Acton Select Board Continues Battery Storage Hearing to October, Approves Sewer Rate Hike

ACTON -- September 12, 2022, Acton Select Board continued a battery-storage hearing, approved a sewer rate hike, and debated Indigenous Peoples Day in a marathon September 12 session. The board voted unanimously to push the public hearing for BWC Colesbrook LLC's proposed energy storage facility at 100 Discovery Way to October 3, after the applicant requested a continuance and residents packed the room to object, with board members telling commenters to return when the hearing formally opens. Sitting as Sewer Commissioners, the board approved a 5 percent sewer rate increase for FY23 by a 4-0 vote with one abstention from member Jim Snyder, setting the average single-family monthly bill at approximately $85; Finance Director Steve Barrett cited a 6.8 percent budget increase and the delayed Powder Mill Place development, which had been expected to add revenue-producing customers, as the core pressures. Town Manager John Mangiarotti told the board roughly $7 to $8 million in American Rescue Plan Act requests had been heard against approximately $2 million available, with formal allocation decisions pushed to October 3. The board also unanimously authorized the chair to sign an MOU with the MBTA for a no-cost youth pass program offering reduced fares to residents aged 12 to 25, and deferred a vote on an Indigenous Peoples Day proclamation developed with Neshoba Tribe leadership to allow additional tribal review time.