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Like a squirrel in traffic
Welcome back!
Talk about a busy week.
Technically two weeks, because some of the news traces back to last week’s municipal meetings. Either way, there’s a lot of important stuff to keep track of right now… no matter how distracting this absolutely incredible stretch of weather has been in Sudbury.
Here’s what we have for you this week:
Apply For A Sudbury Cultural Council Grant
Sudbury Closes Out Fiscal Year 2025 on Strong Financial Footing
Sudbury Public Schools Roof Project Estimates Far Exceed Initial Projections
Sudbury, MA: A Golfer’s Wooded Paradise?
Park and Rec to Go Big On CPA Funding Applications
Atkinson Pool Renovation Moving Right Along
Help Light the Town Purple to Commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Giving COVID a Finger
Sudbury 250 Upcoming Events and Celebrations
Sudbury PMC Kids Bike Ride – Rescheduled for September 21
Let’s get into it!
Apply For A Sudbury Cultural Council Grant
EVENTS
By the Sudbury Cultural Council
For more information, and to apply, visit: https://massculturalcouncil.org/local-council/sudbury/
Sudbury Closes Out Fiscal Year 2025 on Strong Financial Footing
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
Sudbury closed the books on Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) with stronger-than-expected revenues and careful spending, putting the town in solid financial shape as it moves into FY2026 and begins planning for FY2027.
According to a memo (Page 74) and Select Board presentation from Finance Director and Assistant Town Manager, Victor Garofalo, total revenues reached $126.8 million, about $4 million above budget projections. Collections outperformed expectations across several areas, from motor vehicle excise taxes and building permits to meals taxes and investment income. On the spending side, town departments came in under budget, returning more than $1.6 million in unused funds.
“Fiscal Year 2025 ended on a positive note, with strong revenue growth and careful management of expenditures,” Garofalo wrote. “Together, these results position the Town in a strong financial footing as we enter FY2026 and begin planning for FY2027.”
Sudbury Public Schools Roof Project Estimates Far Exceed Initial Projections
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
Town Manager Andy Sheehan told the Select Board this week that cost estimates for the Josiah Haynes Elementary School and General John Nixon Elementary School roof projects have nearly doubled since their original ballpark projections, climbing from $6.3 million to $11.7 million.
Sheehan explained that the increase reflects updated construction costs, inflation, and additional requirements such as solar readiness, sprinkler upgrades, and accessibility improvements under state building codes. “The prices did come in significantly higher than the original estimate,” he said, noting the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) requires conservative estimates on the high side to prevent future overruns.
Under the current plan, the Town’s share would be about $7.1 million, with MSBA covering the balance of eligible costs. Roughly $3 million of that would go toward the Haynes roof and $1.6 million toward Nixon.
Sudbury, MA: A Golfer’s Wooded Paradise?
FEATURES
By Kevin LaHaise
In golf, it’s usually bad news when you find yourself in the woods. But that may not be the case in Sudbury.
Tucked behind a fishing pond, and bordered by majestic pines, there’s a little-known golf practice facility in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Don’t get your hopes up for Top Golf-caliber technology and amenities, and don’t expect to hit any full-length shots, if any shots at all. (More on that later.) But Sudbury’s golf facility has one key feature that no others can claim: the peace and quiet provided by the land at Sudbury’s Camp Sewataro property.
Whatever the practice facility lacks in modern golf technology, it more than makes up for it with one-of-a-kind features. But first… there’s some driving range history to cover.
Disappearing Golf Facilities
If you have been to TJ Maxx in the Sudbury Crossing plaza on Route 20, you were standing on land that was once occupied by a driving range and mini golf course. That business, the Bonnie Brae driving range, hasn’t been around since the fall of 1983, when it was closed to make way for the construction of the Sudbury Crossing shopping plaza.
Park and Rec to Go Big On CPA Funding Applications
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
During the September 17 meeting of the Sudbury Park and Recreation Commission, the commissioners discussed applications for the upcoming Community Preservation Committee (CPC) cycle. The CPC reviews applications for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding, which is a combination of a local tax surcharge and an annual state match in participating communities.
Sudbury Weekly previously covered an application from the Assistant Town Manager, Victor Garofalo, to fund the addition of additional play structures at the SMILE playground near Haskell Field. That application is moving forward based on the discussion on September 17. But the commissioners were also informed of three other recreation-themed applications, which could tee up major field projects in the years to come.
