Select Board Appoints New Park Commission Member

Select Board · Meeting of March 2, 2026

Groton Select Board questioned a 30 percent assessment hike from a regional health agency and appointed a new Park Commission member by a 5-4 joint vote. Nashoba Associated Boards of Health Executive Director Jim Gareffa told the board the increase followed the 2023 closure of its visiting nurse division and the looming expiration of a federal nursing grant in June. Board members pressed on why costs rose even as staff shrank from 85 to 14 people; Gareffa said Groton pays $7.69 per capita in assessments against a $17.56 statewide average.

The joint board seated Jack Petropolis on the Park Commission until the May 19 election. The town manager separately said $2 million is "sitting in the SRF that I can't spend" amid a PFAS water project financing snag involving $12.2 million already borrowed against a $16.7 million authorization.

In the full story:

• The Full Story
• Why It Matters
• Key Motions & Votes
• Source
• Groton's community access TV: Select Board meeting, March 2, 2026
• The complete report: 870 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of March 2, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

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