Pepperell Selectmen appoint dispatcher, authorize manual ballots for June override vote

PEPPERELL — May 14, 2012 — Pepperell selectmen unanimously approve a new dispatcher and set June 21 as the date for a special override referendum. The board voted to appoint Elizabeth Young, an EMT and current dispatcher at another Massachusetts public safety agency, to fill a full-time vacancy, with a term expiring June 30, 2013; the police representative noted she uses the same IFC computer-aided dispatch system as Pepperell, shortening her training curve. The board also voted to use manual hand-crank ballot boxes for the June 21 override election only — citing cost savings for an unanticipated special election — with electronic AccuVote machines to return for all future votes. The Economic Development Advisory Committee presented a 5,000-copy downtown visitor's guide brochure paid for entirely through personal donations, and a conceptual mini-roundabout proposal for Railroad Square, with selectmen directing both items to the Planning Board before any formal engineering referral. On the failed Peter Fitzpatrick rezoning from the prior week's town meeting, selectmen said confused — not opposed — voters are pushing the board toward a November re-attempt, with override tax impacts ranging from $572 to $1,145 annually depending on assessed home value framing the broader fiscal stakes.