Pepperell Selectmen Vote to Put Green Communities Stretch Code on Town Meeting Ballot

PEPPERELL — April 6, 2015 — Pepperell selectmen unanimously backed placing the state's stretch energy code on the May annual town meeting warrant, a move that could qualify the town for at least $150,000 in Green Communities designation grants. The board acted after an April 6 presentation by Mike Berry, senior manager with ICF International, Kelly Brown of the state Office of Energy Resources, and Danielle Macaroni of North Middlesex Council of Governments, who told selectmen the town appears to already meet two of the five required Green Communities criteria and could access competitive grants of up to $250,000 in subsequent rounds. Town Administrator Michael Andrews tied the grant opportunity directly to deferred capital needs, citing a Pepperell Public Library boiler that failed multiple times last heating season and aging Town Hall ventilation systems. The board also unanimously appointed Beth Selinger, a licensed social worker and former Pepperell Senior Center outreach coordinator, to the Council on Aging for a term expiring June 30, 2017, filling a seat vacated by Bob Lambert in January.