Pepperell Board Lifts Town-Wide Hiring Freeze, Debates School Property Future

PEPPERELL — July 16, 2012 — Pepperell selectmen lifted a town-wide hiring freeze and clashed with the Planning Board over the long-stalled Peter Fitzpatrick School property at their July 16 meeting. The board voted unanimously to end the freeze after Town Administrator John advised that the policy was legally unenforceable once town meeting had appropriated personnel funds. In a lengthy joint session, Selectman Joe warned that the town is spending a net of more than $60,000 annually operating the building after Merrimack Special Education Collaborative rent of $51,000 — rising to $86,200 in FY13 — and that a building system failure would trigger a debt exclusion override; Planning Board Chairman Rick countered that a first rezoning article failed partly because the public hearing process was rushed, and that the board needs additional months to do the work properly. The board also accepted Philip Durneau's resignation from the Cable TV Advisory Committee, appointed Gretchen Needham as Library Trustee through the April 2013 election, and transferred $425 from the reserve fund to cover the euthanasia of a dog that had bitten a child, with the Finance Committee set to consider the same request Wednesday.