Pepperell Planning Board Votes 3-1 to Send Final Earmark Funds to Food Hub Partner

PEPPERELL — September 30, 2024 — Pepperell Planning Board votes 3-1 to send remaining $221,000 earmark to food hub partner, leaving Fitz kitchen without additional funds. The board, chaired by Al Patner, approved releasing the final balance of Senator Kennedy's earmark to the Agricultural Commission and Growing Places Local Food Works for a cold, dry, and frozen storage aggregation center at Wilmar Park, with final approval pending Select Board and town counsel review. The Fitz Collaborative, which had already received $260,500 from the same earmark for a shared commercial kitchen at the former Fitz school building, sought an additional $205,000 to finish construction; culinary program director Matthew Slocum said the project is three months from opening once a general contractor start payment is made. Growing Places Executive Director Ann Yagle said her organization — in its 24th year of operation and managing 41 active grants — would absorb operating losses while the town retains ownership of all purchased equipment. The meeting opened with Patner reading into the record a September 22 email from Town Administrator Andrew McLean disputing Patner's practice of limiting votes by newer board members on long-running items; the board voted unanimously to confirm the practice and to request a formal town counsel opinion on the question.