Groton Select Board Ratifies Three Appointments, Fills Sewer Seat From Audience

GROTON -- June 29, 2026, Groton Select Board fills four vacancies in one meeting, including a sewer commissioner recruited from the audience. The board voted unanimously June 29 to ratify Dan Stoneking as water superintendent effective July 1, drawing on his experience running water departments in Winchester and Medford; to appoint Sonia Battaglia as assistant assessor after a 55-applicant search; and to name Meg Murphy of Pepperell as interim veteran service officer while the towns of Groton, Pepperell, and Littleton work to establish a shared VSO district. When no sewer commission candidates had emerged after two weeks of advertising, the chair spotted audience member Bruce Arivberg and asked on the spot if he would serve, Arivberg agreed and was voted in unanimously. Town Manager Mark Haddad separately warned the board that a $1 million federal grant, secured by Congresswoman Lori Trahan for the town's PFAS lateral project, may be at risk because the town followed state procurement law rather than federal bidding requirements, potentially forcing a rebid that would negate the grant's value against a low bid from D. Felice Construction that came in at the $4.5 million budget while six rival bids exceeded $6 million.