Middleboro Town Meeting to discuss data center ban, school roof replacement, license plate reader ban

MIDDLEBORO — Middleboro Town Meeting voters will decide on whether to ban data centers and automatic license plate reader cameras, fund a middle school roof replacement and provide water to two nearby towns at the Fall Town Meeting on Monday, Nov. 9. Here’s what you need to know ahead of time.

Voters will gather in the Middleboro High School auditorium at 71 E. Grove St. at 7 p.m. on Nov. 9. 

The Middleboro Select Board delayed the Fall Town Meeting from its originally scheduled date of Oct. 19 to add more items for voters to decide on.

Middleboro uses an open town meeting format, which means that all registered voters are able to attend and vote on the proposed articles and laws. Items typically need a simple majority of over 50% to pass, but some need a two-thirds majority. These include changes to zoning bylaws, amendments to the town charter, transfer of funds out of the town's stabilization fund and any borrowing and interests in real estate.

There are 24 items that Town Meeting will vote on.

The Planning Board is asking Town Meeting to vote on a prohibition of data centers across the entire town. Director of Planning and Community Leeann Bradley said that the proposed bylaw is a “preemptive” effort to get ahead of any potential data centers that could come to town. Read more about the proposed bylaw by clicking this link.

Town Meeting will vote on another amendment to a zoning bylaw regulating where battery energy storage systems can be built. Under this law, energy storage systems with higher storage capacities would only be allowed in areas zoned for general use.

Voters will decide on a citizen’s petition that would block the town from using Flock cameras or other automated license plate readers. The controversial technology has come under fire across the country over the past year, with critics labeling them as a privacy risk and a tool for mass surveillance. 

The Middleboro Police Department has used Flock cameras for three years and currently operates three cameras across town, with another one being out of service after it was vandalized. Police Chief Robert Ferreira said there was a “misconception about how much information’s out there” and that the cameras are a useful tool for criminal investigations.

Town Counsel told the Select Board that the bylaw, if passed, could conflict with state law or the town charter.

Read more about the citizen’s petition by clicking this link.

Town Meeting will be asked to approve funds to repair or replace the John T. Nichols Middle School roof. Structural issues have plagued the 28-year-old roof for a long time. Insulation in the roof has become saturated and shingles have become damaged and fallen off. The projected cost of the project is around $3.8 million. The town would pay $1.7 million of that. The Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Board of Directors approved a grant to cover the remaining construction costs.

The Wastewater Department is asking Town Meeting to raise $1.1 million to pay for a sewer replacement project on Wood Street between the bridge over Interstate 495 and West Grove Street. The pipe was installed in 1989 to exclusively service Ocean Spray, but it has had two failures over that time.

Voters will decide whether or not to authorize an agreement to provide water from Middleboro’s supply to Carver and Bridgewater. Middleboro previously agreed to supply water to Carver after the town dissolved the North Carver Water District. The agreement with Bridgewater was added later.

Town Meeting will be asked to raise $1.151 million to fund the remaining balance of the Bristol Plymouth Regional High School assessment. Interim Town Manager Robert Nunes asked the Select Board to delay the Fall Town Meeting to add this to the agenda. He said that the original budget for the current fiscal year did not include the $1.151 million more needed for the assessment.

Town Meeting will also be asked to raise $161,769 to erase the deficit in Middleboro’s COVID-19 Expenses Account and to amend the town’s budget to reduce indirect costs for multiple town departments. Nunes said that he wants to close out all deficits before the end of the current financial year.