Town Meeting 2023 will be held Monday May 1 at 7:00 PM at the Hopkinton Middle School auditorium. At Town Meeting, all registered voters in Hopkinton have a direct voice and may vote on all warrant articles. This is the most consequential meeting of the year for Hopkinton citizens, and the town needs 128 registered voters to start the meeting.

If you haven’t had a chance to read all of the warrant articles, fear not. Below is a brief explanation of each article and what your vote means, along with links to additional information. 

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Warrant Articles

1. Acceptance of Town Reports. A “Yes” vote means you accept the motion to hear reports from various town officers and committees.
2. FY 2023 Supplemental Appropriations and Transfers. A “Yes” vote means you allow the town to transfer money to shore up the operating budget for the remainder of FY 2023, which ends in June.
3. Unpaid Bills from Prior Fiscal Years. A “Yes” vote means you allow the town to pay unpaid bills from prior fiscal years. As these are outside of the current budget, Mass General Laws require this.
4. Set the Salary of Elected Officials. A “Yes” vote means you allow the town to fix the salary or compensation of elected officials in town.
5. Fiscal Year 2024 Operating Budget. A “Yes” vote means you accept the report and recommendation from the Appropriations Committee and allow the town to raise the money required to pay operating and maintenance expenses.
6. FY 2024 Revolving Funds Spending Limits. A “Yes” vote means you wish to establish a limit on the total amount of money that can be expended from any revolving funds.
7. PEG Access and Cable Related Fund Revolving Account Funding. A “Yes” vote funds HCAM-TV for the current fiscal year, providing public, educational, and governmental access via cable television and streaming services.
8. Chapter 90 Highway Funds. A “Yes” vote provides funds for repair, construction, maintenance and preservation of the town’s roads and bridges.
9. Transfer to Other Post-Employment Benefits Liability Trust Fund. A “Yes” vote allows the town to raise the funds to support post-employment benefits for retired employees.
10. Transfer to the General Stabilization Fund. A “Yes” vote allows the town to increase the General Stabilization Fund.
11. Transfer to the School Special Education Reserve Fund. A “Yes” vote increases the Special Education Reserve Fund for the schools to be used for unanticipated costs, out-of-district tuition or transportation.
12. Establish Capital Stabilization Account for South Middlesex Regional Vocational Technical School District. A “Yes” vote allows the town to set aside money to support Keefe Tech.
13. PILOT Agreement, Wilson Street Solar Farm. A “Yes” vote approves a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement with the owner of the Wilson Street solar farm, an agreement negotiated by the Select Board.
14. Pay-As-You-Go Capital Expenses. A “Yes” vote authorizes the town to make several purchases, such as new computer hardware for town hall, security cameras for the police department, three new police cruisers and a new vehicle for the fire department.
15. Chestnut Street Sidewalk. A “Yes” vote enables the town to pay for the design and build of a sidewalk on Chestnut Street. more details
16. Sidewalk from EMC Park to Blueberry Lane. A “Yes” vote enables the town to pay for the design and build of a sidewalk from EMC Park to Blueberry Lane. more details
17. Fire Station 2 Architectural and Engineering Design. A “Yes” vote allows the town to pay for the design for a remodeled Fire Station 2 in Woodville, which has fallen into disrepair. more details
18. Hopkinton Public School HVAC Renewal Work. A “Yes” vote enables the town to pay to replace the HVAC units at the schools, which have reached end of life. more details
19. Hopkins School Addition. A “Yes” vote enables the town to raise the money to add on to the Hopkins school, which has exceeded its capacity. more details
20. Roadway Paving – Pratt Way and Cemeteries. A “Yes” vote allows the town to pay for paving of Pratt Way and the roadways inside of the Evergreen and Mount Auburn cemeteries.
21. Water Department Vehicle Replacement. A “Yes” vote allows DPW to purchase a SuperDuty Dump Truck.
22. School Curriculum, Equipment, and Services Contracts. A “Yes” vote allows the superintendent to enter into multi-year contracts for digital curriculum, technology equipment lease, property lease, and school bus transportation agreements for periods between three and six years. more details
