This Week's Winchendon News
BOS Initiates Ongoing Discussion About the Future of the Town Communications Committee
At the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Monday, July 13, Board Chair Andrew Beauvais introduced, under New Business, "a discussion regarding the current status and the future review of the Communications Committee." He began, "Communications is one of the biggest things that we struggle with just across the board. One of the reasons for bringing this forward, just as a preliminary discussion, was this was one of, if not the most common thread from [the recent roundtable meeting of town board and committee chairs], all of the various board and committee chairs felt that communication, both between the boards and committees, and also the departments, and all of the aspects in the various communities in town, we could do more to improve and to work on that."
Board member Audrey LaBrie said, "In my tenure here on the board...it seemed to me that the main focus of the Communications Committee was to negotiate the contract with Comcast, and I don't think it really went much beyond that. So I really appreciated seeing this on here, especially going back to our early conversation about let's look at all the committees and commissions, and what we have in town, and and revitalize them, change as we need to."
Mr. Beauvais said, "as I mentioned, the preliminary purpose is to just begin board-level discussions regarding the current status, purpose, and future direction of the Winchendon Communications Committee. The intent is to review the information that's currently available to identify questions that require further research or input, and to determine an appropriate process for evaluating the committee's future.
"A little bit of background for those that may not be aware, and I actually found this to be quite interesting because I was unaware that it's a seven-member committee appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Members serve a three-year staggered term, and their current published charge is to assist in expanding local access programming and the communications with the residents of the community.
"From the available records that I could find, it was originally established on June 16, 1975, as the Communications Advisory Committee. So they've been around for a little while. However, back then when they were established, it was a significant focus on local access programming. Modes of communication and information gathering has significantly changed since 1975, of course, modern examples including the town's website, online services, social media, email, digital communications, live stream, and recorded public meetings, etc. So I think that we should consider whether the Committee's current charge, structure and responsibilities remain appropriate for the town's communication needs."
Ms. Labrie said that in 1975, she remembers learning how to use IBM punch cards for computers. Technology has changed drastically in the last 50 years.
Mr. Beauvais went on to list current concerns with the Communications Committee. "Lack of quorum," he said. "They seem to be unable to currently maintain a quorum and cannot conduct regular business meetings, through no fault of their own. And the folks that do still remain, I believe, there's two or three of seven. A big shout out to those folks for hanging on and remaining, but unfortunately, they cannot meet...considering all boards and committees reorganize after Town Meeting, they have not had the ability to [elect a current Chair]."
So, the current membership is outdated, Mr. Beauvais said, and the committee's charge is outdated and very broad. It doesn't clearly identify any recent goals, deliverables or recommendations produced by the Committee, because they haven't been able to meet for a year. "But does the town still need a communications committee?" he asked. "I think the obvious resounding answer is yes."
"Perhaps it's not called a Communications Committee, but what is it? So, if so, what problem should the Committee be responsible for helping the town solve? Does the existing charge adequately reflect the town's current communication needs? I think we've already established that. Is a seven-member committee still the most practical structure? I say perhaps not," Mr. Beauvais said.
Board member Erika Eitland said, "I think the seven-member committee structure.. we say it all the time, all these boards, commissions, committees are all volunteer-based. So when you have a seven-member committee, what it allows is that if whoever can make it, they have quorum. So a five means that you only have the buffer of maybe two people being out, where there's just a little more flexibility in seven.
"I also feel like it requires an intergenerational group...going back to the Community Conversations piece in thinking about livability and those domains, communication and information is one of those domains within it. But what do our sort of older adults within our community need versus the way that this digital era is changing and rapidly, and the misinformation, AI, all of those pieces. So to me, I feel like the seven-person committee gives them the flexibility to meet and make quorum somehow.
"I think there's value in that, but I also think it allows for more diversity of skill, perspective, value. Just seeing Dani Cutler come forward for the Economic Development Task Force, to me having Dani on say, a Communications Committee is valuable from some of the different expertise that she would bring to that."
Ms. Eitland went on to say that she could imagine the Communications Committee having people who could take something that Town Manager Bill McKinney mentioned earlier in the meeting, how to get information out to the public about the new tax bills, and put the information out in as social media posts and in other formats that would reach more people. Tasks like that could be handed over to the Communications Committee.
