This Week's Winchendon News
Community Info Session with Department Heads Provides Citizens with a Wealth of Information, Answers Some Questions
Department heads listen to Mr. Wood reply to a citizen's question. From left: Town Clerk Wendy Stevens, Building Commissioner Rick Gervais, Dept. of Public Works Director Patrick Wood, Senior Center Director Miranda Jennings, Beals Memorial Library Director Manuel King, Town Manager Bill McKinney, Police Chief Dan Wolski, Fire Chief Tom Smith, Parks & Recreation Coordinator Shaina Cunningham, Collector/Treasurer Katie Medina, Town Accountant Anna Noyes, Planning & Land Use Coordinator Nicole Roberts, Superintendent of Schools Charlotte King, and Health Agent Jim Abare.
Photo copyright Town of Winchendon
On Monday, April 6, the second Community Information Session with heads of the town's major departments was held in the Town Hall auditorium. The first session had convened last October, and was not recorded or broadcast. Monday's session was a little more formal, with the Department heads sitting at the tables in front of the room with microphones, while WinchendonTV live-broadcast and recorded the entire session. Around 30 citizens attended the session, which ran for nearly two hours.
After greeting the audience, Mr. McKinney explained that the questions would be "very informal". Citizens could come to a microphone up front, but they could also just raise their hand and speak from their seat, and the question would be repeated for the recording. Each Department head then gave updates on their own department.
Health Agent Jim Abare began, saying, "Real quick for me. Last year we had around 114 food permits, expected the construction of 25 septic systems, and reviewed 32 septic system plans. We expect this year to be about the same, if not more, with all our new summer festivals and all the food service. It's usually very busy in the summer and fall." He added that the Board of Health will be updating its schedule of fees, which should add about $6,500 to town revenues. They will be updating their tobacco and vaping regulations. "Lastly, we have our annual roadside cleanup coming up," he said. "That'll be May 2 from 8:00 to 2:00. It's a Saturday. As in past years, we're gonna have a dumpster out here on Pleasant Street. The more people we get, the better. If you want to do your street, just walk up and down, or if your street's a little too busy, a little dangerous, you can always go to another street or the bike path, whatever you want. The more people we get, we really look forward to filling the dumpster. We certainly have enough on the roadsides to do that. We just need the volunteers to help us out."
Superintendent of Schools Charlotte King spoke next. The Murdock High School's Tournament of Plays last week was well attended, Supt. King said. "I thought all four grades did amazing. And this is a long standing tradition, it was really great to see so many community members and students there supporting their fellow grade level winners or runner ups. Our spring sports are underway. We also are looking forward to our eighth graders going to Washington, DC next month. We are in the midst of MCAS season, so although the graduation requirement was taken away, we still administer MCAS testing from grades 3 to 10. So that will go on from now until the beginning of June, sporadically. Toy Town Elementary recently had an art and science show. This was well attended, and we will be bringing some of that artwork to decorate the Town Hall, which we're very excited about. The district is currently working on a strategic plan, which will be a five year plan looking to begin in the fall for the next five years. That is coming from a variety of very extensive surveys that many, many stakeholders in the community took last fall. So thank you to anyone that completed that, and we are looking to have a draft to bring to the school committee in late May or early June. We also, as many of you know, are looking to complete an MSBA project that has been approved, it will go to a vote in May, and we are looking to put new roofs on all three school buildings and also doors and windows at Memorial."
Planning and Development Coordinator Nicole Roberts picked up next, explaining that the town has an Economic Development Task Force committee meeting twice a month. It now has a Facebook page where residents can find useful information (www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581589814425). There is also a new website that will be live soon with the domain "Why Not Winchendon?" That will be at https://whynotwinchendon.com/. If residents would like to put something on these pages, they can email Ms. Roberts (nroberts@winchendon-ma.gov).
Ms. Roberts went on, "We're in the process of writing the Green Communities grant, which is due the end of this week. We're working with the police department and working with the schools to update the pneumatic controls at the High School. We're also going to write a grant for Hillview business park to put the road in." Hillview Business Park is on Rte 140 next to the Mylec company. It's been divided into four lots, of which one has been planned for a very large cannabis production (not retail) facility for quite a while, and the other three lots are owned by the Winchendon Redevelopment Authority. To proceed with these lots, an access road must be built. "So we're writing a grant through Mass Development for that," Ms. Roberts said. She also said that the town has been talking to the owner of the plaza that includes Dunks and Dollar Tree about improving the parking lot striping and handicap parking space marking to be ADA compliant.
