Ware Select Board Quadruples Housing PILOT Payment, Answers Open Meeting Complaint

Select Board · Meeting of May 20, 2026

Ware Select Board approves new PILOT deal that more than quadruples payments from senior housing complex. Meeting Tuesday, May 5, the board unanimously approved a new payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the nonprofit owner of a 29-unit affordable housing complex on Church Street, raising the annual payment from roughly $7,000 to $29,000 in the first year, $1,000 per unit, escalating at 2.5 percent annually to $36,217 by fiscal year 2036; a consultant to the Board of Assessors noted that "a lot of communities exempt these types of properties outright." The board also voted 4-0 to authorize Town Counsel to submit a response to an Open Meeting Law complaint filed April 26 by resident Cynthia Allen, which alleged 18 of the town's 21 committees lack properly posted minutes or agendas; Town Counsel argued the complaint misstates the law, is largely untimely, and names parties, the Town Manager and Town Clerk, not subject to Open Meeting Law. The Town Manager reported the Treasurer's Office had secured $5,000,000 in short-term borrowing notes at approximately 4 percent interest, with formal acceptance expected at the May 19 or June 2 meeting ahead of the June 8 Annual Town Meeting.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of May 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.