Good Morning, Burlington!

The Select Board meeting last night began and ended with a tribute to Al Fay, the longtime public servant, firefighter, and Burlington institution who passed away last week after a brief battle with cancer at the age of 88. Services will be held for Al on Wednesday, January 10, at 10:00 AM, at St. Margaret’s Catholic Church, with visiting hours this evening from 4-7 at Sullivan’s Funeral Home.

Pigs to Populate the Common this Summer

Last night, the Select Board approved the Sculpture Park Committee’s request to bring pigs to the Town Common from June 1 through September 1.

The Sculpture Park began in 2020 with a $10,000 initial investment by the Nordblom Company, and many other local businesses have partnered with the Park to continue its operations as it has hosted two installations and is preparing for its third. Town Meeting also approved $20,000 in funding last year.

In an effort to become more self-reliant in advance of needing to relocate, the Sculpture Park will be holding Pigs on the Common this summer, where local businesses can adopt and decorate a pig sculpture that will be placed on the Common from June through Labor Day. Following that period, the pig would go to the business, and the Sculpture Park would create a map residents can use for a scavenger hunt. Sponsorship dollars would go toward park operations and possibly toward relocating, as the new police station is planned to extend into the property that currently houses the Sculpture Park.

Why pigs? Because at the time of Burlington’s incorporation in 1799 (225 years ago!) pig farming was the town’s primary industry.

Be on the lookout for more information about this fun and innovative event!

Also at Select Board:

• Burlington welcomed its two newest police officers, Cody Davison and Byron Lara (forgive me if I’ve misspelled this; the Internet was no help with this one!). The officers began on January 8 after graduating from the Academy. Officer Davison finished 3rd overall, missing the number one spot academically by only two points and received special recognition by Academy staff.

• Burlington will hold early in-person voting and no-excuse vote-by-mail for this year’s local election, per the Board of Registrars recommendation.

  • Last town election: 40% voted in person the day of the election. 25% were early in-person, and the remaining 35% were vote-by-mail.

  • Voter turnout remains at 13-15% for local elections, 45% for primaries, and 87% for presidential elections.

  • Why can’t we combine the local election with other elections? First, towns are required by state law to hold their local election in the spring. Second, if we tried to align the local election with a primary the town would have to hold two separate elections in parallel, which provides additional confusion and no cost savings.

  • Registered voters will receive a postcard offering vote by mail; be on the lookout for this opt-in paperwork if you wish to vote by mail.

• Return your census! Ten percent of them have been returned so far. This allows the town to clean up voter rolls as required by the state.

• The so-called “millionaire’s tax” brought in over $400,000 for Burlington to use for roadway paving, a 40% increase over the previous year.

Today in Burlington

Municipal Meetings and Community Events

• 8:00 AM - Ways & Means Subcommittee TH1 Subcommittee will meet for the first time this year to discuss the financial articles on the Town Meeting Warrant. They’ll also discuss town debt service and projected capital projects. (Town Hall Main Hearing Room)
• 6:00 PM - Human Services Committee - The resource directory is the main topic on the agenda, as well as the mission statement. (Virtual)
• 6:30 PM - Fox Hill School Building Committee will meet briefly ahead of School Committee to vote on a few items, including additional site explorations, geothermal test well and a hydrology study. (BHS & Virtual)
• 7:00 PM - School Committee will discuss the School Climate Survey and a tuition increase for the BECC preschool, among other items. (BHS and Virtual)
• 7:00 PM - Board of Health will hold a hearing about an animal keeping violation on County Road, hear a report on the nuisance condition in the parking lot at 111 Middlesex Turnpike (the parking lot full of water near Staples), and discuss the FY25 BOH Budget. (Town Hall Main Hearing Room and Virtual)

Sports and Activities

We’ve got track and basketball on the calendar today as Varsity track takes on Wilmington at the Track at New Balance in Brighton and our basketball teams take on Belmont. Girls host the Marauders, with JV game at 4:30 and varsity at 6:00; boys travel to Belmont for a 4:15 freshman game, a 5:45 JV game, and a 7:15 varsity game.

That’s all for today. Have a great one, Burlington!

Nicci

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