Anna Noyes, the town accountant told the audience that all filings are complete, FY 2025 has been closed out and Free Cash has been certified. They are waiting for the annual audit to be scheduled.
Treasurer/Collector Katie Medina said that excise tax bills will be going out this week and are due in 30 days, on May 7. FY2025 Quarter 4 real estate taxes are due on May 4.
Recreation Coordinator Shaina Cunningham continued, saying, "[Parks & Recreation] impacted and drew over 13,000 attendees across 50 events in this community. We had a regional draw across North Central Massachusetts and reaching all the way up into southern New Hampshire. We had several signature events throughout the season that attracted between 1,500 and 4,500 attendees...We recently piloted a youth program, a drama club, that's taking place every Monday, and they hope to have their main stage show on the amphitheater. So we love that community collaboration with the local school system. Just an idea of our sponsorship growth: in 2025 for sponsorships, we had $14,400. This year for sponsorships, we've reached $21,750 so that's a 51 percent growth in sponsorships." Parks & Rec is funded through grants, town funding, event revenue, sponsorships and donations, she said.
Next, Fire Chief Tom Smith said that the Fire Department handled over 2,300 calls last year. Between 70 and 75 percent of those were ambulance related, but there has been a recent increase in fire calls. Some of them have been sizable fires, especially a recent house fire on Mill Glen Road and the empty mill building on Lincoln Avenue Extension. Each time the initial crew responding was only three people. "Obviously, with the mill fire, there was a lot to do," he said. "The police and the firefighters worked well together on getting the residents evacuated from those homes that were behind the factory. It definitely is something that as we move forward, as far as these calls go, and the size of these calls, having the three people is something that is just very difficult for our staff. We rely heavily on incoming people from other towns, off-duty firefighters coming in, whether it's on overtime or call back, and it's something that we are working on as we move forward."
The department has gotten a $18,900 grant for firefighter safety equipment, and $20,000 to put towards a UTV (Utility Task Vehicle) to assist with rescues on the bike paths and other places an ambulance can't reach. It will also cover fairs and the amphitheater events. The department is also writing grants for fire safety, school safety and senior safety programs. "The guys enjoy working on the grants. I think it's a pride thing, as far as they go, that over the last 10-12 years, we've brought in over two and a half million dollars in grants for the department. And most of these are all items that the burden's not put on the taxpayers. It's additional funding." The department is following the strategic plan it put together and seeing how it's meeting those benchmarks.
"As far as the fire station project goes, the officers and the department have discussed it and we have decided we are not planning to put a article on this spring due to the town's financial situation at this point," Chief Smith said. "However, we do want the community to know that this is not a project that has disappeared, hasn't been solved. We just felt that with everything going on in the community, that a little break this year was something that we felt was the right thing to do, so that we are not putting that forward. However, we will have an informational handout for people so they can still see the information on the project. Basically, we're doing the best with what we've got, and we look forward to continuing to serve the community as far as their emergency needs."
The baton passed to Police Chief Dan Wolski next. He began by talking about how the department is preparing for the upcoming retirements which he has mentioned in past updates. They have hired the two people at the top of the Civil Service list. One will be graduating from the police academy in August, and the other is currently employed as a full-time officer at the UMass hospital campus in Worcester.
Chief Wolski also talked about the fully grant-funded Drug Task Force made up of Winchendon police officers. "There's four people on the team, and one of those folks includes our detective...our philosophy is that you need to have a multi-faceted approach," Chief Wolski said. "On the one hand, you need to have a compassionate approach to that epidemic. And we do. We have, for instance, the post overdose support team, when folks suffer an overdose and they survive it, an officer responds to the home with a social worker and interacts with that individual and tries to connect them with resources. We think that's a critical component to the responding, particularly with folks that just have substance abuse issues. But on the other hand, we also have to be concerned with the fact that the folks that are dealing this poison on our streets, the drug dealers and all of the deleterious effects that are associated with drug dealing and drug activity."