23. Community Preservation Funds. A “Yes” vote allows the Community Preservation Committee to pay for operating expenses.
24. Community Preservation Recommendations. There will be several votes in this article, because five involve land purchases, which require a 2/3 vote to pass. Read this article for a full breakdown of the land purchases and implications.
25. Inclusionary Development Bylaw. A “Yes” vote means you wish to limit the way property developers can choose to meet the Affordable Housing zoning requirements. more details
26. Electric Vehicle Parking Spaces. A “Yes” vote means you want builders of new parking lots in Hopkinton to add the necessary infrastructure to support electric vehicle charging. more details
27. Site Plan Review Rooftop Solar Exemption. A “Yes” vote adds a clarifying definition to the Zoning Bylaw Article Site Plan Review section.
28. Zoning District Change – 2 West Elm Street and 0 West Elm Street. A “Yes” vote would allow the owners of the now defunct Community Convent Church to change their zoning from Residential to Commercial. more details
29. Zoning District Change – South Street and Hayward Street. Although this has supposedly been withdrawn by the petitioner, by rule it was too late to remove it from the warrant. Therefore a “Yes” vote would allow the owners of Marguerite Concrete to change the zoning on the corner of Hayward and South Streets to allow them to construct a building. more details
30. Housekeeping – Delete Definition. A “Yes” vote cleans up the General Bylaws, Chapter 1.
31. Amend Meeting Minutes Bylaw. A “Yes” vote is another cleanup item to the General Bylaws, requested by the Town Clerk.
32. Amend Leash Law. A “Yes” vote strengthens the leash laws in town and increases the fine and redemption fees.
33. Short Term Rental Bylaw. A “Yes” vote allows the Select Board to regulate Short Term rentals (AirBNB, VRBO, etc.) in Hopkinton. more details
34. Gun Club Indoor Shooting. A “Yes” vote would amend the General Bylaws to restrict gun clubs from outdoor shooting. more details
35. Street Acceptance – Foxhollow Road. A “Yes” vote puts Foxhollow Road under the governance of the town.
36. Street Acceptance – Box Mill Road. A “Yes” vote puts Box Mill Road under the governance of the town.
37. Accept Gift of Land – Turkey Ridge Subdivision. A “Yes” vote allows the town to accept 10 acres of land in the Turkey Ridge Subdivision, located at 35 Lincoln Street and 52 Cedar Street Extension.
38. Solar Canopy Leases, Middle School and High School. A “Yes” vote allows the schools to enter into a 30 year lease for solar canopies above the school parking lots. more details
39. Fruit Street Lease. A “Yes” vote allows the town to lease a portion of the Fruit Street complex to the Hopkinton Scout Leaders Association (Boy & Girl Scouts).
40. Drainage Easement, 14 Hazel Road. A “Yes” vote will allow the town to install drainage from EMC Park to the existing drainage system at Hazel Road.
41. Drainage Easement, 77 South Street. A “Yes” vote will allow DPW to replace the Stormwater Basin and associated piping at 77 South Street.
42. Drainage Easement, 20 Downey Place. A “Yes” vote allows the town to install drainage at 20 Downey Place.
43. Home Rule Petition for Special State Legislation to Authorize Taking of Easements in Milford for Lake Maspenock Dam Repairs. A “Yes” vote allows the town to assume authority of the Lake Maspenock Dam for maintenance and repairs, which is situated in Milford. 
44. Easements for Lake Maspenock Dam Repairs. A “Yes” vote allows the town to assert easements on two pieces of private property for the purposes of future repairs of the Lake Maspenock Dam.
45. Temporary Easement for Lake Maspenock Dam Repairs (Eminent Domain). A “Yes” vote allows the town to take a temporary easement on private property for the purposes of dam repair.
46. Net Zero Resolution. A “Yes” vote sets 2045 as the target to eliminate or offset all carbon emissions in the town from municipal, commercial, and residential sources. more details
47. Abolish Upper Charles Trail Committee and Establish Subcommittee. A “Yes” vote decommissions the Upper Charles Trail Committee and forms a new committee that reports to the Trails Coordination and Management Committee. more details
48. Upper Charles Trail Committee Spending, Segment 7. A “Yes” vote instructs the town to no longer spend any funds for the design or build of Segment 7, a proposed trail route that runs along Hayden Rowe Street. more details