April 30, 2019 - Hopkinton Hillers Boys & Girls Track & Field took down Holliston and positioned themselves well to claim the TVL Large Title.
© Tom Nappi

We are mandated by the town’s water management permit issued by the State, to limit nonessential outdoor use, to protect stream flow, aquatic life and ensure sustainable drinking water. The town is required to implement a MANDATORY State of Water Supply Conservation from May 1st , through September 30th, each year, pursuant to the town’s water use restriction by-law. Under chapter 199-6 Section F; Lawn sprinklers may be used for lawn watering, two days per week, outside of the hours of 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. All other outdoor non-essential use is permitted daily outside the hours of 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. People residing in precinct one and three may water on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Precincts two and four may water on Wednesday and Fridays. There shall be no lawn watering on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. This only applies to those water services connected to the municipal water system.

A normal lawn only needs about 1” of water per week. If rain is expected, or has just occurred then your system should be shut off for the remainder of the week in order to avoid unnecessary and wasteful water use. You should check to ensure that your system in not dispensing more then what is needed during a dry week as well. Due to the twice per week restriction, the common belief is the sprinkler system needs to run for extended hours to maintain a green lawn, which is not the case. Your irrigation company can set your sprinklers to maintain the minimum amount required. It is only with each individual water user’s diligence toward efficient water use, that we will be able to maintain safe water levels for drinking and fire protection in case of prolonged drought. Please plan accordingly if you are trying to establish a new lawn, so that you may comply with these regulations.

The following are the penalties for non-compliance with the Town’s water use restriction by-law. Any person violating this by-law shall receive a written warning for the first offense. For the second offense, any person violating this By-law shall be liable to the Town in the amount of $100.00. For any violations beyond the second offense, water service may be suspended. Fines shall be recovered by inclusion as a charge on the next scheduled water bill.

The Water Department will be keeping users apprised of the current restriction through several methods. There are signs located throughout town at the following locations.

Location of Water Use Restriction Signs

Main St. @ Exxon
West Main @ Wood St. West Bound
Wood St. @ Westboro Line East Bound
Pond & Spring Intersection
South & West Main Intersection West Bound
Main @ Pleasant East Bound
West Main @ School West Bound
Ash @ Park South Bound
Hayden Rowe @ Tennis Courts South Bound
Hayden Rowe @ Chestnut North Bound
11. East Main St. @ TJ’S West Bound

We will also be utilizing the town websites, newspapers, cable TV and the CodeRed phone call system for emergencies. You can also follow us on Twitter @hopkintonwater for instant department updates. In addition you can subscribe to our notice feed here: https://groups.google.com/a/hopkintonma.gov/forum/#!forum/watersewer to receive up to date information.

For a listing of your precinct please go to: www.hopkinton.org/clerk/street.htm

For tips on minimizing water use outdoors, please visit our web site @ www.hopkinton.org/water/conservation.htm

If you would like to know if rain is on the way or how much rain we received so you can shut your systems off, you can follow @hopkintonWX on Twitter or check the weather station readings
@ www.hopkintonwx.com/ click on weather station

We thank you for your cooperation in helping to preserve our most important natural resource!

As we approach the start of our roadway resurfacing season I would like to thank the residents of Hopkinton for their continued support of our Pavement Management Program. We had a very successful 2018 season and hope to continue that in 2019 as funding allows. Each street that is on this year’s list has been inspected and evaluated to determine which treatment method is best based on its current condition. This will help ensure that we are maximizing the use of our roadwork funding.

Every year our goal is to begin Pavement Management work as soon as school ends in June and finish in September when school begins. We will post updated construction dates as we move forward with each project.

Under the Town of Hopkinton’s Road Opening Permit Policy, No permit will be granted for a period of 5 years on newly paved streets except in the case of an emergency. If your street is on this year’s list and you are considering having any utility work done to your home that would require the road to be cut I would recommend contacting the appropriate utility company and schedule the work to be done before June 17th, 2019. This will ensure that you get the work you need done before we begin resurfacing that street.

Here is a list of streets that are currently scheduled to be resurfaced this year.

Ray St – Full length
Eastview Rd – Full length
Partridge Rd – Full length
Pheasant Hill Rd – Full length
Wildlife Dr – Full length
Chestnut St – Full length
Amherst Rd – Full length
Beach St – Full length
Duffield Rd – Full length
Knoll Rd – Full length
Lakeshore Dr – Full length
Third Rd – Full length
Yale Rd – Full length

Once work begins on each project please expect delays, seek alternate routes when possible and plan accordingly. The DPW appreciates your patience and cooperation during this 2019 construction season.