The first was an application to develop designs and complete permitting and bid documents for a renovation of Davis Field. The proposal referenced the recently-completed Fields Needs Assessment, which called for consideration of paving the parking lot, making a connection to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, enhancing Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility, adding two natural grass multi-purpose playing fields, installing an irrigation system, and safety lighting (not athletic lighting). However, the exact changes would be determined by the design project itself, and construction would require a CPC application in a future year.
Atkinson Pool Renovation Moving Right Along
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
Renovations at Sudbury’s Atkinson Pool are progressing smoothly, with officials reporting that the project is slightly ahead of schedule on some elements, and within budget.
At the September 17 meeting of the Park and Recreation Commission meeting, Finance Director and Assistant Town Manager, Victor Garofalo, confirmed that the new pool roof is complete, with only minor sheet metal work remaining. “The good news is, we came in right at the cost, no change orders for that roof whatsoever,” he said.
Combined Facility Director Sandra Duran noted that construction crews were removing old skimmers and pool tiles, and the general contractor continues work inside the facility. Outside, temporary fencing around the dumpster and sidewalk is being taken down this week, reopening more of the parking lot to residents.
Help Light the Town Purple to Commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month
EVENTS
By The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable
Giving COVID a Finger
FEATURES
By Rev. Eric Wolf
Exploring the intersection of sacred and secular.
There are some life lessons that would serve us well to learn early, and when we learn them later – mostly because of multiple mistakes that we can only make and learn from later, it becomes mighty painful.
Never Whittle Toward Yourself
My COVID Finger is not the one you might imagine.
It was a simpler time. We were about six weeks into lockdown – you know, that moment of innocence when we knew it would be longer than a couple weeks but still believed, “the end must be in sight!” Our au pair introduced me to sauteed enoki mushrooms about a week before. I was hooked and had made them about four times already.
I was holding the mushroom in one hand as I was cutting the bottom of the stalk with a butter knife in the other. I felt confident. A little downward pressure is all it took the previous times, and as a former Master Grill Operator at Waffle House after high school, I’m pretty damn handy with a knife. I frowned as I hit a particularly tough portion about halfway down and gave a good pull on the knife – or at least what I thought was halfway.
Sudbury 250 Upcoming Events and Celebrations
EVENTS
By The Sudbury 250 Committee
Sudbury, MA (September 18, 2025) The Sudbury 250 Committee cordially invites Sudbury residents of all ages to our fall 2025 programs. The events are uniquely Sudbury and deeply rooted in the American Revolution. Each fun and festive program is FREE to the public and offers valuable insight into our nation’s history.
Sudbury PMC Kids Bike Ride – Rescheduled for September 21
EVENTS
By Tyler Steffey
Parting Thoughts
Buckle up for a fast and furious end to the year in Sudbury. For whatever reason, a lot of the storylines have a link to the State government.
The Healey-Driscoll administration recently announced that the Sudbury and Maynard crime labs will be consolidated into the new lab being opened in Marlborough. That will set up a whole bunch of conversations about what to do with the lab building and land in Sudbury. Sudbury Weekly covered that news back in July, but did not get any answers from officials about plans for the property if the operations were moved to Marlborough.
Meanwhile, the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is likely headed towards some sort of grand opening/ribbon cutting sometime this fall. That was a looooong time coming, but the Sudbury section of the Mass Central Rail Trail has come to life in what seems like no time at all. Either way, there’s growing resident unrest regarding road crossings and traffic signals, and maybe even horses according to this week’s Rail Trail Advisory Committee meeting. Pick an acronym, any acronym, for State agencies involved in various aspects of both rail trails. DOT, DCR, LMNO. (Okay, LMNO isn’t a state agency… but it’s fun to say three times fast.)
Anyway, a grand opening event for the BFRT is being coordinated with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and could potentially happen sometime in late September or early October.
And finally, the Town is in the early stages of planning repairs to Sherman’s Bridge with the Town of Wayland, apparently at the behest of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which is going to contribute funding to the project. The Town of Sudbury launched a page with all the information and appears to be geared up for significant public outreach for the project. There’s a workshop scheduled for October 9. Details here.
This might come as a shock, but intergovernmental collaboration isn’t always smooth sailing, and it gets complicated quickly.
Suffice it to say… there’s a lot to follow in Sudbury in the months ahead.
Onward!