"Are we the ones to propose something new and draft that and bring that forward?" Ms. Eitland asked. Mr. Beauvais said yes, they are. Ms. Eitland said, "The remaining members of the communications committee, I would like to see them."
"Glad you mentioned that because after this preliminary discussion, my intent was to invite them to a future discussion," Mr. Beauvais said.
Ms. LaBrie said, "Under suggested outcomes, you mentioned that making sure they have a voice."
Ms. Eitland suggested, "changing the scope allows more people to feel like they have a place at this. Because if I read this, you know, local access programming and the communications with residents of the community, I don't know if I would see myself in it."
She went on, "I think it's not capturing the visual, the digital, the fact that we're thinking about this all from what's written in a visual thing, but what about auditory announcements and other things for people who can't see? And are we making sure we have alt text and things on images and stuff that we're putting out? I think there's actually people from the Commission on Disability who could help us, be a part of this? So, can you fill those seven roles with appointees from some of our commissions and committees who are maybe not elected, but say we want you to be a part of it. Like, Dani, you're a representative from Economic Development Task Force. Renee's got people."
Mr. Beauvais said that he liked the thought, but sometimes people on boards feel strong-armed to serve as representatives on groups outside of the town, such as the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission. "You know you don't want to ask even more of volunteers, so it's a balance," he said.
Ms. Eitland said, "In this case though, if the goal of balancing the Communications Committee is to get the word out about what the town is already doing, it is in every commission's, committee's, whoever's best interest, to at least be in shared conversation. So even if we're with Manuel from the library and saying here's our big list of juicy updates and things, can you help us make it beautiful? At least they're in conversation. So I think no, we don't ask more. But this is ensuring that the work that they're doing is being heard, appreciated, understood, or resources are being accessed that they're all creating anyway.
"Like the Master Plan Implementation Committee, we were doing a lot of work. We were putting together information and decks and analysis, and nobody really saw it other than the Committee, unless we came and presented to the Board of Selectmen. So I think this is a chance to mix it up a little bit and fill those vacancies quickly."
Mr. Beauvais agreed with that, and said they need to redefine the charge and the purpose, which might take several meetings to refine, with feedback from current members.
He went on, "That's one of my recommended next steps: is just confirm the current status and who the current members are, and to invite input from them. One thing about volunteers, burnout happens, especially when it's an unpaid and sometimes, let's be honest, thankless position. I think we can all attest to that. But we do it because we believe in this town and its potential and the residents, and so the more we can include, going back to the conversation that happened earlier about the VolunteerHub and getting people engaged, et cetera, it's very important we keep that momentum, keep that discussion alive.
"The one thing I hesitate is putting all of this solely on volunteers, and the reason for that is, we're looking at it right now, and the reason it breaks down because the torch is sometimes passed or it's dropped and it's not carried forward. So I feel like one thing that would be worth considering is, and this would come down to day to day. So this would be up to the Town Manager to decide. But having a liaison that's on payroll in Town Hall that can ensure that the work of the Committee, whether the the composition of members change or the charge changes, that there's somebody designated that can ensure that it continues on forward and not falling apart."
He concluded, "Should the committee have specific annual goals or deliverables rather than a broad ongoing mission? What should the committee's relationship be with the Town Manager, town staff, departments, boards, and committees? And finally, what input should be requested from the remaining current or recently active Committee members before the Board considers any changes? That's really all I have. So I would just like us to all start thinking about what do we want to do? Do we completely scrap what exists and start with a completely new committee, a new structure, a new charge? Would that be easier to do? Or do we work with what's currently in existence, and then make modifications."
Ms. LaBrie said, "My initial thought for more discussion is it might be cleaner to start fresh. I did a quick Google search, different names for a town communication committee, and there's all kinds of options out there. But one that kind of struck me, I know that quite often in police departments, they have a PI officer, a public information officer, whose responsibilities are to talk to the people, get the word out, let let them know what's going on. So maybe a public information and communication committee or something like that. And I don't think what we have is enough to build off of. I think we need to start fresh."
