Oakham Select Board Sets June 24 Town Meeting, Approves $325,000 Highway Equipment

OAKHAM — April 14, 2025 — Oakham Select Board sets June 24 annual town meeting and approves $325,000 equipment buy. Meeting unanimously at the April 14 regular session, the board voted to hold the annual town meeting on June 24 at 7 p.m. at the elementary school, opened the warrant for submissions beginning April 15 with a closing deadline of April 25 at 5 p.m. Highway Superintendent Patrick Matarosian secured board approval for a $325,000 Chapter 90-funded purchase of an Energreen communal roadside-mowing machine from Ahern Equipment, along with authorization to trade in a 1994 Kubota and a 1984 Case loader as part of the deal — the purchase representing roughly half of the town's current $600,000 Chapter 90 balance. The board also adopted a new building permit fee schedule for energy storage systems and commercial solar arrays at $12 per thousand dollars of construction cost, effective May 1, following a survey of Carver and Medfield, both of which use comparable rates. Building Inspector Duffy flagged that Carver faces litigation over a separate $1.5 million electrical permit fee for a battery storage facility, noting his proposed schedule aligns with the range that drew no challenge.