Middleton Select Board appoints new COA director, ratifies three-year police contract

MIDDLETON — February 17, 2026 — Middleton Select Board unanimously appoints Council on Aging director and ratifies police contract at final school building meeting. The board appointed Aniela Anderson, who has served as deputy COA director for roughly eight months, as permanent director through June 30, 2028, following a competitive screening process managed by Assistant Town Administrator Jackie Doherty. The board also voted 4-0, with one abstention, to ratify a three-year contract with the Middleton Police Benevolent Association covering fiscal years 2027 through 2029, with Chair Brian crediting the union for "negotiating in very good faith" given a projected fiscal 2027 budget gap that Town Administrator Justin Doherty said could exceed $860,000. Two municipal complex change orders — ASR 04 at $80,682 for reduced-rate OPM oversight of remaining site work and Change Order 15 at $31,444 covering 17 miscellaneous construction items — were approved unanimously, bringing the project's total contract value to $59,768,144. Treasurer-Collector Nick Wood proposed shifting real estate tax mailings from four times a year to twice annually, a move requiring a town meeting vote that could save $8,000 to $10,000 per year, and the new COA facility is set to open March 9.