By Keith Regan, Contributing Writer
Northborough – The Board of Selectmen briefly debated at its April 14 meeting whether to take a stand on a number of issues being placed before voters at the April 28 Annual Town Meeting, including a controversial public safety bylaw that would limit where firearms can be used, before ultimately voting to support the articles.
Selectman Aaron Hutchins, who is leaving the board after the municipal election May 12, questioned whether the board needed to take a position on all the articles before it for consideration.
Noting the board had already taken votes to place articles on the warrant, Hutchins said he was “not trying to stir the pot,” but worried about taking decisions out of voters’ hands.
“I believe in the democracy of town meeting,” he said. “I’m trying not to tread on what I believe is the people’s forum.”
In the end, Hutchins voted with the rest of the board – Selectman Jeff Amberson was absent from the meeting – to support a variety of articles, including the proposed $15 million renovation and upgrade of the Lincoln Street Elementary School and a proposed public safety article that seeks to limit how close to a dwelling a firearm can be used in Northborough.
The article, proposed by Police Chief Mark K. Leahy, drew a number of concerned citizens to a recent board meeting, where selectmen urged them to attend Town Meeting to air their concerns. Local sport shooting and gun rights groups have attempted to mobilize their members to defeat the article, which they say is intended to shutter a legally operating firing range that has been the focus of legal action by the town.