Hampden Select Board Bars Counsel From Wilbraham Regional School Talks

Select Board · Meeting of March 9, 2026

Hampden Select Board unanimously voted to keep its town counsel out of a Wilbraham-initiated legal meeting over the Hampden-Wilbraham regional school agreement. A board member read a formal statement calling Wilbraham's characterization that Hampden is "holding Wilbraham hostage" over the middle school dispute "disingenuous at best," arguing that longstanding building deficiencies at Wilbraham-owned Wilbraham Middle School are solely Wilbraham's financial responsibility under the existing regional and lease agreements. The board also backed raising its Conservation Commission staff coordinator from 15 to 20 hours per week at an estimated additional cost of roughly $1,000, approved a $4,888 stormwater MVP grant application to be funded from the town's existing $12,000 stormwater operating budget, and reduced the Hampden Theater Guild's building-use fee to $50 per show — contingent on receipt of a current insurance certificate — down from the policy rate of $150 per show.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of March 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.