The committee in charge of advising the town on ways to reduce its energy consumption and costs has asked the Select Board for permission to pursue plans for a solar installation to supply electricity to town-owned buildings.

There were handshakes and smiles all around at Monday’s School Committee meeting, as current Assistant Superintendent Dana Labb signed the contract by which he will become superintendent of Harvard schools, effective July 1, 2026.

The long wait for a full-time Department of Public Works director is finally over. Eric Ryder, currently employed as the DPW director in Hudson, will begin working in that capacity in Harvard on Monday, Jan. 5.

The Capital Planning and Investment Committee met Dec. 4 and voted to recommend 14 of the 17 requests it received from town departments. All but one would be funded by the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.

When the Devens Committee and Devens Educational Advisory Committee convene in January, four freshman representatives will be seated at the table.

Harvard’s already limited public transportation has been sharply reduced this month. The reason MART gave for discontinuing all these services was extremely low ridership.

The Select Board has approved its own representatives to a nine-member committee that will consider what changes might be needed in the Harvard Town Charter when it comes up for renewal after 10 years in use.