West Newbury Select Board Approves Seasonal Grounds Position, Eyes Whittier Cost Formula

Select Board · Meeting of July 23, 2026

West Newbury Select Board approves seasonal grounds hire and prepares to vote on Whittier capital formula. The two-member board — Chair Wendy Reed and Member Barry Fogel, with Member Christopher Wile absent — voted unanimously July 23 to add a temporary part-time grounds position at 15 hours per week and $23.57 per hour for up to 15 weeks, to be absorbed within the existing DPW operating budget and prompted by custodian John Savage's extended health absence. The board spent the largest share of its meeting on the Whittier Regional Vocational Technical School capital-cost allocation dispute, with departing Town Manager Angus presenting a spreadsheet model showing that a 50-50 blend of the current school-age-population formula and an enrollment-based formula would shift roughly 12.5 percentage points of capital share away from Haverhill at a $200 million project benchmark.

Fogel said the allocation "should be for actual enrollment" while Reed argued a purely enrollment-based formula was incomplete for capital costs given their multi-generational payoff horizon. The Whittier committee is expected to vote on competing proposals — including a Rowley-backed weighted-voting plan received Monday — at its meeting the week of July 28.

In the full story:

• Pickleball Courts and Active Projects Update
• Animal Control and Auditor Update
• Green Communities Annual Report
• Town Manager Transition Items
• Grounds and Facilities Staffing Request
• Whittier Regional Vocational Technical School — Capital Allocation Formula
• The complete report — 3,387 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.