Hardwick Board Approves Pole Permit, Ambulance Deal

Select Board · Meeting of January 12, 2026

Hardwick Select Board approved a Barre Road utility pole petition, a $1,700 land trust donation, a recycling center hire and an amended West Brookfield ambulance contract, while a resident's open meeting law complaints dominated debate. Town Administrator Ann Barnes said resident Jeffrey Smith filed 18 public records requests and six to eight open meeting law complaints in the past year, consuming roughly a third of the town's $25,000 legal budget. Board member William Tinker pressed the board to close out an executive session tied to a personnel investigation open since June 2025.

The board voted to approve a remediation schedule for roughly 20 missing or incomplete executive session minutes. "Someone's not doing their job," one resident told the board, "and the buck stops at the three of you."

In the full story:

• The Full Story
• Why It Matters
• Key Motions & Votes
• Source
• Hardwick's community access TV: Select Board meeting, January 12, 2026
• The complete report: 951 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of January 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.