The big story for the start of the week is the impending Nor’Easter marching in from the West.
What meteorologists still aren’t sure about is the amount of snowfall those of us here along the Rt. 18 corridor is likely to see. Depending on where the rain/snow line sets up, we could get a couple inches of slush or up to 7 inches of the white stuff.
What forecasters can agree on is that it’s gonna be a dang mess for the next 36 hours. When it rains, it’s going to rain hard. When it snows, it’s going to snow hard. When the wind blows it’s going to blow hard. Gusts up to 60 mph are wexpected and power outages are possible. And the storm’s gonna linger from Monday evening into Wednesday morning.
“Residents should prepare for heavy rain, heavy wet snow, strong winds and power outages,” Abington Public Works Director John Stone said. “Residents should not park on the streets and be reminded to keep their phones charged in case we do lose power.”
Stone said his department is busy getting sanders and plows ready, fueling trucks and generators, and making sure chainsaws and chippers are ready for action.
“We’re preparing for the whole gamut at this point,” he said.
FINAL TOWN MEETING, ELECTIONS PREP UNDERWAY
By the time the storm moves offshore, we’ll know what the final version of the Annual Town Meeting warrant and Town Election ballot will look like.
Why should you care? Because Town Meeting is where decisions get made on how to spend your tax dollars. And Town Elections decide who’s going to run the town. And alot of you have complaints about both.
The deadline to submit nomination papers for the Town Election ballot is 5 p.m. today. Anyone who fails to submit enough signatures to qualify can still run as a write-in candidate.
The Board of Selectmen tonight is expected to open the warrant back up temporarily to add a couple more articles, including one that would take Abington Police out of the Civil Service system. The final version of the warrant is expected to go to the printers Tuesday, and then posted online, at Town Hall, and other places around town.
So by Wednesday we can start discussing candidates and budget items and zoning bylaws changes.
ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE IS SUNDAY
Sunday marks the 43rd time St. Patrick will parade down Washington Street from Abington Center into North Abington Center celebrating the town’s Irish heritage. The parade will step off at 1 p.m. in St. Patrick’s Square (the intersection of Washington St. /Orange St. /Centre Ave.) Abington News will have a longer preview later this week.
MEETING SCHEDULE
MONDAY
Affordable Housing Trust Fund, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes meeting with a consultant about the housing plan, training/education for board members, CPA funding requests, and longterm board goals.
Griffin Dairy Farm Committee, 5:30 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes discussions about dumped trash, tire damamge to a small area, complaints about geese, the annual burn date, updates on the community garden and community yard sale, and a donation from the Rotary Club.
Board of Selectmen, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes a request for an all alcohol license at Terra Nossa, appointments to the Opioid Settlement Fund Allocation Committee, renewals of used article and pawn broken licenses, discuss a letter asking for additional state infrastructure grants, adding a pair of articles to the Town Meeting warrant, and a budget update from the Town Manager.
Board of Library Trustees, 7 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes a report from the director, and discussion about building needs, next year’s budget, and updating library policies.
TUESDAY
Abington/Rockland Joint Water Works Commission, 3:30 p.m., 366 Centre Ave., Rockland. Agenda includes accounting/financials, a report from the superintendent, and comments from the public and water commissioners.
WEDNESDAY
Housing Authority, 6 p.m., 71 Shaw Ave. Agenda includes review of bills, a report from the CEO, a review of authority financials, the awarding of a contract for auditing services.
Parks & Recreation Commission, 7 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes discussion on summer programming and Eager Beaver program rates, as well as project updates.
Finance Committee, 7 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes a review of CPC projects, and all warrant articles.
THURSDAY
Charter Review Commission, 6 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda includes discussion with town officials about possible charter changes.