Pepperell Selectmen Sign Dispatch MOU, Putting Regional Center on Track for July Launch

PEPPERELL — February 25, 2020 — Pepperell selectmen unanimously signed a memorandum of understanding with Ashby to create a regional emergency communications center, with Townsend expected to join in year two. David Stairs, director of Pepperell's Communications Center, told the board the consolidation would raise the town's annual State 9-1-1 grant from $40,000 to $230,000 with Ashby aboard and to just over $300,000 once Townsend joins. Pepperell, with a current communications budget of just over $500,000, would bear 78.40 percent of year-one operating costs under a population-based formula; Ashby would cover 21.60 percent. Stairs said regionalized centers also gain access to the competitive State 9-1-1 development grant — a "big ticket item" used by some communities to build new facilities from the ground up — which standalone towns cannot touch. The board also approved a $4,000 legal settlement on a five-figure demand, placed two articles on the 2020 annual town meeting warrant, and signed the corrected April 27 election warrant; Town Administrator Andrew Teed announced the selection of Bryn Montesanti as incoming town clerk after a 10-applicant search.