Ms. LaBrie added that they should bring in the existing members to get their input.
Mr. Beauvais said, "I think it's worth inviting them. Not requiring their attendance, of course. You can't require it, but if we can, I'd certainly like to invite them to the next meeting, and if they choose to come, I would like to hear their thoughts. But do keep in mind we are all trying to work together here. But I wouldn't want that to prevent us from moving forward if nobody does choose to participate...so it is within our purview to make these changes."
This was the last agenda item and the meeting segued into the second Public Comment period. Renee Eldridge came forward to say, "So I wanted to, if I may, circle back to what you're all speaking about the Communications Committee. I did inquire with one of the current or present members, and just it was shared, that there's really nothing to share, so I just want to give you that. And as far as reaching out to other people to be on this, I think youth are very important. You spoke to the AI, right? And if you're going to hold something at 4:00 that would give the youth the advantage to be there, so that's my recommendation. We always want youth at the table, and the seniors. I think they would love to be able to share what's going on, and we would love to have people that we've learned or know that have some type of hearing or visual disability to be able to contribute. I love the idea of having someone from each committee be a part of that because I think that's important."
The current, or at least, last elected, Chair of the Communications Committee is/was Inanna Arthen, who had attended the roundtable meeting of committee and board chairs the previous week. The agenda item about the Communications Committee was "a last minute addition" to the agenda, according to Mr. Beauvais, and the Communications Committee Chair was not notified about it or invited to attend the BOS meeting.
Ms. Arthen and Committee member Shaina Cunningham gave an update on the Communications Committee to the Board of Selectmen on Monday, September 8, 2025, which the Board apparently forgot about immediately, as it was never mentioned again. The video of this meeting is on WinchendonTV at https://winchendon.cablecast.tv/internetchannel/show/291?site=1 and the Communications Committee update starts at 0:21:00 on the video.
DPW Assessing Fines on Residences With Old and Non-Functional Water and Sewer Meters
At the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Monday, July 13, Director of Public Works Director Patrick Wood explained that the Water and Sewer departments will be assessing penalty fees on users who have not allowed access to replace outdated meters in their homes despite repeated attempts.
"So this is our endeavor to swap out the old T2s, as they're commonly known, in some of these residences," Mr. Wood said. "I think we have about 300 still kicking around town. At this point, the ones that are still in the residence houses are not functioning. We're not able to read them. So for years, at this point, we're taking estimated reads. We've had multiple attempts over the last few years to try to get in and swap them out as best we could. Sent out a few letters, but the remaining 280 or so probably just really need to to come out sooner than later. So the idea is trying to avoid any kind of water shutoffs. So we're thinking that a softer approach is probably to assess a fee for water and sewer users until we can swap out and get them a functioning water meter."
Water bills would be going out the following week, Mr. Wood said, so he wanted the fees to go into effect immediately. There would be no advance notice to the affected users, because the department has been trying to reach them for some time now.
Customers will have until the billing due date to schedule an appointment for the replacement, and the meter swap would have to be completed no later than 20 days after the billing due date, to avoid the penalty. Once the penalty is assessed, there will be no refunds.
The fees, assessed per quarter, will be $75 for water, and another $75 for sewer, $150 for users who have both utilities.
Mr. Wood said, "There was no way to come up with a good calculation for what should the fee be. It does take a lot of time in the office. It takes our guys, they go knock on the door, see if they can get an answer, and if they do, then they have to go in to manually read them. If we don't get any of that in the office, we have to do a lot of math and estimations, and it does take up a good chunk of our time. And of course, on top of that, we don't have accurate water usage, that's the bottom line."
There is no cost to the homeowner for meter replacement--users do not have to pay for their meters. They simply have to cooperate with the town in allowing access to their property. Mr. Wood explained, "We come in, takes about a half an hour, and we take your old meter out, give you the new meter. Scheduling, we can usually get you in within a week, unless we have a lot of people calling in. Maybe we're one week out, but for the most part, it's a pretty simple process, and we just need to get access to your basement. So that's all we need."
Once the new meter is providing accurate readings, the department may find that they have been over-charging or under-charging that user. If the charge has been underestimated, the next bill will include a correction. If usage has been overestimated, the user will be credited for their overpayment.
