Select Board Approves Warner Field MOA, Ballot Question

Select Board · Meeting of August 3, 2026

Needham Select Board sent a Pollard Middle School debt exclusion question to the November ballot despite two dissents. The board first voted 5-0 to execute a memorandum of agreement letting geothermal wells go beneath Warner Field, after the Conservation Commission and Park and Recreation Commission each approved the Article 97 land-use change unanimously in late July. On the ballot question itself, members Kathy and Bill joined the chair in a 3-2 vote to place the measure before voters November 3, while members Josh and Kevin voted no.

Josh said the design falls roughly one classroom and about 3,000 square feet of media center space short of MSBA standards, saying "I'm not looking for perfect, I'm looking to meet at the minimum the minimum standards of the MSBA." The MSBA is set to finalize its reimbursement rate August 26.

In the full story:

• Warner Field Memorandum of Agreement for Geothermal Wells
• Debt Exclusion Ballot Question for the Pollard Middle School Project
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,721 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of August 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.