Sudbury Finance Committee reverses course, backs $100,000 Parkinson Field driveway study 8-1

SUDBURY -- April 8, 2024, Sudbury Finance Committee reverses its Parkinson Field vote and steps back from firearms and MBTA zoning. The committee voted 8-1 on Monday to recommend the $100,000 Community Preservation appropriation for design of a redesigned driveway and parking improvements at Parkinson Field after planning assistant Marsha Rasmussen and Rail Trails Advisory Committee co-chairs John Drabinski and Glenn Pransky framed the spur as the only handicapped-accessible Bruce Freeman Rail Trail entry south of Davis Field. Consultant Fuss and O'Neill estimated eventual construction at $200,000 to $600,000, prompting member Henry P. Sorett to warn of "a bottomless pit" while still voting yes; Mara cast the lone no. On a 6-3 vote the committee took no position on Article 16, the Select Board's firearms zoning bylaw, and on a 5-4 vote it took no position on Articles 33 and 34, the MBTA Communities zoning articles. Sorett pegged Sudbury's MBTA noncompliance exposure at "less than 500,000."