Pepperell Selectmen Order Fence, Full Dog Restraint at Blood Street Property

PEPPERELL — November 5, 2018 — Pepperell selectmen formally ordered fencing and full restraint of two dogs at 50 Blood Street and gave new Town Administrator Andrew Dowd a sweeping first-night priority list covering a looming structural deficit, a contested Nashville Road development, personnel fairness complaints, and a transparency overhaul. The board voted unanimously to adopt Animal Control Officer Mary Latino's written recommendation requiring the dog owner to keep both animals fully restrained on the property at all times, with fencing upgraded immediately or within 30 days if not currently adequate, and photo or video proof required for future violations. On the budget, selectmen described years of mid-six-figure structural shortfalls driven by regional school assessments consistently exceeding the town's 2.5 percent levy capacity, with Selectman Bill Greathead warning that town departments had been cut "dry" and infrastructure — including a police station with recurring mold and fire stations housing around-the-clock EMTs — was deteriorating. Dowd said he had been told by someone outside Pepperell about the contents of a recent executive session involving his own contract, and asked the board to treat confidentiality obligations seriously. The board also formalized a new meeting-management schedule: agenda items due Tuesday, public packets posted by Thursday — a change from the prior practice of Friday uploads that left members only a weekend to prepare.