Sincerely,
Mike Mansir
Highway Manager

BOSTON— Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland) appointed three members to serve on a newly-created Citizens Commission to advocate for a potential constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United, with the goal of curtailing corporate political donations.

“Big money has been shown to have a corrupting influence in our politics, and I am excited to see the work of the new Citizens Commission get underway,” said Senate President Spilka. “These three individuals are experienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated to public service. I have every confidence they will ably advocate for Massachusetts’ interests when it comes to the regulation of Citizens United.”

Noval Alexander serves on the Framingham School Committee and Framingham School Building Committee. He is a substitute teacher in the towns of Needham, Wellesley and Natick. Alexander is a decorated retired Army veteran who served 25 years in the Army Reserves and two tours of Active Duty.

Jay Marsden serves as Chair of the Holliston Board of Selectmen. He is an estate planning lawyer at Marsden Law P.C. and works as a financial planner at Solares Hill Advisors.

Costas Panagopoulos is a Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University. He previously directed the Center for Electoral Politics and Democracy at Fordham University.

Massachusetts is the first state to create a Citizens Commission. Appointments were made by Senate President Spilka, Governor Charles Baker, Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, Attorney General Maura Healey, and Secretary of State William Galvin. The application process was public and on a website created by the Governor’s office.

All appointees to the Citizens Commission serve on a voluntary basis without compensation. A report with recommendations for constitutional amendments is due by December 31, 2019.

A 2018 ballot measure, which passed with 71.4% of the vote, created the non-partisan, 15-member commission.

Residents of the downtown area who would be impacted by the Main Street Corridor Project recently received certified letters from the town manager, Norman Khumalo, asking them to donate easements on their property in order to facilitate construction on the proposed downtown project. The town has asked for easements on more than 15% of our property.

While the donation request letters included copies of plans showing the proposed easement areas, there was no mention of any specific proposed uses of the easements. Will property owned by downtown residents be used to store construction equipment, as a place for project workers to park their vehicles, or for some other yet to be determined purpose? It is troubling that the town manager has asked residents to donate private property rights without offering any specifics whatsoever.

In an attempt to persuade owners to give away their property rights without fair compensation, the letter noted, “The lower the overall Project cost the less money the Town has to use from the Article approved at the May 2019 Annual Town Meeting.” To the best of our knowledge, the May 2019 town meeting has not yet occurred. The communication from the town manager is sloppy at best. At worst, it is a deliberate attempt to be misleading. Neither is acceptable.

Over 90 parcels of land are impacted by Town Meeting Warrant Article 52 and over 200 easements are required for this plan.

Please vote no on Article 52. The article asks that the town reauthorize the Selectmen to acquire easements over all or some of these 90+ parcels, “by gift, purchase, eminent domain or otherwise.” Although the Selectmen and Town Manager may argue that a similar article was passed at town meeting last year, the reason that this article is up for vote again is that the 2018 article was passed by a simple majority when a 2/3 vote was needed under M.G.L. Chapter 40, Section 14.

The fact that town officials have spent nearly a decade working on this ill-conceived project is not reason enough to continue efforts to bring this project to reality.

Please attend Annual Town Meeting on May 6, 2019.

Sincerely,

Ward Family
67 Main Street

Nancy A. Dyer, 84, of Framingham, passed away after a lengthy illness on Saturday, April 27, 2019. Born in Boston, she was the daughter of the late Miriam Hanscom and Leslie Swain. She was the wife of the late Samuel Dyer.

Nancy enjoyed cooking, gardening, traveling and time spent with her husband at Cape Cod. She is survived by her nephew, Bruce “Chip” Creswell and his wife, Kerry of Hopkinton, her niece, Karen Creswell Sherman of Goochland, VA; 2 great-nieces, 3 great-nephews, as well as several great-great nieces and nephews; 2 cousins, and many friends. A thank you to all her nurses and very special thank you to her hospice volunteer. She is predeceased by her sister, Shirley A. Creswell.

Funeral services will be held privately with family at a later date in Cape Cod. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to MSPCA, mspca.org or Dementia Society of America, dementiasociety.org. Arrangements are under the care of the Chesmore Funeral Home of Hopkinton, www.ChesmoreFuneralHome.com

Just a friendly reminder that Fourth Quarter Taxes are due May 1, 2019.

Taxes can be paid at Town Hall, 18 Main Street until 4:30 pm.

You can also pay your taxes online: www.hopkintonma.gov > Pay My Bill > Real Estate > search using only your bill number OR street address

There is no charge to bay online with a checking account.