Town Meeting rejects $3 million Forest Circle land purchase
Town Meeting · Meeting of May 4, 2026
Winchester Town Meeting kills $3 million Forest Circle conservation land buy, backs literacy funding instead. Members voted 53-105 against borrowing to purchase more than 13 1/2 acres bordering the Middlesex Fells after the Select Board and Finance Committee both opposed the price tag, which speakers said could top $3 million with no firm negotiation in place. The same session unanimously approved $600,000 in free cash for a new K-5 "Arts and Letters" literacy curriculum, called "a one-time investment" tied to a two-year educator study.
A citizen's petition from George Nowell Jr. creating a volunteer transfer station data committee passed 84-65 over Select Board objections; Town Comptroller Stacy said the transfer station brings in about $2.4 million a year. A sidewalk-clearing bylaw modeled on Arlington's failed and was referred to the Select Board. Town Meeting resumes Thursday to tackle the budget.
In the full story:
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Source: the Town Meeting meeting of May 4, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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