Charlton Launches Opioid Grant Program With $2,500 Per-Application Cap

CHARLTON -- June 16, 2026, Charlton Select Board creates opioid grant program, approves AI policy, and hears plowing dispute. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to establish a formal Opioid Settlement Fund grant program, capping initial individual awards at $2,500 from roughly $10,000 in uncommitted settlement funds, with Town Administrator Andrew M. Golas committing to notify the nonprofit Adams Parachute, whose May request prompted the move, once the application process is live. The board also unanimously approved a revised Artificial Intelligence Use Policy after amending one phrase, changing language on disciplinary violations from "may result" to "shall result" in sanctions. Six residents, Nancy Tully, Elizabeth LaFrance, Kara Holland, Sherry Westbury, Ryan Black, and Kelly Sesla, were appointed to the new Master Plan Steering Committee tied to a planning engagement with firm VHB. Golas announced that Charlton will receive $335,377.93 from a state Fair Share Supplement appropriation for snow and ice recovery costs, and that incoming Planning Director Dylan Maxfield will begin July 6. During open forum, representatives of the 30-unit Upham Farms condominium on Highfield Road told the board their association spends approximately $40,000 annually plowing a road the town once maintained, and asked for help unraveling the history of the arrangement.