Westborough OKs State Hospital Deal

Westborough voters agreed Monday night to buy about 90 acres of the former Westborough State Hospital from the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance for $2.2 million, at 0 percent interest. 

Voters dealt with 11 of the 31 special town meeting warrant articles before adjourning the session until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (tonight) in the Westborough High School auditorium.

The state will deduct $220,000 from Westborough's cherry sheet annually for 10 years to finance the state hospital deal.

Voters approved four of the five articles related to that agreement. Voters defeated Article 5, which sought to authorize selectmen to dispose of parts of the site. Selectmen Chairman Ian Johnson asked voters to go this way, calling the article "premature."

Voters also approved a 15-year tax increment financing deal with Cumberland Farms.

The firm is expanding its facility at 165 Flanders Road, and will add 79 new jobs there over the agreement, Town Manager Jim Malloy said.

Also, for the first time, voters used electronic handsets to cast ballots throughout the town meeting.

And by a "sense of the meeting" vote of 86 to 60, voters showed interest in asking town officials to include in the proposed fiscal 2015 budget a line item allowing for electronic voting at the fiscal 2015 town meetings, or that the March 2014 annual town meeting include a warrant article providing this option.

Westborough Patch will have more detailed coverage of the town meeting over this week.