Whately Select Board signs $582,879 library masonry contract, elects new officers

Select Board · Meeting of May 4, 2026

Whately's newly reorganized Select Board approved a $582,879 masonry repair contract for the Graves Memorial Library at its May 4 meeting. Nathaniel was elected Chair, Crystal Vice Chair, and newly seated member Dan Murphy as Clerk, each by a 3-0 vote. The board signed a contract with Structural Preservation Systems — selected from five bids after a previous single-bid attempt was rebid — with total Community Preservation Act funding of approximately $700,000 covering design, contingency, and construction.

The board also approved a sewer connection at 124 South Silver Lane contingent on a recorded easement, and granted a common victualler license to Frontier Pizza's new owners. Members celebrated a Proposition 2½ override passing with roughly 69 percent of 621 votes cast — described as the highest local election turnout board members had seen — and the town administrator reported that final interviews for the South County EMS director are expected within two weeks, with approximately three finalists identified.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of May 4, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.