By Janet Stoica

According to Andrew Golas, Charlton Town Administrator, the town has received a renovation grant for their #2 School House which was built in the 1800’s. 

“The town was looking to make improvements to keep the building intact,” said Golas. “There’s a need for structural repairs and weatherization. The roof is sagging and there are holes in the building. We were very fortunate to receive a grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission to repair the slate roof, exterior siding, and to shore up the foundation as well as structural repairs to the roof. Additionally, any windows that need replacing will be taken care of with period-appropriate windows. As the building isn’t heated, it does need to have its physical aspects protected. Our Historical Commission members are the stewards and repairs haven’t been done since the late 1980’s.”

Amazon hiring 1,000 employees

The other big event in town is that Amazon is now hiring and their employment blitz is on fire and rip-roaring with opportunities. 

“They’ll need over 1,000 employees,” said Golas, “and they hope to be operational by late October in time for the holidays. Robotics will handle the product but associates are needed for processing those deliveries. Tax revenue of $65 million is expected over the next 20 years.” 

Many who have driven to the massive warehouse protected by the titanic-sized stonewall on Route 20 are amazed by the warehouse’s size which is 48 times the square footage of a football field or 2.8 million square feet. The facility is known as a “First Mile Facility” or a sorting center where manufactured goods are received before they are shipped out to their next destination which would be a warehouse where Amazon trucks load up to make their journey to your home. It will be Amazon’s New England distribution center. 

The town has just wrapped up rebuilding Main Street sidewalks funded by Amazon and there will be new pedestrian walkway connections behind the public library. ADA upgrades at the Maynard Football Field will also be partially funded by Amazon along with town-approved funding from 2019. 

Special Town Meeting

Charlton’s Special Town Meeting will be held on Monday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Charlton Middle School. Town Meeting documents can be found online by navigating to the government page