Stow Select Board Appoints Chair to ZBA, Directs Common Road Engineering Study

Select Board · Meeting of July 14, 2026

Stow Select Board unanimously filled two Zoning Board of Appeals vacancies and directed staff to commission a new engineering analysis of Common Road at its July 14 meeting. Chair John "JT" Toole was appointed to a five-year ZBA term expiring June 30, 2031, citing the board's need for members ahead of anticipated 40B applications; Deb Woods was appointed to a shorter remaining term expiring June 30, 2027, because she simultaneously holds a voting associate seat on the Planning Board. Town Administrator Denise M.

Dembkoski said she would seek an amendment to the existing Town Center Transportation Study engineering contract — funded from a $100,000 town meeting appropriation — to evaluate three scenarios for Common Road: permanent closure, one-way, and two-way restoration, with the data targeted for the August or September meeting. The board also accepted a $214,905.75 furniture donation from the Randall Library Friends Association, approved conditional appointment of firefighter EMT Ryan Butler, and took no action on a Nashoba Regional School District lease extension request, pending Town Counsel review and potential renegotiation of solar-energy benefit provisions.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,220 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.