Sudbury Select Board sends $150,000 transportation article to May town meeting

SUDBURY -- January 24, 2023, Sudbury Select Board sends $150,000 transportation article to May warrant after testy debate. The board voted 5-0 Tuesday to forward the free cash request, which would extend a taxi-and-Uber ride program serving seniors and residents with disabilities that liaison Dan Carty said is running through roughly $11,000 to $12,000 per month. Chair Charles Russo and members Janie Dretler, Lisa Kouchakdjian, Jen Roberts and Carty approved the motion, but only after Dretler added a condition requiring board sign-off on the town meeting presentation, language Carty called "micromanaging" and "the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen this board do." The board separately authorized Interim Town Manager Maryanne Bilodeau to refile a single-use checkout bag bylaw that lapsed in the state legislature, and scheduled a Jan. 30 special meeting to decide a disputed late request to add audio-visual funding for the Fairbank Community Center, where Council on Aging Chair Jeff Levine said the existing $350,000 package leaves program rooms with rolling carts and no microphones.