Littleton Select Board Approves $3.5 Million Indian Hill Purchase and Police Contracts

LITTLETON — March 27, 2023 — Littleton Select Board approves $3.5 million Indian Hill acquisition and unprecedented five-year police chief contract at marathon March 27 session. The board voted 5-0 to authorize the purchase of the former Indian Hill Music Center at 32 and 36 King Street from Groton Hill Music Incorporated, closing March 31, with renovation costs to be proposed on the floor of the May 1 annual town meeting. In a companion 3-1 vote, the board approved a five-year employment agreement for Police Chief Matthew Bernard — the first such contract in town history — with member Matthew Rombacher dissenting on principle: "I don't think we should be doing five-year contracts." The board also voted unanimously to amend host community agreements for four cannabis operators — Littleton Apothecary, Community Care Collective (retail and cultivation), and MRM Industries — to bring them into compliance with 2022 changes to MGL Chapter 94G, with resident Jillian Hoffnagle telling the board that delays in oversight were "unacceptable" given a sitting member's familial connection to a license holder. Additional 5-0 votes standardized town hall hours beginning April 3 and closed the 25-article annual town meeting warrant, which includes a proposed $19.2 million borrowing for a Boxborough water extension and a sewer project debt ceiling increase from $28.5 million to roughly $31.3 million after bids came in $2.84 million over projections.