The team goes out on four-hour time blocks, doing proactive motor vehicle stops and surveillance of areas where drug trafficking is suspected. The objective is to collect evidence and information for warrants. "We're the only community that I'm aware of that's pursued such a novel idea, where an individual police department has a task force of its own, so we're proud of that," he said.
Finally, Chief Wolski talked in detail about the process involved in upgrading the HVAC systems in the police station, which was originally built in 1908 and converted into the police station (from a courthouse, at that time) in 2010. This has involved a series of stages and a lot of grants. Green Communities funded four high-efficiency propane boilers in 2019. Now the department and town are pursuing funding from the Robinson Broadhurst Foundation, Green Communities and the state 911 Grant program to update the rest of the system.
The next speaker was Beals Memorial Library Director Manuel King. He started by urging citizens to fill out the community survey that the library is doing right now. "We're looking for input from all Winchendon residents," he said. "The basic idea is to gather feedback and ideas regarding how the library is currently serving the community and how we can improve our offerings." Residents can fill out the survey on paper in the library, or online at www.bealslibrary.org/survey. He then talked about upcoming events. There will be a number of film screenings, both movies and documentaries, all free to the public. There will be an English Tea and Celtic Music concert on Saturday, April 11 at 11:00 a.m. During April vacation week, on Thursday, April 23, there will be a "Crafternoon" for kids at 2:00 p.m. On Saturday, April 25, the third in the series of Community Conversations about what kind of community Winchendon wants to be will meet in the Senior Center. [For more details, see the Community Connector calendar, below.]
Mr. King said that the library is seeking grant funding to upgrade the bathroom on the library's top floor to a fully accessible ADA-compliant bathroom. Much of the current Director's office will be sacrificed for this bathroom and a local history & genealogy room. He emphasized that all of this will come from grants, none from the town. "We've already received a $10,000 grant from the American Library Association. We're seeking another grant already written from the Rural and Small Libraries Association for $12,500 and then from the municipal ADA improvement grant, which is run by the state. We're seeking the rest of the construction funds."
Finally, Mr. King invited everyone to participate in the library's Summer Reading Club, which is for adults as well as kids. [More information about this will be in the Courier soon!]
Senior Center Director Miranda Jennings was next to speak. The Senior Center works in four different areas, she said. In Nutrition and Food Security, the Center serves about 600 lunches a month, and delivers over 10,000 lunches a year through the Meals on Wheels program, which also serves to stay in touch with and check on home-bound seniors who live alone. The Center also delivers food from its food pantry. In Recreation and Lifelong Learning, the Center offers classes in line dancing, yoga and strength training. Art classes are run through a partnership with Gardner Area League of Artists (GALA). In Advocacy and Outreach, the Center provides social services and support to seniors and their caregivers. Seniors can get advice on Medicare benefits, help with housing applications and assistance with filing taxes. The Center is also a voice for the Commission on Disabilities. Finally, the Center has greatly expanded its transportation services. Rides have increased over 120 percent, from around 250 to 1,100 per month, in Winchendon alone. The transportation program is regionalizing with Ashburnham. About 8 percent of Winchendon households utlitize the transportation program, and the goal is to reach all of the 13 percent of households that don't have access to personal transportation.
There will be a Health Fair at the Center on Thursday, May 14, from 10:00 to 12:00, Ms. Jennings said. The Youth Commission will be putting on the annual Taste of Winchendon on Saturday May 9 at The HUB, and residents can get "passports" to have stamped at local businesses which will earn free raffle tickets at the festival. "We're also embarking on a strategic plan through the Senior Center, but also really as a town, to look at what a 'Livable Winchendon' would look like, an age friendly Winchendon that would work for people of all ages, with a care of course for residents with dementia and other specific needs, but we really want to make this a real town wide thing," Ms. Jennings said. "So keep an eye out for that, because we're going to be asking for community participation, and we're seeking some grant funding for that as well."
