Westborough Library Trustees Vote to Remove Three Front Norway Maples Before Renovation Ends

WESTBOROUGH -- May 27, 2026, Westborough Library trustees voted to remove three deteriorating Norway maple trees from the library's front yard at their May 27 meeting, as the building renovation remains on track for a September 2026 occupancy milestone. The board unanimously approved the removal of the trees, rated poor to fair by a town arborist before construction, and since subjected to heavy equipment traffic over their root zones, deferring replanting decisions until after the project closes out; cost is expected to be drawn from the project's contingency fund, which the director said stands at roughly 45 percent spent. Trustees also unanimously approved converting a vacant 13-hour library assistant position into an administrative assistant role to handle payroll, billing, and scheduling tasks currently absorbing director and assistant director time; the position must next be approved by the Select Board. The board accepted a revised meeting room policy for the new 55 West Main Street building that sets an 18-and-older minimum age for reserving two new study rooms, over some trustee concern about excluding teenagers, with the director noting the restriction is intended as a starting point to be loosened based on usage data. The meeting also included a public forum appearance by Brett Borglund, a Congregational Church trustee, who proposed realigning the church-library property boundary and paving a strip of church land into handicapped parking spaces, a concept the board received with interest but referred to the town for further review.