Littleton Commits $74,000 to Nagog Hill Orchard Repairs and Community Outreach

LITTLETON — August 12, 2024 — Littleton Select Board approves $74,000 for Nagog Hill Orchard and hears Nashoba hospital closure warning. The board, meeting jointly with the Finance Committee, voted unanimously to transfer $18,926 from the reserve fund to Classic Construction for minimum building security repairs at the orchard and $55,000 to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council for community engagement ahead of a potential spring Town Meeting sale article, after the most recent sale article failed by a narrow margin. Town Administrator Ryan Walter said the MAPC engagement — modeled on the town's successful MBTA Communities outreach — would produce public sessions in January and February 2025, with the final contract subject to Select Board approval and costs offset by any grant funds received. Fire Chief Rob Bernard warned the board that the August 31 closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center will drive ambulance wall times from 10 to 20 minutes up to an hour or more, with flu season expected to compound the impact; the department signed a new medical-control affiliation with Emerson Hospital the same day. The board also approved a $506,346.75 road resurfacing contract to Sunshine Paving of North Chelmsford, a $54,200 DPW facility feasibility study with Weston and Samson Engineers, and found a boxer named Missy a nuisance dog, ordering the owners to obtain veterinarian-certified harness and muzzle restraints within 15 days.