Department of Public Works Director Patrick Wood had a lot of news. He started by describing the spring clean-up on the roads that the DPW is doing, including filling potholes, repainting lines and marks, and street sweeping. The Mass Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will fund repairing the substructure of the Brown Street Bridge through the Accelerated Infrastructure Repair Program. The DPW is looking at the non-functional EV charging stations at Grout Park. The Beech Street Infrastructure Project should start this summer. The DPW is looking into extending the rail trail as far as the New Hampshire state line so the trail will be continuous from Gardner. On the paving docket this year are paving Independence Drive, upper Central Street, part of Baldwinville Road from Town Farm to Mill Glen Roads, and Alger Road from Rte 202 to Hitchcock. There are also some sidewalks being put in, and a small water line extension. The town received funding for a mobile speed/radar feedback sign that will be on a trailer and can be moved around to different places in town. Finally, the DPW will be adopting an online permitting system, with more information coming in the future.
Building Commissioner Rick Gervais was the next in the row. "Last year, 2025, for a little town with 11,000 plus people, we've done 956 permits, which is pretty close to a good size community bigger than ours," he said. "So we've been very, very busy as a small town with projects. We've seen a steady increase in the permits for residential improvement. And we've got a number of commercial projects in the works coming up." The multi-family inspection process has started, and the veterans housing conversion at the Poland and Streeter Schools is still underway, after some issues with the winter weather.
Last to speak was Town Clerk Wendy Stevens, who began, "We're wrapping up the [town] census. We're still getting forms trickling in, but we'll be sending the street list to print April 15." She went on, "A big push this last week has been dog licenses. We had over 600 dogs that still were not licensed by the deadline of March 31, so my assistant, Deb, has been calling everybody we've got phone numbers for and in the last week, we've registered about another 150. So we've got about 470 dogs still to be licensed. Nomination papers are circulating for the state primary and the state election. So we've been certifying those, and we're just preparing for the town election and Town Meeting."
Before opening the floor to questions, Mr. McKinney said, "I do want to mention that the town election on May 4, there will be three ballot questions, three debt exclusion override questions that has to do with the school roof projects that the superintendent mentioned. So they are three separate questions. And as per state law on a debt exclusion, there is no dollar amount listed on the ballot. The borrowing authorization, if they were to pass at the ballot, would be done at Town Meeting on May 18. So in order for the debt exclusion to pass, it requires a majority vote at the town election. It requires a two thirds vote at Town Meeting."
The first citizen question asked about the proposed veterinary clinic on Main Street near Lickity Splitz. Ms. Roberts said that the owners were doing soil tests and figuring out if they would connect to town water and sewer, or put in a private well and septic.
A citizen asked about a recent School Committee discussion about taking $568,705 in Circuit Breaker funds from the town's Free Cash. Mr. McKinney explained that Circuit Breaker money was a refund the district gets from the state when Special Education costs exceed a certain threshold. The funds can't be carried over more than a year or they go into the town's General Fund. The schools are asking for the amount to be appropriated back to them.
A question was asked about the intersection of Ash and Water Streets (where the big billboard is, and both streets meet Spring Street). Mr. Wood said, "We recognize that this is a poor intersection, and it really got highlighted over the last couple of years when the High Street Bridge got closed. So now we're using that intersection a lot more than we ever have. So I think about three months ago, we reached out to our engineering consultants, and we asked them for a cost estimate for not just that intersection, but two other major ones. One of them would be the River Street and Front Street intersection, and then the Glenallen [and Spring Street] intersection as well. We called it the Route 12 Corridor Intersection Redesign. So we've got a proposal from them to do a preliminary study on redesigning those intersections. If we pull the trigger on that, the idea would be to have them do some conceptual designs for us on those three major intersections. We'll let the community and the public know what the designs look like, get your feedback on it, and then try to systematically improve them with funds that we get available through Chapter 90."
A resident of Hitchcock Road said that the recent construction of Doyle Estates left piles of dirt on the rail trail and blocks the access of emergency vehicles. Mr. Wood said that he hadn't been aware of that and it would be checked out immediately.
