Pepperell Selectmen Unanimously Rename Senior Center for Albert Harris

PEPPERELL -- March 9, 2020, Pepperell's Senior Center will be renamed the Albert Harris Center after a unanimous Board of Selectmen vote Monday night. Town Administrator Andrew McLean and Senior Center Director Susan McCarthy led the effort to honor Harris, 79, a lifelong Pepperell resident, 35-year volunteer firefighter, Vietnam War veteran, and 17-year custodian at the center. The board also approved a host community agreement with cannabis cultivator New England Craft Cultivators, the second such agreement this year, setting a 3 percent sales tax and a 3 percent impact fee for five years, and tabled the appointment of Heather Hampson to the Zoning Board of Appeals alternate seat after a selectman requested a resume or interview before voting. McLean reported a projected $6,000 surplus in the FY2021 budget, with North Middlesex Regional School District's assessment rising 4.17 percent and an overall town budget increase of 3.91 percent. The board also placed 10 Annual Town Meeting warrant articles on the 2020 warrant and heard a presentation on a $17,000 downtown wayfinding signage plan that must be installed by June 30 or the earmark expires.