunt | 14
Local kids race through Ward Park to collect eggs. (Photo/Evan Walsh)
Hudson Public Schools spots potential solution for bus storage facility By Sarah Freedman Contributing Writer HUDSON – Superintendent Brian Reagan said on March 26 that Hudson Public Schools is closing in on a solution for its bus storage problem. At the School Committee meeting, Reagan said they have been in talks with National Development — the current owner of the former Intel property at 75 Reed Road — to potentially store the buses on the site. “It’s not finalized yet, but Len Belli, director of facilities, has been working really closely with National Development. And, we hopefully in the next couple of weeks will have a contract secured with them,” said Reagan. If secured, a contract would allow the
Hudson Public Schools to store its buses in an empty parking lot. And, while it is not “a longterm solution,” said Reagan, it could buy the district some time to find a permanent one. He said activities would still be going on at the former Intel property, but the entire acreage of the property would not be needed to conduct these operations. At the Feb. 21 meeting of the Economic Development Commission, Katie Snyder, who is the senior vice president of the development team at National Development, noted that Intel is leasing the property from National Development and could be there for up to 18 months. “We’ve identified a portion of the site,” said Reagan. Bus storage | 15