There were a number of questions about litter and trash around town, and how it could be dealt with. One citizen asked why the police don't cite people more aggressively for littering, and Chief Wolski said that people usually don't throw trash when there's a police car behind them. A citizen who sits on the Charter and Bylaw Review Committee rose to say that the committee will recommend increasing the fines for littering. Other questions involved the replacement of old (and possibly defective) water meters from homes (Mr. Wood said they're doing that as quickly as they can get access to the homes, which sometimes is not easy) and billing for overdue or unpaid ambulance fees, which Chief Smith has talked about in numerous previous meetings. A suggestion was made that the Senior Center or CAC might start a fund to help people pay the ambulance bills, and residents could contribute to those funds with donations.
A citizen came forward to ask that absolute numbers of votes be displayed and recorded at Town Meetings, instead of or in addition to the percentage amounts only. The percentages alone don't give any clue as to how many votes were actually cast, so there's no way to tell if for some reason, some people's clicker votes didn't transmit and register.
A citizen commented that holiday decorations such as lights and tree ornaments were still up, and lighted, even though it was April, and they need to be put away. Another citizen commented that the weather has been unusually bad this winter and until recently it was probably difficult and/or unsafe for crews to be attempting to take down ornaments and lights. Mr. Wood said they'll get to it as soon as possible.
A citizen asked why the town is paying for electrical service to its buildings when the town is supposed to be getting electric credits from the solar fields. Mr. McKinney explained, "We do get credits on the various town buildings, but with National Grid, you have to let them know how you want your credit applied. So say, if the library has $1,000 credit but they're not using that electricity, then it's got to be disbursed somewhere else, whether it be to Town Hall or DPW. So we're working with a representative from National Grid to look at our schedule, to see how we divvied it up, because at one point things might have changed, or the library was open more, the library is open less or so. We're looking at consumptions, and we're looking at how to disburse on who can utilize the credits, rather than just having the credits sit on one bill, because you can't take credits from one bill and apply them to another bill. Once they're there, they're there. So you just have to tell National Grid how you want them spent. So we're working on that."
There were several questions about various dilapidated buildings in town and what can and can't be done legally to put the buildings into tax title, take them over or compel the owners to take care of them. It can take years for a tax taking through Land Court. The owner of the RHI Building on Central Street claims he is still looking for grant money to fix it up.
There were several questions about the effects of salt used on the roads that has gotten into people's wells. There are not many resources for owners of private wells whose wells are contaminated.
A citizen asked about the W.R. French landfill capping project on River Street, of which very little has been heard recently. Mr. Wood said, "As far as I know, during winter time, they had stopped transporting any material to the landfill. Don't quote me on this, but I feel like they're very, very close to the elevations that they need to be at. They might have to look at the numbers and see if they're going to be bringing in enough material to meet their final elevations. But from the last conversations that we had with them, it sounded like they were going to start entertaining capping that landfill this year. So I don't have any kind of specific schedule from them or how much more traffic they expect to bring to the landfill."
The citizen emphasized that the project needed to be finished, we need a schedule, and the public needs to know what's happening with it. Mr. McKinney said, "We'll reach out to them and find out what the next steps are, and let everybody know. It might not be at the next Board of Selectmen meeting, but the one at the end of the month." Ms. Roberts added, "It depends on available material too, and job site projects as well. As far as the availability of dirt."
A citizen asked about things they had seen on Facebook about an underride. Mr. McKinney explained what an underride is, saying that a Proposition 2-1/2 underride is a ballot question, not a Town Meeting vote, and can only be put on the ballot by the Board of Selectmen unless a town's charter has a mechanism to put it on by citizen petition.
The final citizen question involved parliamentary procedure at Town Meeting, asking whether a rule could be made that a certain amount of time would be allowed for debate on a motion before motions to immediately make a drastic amendment or move the question were entertained. The reply boiled down to a question of Robert's Rules of Order and how the Moderator handles them. A motion would have to be made and voted on saying that other motions could not be made before a fair debate on the original motion (that is, the article itself).
The session adjourned after almost two hours. The video of the session can be viewed on WinchendonTV at https://winchendon.cablecast.tv/internetchannel/show/367?site=1.
