Wilmington Select Board votes to formally elect vice chair, restructures public comment

WILMINGTON -- June 9, 2026, Wilmington's Select Board adopted new governance rules Monday, including a provision to formally elect a vice chair for the first time. The board voted unanimously to amend its policies and procedures so that both chair and vice chair are elected annually, ending an informal system under which the most recent former chair filled the vice chair role by default; member Tara Buscelli made the motion, seconded by Michael West. The board also adopted a standalone alcohol license fee schedule, separating fees from the full rules and regulations to allow future changes without a public-hearing requirement, and kept the club license at $1,000, up from $250, after a motion to lower it to $500 failed for lack of a second. A Verizon petition to relocate four utility poles on Salem Street as part of a MassDOT roadway-widening project near 800 Salem Street was continued to June 22 after three abutters raised concerns about property lines and a septic system near a proposed pole location. During public comment, residents Joseph Fasulo and Paul Shell urged the board to spend the $615,000 town-meeting authorization for Bezell Senior Center renovations, calling the six-month delay unacceptable, while Fasulo also demanded a special town meeting to impose a temporary ban on data centers.