Pepperell Selectmen Reject Straight Revote, Plan Special Town Meeting on Override

PEPPERELL — June 23, 2014 — Pepperell selectmen chart special-town-meeting path after Proposition 2½ override fails by six votes. The Board of Selectmen voted on no formal revote at its June 23 meeting, but board Chairman Mike said the town would hold a special town meeting — tentatively September 2 — to present a revised override package, with a ballot question running alongside the September 9 state primary election. The override had failed 506 to 500 at a June 16 special election, with roughly 12 percent voter turnout, prompting a standing-room crowd at Town Hall that cited ballot confusion between the override and a concurrent pipeline question. Town Administrator John Moak confirmed that MGL Chapter 59, Section 21C(m) permits the selectmen to hold more than one referendum on a contingent annual-town-meeting appropriation before a September 15 statutory deadline. Finance Committee Chair Melissa Zanadakis, speaking as a resident, argued "we're not here about whether or not the override should pass — we're here about whether or not we just had a fair election process." The board also approved end-of-year budget transfers totaling $17,350 and appointed Bob Lambert and Peter Nordberg to the Council on Aging over two other applicants.