Finegold Will Host Telephone Town Hall Tonight

Voters will get the chance to call in and ask questions of the state senator.

(Editor's note: The following information was submitted by the office of state Sen. Barry Finegold.) To continue his tour of listening forums throughout the district, Senator Barry Finegold will be hosting a forum on Tuesday, August 14from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. But unlike the previous events, this one will be happening in your own home. The listening forum, dubbed a “telephone town hall,” will be a conference call where Senator Finegold will take questions from listeners in Andover, Dracut, Lawrence and Tewksbury. Finegold will also be providing a wrap up of the legislative session that ended on July 31. “During the past few months, the legislature passed a number of bills that will positively affect residents,” Finegold said. “And there …

• Photos (1)

Board of Selectmen Gives Town Manager Three-Year Contract Extension

Deal will keep Montuori in Tewksbury through at least January, 2016.

If there was any doubt that the Board of Selectmen was pleased with the job Richard Montuori has done through his first three years as Town Manager, it was eliminated last night. The board voted unanimously to give Montuori a three-year contract extension, through January 2016. Montuori's current deal was set to expire on Jan. 17, 2013. Due to language in the contract, it would have automatically extended for an additional year if the board had not taken action at its July 17 meeting. "I am happy and grateful that the Board gave me the extension, I enjoy working with the board very much and all the department heads and staff as well as other public officials," said Montuori. "We have a lot to do over the next three years and I am excited …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Town Offices Now Open Five Days A Week

Starting immediately, all municipal offices will have extended hours.

(Editor's note: The following information was submitted by the office of Town Mnager Richard Montuori.)  Town Manager Richard Montuori would like to let residents know that effective July 9, 2012, Town Office Hours are 7:30AM – 4:30PM Monday – Friday. With the Exception of the following offices: Water Billing 8:30AM - 4:30PM, Administrative Services/HR 7:30AM - 3:30PM, and Veterans Services 7:30AM - 4:00PM.

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Stadium Proposal Not Dead Yet, Hearing Scheduled on Grant Application

$400,000 Parkland Grant would help pay for synthetic turf surface for new field.

Supporters of a multi-purpose synthetic turf stadium at the new high school are hoping that a state grant will be able to fund some of what voters refused to pay for in April. Three months ago, Tewksbury voters overwhelmingly shot down a ballot referendum put forth by the Friends of the Tewksbury Community Athletic Complex for a $2 million debt exclusion to fund an expanded stadium proposal as part of the new high school construction project. Now, the town has prepared an application seeking up to $400,000 from the state in the form of a Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Community Grant (PARC) from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. A public information hearing regarding the grant proposal has been scheduled …

•  58 Comments
• Photos (2)

Karyn

2:06 am on Friday, July 13, 2012

I guess I should re-phrase that so it doesn't sound like a Town side vs. School side which is not really what I meant.....and I'd have no issue if this were an educational component benefiting ALL (as in upgrading elementary schools) as opposed to a sports field for a select faction/special interest group. I think Mr. Montuori has more than enough on his plate in focusing on "looking to see if …   more ›

Town Hall Offices Will Relocate To Senior Center In July

Senior Center expected to host town officials for two years, while renovations to Town Hall are completed.

(Correction: In the original version of this story, the town offices hours of operation were mis-reported. In fact, town offices will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday starting July 9. We apologize for the error and it has been corrected in the story.) In October, 2010, Tewksbury voters approved a much needed $6.1 million renovation project for the Town Hall. After a couple of false-starts, the project is ready to move forward. This week, Town Manager Richard Montuori announced that Kang Associates have been hired to design and oversee the project. Kaffee Kang is a highly respected architect, who has been involved in municipal construction and renovation projects from one end of the state to the other. According to …

•  37 Comments
• Photos (1)

Karyn

10:38 pm on Monday, June 11, 2012

And that, Melissa, is the million dollar question........   more ›

What's Open, Closed on Patriots' Day

Most retail stores and supermarkets will be open for the holiday.

Patriots' Day (otherwise known at Marathon Monday) commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the start of the Revolutionary War. The holiday is observed Monday, April 16. It's a state holiday, but not a federal holiday. Here's a handy list of what's open and closed during the holiday (Tewksbury Public Schools are on spring vacation this week). Tewksbury businesses — leave your store's hours in the comments below.

• Photos (1)

You Ask ... Patch Answers

Why Has The Town Hall Project Been Delayed?

Turns out the answer has less to do with finance and more to do with nature.

Question: What's going on with the Town Hall Renovation? Answer: If it seems like its been two years since Town Meeting voters approved the funding for the Town Hall renovation project, well, you're almost right. In October, 2010, residents approved a $6.1 million project to both renovate town hall and protect and restore the towns historic vital records. Back then, talk was of construction starting as early as spring, 2011 and getting all Town Hall offices moved over to the Senior Center. But a funny thing happened on the way to the work getting started. It took a little while longer (several months) to get a project manager on board. But that happened in August with the hiring of CBI out of Boston. But then nature struck a blow and the …

•  7 Comments
• Photos (1)

Karyn

1:04 pm on Sunday, February 19, 2012

malcolm.....best to go to the source...all the information you need can be found here: http://www.tewksbury.net/Pages/TewksburyMA_BComm/CPC/index   more ›

A Look At The History Of The Special Act Charter

A look back on how things got to this point.

Patch Facts

5 Things You Need To Know Today: Wednesday, Feb. 1

Bits of knowledge to help you be the smartest person sorry that you couldn't make it to last night's informative public hearing on the Charter proposal.

Here are five pieces of information designed to start to Wednesday with a hop, skip and a jump and to help you be the smartest person stuck in rush-hour traffic on I-95. 1. Today's Local Weather Forecast:  According to the NWS, today there will be scattered showers, mainly before 3pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 51. West wind between 3 and 11 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31. West wind between 3 and 9 mph. 2. Quote of the Day: "My mother thought it was my brother and me (horsing) around." Firefighter Richard Hamm, talking about _the gas plant explosion back …

• Photos (1)

Positive Fiscal News For Tewksbury, As Montuori Unveils FY '13 Budget

Despite being burdened by debt payments, town manager able to restore positions without tapping free cash.

In the face of rising fixed costs and huge long-term debt, how much can someone be expected to do with an operating budget that will increase just 2.8 percent? Apparently, quite a bit. Town Manager Richard Montuori, just having received a glowing review from the Board of Selectmen earlier this month, had more bouquets tossed his way Tuesday night when he unveiled an $89.6 million budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2013. That total includes an operating budget of $85,719,059, an increase of just $2.34 million over Fiscal Year 2012. Montuori said his budget is based on level-funded state aid and will allow for: Montuori managed to do this without tapping into $2.1 million in certified free cash, something virtually unheard of in Tewksbury …

•  5 Comments
• Photos (1)