West Newbury Select Board Drops Three Warrant Articles Before April 27 Town Meeting

WEST NEWBURY — April 9, 2026 — West Newbury Select Board removes three warrant articles and launches a town manager search committee ahead of April 27 Annual Town Meeting. The board voted unanimously to strip Articles 19, 20, and 21 from the spring warrant — dropping a cannabis social equity bylaw, a proposed cellular antenna lease on the town water tank, and an unresolved zoning amendment — while confirming a cannabis overlay district zoning article will proceed. Town Manager Angus confirmed he had signed a contract the previous night to become school business manager for the Whittier school district, departing West Newbury in mid-to-late July. The board established what it renamed the Transition Committee, appointing Chair Wendy Reed, Planning Board Chair Ann Bardeen, town employee Jenny Walsh, former Finance Committee member Gary Roberts, and resident Tom Ellis to conduct both an organizational assessment and the manager search; a consultant kickoff was set for April 16. The cellular antenna article was deferred after officials said public engagement, a legal review of a contested 50-foot access strip, and contract preparation had not been completed, with a resident on Zoom warning "I don't want to lose the revenue" from the prospective lease.