The Town of Hubbardston Select Board voted March 17 to allow the town administrator to enter into a District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) grant agreement with the Montachusett Regional Planning Commission. The town will use roughly $15,000 in DLTA funds to study enhancements to the commercial district and to assess the feasibility of development or reuse options for a municipal lot at 21 Gardner Road.

The projects are planning and feasibility studies, not construction approvals. Town Administrator Nate told the board the town planner’s time would be used as a match to increase what the town could accomplish with the award. “So the two projects are looking into the enhancements and expansion of the commercial district and looking into the feasibility of being able to do something on 21 Gardner Road, which is the municipal-owned lot across from the Curtis Recreational Field,” Nate said.

Nut graf: The DLTA program provides technical planning assistance through the regional planning commission; the Select Board’s authorization lets staff formalize the agreement and launch the two planning efforts ahead of the annual town meeting and related public outreach.

Board members asked no substantive questions before moving to authorize the agreement. The Select Board’s action was a vote to empower the town administrator to sign the DLTA agreement and proceed with kickoff work with MRPC and the town planner.

Background: DLTA grants are commonly used by towns in the Montachusett region to fund planning studies that feed into zoning updates, grant applications and capital planning. The board will receive and review any resulting reports before considering regulatory or capital steps.