Around Town: ‘Tis the Season for Volunteering, Taylor Swift Concert Hearing Continued, Caroling on the Common and More

The scheduled public hearing regarding the Taylor Swift concerts scheduled for Gillette Stadium in July was continued to Dec. 18 at the request of the Kraft Group.

Board of Selectmen chair James DeVellis said he received an e-mail from Dan Murphy of the Kraft Group Tuesday evening requesting the public hearing be continued. Selectmen unanimously granted the request.

Selectmen Recommend No Action on Article 5 of Special Town Meeting Warrant

Selectmen approved a motion to recommend taking no action on Article 5 at the Dec. 11 Special Town Meeting. Article 5 is the appropriation of funds to begin design work for a new or renovated Town Hall. To view the Dec. 11 Town Meeting Warrant, click here.

‘Tis the Season to Volunteer in Foxborough

As the holiday season arrives in Foxborough so do the volunteers.

“This is the time where you are going to see a lot of people in town doing a lot of volunteer work,” DeVellis said. “You’ve already seen it on the Common with decorating trees and putting flags and banners up.”

DeVellis encouraged those who have extra time in their schedule to do some volunteer work in town.

“It’s a nice time to do that,” DeVellis said.

Kudos to the Foxborough High School Football Team

DeVellis gave a shout out to the 2012 .

“A quick kudos to the Foxborough High School Warriors [football team],” DeVellis said. “It was a fantastic game and it was nice to see them win it in the last couple of minutes. Probably one of the best Thanksgiving football games I’ve seen.”

Operation Sandy from Mass. to Collect Gift Cards for Hurricane Victims

Selectman Lynda Walsh said the local volunteer group dedicated to helping victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey will be collecting gift cards for Christmas.

DeVellis said he was thankful for the volunteers’ efforts.

“Lynda [Walsh] and [Operation Sandy from Mass.] stepped up for a second run down to New York and New Jersey,” DeVellis said. “If you read the blogs of what’s going on in New Jersey it’s very heartwarming to see this kind of help.”

Special Thanks to Foxborough Planning Board

DeVellis thanked Town Planner Sharon Wason and the members of the Planning Board for the work they did to secure special approval in the DHCD program related to 40B development in Foxborough.

Currently, Foxborough is under the state’s required 10 percent of affordable housing in town, which meant any developer could propose a 40B development in town with little restriction, until Foxborough was approved of the DHCD program.

“What this program does is it allows Foxborough - as long as it meets certain requirements - to tell large 40B developments ‘not right now’ and that ‘we are phasing [40B developments] in over time,’” DeVellis said. “This program is good for seven years.”

DeVellis said Wason and the Planning Board “worked hard to see” the program through and Foxborough is fortunate to have a board and town planner this proactive in the community.

“[Foxborough] is fortunate to have a board with this kind of foresight … something a lot of towns do not have,” DeVellis said. “I’m currently working in a town that’s trying to deal with hundreds of 40B units coming in and it is a drain on infrastructure and school system and on the traffic.”

Foxboro Jaycees to Hold Caroling on the Common on Dec. 20

Selectmen approved Julie Grant’s request for the Foxboro Jaycees to hold the annual Caroling on the Common on Dec. 20 from 6 to 7 p.m.

Common Victuallers License Issued to Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop

Selectmen approved Sean Olson’s of Olson Restaurant Group’s request for a new common victuallers license for Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop to be located at 282 Patriot Pl.

New Taxi Cab License Issued to Maurice Cab of Foxborough

Selectmen approved Maurice Barkachi’s request for a new taxi cab license for Maurice Cab of Foxborough.

Miscellaneous:

Selectmen approved meeting minutes for Oct. 30 and Nov. 5.