The Board voted to approve the new fees, effective July 14, 2026.
BOS Hear Updates on Mabardy Capping, Projects Around Town
Water, Ash and Spring Streets intersection
Photo from Google Street View
At their meeting on Monday, July 13, the Board of Selectmen heard updates from the Town Manager and DPW Director about a number of projects happening around Winchendon.
Town Manager Bill McKinney gave the Board a timeline for the Mabardy landfill capping project off of River Street which has continued for several years now and which is reportedly close to its completion. Mr. McKinney said that W.L. French, the firm doing the work on the site, should now be finished bringing in COMM97 fill for the capping. That should have finished by June 30, he said.
"It was asked when they are supposed to complete, and that date they've given me is November 17th," Mr. McKinney said. "So according to their schedule, which was as of June 30th last week, they would have drilled the gas venting wells for the rest of the month. They'll be installing the bedding layer, and then liner installation will be going on around the same time. The geocomposite installation should be done by August 25th. The diversion berm installation should be done by October 27th, the topsoil installation November 10th, and the hydro seeding November 17th. So this is something we can put on the website as well to keep people informed of what's happening."
(The Mabardy landfill reports are found, rather counter-intuitively, under the Zoning Board of Appeals tab on the town website--and Clyde the AI does not tell you this. The Mabardy page is at https://www.townofwinchendon.com/418/Mabardy-2021-to-2026-Reports, for those looking for it.)
Later in the meeting, Department of Public Works Director Patrick Wood was asked about a number of ongoing projects in town. Residents have noticed the street sweeping going on, Mr. Wood said. "There is a lot to it, so he's taking the time to show them how to operate the machine, where to hook up the water, where to dispose of everything. I think they started on Elmwood. They did some of Maple last week, and they're going to be targeting this week, they're going to get down by the bridge by Beech Street, get that cleaned up, and they have their routes that they're going to be doing throughout the rest of the year. It's a long process. I will share with you same thing that they shared with me, that the bridge in front of Beech Street constantly gets sand. So we we recognize that we're going to do it once, might look good for a few days, after a couple rainstorms, we might go back to looking what it is. We'll come back to it as soon as we can, but we do want to do the street sweeping around town. Makes it look look nice, and we also want to restripe our center lines and our fog lines this year as well. The roads need it, and they definitely need to be swept before we invest some money into getting the line stripes."
Work is proceeding with the dangerous meeting of roads at the Ash Street, Water Street, and Spring Street intersection. The DPW wants to be sure that the positioning of lines and stop signs makes the best sense before they're put down permanently. "It's going to end up having--I don't know if you can picture it--but I think the biggest change is that there's going to be a right-hand turn in a straight lane as you're coming off of Spring and heading down Ash, so it the whole idea is to just channelize drivers and keep it as narrow as we can to slow down speeds through the intersection," he said.
Board Chair Andrew Beauvais said that he thought the best solution for that intersection would be a rotary, or a roundabout as Mr. Wood said engineers call them. Mr. Wood agreed, saying, "There's a huge difference, but yeah, there there are a lot of benefits, and I think the biggest pushback to them is just that they're new, and people, we're all hesitant to new things, but the data is out there, and the data supports that they do a lot of traffic calming. It reduces queues. It creates gaps in traffic so that people can get out. Collisions are a lot less. T-bones aren't a thing with roundabouts. So someday, if we ever need it, we can look into it." They do take up a lot of real estate, he said, being at least 15 to 20 feet in diameter. "Otherwise, we'd probably see them everywhere."
Mr. Beauvais said that a roundabout there would help beautify that "gateway" into town.
Mr. Wood also said, "The sidewalk project in front of the school, it's going on right now at G.A.R. Park. We're putting sidewalks around the edges of G.A.R. that don't have sidewalks. We're extending sidewalks from the school up Murdock, and then we're going to jump over, I think it's Pearl Street to Jackson Ave, where there are some missing sidewalks as well. So all of Jackson Street will have new sidewalks too, and this was part of the Complete Streets grant that we received two years ago."
Board member Erika Eitland said that she felt Water Street needed a sidewalk, because people come down High Street and are looking to connect with the walking trail, and they can no longer walk over the Front Street Bridge.
