Wrentham Select Board accepts 73-acre conservation gift, fills four ZBA seats

WRENTHAM — February 4, 2026 — Wrentham Select Board unanimously accepts a 73-acre conservation gift and appoints four new Zoning Board members while pressing the Roderick School Building Committee to cut costs further. The board voted 5-0 Wednesday to accept the donation of 72.911 acres known as Red Bird Farm from developers Hawthorne Brook LLC and Salvatore Circle LLC, land set aside after the discovery of marbled salamander priority habitat on the site adjacent to a proposed 66-unit over-55 development and 11-lot subdivision off Taunton Street. Conservation Agent Daryl Luce said the acreage will protect drinking water quality draining toward Lake Pearl and improve public access to the state forest. The board also filled four Zoning Board of Appeals vacancies — elevating James Lawrence to full member and appointing Rachel Hill, John McCallister, and Sean Barry as associates — and adopted the town's new multi-year strategic plan. The longest exchange came during a Roderick School Building Committee presentation showing total construction costs down roughly 11 percent to $840 per square foot, with the town's estimated share at $64 million to $67 million after a projected 38 to 41 percent state reimbursement, before potential energy rebates of nearly $5 million. Chair Gallo and Selectman Harrington called for deeper design cuts and questioned whether a proposed $1 million traffic signal at South Street and Randall Road was justified, with the committee returning in two weeks seeking a formal board endorsement ahead of a June town meeting vote.