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Marlborough Hudson An edition of the Community Advocate
Average quarterly sewer bill projected to increase by $30 By Sarah Freedman Contributing Writer HUDSON – The Select Board approved the water and sewer rates for the 2025 fiscal year at its June 17 meeting. With increases of 5 and 16%, the average resident will see a $7 increase in the quarterly water bill and a $30 increase in the quarterly sewer bill. The intent of increasing the rates is to build capacity for the debt service payment due in fiscal 2026 for the phase two wastewater treatment plant upgrade and to cover cost for contract operations of the plant starting July 1. The rates were set as effective as of May 15, 2024. For the Water Enterprise Fund, an estimated total rate revenue of $5,138,952 would be generated, while for the Sewer Enterprise Fund, a total rate revenue of $6,331,098 would be gained for fiscal 2025. The water rates range from $8.20 to $9.85 per 100 cubic feet for usages up to 1,400 cubic feet and at a limit of 15,000 cubic feet and above. The sewer rate is billed at $13.24 per 100 cubic feet of water usage. Select Board member Diane Bemis thanked Department of Public Works Director Eric Ryder for “letting us know well in advance” of the possibility of the rate increases. She said, “We knew that this was coming.” Select Board Chair Scott Duplisea said with a topic like water and sewer rates, “there’s a lot of questions, as there should be.” He asked Ryder to explain the rates and how they were Rates | 4
Vol. 50 | No. 28 | July 12, 2024
Resident seeks details on Marlborough veterans By Maureen Sullivan Assistant Editor MARLBOROUGH – More than names on monuments, more than faces on banners — to Matthew Sargent, those from Marlborough who died while serving in this nation’s armed forces deserve more. He wants to collect and preserve the stories that go with the names and faces. “There’s more than just a name to the monument,” said Sargent, who’s a lifelong resident. Sargent’s search for stories began in 2011, while he was working for the U.S. government. He was a civilian on board a Navy vessel off the coast of Italy when he learned about the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, near Anzio. “I asked who from MarlborVeterans | 5
Matthew Sargent reads the names of those from Marlborough who died in service on Memorial Day, May 25, in front of City Hall. (Photo/Maureen Sullivan)
Senior Center seeks to revamp lunch program By Maureen Sullivan Assistant Editor MARLBOROUGH – A grant from the Cummings Foundation will help the Marlborough Senior Center recharge its lunch program. Earlier this summer, the center received a $75,000 grant, over a three-year period, to hire a chef and offer in-house lunch items twice per
week. “It will allow walk-in service and make it much more user friendly,” said center Executive Director Trish Pope. She said when the senior center first opened in 2015, the kitchen was run by a center regular in a “quid pro quo” arrangement – lunches prepared at the center in exchange for the regular
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