PEMBROKE - August 26, 2026 - The Pembroke Select Board moved forward on seven warrant articles for the upcoming Special Town Meeting, advancing measures to settle past-year snow and ice deficits, fund critical municipal vehicle replacements, and place high-profile Community Preservation Act requests before voters.
The Full Story
At last Wednesday evening’s session, the Pembroke Select Board finalized the list of articles slated for the Fall Special Town Meeting warrant. Town Manager William Chenard outlined the items, emphasizing that the board’s vote at this stage was strictly to place placeholders and formal articles on the warrant rather than issuing final recommendations.
Leading the warrant is an article to balance the current year’s budget by addressing last winter’s snow and ice removal deficit. Chenard noted that the Commonwealth will permit the town to amortize the snow and ice deficit over a three-year period if necessary. Select Board member Daniel Trabucco asked whether funding the snow deficit through free cash would impact the town’s annual $600,000 baseline commitment to the Roadway Capital Improvement Plan. Chenard clarified that because the state provided increased Chapter 90 roadway funds, the town will sustain its annual target of $1.1 million to $1.2 million in total roadway investments without reducing baseline road work.
“We want to commit a million to a million and one in total roadway improvements on an annual basis. The Commonwealth, through their Chapter 90 funding, gave us more. So yes, we’re staying at a million and one, a million and two...” [26:48] — Town Manager William Chenard
The board also advanced capital requests covering a police cruiser, a fire shift commander vehicle, and a community services pickup truck. Chenard reported cost-saving measures in the police department’s vehicle transition from Chevrolet Tahoes (around $92,500 each) to Dodge Durangos (estimated at $78,000 each). Other warrant articles encompass unpaid municipal bills, a zoning bylaw placeholder for battery energy storage systems ahead of a October 5 public hearing, funding for a nearly finalized police collective bargaining agreement, and a staffing request for an executive assistant in the Treasurer-Collector’s office.
