Hampden board rejects school cost-share MOU

Select Board · Meeting of August 17, 2026

Hampden Select Board rejects school-cost MOU, sends Main Street building's fate to voters. Board member Don argued the existing Wilbraham-Hampden Regional School District agreement already governs capital-cost sharing, calling a proposed new memorandum "a blank check" and the dispute "a failure to communicate." Members voted unanimously to sign a free tobacco-compliance agreement with MHOA covering the town's four retailers, approved a $28,600 engineering contract for year-nine stormwater permit compliance, and a $26,800 landfill-testing contract with WJF GeoConsultants, down from a roughly $50,000 budget. The board advanced Emily Miller and Hannah Luff to probationary firefighter and Josh Ginn to firefighter.

The Old Townhouse Study Committee presented three Special Town Meeting options for a town-owned Main Street building — sell it, retain it for economic development, or retain it for historic use — with no board vote on which to pursue. A Town Administrator report noted a signed accounts-payable warrant of $330,723.06 and payroll warrant of $86,523.80.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 4,258 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of August 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.