Douglas Board of Selectmen approves pole petition, tree care plan, and scarecrow contest

DOUGLAS -- July 7, 2026, Douglas Board of Selectmen clears pole petition, scarecrow contest, and tree care in five unanimous votes. The board approved a National Grid request to relocate pole 104 on Southeast Main Street approximately 37 feet to the northwest to support road improvements on Perry Street, after three residents asked detailed questions about line routing and power interruptions during the public hearing. National Grid representative Jeff Silva attended and corrected the petition's stated distance from 31 to 37 feet on the record. The board also authorized the Douglas Common Preservation Society's third annual Scarecrow Contest, set for approximately October 8 through November 3 with an awards ceremony on October 31, and approved a $1,025 tree care plan, funded entirely by the Society, to prune aging 116-year-old sugar maples and a sight-line-blocking linden tree on the Town Common, contingent on Town Administrator review and submission of liability insurance. The board appointed Derek LeClair to the Agricultural Commission for a three-year term, filling the board's final seat, and passed its road opening policy on a third and final reading as a temporary administrative measure pending a formal bylaw at Town Meeting.