Upton will hold a Special Town Meeting on Tuesday, November 17th at 7 p.m. at Nipmuc High School.
There are 19 articles on the Warrant. Below are just the highlights.
- To hire an engineer to look at three options for access roads into the Stephans Farm property off of Mechanic Street and Orchard Street.
- To complete the bidding process, construction, and construction administrative phase to install a new parking off of Cider Mill Lane to access Kiwanis Beach
- Invasive Weed Control at Lake Wildwood
- Authorize a PILOT agreement for a solar company to install panels on two parcels of property located at the intersection of Route 140 and Chestnut Street
Those in favor of the proposed parking lot are thrilled with the idea of an additional 30 parking spaces. The primary intention of the new lot is to provide upper field parking access to physically challenged people who can’t make the walk up the steep hill. The new lot is designed so the physically challenged people can park on the field side and see the game from their car. Supports are strongly urging yes voters to make sure they make the meeting. The funds for the project are already approved by the CPC and both youth lacrosse and soccer strongly support this proposal.
Cider Mill Lane residents are concerned about the proposed lot. Although residents understand the town is under served by athletic fields they do not believe this project is the answer. Residents say adding a gated gravel road for vehicles to better access an existing field does not solve the greater need for more fields. They are concerned about increased traffic on the narrow Cider Mill Lane and the potential for accidents at the Cider Mill Lane, Hopkinton Road intersection.
UPTON DAILY 
Article 16: To see if the Town will vote to transfer the sum of One hundred fifty-nine thousand dollars from the Community Preservation Fund, etc.
The site Plan for the project has not been approved by The Planning Board at this time.
The 30 car parking lot has NO Handicapped spaces in this location. This is a gravel parking lot for anyone to park in, The location of the three Handicapped spaces is from the Kiwanis Beach Road entrance up the existing access road 1 (one) Handicapped Van parking space provided 2 (two) Handicapped spaces provided. This proposed gravel lot is a parking lot for daily use.
Listed below is the exact wording from the engineers report stating the purpose for the project:
Upton’s Recreation Commission proposed the project with the goal of providing additional parking to relieve traffic and parking congestion on Kiwanis Beach Road and in the Kiwanis Beach parking lot. The proposed project will also provide for accessible parking at the end of the existing, one-lane service road and spectator viewing from the proposed gravel parking lot on the hill between the soccer/lacrosse field and the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company easement.
No Traffic Study has been done to date.Cider Mill Lane residents do have Safety concerns for everyone traveling to this location and the volume of traffic it will create.
Read through the warrant – thanks for posting. Curious to know why we provide a vehicle for the town manager? Is that standard operating procedure for town managers? Seems odd.