West Newbury Select Board Approves Conservation Picks, Holiday Changes at May Meeting

Select Board · Meeting of May 28, 2026

West Newbury Select Board approves Conservation Commission appointments and revised holiday schedule amid town manager transition. The board voted unanimously Thursday to confirm Town Manager Angus Jennings's appointments of Jennifer Boyd, a former Army Corps of Engineers employee, and Rick Spieler, a former MassDEP engineer, to the Conservation Commission for three-year terms ending June 30, 2029. Jennings, who confirmed his resignation effective July 31, told the board that search consultant Community Paradigm was set to launch a community survey the following Monday.

Town Clerk Amanda Haggstrom reported 46 committee seats are up for reappointment in June, with 13 responses received and two members declining to seek reappointment. The board also approved special event permits for the Summer Bandstand Concert Series and a June 26 Mill Pond Movie Night, authorized submission of a Notice of Intent for Mill Pond dock repairs and a Drug Take-Back grant, and revised the FY27 holiday schedule to address Independence Day and Juneteenth falling on Saturdays. A citizen petition seeking seasonal closure of Ash Street to protect rare amphibians — supported in a letter from a Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife scientist — generated extended public comment but no board action, with the matter referred for further consultation with the Police Chief and Highway Department.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of May 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.