By K.B. Sherman, Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – At the Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen's June 10 meeting, Selectman Henry J. Fitzgerald thanked the town's voters for participating in the June 3 special election to accept a Proposition 2 ? override. This override had been in the works since the beginning of 2014 when the selectmen publicly voiced their support for the move.
Board of Selectmen Chair James F. Kane, reading from a prepared statement, voiced the approval of the entire board for the passing of the measure that will provide $4.3 million for town schools and another $1.2 million for town roads and other infrastructure.
Kane also noted that the board is working to find a way to alleviate the added tax burden associated with the override for those town residents who live on limited or fixed incomes.
Finally, he expressed the board's continuing displeasure with the ever-greater burden of unfunded mandates imposed upon the town by the state and federal governments.
A public hearing on a proposal to grant an underground storage tank license for property at 604 Hartford Turnpike, owned by Colbea Enterprises, LLC, was postponed when certain town personnel were unable to make the hearing.
A scheduled public hearing did take place regarding application for an auction license from J.J. Kane Associates. Business owner Paul Lebreux, of Tiverton, R.I., appeared before the board to explain that the license would allow him to operate on Fortune Boulevard in the CenTech Park area. Already operating in Rhode Island, J.J. Kane Auctioneers conducts large public auction sales of equipment utilized in the power line, construction, utility, telecommunications, forestry, and transportation industries. The property in Shrewsbury would be used for the delivery and short-term storage of such equipment until that week's auction, after which the equipment would be removed by the new owners.
The police department indicated that they had no issues with such an operation, and Town Engineer Jeffrey Howland similarly stated that this proposed business site has already been reviewed by other town boards with no significant opposition. The board approved the application, pending other required approvals from the town.