Billerica COA Subcommittee Pushes for Feasibility Study, Eyes October Town Meeting

BILLERICA — May 4, 2026 — Billerica's COA subcommittee clashes over Cider Mill land and the path to a new senior center. The monthly public session drew conservation advocates, town meeting members, and three Select Board members as residents debated whether to press forward with a May 19 town meeting warrant article affecting the 42-acre Cider Mill property or wait for a feasibility study to determine how much land a future facility actually needs. Subcommittee member Dan Burns warned against locking in only the 4.5-acre Lot 75, saying "Is four and a half acres enough out of 42 acres? Should we be taking eight?" Conservation advocate Trek Reef, a Cider Mill Advocacy Group organizer, said his group has worked six years to protect the land but is willing to compromise on Lot 75 as the only parcel free of mapped wetlands. Town meeting representative Justin Damon told the group the Select Board can amend the warrant article up to and including on the floor of town meeting. The subcommittee's next meeting is set for May 26, with an October warrant article for a feasibility study emerging as the group's most concrete shared goal.