Something in the water

Welcome back!

Here’s what we have for you this week:

1. Second SPS Seat on Town Election Ballot

2. SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

3. Town Committee Digest

4. Vanderels Running for SPS; Matthews Returns Papers

Let’s get into it!

Second SPS Seat on Town Election Ballot

By the League of Women Voters of Sudbury

The Select Board Friday morning approved the addition of a second Sudbury School Committee seat to the March 31 Annual Town Election ballot, to fill a two-year term resulting from the resignation of SPS committee member Mary Stephens.  A three-year seat is also open.

The races for the two seats will be separate.  People interested in running for the SPS Committee will have to choose whether they wish to run for the three-year or two-year seat.  They must file their intention to run for one of the seats by the Thursday, Feb. 6, deadline at the Town Clerk’s office, 322 Concord Rd., during business hours.  The clerk’s office will be closed from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Two people, Kathleen Bell and Elizabeth Sues, have already pulled papers for the three-year seat, but have not returned those papers to the Clerk’s office.

Stevens submitted her resignation as a school committee member on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

The deadline for the Select Board to put that vacancy on the ballot was Jan. 24.  Beth Klein, the Town Clerk, had to formally request that the Select Board take that action.

In her request to the Select Board, Klein noted that the Select Board must file notice of an election for a vacant office with the Town Clerk “not less than fifteen days before the last day to submit nomination papers to the registrars of voters for certification, before the election,” which would be Jan. 24 in this case.  

Stephens, who was elected to the position in March 2024, cited a family health concern and decision to move out of Sudbury in her letter of resignation.  She added that she decided to resign in time to place the open position on the March 31 ballot, “to ensure that the Sudbury community has the opportunity to select my replacement.” 

There are now 14 open positions on this year’s Annual Town Election ballot. Any Sudbury registered voter may run for office. Prospective candidates do not need permission from a board or committee to run.

There is a complete list of open positions here. You can find information about how to run for office here, and resources to support a run for office here.

The period for prospective candidates to file their intention ends Thursday, Feb. 6. Nomination papers (“signatures”) must be returned by Feb. 10. 

Town Committee Digest

By Kevin LaHaise

Here’s what happened in the committee meetings this week:

Board of Health

• The Board of Health had a long discussion about the Atkinson Pool at the top of their meeting.

• The path to a reopening appears to be quite arduous and the Board of Health is taking public health quite seriously. They want chloramine levels at 0.0 parts per million in order for the pool to be reopened. That’s stricter than the 0.2 parts per million allowed by the State.

• The chloramine levels in the pool tested well above the allowable limits when the pool was initially closed by the Health Department, and the Town is still struggling to bring the levels down with shock treatments. When the pool was closed, the lap pool tested at 0.6 parts per million.

Community Preservation Committee

• The Community Preservation Committee fine-tuned the language in their articles for Annual Town Meeting.

• They also discussed potential changes to the process they use to vet applications. They are wrapping up their current cycle, but may have a future meeting to deliberate further on possible changes next fiscal year. Member Dan Carty voiced dissatisfaction with the process of submitting questions for applicants through the Planning Department staff, as well as the amount of time the committee has before its meetings to review packet materials.

Select Board

• This meeting was added so they could vote to instruct the Town Clerk to add the vacant office on the Sudbury Public Schools School Committee to the ballot for the Town Election. Full coverage in the story above.

Planning Board

• The Planning Board briefly discussed Master Plan implementation. Specifically, they were informed that the Town has engaged BSC Group to assist with economic development and planning along the Route 20 corridor. They expect to meet with the consultant in February. The Town expects the engagement with the consultant to be completed by the springtime.

• Here’s the Planning Department memo explaining the scope of the project from the Select Board’s packet for next week:

• The board voted unanimously to submit an Accessory Dwelling Unit bylaw update as an article for Annual Town Meeting.

• They held a rare executive session to discuss an appeal from a prior applicant on Harvey’s Farm Lane.

Sudbury Historical Commission

• There isn’t any big news to report - but the first hour of the meeting is almost like a virtual history tour of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.

