North Reading Select Board Recommends Three Route 28 Acquisition Articles for Town Meeting

NORTH READING — May 4, 2026 — North Reading Select Board split 3-2 and 4-1 on three Route 28 acquisition articles, forwarding all to the June 1 spring annual town meeting. The board recommended the entirety of 97 Main Street by a 3-2 vote, a portion of the same parcel — with eminent domain language stripped out on a 3-2 amendment pushed by member Nicholas Massey — by 3-2, and both 84-86 Main Street and 73-75 Main Street by 4-1, with the fire station building committee having voted in consensus earlier that day to prioritize 84-86 Main Street. Estimated land costs range from an undetermined figure for the Lynch-offered 97 Main Street fire station parcel to approximately $5 million each for 84-86 and 73-75 Main Street. The board also unanimously approved a $98,734,283 fiscal year 2027 operating budget, voted not to recommend a $25,000 Economic Development Committee marketing website appropriation, and heard Town Administrator Michael Roberto announce that Moody's upgraded North Reading's bond rating from Aa2 to Aa1.