Planning Board backs letters seeking grants for downtown rotary improvements and sewer rehabilitation

The Town of Westborough Planning Board voted to approve two letters of support for grant applications under the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) One Stop for Growth program: one for downtown rotary improvements and another for sewer‑line rehabilitation in the downtown area.

Town planner Jenny Gingras told the board the downtown plan team will hold a second public meeting on June 5 at 6 p.m. in the Great Hall at the Forbes Municipal Building; consultants will present build‑out scenarios, traffic flows for the rotary and zoning recommendations. Gingras said the rotary exercise will include additional public outreach and concept plans to support follow‑on engineering grant applications.

On sewer infrastructure, Gingras said downtown contains 80‑plus‑year‑old clay sewer pipe and estimated that rehabilitating the system would cost more than $1,000,000. She framed the sewer application as a priority because it would help address capacity constraints tied to the town’s current sewer moratorium. Several board members said they were surprised the moratorium had been enacted without earlier planning‑board input and urged staff to ensure the board participates in follow‑up conversations and review the upcoming report due next month.

The board approved the two letters in separate motions and directed staff to send them to the appropriate officials as part of the grant submissions. The sewer rehabilitation letter is intended to support application for the multi‑year investment needed to preserve downtown wastewater capacity and to position Westborough competitively for state funding.