Abington Select Board Unanimously Adopts Overdue Cannabis Licensing Policy Monday

ABINGTON — May 18, 2026 — Abington Select Board adopts cannabis licensing policy, hears $80,000 veterans van fundraising success. The board voted unanimously Monday to adopt a Cannabis Control Commission equity mandate compliance policy that Liz Shea, the town's conservation agent, said should have been in place a year ago; the policy establishes a rubric-based scoring system for marijuana license applicants and sets a $400 application fee. The board also voted unanimously to authorize Town Manager Michael Maresco and the Board of Health chair to sign a PN5 public health grant commitment document, keeping Abington in a five-community collaborative after the town's health agent recently departed. Adam Dunn, Director of Veteran Services, reported that the Abington Rotary Club's fundraising campaign has exceeded its $80,000 goal for a new wheelchair-accessible veterans transportation van, with $3,563.62 remaining after purchase expenses to seed a new gift fund Dunn asked the board to formally establish at its next meeting under MGL Chapter 44, Section 53A. In a wide-ranging goals discussion, Maresco flagged rising pension costs and unfunded OPEB liability as the town's sharpest medium-term fiscal pressures, telling the board, "I don't see a silver lining out there — we can't go back to the voters."