Breaking News

(Feb. 11th) – The Ayer-Shirley Regional School District has now made preliminary budget presentations to both the Ayer and Shirley Select Boards. On Feb. 3rd, the school district met with the Ayer Select Board, Finance Committee and Town Manager, presenting a preliminary budget reflecting an 11.9 percent increase in Ayer’s operating assessment & debt and…

(Please note: on Feb. 24th, we updated our coverage to reflect that the committee voted to raise the sewer rate by 4 percent, not 5). (Feb. 10, 2026) – The Rate Review Committee has voted to recommend a 3 percent increase on water rates and 4 percent on sewer rates for FY2027. Meanwhile, the committee…

(Feb. 6, 2026) – The State Fire Marshal has ordered no further blasting related to the Lincoln Hill project, pending completion of an investigation into a large “flying rock” discharging onto a residential property, damaging a shed, according to the Town of Ayer. The Town of Ayer issued a statement on Friday, Feb. 6th. This…

Check out a few local stories from the week. We have updates on the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District budget and the Capital Planning Committee’s discussion on the Sandy Pond Beach House project. We also wrote about a new four-story building coming to Park Street. This will bring commercial space and 12 new apartments to the center of town. This is the one of the first major projects to be approved under Ayer’s Downtown/Park Street Form-Based Code District zoning.

In 2019, Town Meeting voted to approve the Downtown/Park Street Form-Based Code zoning district. Now, the Planning Board has approved what could be the first major project: a four-story mixed-use building, with commercial space and parking on the first floor and 12 residential units on the higher levels. The Planning Board voted on Jan. 27th…

(Feb. 4, 2026) – Over the past two weeks, the Capital Planning Committee has met twice and considered the Sandy Pond Beach House replacement project as part of its agenda. This week, committee members said they support the project, but it is difficult to move ahead without having design plans and a budget. “I’m just…

(Feb. 3, 2026) – The Ayer-Shirley Regional School District superintendent met with the Ayer Select Board and Finance Committee on Tuesday night and presented a preliminary operating assessment & debt of $28.16 million for FY2027. This represents $3.24 million over the current year. The preliminary required local contribution for Ayer was $11.28 million. With transportation…

Now that voters have approved the financing, the Senior Center Site Selection/Building Committee is moving ahead in its work. The committee met on Jan. 29th and received the Design Development Plans from the architect. Three Phases Phase 1 was Schematic Design of the proposed senior center. This happened before the Special Town Meeting approval last…

Jan. 28, 2026 – Drivers: it’s time to learn your detours. The Town of Ayer plans to start the West Main Street bridge replacement in mid-March. The Department of Public Works led a 30-minute hybrid presentation from Ayer Town Hall on Wednesday night. About 30 people attended in-person and on Zoom, including town employees and…

The Ayer Select Board will conduct a public hearing on Feb. 3rd at 6:30 pm regarding an application to connect the Town of Ayer’s sewer system to 434 Old Ayer Road in Groton. If the Select Board votes to recommend the connection, this will be placed on the April 27th Annual Town Meeting warrant. Read the notice. …