Town Manager Weekly Update - May 7, 2026
Elaine Lazarus
Hopkinton Public Library May Newsletter: https://groups.google.com/a/hopkintonma.gov/g/librarynewsletter/c/pUf2Z1EXKIE
Fire Department Receives Grants
The Hopkinton Fire Department has been awarded $1,123.77 for the Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) program, and $2,052.80 for the Senior SAFE grant from the Mass. Department of Fire Services. These grants will support a range of safety and education initiatives.
The grants will be used for:
SAFE
- Hats
- Educational materials
- Wages for classroom education programs
Senior SAFE
- Home safety tools
- Combination smoke/CO alarms
- Wages for residential safety visits
- Wages for Senior SAFE presentations
It’s Drinking Water Week! May 3 - May 9, 2026
Clean, reliable drinking water supports healthy communities, strong economies, and a sustainable future. This week, we celebrate the importance of drinking water and the people who make it possible every day.
Let’s work together to protect our water:
- Appreciate the value of clean water
- Protect our water sources
- Support our water systems
You can learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/4mw43x7m
Hopkinton Garden Club Plant Sale - May 9
The annual Hopkinton Garden Club Plant Sale is on Saturday, May 9, from 8 a.m.-noon on the Town Common. Club members will be selling annuals and perennials, hanging planters, vegetables, herbs and house plants, many grown from seed or dug directly from members’ gardens. Proceeds support the club’s town beautification work, educational programs and community initiatives throughout Hopkinton.
Friends of Hopkinton Seniors, Inc. - Annual Plant Sale Fundraiser May 16
The Friends of the Hopkinton Seniors will be holding their annual Plant Sale Fundraiser May 16, 2026 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Sale is located at the Hopkinton Senior Center, 28 Mayhew Street. There will be a variety of tomatoes, vegetables, herbs and flowers grown by the members in the center’s greenhouse as well as donated plants, all at great prices! As part of this fundraiser donations are accepted from the community in the form of potted vegetables, herbs, annuals, and perennials. Please consider donating plants you have divided from your garden. Potted plant donations can be dropped off at the Senior Center Reception Desk, in clean containers marked with the plant name, on May 14 and 15. (Please, no common green hosta, or orange daylilies.) The funds raised from this important event support Hopkinton’s Senior Center Programs. We hope to see you there!
Learn About Dementia - May 16 at 11:00 AM
On Saturday, May 16, the Hopkinton Council on Aging is sponsoring a Dementia Friends Information Session. Learn about dementia and available resources. The session is at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts, 98 Hayden Rowe, from 11 am to 12:30 pm.The session is free.
Trail Walk - May 17 at 1:00 PM
The Hopkinton Trails Club will host its next monthly walk on Sunday, May 17, at 1 p.m. The Upton State Forest heron walk will feature easy walking trails from Lake Whitehall to a heron rookery. Participants will meet on Pond Street where it crosses the south end of Lake Whitehall, between School Street and Christian Way. For more information, visit hopkintontrailsclub.com.
Artful Connections - May 19 at 6:30 PM
The next Artful Connections event is on Tuesday, May 19 at 6:30 pm at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts. This event features Japanese singer-songwriter Junko Ogawa, and Asian American poet May Chen. Sponsors include the Hopkinton Cultural Council.
Annual Town Meeting Results
The Annual Town Meeting was held on Saturday, May 2. Thanks to everyone who attended! The next Annual Town Meeting will be on Saturday, May 1, 2027. The outcome on each Article is indicated below.
1: Acceptance of Town Reports (Approved)
2: FY 2026 Supplemental Appropriations and Transfers (Approved)
3: Unpaid Bills from Prior Fiscal Years (Approved)
4: Rescind Authorized but Unissued Debt (No Action)
5: Set the Salary of Elected Officials (Approved)
6: FY 2027 Operating Budget (Approved)
7: FY 2027 Revolving Funds Spending Limits (Approved)
8: PEG Access and Cable Related Funding (Approved)
9: Transfer to Other Post-Employment Benefits Liability Trust Fund (Approved)
10: Transfer to the General Stabilization Fund (Approved)
11: Transfer to the Capital Expense Stabilization Fund (No Action)
12: PILOT Agreement, Frankland Road Solar Farm (Approved)
13: Capital Improvements (Approved)
14: One-Time Expenditures (Approved)
15: Water Enterprise Capital Improvements (Approved)
16: Sewer Enterprise Capital Improvements (Approved)
17: Costa Bros Masonry Litigation Settlement (Approved)
18: Authorization of Drainage Improvements for Hawthorne Lane Area (Approved)
19: Community Preservation Funds (CA) (Approved)
20: Community Preservation Recommendations (Approved, with the exception of item E, Lighting at Fruit St. Pickleball/Tennis Court)
21: Amend MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District (MCMOD) Bylaw (Approved)
22: Fees-in-Lieu-of Affordable Housing Unit (Approved)
23: Amend Fire Alarms Bylaw (Approved)
24: Amend Driveways Bylaw (Approved)
25: Expand Use of Police Revolving Fund (Approved)
26: Establish Revolving Fund for Municipal Aggregation Funds (Approved)
27: Establish Revolving Fund for Municipal Electric Vehicle Charging (Approved)
28: Adopt New Bylaw - Use of Trails and Shared Use Paths (Approved)
29: Require Civil Fingerprinting for Common Victualler Licensees (No Action)
30: Authorize Lease of 148 Lumber Street (Approved)
31: Disposition of 0 Woody Island Road (Approved)
32: Acceptance of Whisper Way as a Public Way (Approved)
33: Acceptance of Linden Street as a Public Way (Approved)
34: Accept Easement at 64 Grove Street (Approved)
35: Grant Easement at 147 Hayden Rowe to 145 Hayden Rowe (Approved)
36: Grant Easement at 147 Hayden Rowe to Verizon (Approved)
37: Grant Easement at 147 Hayden Rowe to Eversource (Approved)
38: Acceptance of Auciello Drive and 0 Auciello Drive, Amendment of Chapter 174, Article VI,§ 174-22 (“Minor Repair”), Authorization of Limited Appropriation and Policy Direction Related to Private Ways. (Street Acceptance Not Approved)
39: Appoint Trustees of the School Fund (Approved)account are public records unless qualified as an exemption under the
*Massachusetts Public Records Law
<http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/preidx.htm>*.