Holbrook Select Board Reorganizes After Elections

On April 15, the Holbrook Select Board met to reorganize following town elections, with Chris Eddington now joining the board.

The two-and-a-half-hour meeting covered a wide range of topics, from formalities to crucial updates around the town.

To start the meeting, the Holbrook Cultural Council, or HCC, announced new sponsors for the annual summer concert series, which runs on Sunday evenings from July to August. The increase in sponsorships and fundraising will allow the HCC to hold six concerts instead of the usual five. 

Members of the Holbrook Cultural Council discussing their new sponsorship program for their annual summer concert series

For each tier, from bronze to gold, sponsors can have an advertisement hung up in Holbrook Park next to Sumner Field, where the concerts are held. 

Next, the Select Board declared the week of April 12, 2026, National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. Officials from the Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center were also present at the meeting to announce Kevin Austin as the new operations manager. 

Holbrook Community Access and Media Executive Director Zack Gorman then presented an overall update on the HCAM's 2025 annual report, which provides an overview of the station’s impact on the town. 

Gorman emphasized the impact of the declining number of cable customers on HCAM and its relation to funding concerns. He also highlighted the 2025-2027 organizational goals, which include launching a written journalism program, increasing HCAM membership, and rebuilding the Video Production after-school program. Replacing the broadcast servers would be the final goal.

After the presentation of the report, Gorman updated the board on Holbrook’s upcoming Comcast cable license renewal. 

The second half of the meeting focused on reports from the various town offices and warrant articles. Holbrook Town Accountant Kenneth Lytle helped lead most of the discussion surrounding the budgeting and taxation.

Town Accountant Kenneth Lytle presents article items to the Holbrook Selectboard.

Holbrook Fire Chief Luke McFadden was the last to speak at the meeting. He spoke about the process of hiring new firefighters and paramedics, which has brought some challenges due to the prerequisites, such as being younger than 32 when applying.

The open session ended with the reorganization of the board. Kevin Costa was named chair, Patty Conway was named vice chair, and Chris Eddington was named clerk. 

To watch the meeting, you can visit the on-demand section of hcamtv.org or watch it on Comcast channel nine or Verizon channel 39.