Newbury Council on Aging Pushes Town Meeting Vote on Facility Study Funding

NEWBURY -- April 13, 2026, Newbury Council on Aging urges residents to back a Town Meeting warrant article funding a feasibility study for a new senior center. Director Cindy Carrier told the board at the April 13 meeting that Article 11 on the Town Meeting warrant would pay for environmental assessments, engineering analysis, and a building cost recommendation across multiple candidate sites, expanding on a prior report the council submitted to the Select Board. No study dollar figure was disclosed. Carrier asked all seven voting members, Shane Connelly, Joe Antico, John Farrar, Jeremy DeMail, Damon Jeskerson, and a member identified only as Chuck, to recruit neighbors and COA participants to attend Town Meeting and vote in favor. The board also approved its March 23 minutes as amended, noting that John Farrar had been present, and set its next meeting for May 18 at 9 a.m. Member Chuck closed the session by praising the fire department for saving one of three houses that burned in a three-week run of structure fires.