The Town of Southborough Community Preservation Committee voted to recommend the Engine 25 refurbishment project to Town Meeting, contingent on an updated application and a signed affidavit that would ensure public benefit and transfer ownership of the restored truck to the town if the Southborough Firefighters Association disposes of it.

The committee debated whether public funds should support restoration of an asset owned by a private organization. Grant Barrington, a committee member, raised concerns about the risk that public money could subsidize a private sale or disposition: “If you give somebody $300,000 … there’s no kind of guarantee that the public has to see that item,” he said. Committee members and the applicant discussed legal protections used in past projects, such as affidavits and disposition provisions that require offering an item to the town or transferring ownership on dissolution.

Applicant representative Nate described the restoration scope and explained why contractors preferred a single-stage, full restoration rather than a multi-stage approach. He said multiple disassemblies would raise labor costs and that keeping a single contractor quote stable over a year required a buffer in pricing. The committee and applicant agreed to work with town counsel to draft an affidavit modeled on prior preservation funding agreements; Ben Smith said the affidavit’s primary thrust would be an automatic transfer of ownership to the town if the association no longer owned the truck.

The committee approved the motion recommending the project to Town Meeting with contingencies. The roll-call vote recorded Lisa Baraccio, Brett Peters, Ellen Marion and Ben Smith voting yes; Grant Barrington voted no (4–1).