Charlton Town Meeting Funds Senior Center Study, Blocks Firearms Exemption

CHARLTON — October 20, 2025 — Charlton special town meeting approves $50,000 senior center feasibility study and rejects firearms exemption for municipal buildings. Voting 179-114 Monday night at Charlton Middle School, the roughly 295 registered voters present authorized a due-diligence study on the former Charlton Furniture property as a potential senior center site, with Finance Committee Chair Henrik Kamasi arguing the town's senior population has grown to more than 31 percent of residents and illustrating a potential tax impact of roughly $120 per year on an average home if an $8.5 million acquisition were eventually financed through debt exclusion. The Select Board opposed the study 4-1, with Chair Karen Spiewak casting the lone dissenting vote and then stepping down to urge residents to support it. In the night's most closely contested action, voters rejected 133-137 a Select Board article that would have allowed licensed firearms carriers into town administrative buildings and offices, after passing 149-121 an amendment to keep the Charlton Public Library out of any exemption; a broader citizen's petition covering municipal buildings and property also failed, 101-126. Voters also converted the town clerk position from elected to appointed, effective for 2026 elections, and authorized $305,000 for Fire Department vehicle and HVAC improvements.