Bedford Town Council Meeting: TIF Closing, PILOT, Facilities Survey – February 25, 2026
Bedford Town Council Meeting – February 25, 2026
The Bedford Town Council convened on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included the closing of the South River TIF District, approval of a tax agreement with Dartmouth Hitchcock, a lengthy discussion on a proposed facility survey for the upcoming election, recognition of departing councillors, and routine reports. All votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted.
Closing of the South River TIF District
Town Manager Rick Sawyer reported that the South River Road Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District was established in 2010 to spur economic growth. In 2013, the plan was revised to use $4.1 million in bond funds plus $900,000 of reallocated bond money for widening Route 3 and other improvements. The district was successful, with assessed valuation growing by 70% over 15 years. In 2024, the Council released most captured value back to tax rolls, and in 2025 the full value was released after all debt was paid. The final pavement overlay is complete except for line striping, funded by escrow. Councilor Carter confirmed all signals and lighting were replaced. The Council voted 6-0 to retire the district and transfer remaining funds to the general fund. Council members dedicated the motion to former Town Manager Russ Marcou, who brought the TIF concept to Bedford.
Approval of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Agreement with Dartmouth Hitchcock
Town Manager Sawyer presented a proposed PILOT agreement for the Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic building at 25 South River Road (lot 4653-400). Dartmouth Hitchcock is a nonprofit and has refurbished and reoccupied the facility. The PILOT would be equal to 50% of the total tax rate, with an initial term of five years and an option to extend for five more. This would be Dartmouth Hitchcock's second PILOT in Bedford and the town's third overall; language matches the existing agreement. The Council approved the agreement 6-0, authorizing the Town Manager to execute it.
Discussion: Facility Survey on Election Day
Councillor LeBeck presented a proposal to conduct a non-binding survey at the March 10, 2026 election, where approximately 4,000 voters are expected to cast ballots at Bedford High School. The survey was designed to gauge voter preferences on facility priorities after two failed warrant articles. Four options were presented:
- Build a new fire station on the east side, a new station on the west, and retrofit 55 Constitution as a police station.
- Prioritize town office and DPW upgrades (relocate DPW offices, add bunk quarters, indoor storage, fix HVAC/roof).
- Combine options 1 and 2 into a single warrant article, phased with staggered bonds.
- Do nothing, fix only when broken.
Discussion was extensive. Some councilors argued a dollar amount should be included (e.g., citing road bonds totaling ~$40 million), while others emphasized the need to first determine if voters want any major project at all. Councillor Carter compared the approach to the successful road bonding program started in 2003. Councillor LeBeck and others supported the survey as a way to gather data and avoid “analysis paralysis.” Councillor Beemis expressed concerns that the options were “all or nothing” and that more discussion was needed before presenting to voters. Councillor Radge (Chair) suggested that option 4 be rephrased to “maintain what we have” rather than “do nothing, fix when it breaks,” to emphasize routine maintenance. After further debate, the Council reached consensus to proceed with the survey, adopting the revised option 4 wording and making minor edits. The survey will be conducted at the March 10, 2026 election, with a table staffed all day.
Recognition of Departing Councillors
Kathleen Venus and Lori Radge were honored for their service. Kathleen Venus served on the Council from 2022, with liaison roles to BCTV, Conservation Commission, and Historic District. She chaired the Facilities Subcommittee and worked on facility warrant articles. She received an engraved plaque. Lori Radge served on the Council in three terms (2004, 2020-2025), including two years as Chair (2024-2025). She also served as Town Clerk for 12 years. She received an engraved gavel plaque and chair. Both gave brief remarks expressing gratitude.
Town Manager’s Report
Rick Sawyer provided announcements: upcoming elections on March 10, 2026 (7 a.m.–7 p.m.); last day to register is February 28 (extra session 11 a.m.–noon); applications for Citizens Police Academy due by Friday; peanut butter and jelly drive for the food pantry; Friends of the Library concert on Sunday; annual Clean Up Bedford Day scheduled April 8–18; dog registration due by April 30; summer camp registration open (Camp Witzel, June 22–August 7); and hiring for camp counselors and lifeguards.
