Pepperell Select Board approves regional opioid pact, sets November Town Meeting warrant

PEPPERELL -- October 8, 2025, Pepperell Select Board unanimously approved a regional opioid abatement agreement and advanced six articles to a November 3 Special Town Meeting. The board voted 3-0 to join the Nashoba Opioid Abatement Collaborative, transferring the town's opioid settlement funds, estimated at roughly $30,000 over 15 years, to NOAC Financial as fiscal agent, with member towns' financial exposure capped at available settlement funds and no additional assessment obligation. Town Administrator Andrew Dowd also briefed the board on a proposed charter-required reorganization to reduce his 22 direct reports by creating an assistant town administrator, a finance director, and a land use manager, with a public hearing set for October 22. Treasurer-Collector Theresa O'Leary, four months into her role, presented data showing Pepperell's per-capita tax burden has declined relative to income over the past four years and that long-term debt per capita has dropped $287 per person since fiscal 2022. The board also appointed two residents, Beryl to the Climate Change Committee and Sandra to the Zoning Board of Appeals as an alternate, both with terms expiring June 30, 2026, and set Halloween trick-or-treating hours for October 31 from 6 to 8 p.m.