J. Nicholas Slottje Business Owner, resident, Chamber BOD & Chairman of Economic Development Council - The Chamber of Commerce voted on a motion today (passed overwhelmingly) to oppose the single property historic designation at 76 Main as well as the extension of the demolition holding period. - It is my feeling that this sets a very dangerous prescenedent in Hopkinton, one that borders on infringing on owners property rights. How do we ensure that these single structure designations are being viewed objectively? - The Economic Development Council has been very concerned about our significant tax imbalance with respect to residential vs. commercial revenue. At a time when it is so critical to create commercial and business tax revenue (that has no further impact to our overcrowded schools) this simply adds more red tape and creates an even larger sense that Hopkinton is not business friendly. Meanwhile we are fighting tooth and nail through the Economic Development Council to bring more businesses to town.

From the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Council Chair, Nick Slottje: "Such an all encompassing issue for our town should go through the normal planning process to understand the true repercussions and impact to Hopkinton. The concept of limiting growth needs to vetted before voters can be asked to have an educated opinion on these articles at Town Meeting. From an economic standpoint I am concerned that there is not enough attention being paid to the fact that responsible and prudent growth in the right areas of town has allowed for tremendous upgrades to our schools and infrastructure."