Councillor Comments
Councilors gave brief updates: Councillor LeBeck mentioned an upcoming trip; Councillor Sowle encouraged voter participation; Councillor Grazzo noted planning board meeting canceled due to storm and thanked departing members; Councillor Carter promoted Bedford Off-Broadway and acknowledged his own re-election campaign; Councillor Beemis thanked staff and wished the town well.
Approval of Minutes and Adjournment
The Council approved the minutes from the February 11, 2026 public session (motion by Councillor Beemis, second by Councillor Carter, passed 6-0). After a motion to adjourn, the meeting ended unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Retired South River TIF District (6-0): Authorized transfer of remaining funds to general fund.
- Approved PILOT agreement (6-0) with Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic for 25 South River Road.
- Proceeded with facility survey for election day March 10, 2026, with revised option 4 wording (maintain only), no dollar amounts included.
- Recognized and thanked departing councillors Kathleen Venus and Lori Radge.
- Approved minutes of previous meeting (6-0).
- Adjourned at approximately 9:15 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. Welcome to the Town of Bedford Town Council meeting. Wednesday, February 25th, 2026. Before we begin, we'll do our traditional roll call. Over to my right is Councillor Carter. Good evening. Not joining us this evening is Councillor Strand. We have Councillor Beemis. Good evening. Councilor Bet. Good evening. Counselor Sold. Hey Bedford. Counselor Griazzo. Hello. And uh Council Chair Laurie Radge. At this time, I'll ask that you please stand for the Pledge Allegiance. And Miss Kathleen, would you not mind leading us? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Very good. So we'll jump right into new business as I see we have nobody here for public comments. First of all, first item on the list is closing of the South River TIF District. And I'll hand that over to our wonderful capable town manager, Rick Sawyer. Thank you, Madam Chair. In 2010, the town council established the South River Road tax increment financing district that we routinely call the TIFF district with the intention to spur economic growth by uh making targeted improvements to public infrastructure along South River Road. In 2013, the plan was revised to utilize 4.1 a 4.1 million dollar uh in bond money as well as $900,000 of reallocated bond money for the widening of Route 3 and other improvements meant to increase traffic flow and encourage investment into adjacent sites. The project was a success, and 15 years after its creation the TIFF districts assessed valuation grew by 70 percent. Because of its success in 2024, the council voted to release most of the captured assessed value back to the tax rolls. And in an and in 2025, the full value was released as there was no need to collect any more money. All debt has been paid, and the pavement overlay, which was the final work that was part of the development plan has been completed, except for the line striping work that will be completed this spring, uh which we have an escrow for. So there's no additional funds needed. When the district was first created, the town promised to close it as soon as possible. And with the incremental release in 2024 and the full release in 2025, and now the closing and now closing it, that promise has been kept. The recommendation is to retire the district and return unused funds to the town's general fund. Wonderful. Um any comments from the council? Go ahead, Councilor Carter. Uh Rick have and all the uh lighting and uh uh signals have all been replaced also. Sure. All the work that was part of the TIFF development plan have been completed. Most of that work was done 10 years ago, frankly. And um the development plan only called for an overlay ten years later. Um so 10 years ago those signals were improved, new cabinets were installed, um, signal crossings for pedestrians were installed that didn't exist at the time. It's hard to remember what the corridor really looked like uh 10 years ago and how the intersections didn't all necessarily align and how we didn't have turn lanes, but all the work that was in the development plan was completed. Because I thought there was some work once they were they did the grinding that there was supposed to be some more work done for fire trucks or or something to go through. You're right. We we did change from having loop detectors in those intersections that we ground out to having a camera system uh mounted on the poles. You're seeing that all over the state now. The state has converted to that.
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