Shrewsbury Select Board Approves Public Health Agreement With Grafton, West Boylston

SHREWSBURY, MA — The Shrewsbury Select Board voted 4-1 to enter into an inter-municipal agreement with Grafton and West Boylston to secure a state Public Health Excellence Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Under the agreement, the three towns would join together in a shared services arrangement that would bring in about $920,000 over the next two years for public health programs and services.

The Public Health Excellence Grant program is intended to “directly support the local public health workforce, shared services, and community-driven capacity-building," according to the state. In fiscal year 2026, more than $26 million in Public Health Excellence Grant funding was distributed across the state.

One resident raised concerns about the program during the last Select Board meeting on Dec. 9.

“It’s not public health excellence, it’s public health expansion,” said resident Julie Boris. “This program eliminates local control over public health."

Boris urged the board to vote "no" on the agreement and hold a public hearing to put it to a town vote.

However, the board voted to approve the agreement after a presentation from Annette Garcia, the Regional Health Director for Shrewsbury, Grafton and West Boylston. She noted that Shrewsbury has already seen benefits from increased programming supported by the grant.

“To date, we’ve already seen some increased programming for our communities," Garcia said.

That includes full weekend coverage for food inspections at temporary events, as well as after-hour and weekend response to hoarding and other housing concerns for Shrewsbury residents.

Garcia said that the grant currently funds one of the town's health inspectors, and without it, Shrewsbury wouldn’t have enough inspectional capacity.

Without two full-time health inspectors, Garcia said the town would not be able to meet the minimum requirements for food, housing, camp and other inspection types. Shrewsbury would also not be able to provide outreach and education activities, such as participating in school events.

"This grant will allow us to baseline health conditions, quantitatively, qualitatively, within the community and then be able to report on them and the progress that we make on them more transparently," said Town Manager Kevin J. Mizikar. "But the local board of health will continue to meet, and will continue to control all local policies."

You can watch the Dec. 9 Select Board meeting via Shrewsbury Media Connection here.

See Also:

• Shrewsbury Police, Fire Face Off In Charity Hockey Game For Detective Battling Cancer
• Shrewsbury Gets $118K For Accessibility Improvements At Museum, Senior Center