Pepperell Selectmen Put 13 Articles on October 29 Special Town Meeting Warrant

PEPPERELL — September 10, 2012 — Pepperell selectmen advance 13-article Special Town Meeting warrant for October 29, including a TIF extension for Massey Systems and a solar energy RFP for the town landfill. The board voted unanimously to place the warrant articles, endorsing a new Tax Increment Financing agreement for Massey Systems, the biorepository company at 10 Lomar Park Drive that has grown from 29 to roughly 60 employees since its 2008 TIF — a 41 percent expansion — while the town has exempted just $4,130 in taxes against $30,000 received. The board also authorized the town administrator to solicit proposals for a photovoltaic installation on the town landfill, estimated at 500 kilowatts and a net benefit of roughly $15,000 per year, with a required 20-year lease minimum. A Railroad Square roundabout feasibility study was the only article held, pending coordination with the Planning Board and DPW, whose highway superintendent said the study money would be better spent on staffing. The board separately voted to set three revised license fees — an all-alcohol club license at $300, a new wine-and-malt package store license at $600, and a common victualer license at $50 — and accepted the resignation of local inspector Rudy Schultz, who served the town since 1975. Free cash was projected at $1,168,000, pending state certification, though tax receivables have risen from $150,000 to over $300,000.