Open Space Committee needs mission
By Catie Foertsch Community Reporter

Westborough - Open Space Committee (OSC) Chair David Freed went to the selectmen July 17 to ask for a mandate or mission for his committee. A search of the town's charter and Town Meeting records has not turned one up. At the meeting, Freed explained how his committee operates.

"We wing it," Freed said. "We tackle issues as they arrive."

The OSC is a nine-member committee with representatives from the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Recreation Commission, along with five at-large members. Several OSC members have served for years, Freed said, and are passionate about open space in Westborough.

Although the OSC was formed at the 1987 Annual Town Meeting, town records do not include a mandate or mission for the committee. Freed said a mission would make it easier for the committee to attract new members.

The OSC is beginning to look at coming up with a use plan for the 24-acre open space parcel at 169 West Main St. that the town accepted at the Annual Town Meeting in May. Selectman Leigh Emery, who serves on the OSC, said now seemed an appropriate time to ask for a mission.

Selectman George Thompson asked Freed to survey mandates for OSCs in other towns. Emery suggested that the OSC might contact the state Department of Capital Management, which manages the state's buildings and properties.

Freed said he would work with OSC members and interested residents to draft a statement of purpose, and would bring that statement to the selectmen.

OSC appointment

Freed also requested that the selectmen not reappoint OSC member Evelyn Arnold, to give the OSC a chance to solicit other applicants for the position. Freed said that while Arnold was "a very sweet lady," she had been on the OSC for about 20 years and the OSC needed a fresh perspective. The OSC would advertise for new members through the Charm Bracelet e-mail list and in local papers, he said.

Freed said the OSC had not done much advertising for a replacement for Arnold.

Asked by the selectmen whether Arnold knew that Freed did not wish for her to be reappointed, Freed said he had been unable to contact her as she did not respond to phone messages.

Selectman Lydia Goldblatt said it was unfair to not reappoint Arnold when she had responded to a letter from the selectmen's office by stating that she wished to be reappointed, and did not have the opportunity to attend the meeting and speak on her own behalf.

The selectmen voted 3-1 to hold off on Arnold's reappointment, with Goldblatt voting against.

State health care

mandate

One of the provisions in the state's new requirement that all residents have health insurance is that municipalities must off er part-time employees the option of paying for their insurance through their town paychecks. Although these employees are not eligible for town insurance, they can purchase insurance through the new Commonwealth Connector (CC) on a pre-tax basis.

At their July 17 meeting, the selectmen approved a plan to off er qualifying Westborough employees the ability to pay for CC insurance through their town paychecks.

Part-time employees must work 64 hours per month to qualify for the CC plan, which is optional.