Mr. Wood said, "We can look at that. We're always trying to fill the gaps in the sidewalk network. I'm not a huge fan, I was telling Bill this earlier, I'm not a huge fan of adding a ton of sidewalks around town. I'd rather fix up the sidewalks that we have. So it should be noted that there's no town funds being put into the new sidewalks that are going on at G.A.R. Park and Jackson Ave. That was a gift from Complete Streets for us. Second to that is filling in gaps in our sidewalk connectivity. So that would be something that we'd be very interested in doing."
Finally, Mr. Wood said, the Beech Street Project is about 95 percent done. "We've done our punch list walk through with the contractors. We've spoken with residents that have had concerns, and I will say, all in all, the residents had concerns about their private property, we've been addressing it with them. Outside of that, it's been a pretty successful project. The water line was put in, the sewer line was realigned, and the drainage system was fixed because that was a notorious flooding area. And it all came in well under budget and under schedule.
"So the the remaining money that we have, we used to binder pretty much the entire road, and we're going to see if there's a possibility of putting something more permanent on the sidewalks that were disturbed. Because right now you'll notice that it's just gravel. We're going to see if there's an option to get them either bindered with inch and a half asphalt, or maybe some asphalt grindings, something to that effect. And we're gonna redo the parking lot that's on Beech Street because they had to raise the road a little bit to accommodate all catch basins. There's some ponding on there. You probably noticed that in heavy rains now. So they're going to send us a change order and an estimate to level it out more, and we'll end up with a nice brand new parking lot too."
Former Camelot Farm Veterans' Rooming House in Old Centre Up for Foreclosure Auction
The house at 50 Old Centre
Photo from Google Street View
According to the Assessors Database, the property includes five acres of land and has an assessed value of $343,000. The main house is classified as a boarding house and is 8,434 square feet, with 19 bedrooms and 5 full bathrooms. It was built in 1850. The zoning is R80-Rural Residential.
This property suffered a major fire in December, completely destroying a barn and involving the help of 13 regional fire departments in responding. See "Winchendon FD Responds to Major Barn Fire in Old Centre, with Assistance from 13 Regional Fire Departments" in the January 1-January 8, 2026 edition of the Winchendon Courier (scroll down to article).
Below is the complete text of the legal notice which was published in The Gardner News.
MORTGAGEE'S SALE OF REAL ESTATE
By virtue and in execution of the Statutory Power of Sale referenced in a certain mortgage given by Tametsa Real Estate, LLC to TD Bank, N.A. dated May 24, 2012 and recorded May 25, 2012 with the Worcester District Registry of Deeds in Book 49025, Page 332, the undersigned being the present holder by assignment of said mortgage, for breach of the conditions contained in said mortgage and for the purpose of foreclosing, the same will be sold at Public Auction at 12:00 pm on the 28th day of July, 2026, upon the mortgage premises known as 50 Old Center, Winchendon, Massachusetts, being all and singular the premises described in said mortgage, to wit: That certain parcel of land situate in Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, bounded and described as follows: A certain parcel of land situated on the southerly side of Teel Road in the Old Common and on the westerly side of Old County Road in Winchendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and being shown on a plan entitled, "Plan of Land prepared for Ulysse J, and Kathleen A. Maillet, Winchendon, Mass. (Old Centre), Scale: 1 inch = 50 ft. --July 17, 1978, Michael S. Szoc-R.L, Surveyor, 32 Pleasant Street, Gardner, Mass," recorded in the Worcester District Registry of Deeds, in Plan Book 454, Plan 14, bounded and described as follows: Beginning at a northwesterly corner thereof at a stone post in the southerly line of Teel Road in the Old Common at land of Yvonne D. Mary L. Diehl; thence South 72° 40' 39" by said road line, 99.00 feet to the westerly line Old County Road; thence South 6° 41' 08" East, by the westerly line of Old County Road, 114.13 feet to an iron pin at the end of a stone wall; thence South 2° 58' 19" East, still by said road line, by a stone wall, 405.54 feet to an iron pin at land of Ulysse J. and Kathleen A. Maillet; thence