Ware Select Board adopts hazard plan, approves poles, renames bridge

Select Board · Meeting of May 19, 2026

Ware Select Board adopted a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan and approved utility pole permits at its March 12 meeting. The board voted unanimously to adopt the Town of Ware Hazard Mitigation Plan Update of 2025, which Town Manager Stuart said will reimburse the town 100 percent of roughly $35,000 in cash costs; he also said the town will re-establish a dedicated part-time emergency management director. The board approved National Grid and Verizon New England joint pole petitions for five town streets on a 4-1 vote, after members pushed for stronger accountability on half-poles left standing on West Street for four years.

A $5,000 allocation from the Resource Waste Community Donation Fund was approved 3-0, with two members abstaining, to help fund 250th anniversary events running from June through August 2026. The board also reaffirmed its earlier renaming of the Three Mile Bridge as the Gilbert St. George Sorrell Memorial Bridge, tabled a police petty cash policy update over conflicting dollar figures in the draft, and tabled two sewer abatement requests totaling at least $272 pending clearer documentation.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of May 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.