Pepperell Select Board approves cannabis equity policy, resident guide, and VFW license change

PEPPERELL — November 19, 2025 — Pepperell Select Board unanimously approved a cannabis social equity scoring policy, a new resident welcome guide, and a VFW liquor license manager change at its November 19 meeting. Town Clerk Bryn Derner presented the cannabis policy — required by 2022 state law — which adds a 25-point social equity scoring rubric to host community agreement applications and must be self-certified to the Cannabis Control Commission; the town's two existing retail stores are unaffected, but future cultivation or delivery applicants will be evaluated under it. Derner also won approval for a new resident mailer, costing $1.83 per household, to be sent to buyers of the roughly 79 homes sold to out-of-community residents in the past six months. Town Administrator Andrew Kierstead told the board that routine budget pressures — including a projected 20 percent health insurance increase — are expected to produce a $500,000 deficit heading into FY2027, with new commercial tax revenue not arriving until fiscal years 2028 and 2029, and said plainly that "a tax override" must be part of the conversation.