Board Weighs $5 Million Ballfield Funding Options

Select Board · Meeting of April 27, 2026

Groton Select Board reviewed a staffing gap that left zero firefighters in town during an April 14 fire and weighed funding for a $5,053,000 ballfield and playground project ahead of Saturday's Town Meeting. Deputy Fire Chief Gardner and the fire chief said the April 14 blaze off Lowell Road destroyed a seasonal cabin while the deputy chief trained in Auburn and both ambulances cleared out-of-state hospitals, leaving "zero staffing" in town; a second fire on Martin's Pond Road on April 19 displaced a library employee and her brother but was contained with two firefighters on duty. Town Manager Mark outlined three funding options for the ballfield project after bids ranged from $3.6 million to $6.1 million, warning the town could lose a $1 million state grant without full funding.

The board also appointed Linda Franceschi to the Williams-Bond Committee and approved three Friends of Prescott liquor licenses. Destination Groton pitched a new town commission to implement its "Groton 2036" vision; the board deferred a decision.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of April 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.