Sherborn Select Board Rejects Town Study on Sewer Access for District Residents

SHERBORN -- April 9, 2026, Sherborn Select Board rejected a motion for a town-funded engineering study on sewer connection options for district residents, leaving roughly 12 Coolidge Street property owners without a formal path forward. The motion, made by board member Jeff Doherty and seconded, failed 2-1 at the April 9 meeting after Chair Stephen Thayer argued the town's fiscal year 27 budget is approximately $8,000 below the levy limit and that the special legislation enabling the North Sherborn Water and Sewer District had always placed connection costs on individual property owners, not the town. Developer and district resident Robert Merchant, who is planning a 40-unit apartment building in the district, argued that the October 2023 enabling legislation and accompanying FAQ materials had promised property owners along the pipe route a practical right to connect, telling the board, "I'm asking that we take a breath, hire an engineer as a town, and let's find out what this can look like." Toll Brothers engineer Liz Clark confirmed the sewer system requires a pressurized force main running uphill the entire length to Natick, with single-family connection costs potentially near $100,000 depending on site conditions. Sweet Meadow Farm owner Alan Shad, who has been unable to expand horse stabling and a children's riding program since 2022 due to high water table and failed percolation tests, told the board he had attended every public meeting on the district and believed connection would simply be a matter of getting in line with the Water District.