Winchendon Fire Department Responds to Second Major Fire Within Two Weeks
The Winchendon Fire Department posted a press release on April 3 about a second major structure fire within two weeks of the fire that leveled a dilapidated mill building on Lincoln Avenue in the early hours of Friday, March 20. The Department posted,
"On April 3, 2026, at approximately 9:35 a.m., the Winchendon Dispatch Center received a 911 call from a resident at 10 Mill Glen Road reporting a house fire. The occupant was able to self-extricate from a second-story window prior to the arrival of fire crews.
"Upon arrival, the Winchendon Fire Department immediately requested a second alarm, along with a tanker task force, due to the residence being located outside of the municipal hydrant district.
"Winchendon Engine 1, staffed by three on-duty personnel, was the first apparatus on scene. Crews confirmed that all occupants had safely exited the residence and initiated an aggressive fire attack. Fire conditions were initially encountered in a rear utility room, which crews knocked down from the exterior before advancing inside. Interior crews consisting of Captain Andrew Harding, Captain Marty Scott, and Firefighter Eric Boudreau, faced heavy fire and high heat conditions, particularly on the second floor.
"As additional resources arrived, including off-duty Winchendon personnel and mutual aid companies, coordinated ventilation operations were conducted on the roof, significantly improving interior conditions. During the establishment of a sustained water supply from responding tankers, crews were temporarily withdrawn from the structure as a safety precaution. Once a reliable water supply was secured, crews re-entered the building to complete fire suppression and overhaul operations.
"As of 1:00 p.m., a Winchendon engine company remained on scene assisting the District 8 Fire Investigation Unit.
"Mutual aid assistance was provided by the Gardner, Templeton, Ashburnham, Westminster, and Rindge Fire Departments. Tanker support was provided by Jaffrey, Phillipston, and Fitzwilliam Fire Departments. Ashby Fire Department provided station coverage for the Town of Winchendon during the incident.
"The Winchendon Fire Department extends its appreciation to all responding mutual aid communities as well as the Winchendon Police Department, Winchendon Dispatch Center, Winchendon Building Inspector, and the Winchendon Water Department for their assistance.
"One firefighter was transported to Heywood Hospital with minor injuries."
According to the Assessor's Database records, the gambrel-roofed home was built in 1941 and had been owned by the same family since at least 1990.
Citizen Brings Concerns About School Budget to School Committee
At the School Committee meeting on Thursday, April 2, citizen Yvonne Senecal came forward during the public comment period to express concerns about the impact of the school budget on the taxpayers of Winchendon.
"It is with great concern that I speak tonight," Ms. Senecal began. "I have attended multiple budget meetings that have been disappointing on every level. There has been no effort to contain spending. We are obligated to spend $21,715,806 by the state. Enrollment has decreased by 65 students as projected for Fiscal Year 27 for an enrollment projection of 1,221 students. But the bottom line for me is that we are still a failing system. More money doesn't mean a positive outcome. We need to focus our efforts on educating our children, to give them the well rounded quality education that they deserve.
"The average median income in Winchendon is $55,000. This compares to a median household income in Massachusetts of $103,000, so the ask is substantially more for our residents. For years, concerned residents have been asking for exploring regionalization, and now an ad hoc committee is forming. Consolidation of students to one campus doesn't even get discussed in any meaningful manner. The town budget pays for busing and should have a greater voice in the future.
"Now, this committee is asking for a warrant article to take Free Cash from the town. Do you realize that the town budget has a $634,994 shortfall? Residents are facing not only increases in property taxes, reassessments, utilities, water rates are increasing by 23 percent and sewer by 13 percent and the transfer station is also increasing. The ask is intolerable and irresponsible. The Winchendon School Department needs to step up and make some tough decisions, be fiscally responsible, transparent and improve student outcomes. Asking for more money is not the answer."
Winchendon Candidates Set for 2026 Town Election
Candidates have been confirmed for the 2026 Town Election, which will take place on Monday, May 4. The following Winchendon citizens have stepped up to run for seats on elected town boards:
Melissa Blanchard
Barbara Zisk
School Committee (two open seats)
Alissa Campbell
Michael Gaynor
Karen Kast-McBride
Yvonne Senecal
Monique Connor
Board of Health, 2-year term (one open seat)
Barbara Zisk
Board of Health, 1 year term (one open seat)
Paula Whitaker
Housing Authority
Nancy Romanowski
