Pepperell Selectmen Approve Solar Deal, Mutual Aid Pact, and Tax Rate

PEPPERELL — October 16, 2017 — Pepperell selectmen voted unanimously on a string of consequential items at their October 16 meeting, including approving surplus educational roof space at North Middlesex Regional High School for a 20-year solar power purchase agreement projected to save the district roughly $1 million, and entering the statewide mutual aid agreement under MGL Chapter 40 for both public safety and public works. The solar deal with the company Select requires no capital outlay from the district; the town locks in a rate of 9.8 cents per kilowatt-hour against a current rate of roughly 15 cents, with a buyout option after seven years. On mutual aid, Emergency Management Director Dave Cruz told the board that Pepperell and Groton were the only two towns in the immediate region still outside the agreement, out of roughly 30 statewide holdouts. The board also set the fiscal 2018 single tax rate at $16.39 per thousand — unchanged in structure, with all split-rate and exemption options rejected — as new growth reached approximately $350,000, nearly five times the $70,000 figure used in 2014. Bruce Haskins was unanimously appointed to the Pepperell Housing Authority Board of Commissioners under a seat made eligible for board appointment after DHCD moved to designate it a tenant-representative position.