Selectmen Will Discuss Town Common Fees

The topic was introduced on Tuesday night after budget concerns were raised by Parks and Recreation Department director Pat Savage and Parks and Recreation Commission chairman Kacy Kaviston.

  The question of whether outside groups should pay for using the Town Common will be continued as a topic at the next Board of Selectmen meeting following a discussion brought to the Board by Parks and Recreation officials on Tuesday night. Parks and Recreation Commission chairman Kacy Caviston told the Selectmen that the Common was now taking up 10 percent of the department’s budget while making up only 2.5 percent of the total land area within the department’s responsibility. However, the tipping point came from a recently installed irrigation system and increasing fuel and equipment costs that have not been accompanied by increases in the department’s budget. Caviston and Parks and Recreation Department director Pat Savage floated the …

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You Asked, Patch Answers

What's Up With That Blue Tarp Canopy on the Common?

Welcome to our latest "You Asked, Patch Answers", where we answer the questions of Westford Patch readers.

  Those driving onto the corner of Boston Road and Main Street yesterday might have noticed a blue tarp canopy over a part of the Town Common. For those who don't know, this is the Grange Fountain, which is being sandblasted, primed and painted. The fountain was a gift to the town of Westford from the Westford Grange and was originally used as a place where horses could drink water when it was first built in 1913. This renovation project is being jointly sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department and the Common Restoration Project, with work being done by New England Restorations of Bridge Street in Graniteville. Donations to offset the expense of the restoration are welcome and should be directed to Common Restoration Project, PO …

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[POLL] Religious Displays On The Common

Our poll question for today relates to religious displays in public areas.

The holidays are here in Westford, and with it also comes Christmas scenery, such as a nativity scene near the cannon on the Town Common. Our question for you today comes to whether placing a religious display and how it relates to the beginning of the First Amendment of the U.S Bill of Rights. Is placing the nativity scene a violation of the First amendment's prohibition on the establishment of a religion discussed in the First Amendment? Would removing it be a violation on the free exercise of religion also discussed in the First Amendment? Should other religions also place their displays on the Common for the holidays? And if so, what about non-religious groups? Or, should no group or religion be allowed to use the Common during the …

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9/11 Bench Coming To Town Common

The Bench was approved unanimously by the Board of Selectmen last week.

During last week’s meeting, the Board of Selectmen laid the groundwork for a group of local citizens looking to install a 9/11 memorial bench near the time capsule on the Common in advance of date’s tenth anniversary. The bench, which was paid for through donations into the Westford Remembers 9/11 Memorial Fund at Northern Bank, was approved unanimously. The only concerns stemming from the bench’s potential affect on decorations on the Common for the holidays, which were quickly allayed after testimony after a brief discussion. Additionally, the Selectmen also approved the closure of Lincoln Street from 8:00 a.m to 10:30 a.m on Sunday, September 11 for a memorial being held on the common.  

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