Pepperell Board Appoints Fire Chief Search Committee, Advances 13 Warrant Articles

PEPPERELL — September 12, 2016 — Pepperell Board of Selectmen appoints three members to a fire chief search committee and clears 13 special town meeting warrant articles at a wide-ranging September 12 session. The board named firefighter Stephanie DeMarco as the paramedic/EMT representative, firefighter Sean Shattuck as the firefighter representative, and long-time town government figure Joseph Sergi as the resident-at-large member of the committee, which Town Administrator Mark Andrews will chair per the town charter; the committee targets a recommendation to the board by February 2017. A proposed salary range of $78,000 to $90,000 for the new chief — up from roughly $75,000 currently — was presented by HR consultant Sandy Stapczynski, who noted only four of Massachusetts' 351 municipalities still operate under a Board of Fire Engineers model. The board also approved a three-month Saturday senior shopping van pilot called Sir William's Run, operating through the Lowell Regional Transit Authority to Route 101A-area stores beginning in October, and voted to place a first-ever $100,000 post-employment benefits trust fund article and a 2.5 percent non-union employee wage increase — costing roughly $37,000 on the general government side — on the fall special town meeting warrant. The Fire Department separately received a SAFER grant of $64,316, running through November 2020.