South 87° 28' 45" West, by said Maillet land 570.49 feet to a drill hole in a stone wall in line of land of Ralph G. Diehl, thence North 19° 00' 00" East, by said Diehl land and mostly by a stone wall, 492.53 feet to an iron pipe at land of aforementioned Yvonne D. and Mary L. Diehl; thence South 72° 10' 33" East, by said Diehl land, 236.00 feet to an iron pin; thence North 17° 20' 22" East, by said Diehl land, 188.00 feet to the southerly line of Teel Road in the Old Common and the place of beginning. Said premises subject to the rights of New England Telephone and Telegraph Company to run lines and poles over said premises, as may appear of record if same affects locus. Containing 5.00 acres. This instrument creates no new boundaries. Meaning and intending to convey and hereby conveying the same premises conveyed by deed of Ulysse J. Maillet, and Kathleen A. Maillet, to Bruce MacDougall and Margaret Hawthorn, dated July 27, 1978, recorded with said Deeds, in Book 6532, Page 280. Said Premises will be sold subject to any and all unpaid taxes and other municipal assessments and liens, and subject to prior, liens or other enforceable encumbrances or instruments of record entitled to precedence over said mortgage, and subject to, and with the benefit of, all easements, restrictions, reservations and conditions of record having precedence over the Mortgage and subject to all leases, tenancies and/or rights of parties in possession, including rights or claims in personal property installed by tenants or former tenants now located on the subject premises and the right of redemption, if any, to the Internal Revenue Service. Said premises to be sold subject to a Receiver's Priority Lien in favor of Worcester Community Housing Resources, Inc. dated April 2, 2026, and recorded in Book 73402, Page 168 and order of the Housing Court allowing same, dated July 30, 2025, and recorded in Book 73402, Page 160. Said premises to be sold at the sale "AS IS WHERE IS." It shall be the bidder's sole responsibility to ascertain all items described in this paragraph and no representations are made concerning compliance with applicable zoning, building, sanitary or other state and/or municipal laws, ordinances or regulations.
TERMS OF SALE: TWENTY THOUSAND and 00/100 ($20,000.00) DOLLARS in cash, certified or bank check to be paid by the purchaser at the time and place of sale. The successful bidder shall be required to increase the deposit to a full ten (10%) of the purchase price within five (5) business days of the public auction and the balance of the purchase price shall be paid in cash, certified or bank check and the foreclosure deed shall be delivered and accepted within thirty (30) days after the public auction at the offices of Halloran & Sage LLP, 1380 Main Street, Floor 5, Springfield, MA 01103. The successful bidder of the Premises will be responsible for all closing costs, recording fees, deed stamps and shall be required to sign an Auctioneer's Memorandum of Sale containing the terms of sale at the time and place of the public auction. The successful bidder of the Premises shall be subject to a 1% buyer's premium.
This mortgagee's sale of real estate may be postponed or adjourned from time to time, if necessary, by the attorney or auctioneer for the mortgagee at the scheduled time and place of sale. The description for the premises contained in said Mortgage shall control in the event of a typographical error in this publication.
In the event that the successful bidder at the foreclosure sale fails to purchase the described Premises according to the terms of this notice of sale or as provided for in the Memorandum of Sale executed at the time of foreclosure, the mortgagee reserves the right to sell the Premises by foreclosure deed to the next highest bidder provided that the next highest bidder shall deposit with the mortgagee's attorney, said Halloran & Sage LLP, the amount of the required deposit and execute an agreement similar to said Memorandum of Sale, within three (3) business days after written notice of default of the previous highest bidder. Title shall be conveyed to the next highest bidder within twenty (20) days of said written notice.
OTHER TERMS, IF ANY, TO BE ANNOUNCED AT THE TIME AND PLACE OF SALE.
TD Bank, N.A., Present Holder of Said Mortgage
By Gregory Felix, Its Vice President
Attorneys for TD Bank, N.A. Oscar L. Suarez, Esq. Halloran & Sage LLP 225 Asylum Street Hartford, CT 06103 Published in The Gardner News June 30, 2026, July 7, 2026 and July 14, 2026
This announcement is not a paid legal notice. It is published solely to share information with the community.
