Blandford Select Board approves annual town meeting warrant with seven appointments

BLANDFORD — May 18, 2026 — Blandford Select Board clears annual town meeting warrant and makes seven appointments at May 18 session. The board unanimously approved the warrant, which omits volunteer fire department funding this year after legal counsel advised that a compliant disbursement structure must first be established; a special town meeting in the spring is expected to be the next opportunity. Seven board and committee appointments were approved, including Douglas Emo as Inspector of Veterans Graves for a five-year term and Carol Latender to the Franklin Regional Transit Authority Advisory Board. The board also voted to donate approximately 20 yards of road millings to Hilltown Ambulance in Huntington for a trailer foundation pad and approved use of town hall as a weekly CSA produce drop-off site for seniors. A privately organized "meet the candidates" forum planned for June 2 by a resident named George — sent to voters on what appeared to be town letterhead listing town hall as the venue — generated concern from board members and residents; the board referred the question of town hall use to legal counsel and placed it on the June 1 agenda. The Planning Board currently sits at five of seven seats with no alternate, and an FSEC representative warned that a further drop in membership could shift local solar permitting authority to the state.