Clinton Select Board revives Government Affairs Subcommittee, eyes charter commission review

Select Board · Meeting of February 11, 2026

Clinton Select Board revives its Government Affairs Subcommittee and approves a Starbucks license in a full Wednesday session. The board voted unanimously to re-establish the advisory subcommittee, dormant since 2023, with all five members — Chair Mary Dickhout, Bill Conley, Sean Kerrigan, Julie Bruise, and Matt Cobas — volunteering to serve; Conley, who proposed the revival, said he hopes the panel will examine elected versus appointed positions and potentially explore convening a charter commission, noting "a lot of good came out of it in the past." One member raised transparency concerns, citing 11 agendas from the prior committee's run that lacked posted minutes, but the motion carried 5-0. The board also unanimously approved a common victualer license for Starbucks at 830 Main Street, a 2,500-square-foot drive-through location with a March 13 target opening, and approved water, sewer and trash abatements of $19,734.58 — excluding one account flagged for a possible duplicate entry.

Town Administrator Michael Ward reported the town's health insurance renewal came in at zero percent, well below an initially projected 8 to 9 percent increase.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.