Sudbury Selectmen Mapping Out Plans for First-Ever Town Forum

When Chuck Woodard was running for one of the two new seats on Sudbury's Board of Selectman last year, he said he felt being transparent was necessary for the good of the town.

On Jan. 23, he and the rest of the Board will have the chance to show how transparent it can be when Sudbury holds its first-ever Town Forum at Town Hall.

"I think it’s gonna be a very good thing for this town," Woodward said. "For transparency, this is good. The Selectmen hours (that started last year), public comment section (during our meetings) is good. I'm not sure what else we can do. But we need to talk to each other."

The Town Forum is a result of Article 41 that passed during last year's Town Meeting, which was spearheaded by former selectman candidate Dan DePompei. The article states Sudbury will hold an open, public meeting for constructive engagement.

"I think basically the change from three to five selectmen has, for a number of different reasons, created some new transparency and new initiatives for transparency," said DePompei, who credited Woodard for his efforts. "The three selectmen had a chance to do this earlier and chose not to by a majority vote."

"It's not a presentation to the audience," Woodard said. "We hope it's a conversation with questions and comments." 

The forum, designed after Lincoln's annual "State of the Town" meeting, will allow discussion of the Selectmen's goals for the year. Each goal will be presented by one selectman over a three- to five-minute period.

"I'm hopeful we get questions from the audience," Woodard said. 

The Selectmen will rotate as moderators during the Forum, which is slated for 2 ½ hours. The rotation will be:

Moderator John Drobinski:

• Police Station- Larry O'Brien;
• Capital funding- Chuck Woodard;
• Sewer related goals- Bob Haarde;

Moderator Larry O'Brien:

• Rail trail- Len Simon;
• Melone property- Chuck Woodard;
• Town counsel selection- John Drobinski;

Moderator Chuck Woodard:

• Fairbanks- Bob Haarde;
• Minuteman- Len Simon;
• Mass Central line rail trail- Len Simon or Bob Haarde;

Moderator Bob Haarde:

• Health Trust & OPEB – Larry O'Brien;
• CSX- Len Simon;

Moderator Len Simon:

• Davis Field- Bob Haarde;
• LS IMA- Chuck Woodard.

"The more opportunity people have to speak up, the healthier it will be all around," Woodard said. "People can (voice) concerns and be heard ... that’s a good thing."