• The commission was tasked with feedback of the draft interpretive signage that will be placed along the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. They did that, but instead of a group copyediting exercise, it resulted in colorful conversation about Sudbury’s history, train stations, and other historic assets.

• If you’re a history buff or a rail trail enthusiast, it’s worth a watch here.

Vanderels Running for SPS; Matthews Returns Papers

By the League of Women Voters of Sudbury

Allison Vanderels filed an intention (“pulled papers”) Friday to run for a newly created two-year seat on the Sudbury School Committee in the March 31 Annual Town Election. 

This is Vanderels’ first run for office in Sudbury. She has previously served as president of the board of Sudbury Extended Day.

The Select Board Friday morning approved the addition of the second Sudbury School Committee seat to the March 31 Annual Town Election ballot, to fill a two-year term resulting from the resignation of SPS committee member Mary Stephens.

The two seats are separate races because of the difference in term length. Two people, Kathleen Bell and Elizabeth Sues, have previously filed to run for the open three-year seat. 

Kevin Matthews returned nomination papers for Select Board Friday. The Town Clerk’s office must now certify at least 50 signatures on Matthews’ nomination papers for his name to appear on the ballot. 

To appear on the ballot, prospective candidates must file an intention to run, gather the signatures of at least 50 registered Sudbury voters on a set of nomination papers, return those signatures by the Feb. 10 deadline, and the Town Clerk’s office must certify those signatures. 

There are now 14 open positions on this year’s Annual Town Election ballot. Any Sudbury registered voter may run for office. Prospective candidates do not need permission from a board or committee to run.

You can find a complete list of open positions here. You can find information about how to run for office here, and resources to support a run for office here.

The deadline for prospective candidates to file their intention to run is Thursday, Feb. 6. Nomination papers (“signatures”) must be returned by Feb. 10. 

According to the Town Clerk’s office, as of 11:44 a.m. Jan. 24, the following people have filed their intention to run. An asterisk (*) indicates an official candidate whose name will appear on the ballot.

Select Board
(2 seats, 3 years)
Radha Gargeya*
Lisa Kouchakdjian*
Kevin Matthews

Board of Assessors
(1 seat, 3 years)
Trevor Haydon

Goodnow Library Trustees
(2 seats, 3 years)
Jill Caseria
Katina Fontes

Board of Health
(1 seat, 3 years)
Carol Bradford*

Park and Recreation Commission
(2 seats, 3 years)
William Granger Atkeson
Mara Huston

Planning Board
(2 seats, 3 years)
Anuraj Shah

Sudbury School Committee
(1 seat, 3 years)
Kathleen Bell
Elizabeth Sues

Sudbury School Committee
(1 seat, 2 years)
Allison Vanderels

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee
(2 seats, 3 years)
Lee Hannauer Gross
Valerie Friedholm
John Ryan, Jr.

Parting Thoughts

Buckle up for next week - there’s a lot on the Town calendar. If you’re interested in school cell phone policies, that’s on the agenda for the Sudbury Public Schools School Committee. The Conservation Commission will be talking about drainage around the swimming areas at Sewataro - continuing the theme of water management as the only thing ever discussed in Sudbury for the rest of the year.

The Select Board will be talking about Town Meeting warrant articles again. Oh look! They’re going to talk about the Pool Enterprise Fund. More water stuff! If Sudbury isn’t talking about water quality in pools, or fluoride in the drinking water, we might as well talk about pool financials.

The point is - we’re in a time loop and we’re going to be talking about swimming holes and water quality for the rest of time. At least until the Sudbury Housing Authority announces that they’ve opted to scrap their duplex plans in the Pine Lakes neighborhood and instead lease their three existing houses out to a pawn shop, a leather tannery, and Hannibal Lecter.

But there is some excitement in the weeks ahead. The deadline for warrant articles for Town Meeting is fast approaching, as is the deadline for pulling papers to run in the Annual Town Election. We’ll soon have a better sense of what 2025 has in store for Sudbury, and that’s certainly something to look forward to. Right?

Onward!