Douglas Finance Committee Unanimously Backs $905,400 Capital Package for Fall Town Meeting

DOUGLAS -- October 28, 2025, Douglas Finance Committee backs $905,400 capital package and clears all fall warrant articles. The seven-member committee voted unanimously or near-unanimously Tuesday to recommend all financial articles ahead of the town's upcoming special town meeting, including a $905,400 capital budget drawing $464,801 from free cash, $380,905 from prior project transfers, and $59,694 from ambulance reserve receipts for a power stretcher. Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School Superintendent Anthony Steele appeared before the committee to preview the fiscal year 2027 budget, telling members "I'm hoping that we can put together a budget request this year at 3% or less," while warning that the state Chapter 70 minimum-contribution formula, which drove Douglas's BVT assessment up 10.4 percent last fiscal year despite a 5.7 percent district budget, remains outside his control. The committee recommended a Warehouse Overlay District near Route 146 and Gilboa Street, 6 to 0 with one abstention, after Economic Development staff described a proposed 1,000-permanent-job warehouse project requiring a 17-foot building height increase to 77 feet. A $200,000 demolition of the deteriorated 104 Main Street pipeline building and a $50,000 demolition of 19 Main Street both passed unanimously; a court-ordered $50,000 demolition of a Shore Road property cleared on a 5-1-1 vote after a member argued the town was unlikely to recoup costs through the authorized demolition lien.