Pepperell Selects New Town Administrator, Sets $16.59 FY2019 Tax Rate

PEPPERELL — October 15, 2018 — Pepperell Board of Selectmen introduces new town administrator and sets fiscal year 2019 property tax rate at $16.59. The board welcomed incoming Town Administrator Andrew McLean at its October 15 meeting, where McLean appeared as an invited guest ahead of his start date at the end of the month; outgoing Town Administrator John Moak will assist in the transition before leaving for surgery and retirement. Town Assessor Maureen Bolger presented the annual tax classification data, reporting that average single-family home values rose 3.34 percent to $330,066 and that the North Middlesex Regional High School debt exclusion added roughly $700,000 to this year's levy, pushing the projected rate from $14.96 to $16.59 per thousand dollars. The board unanimously rejected all four classification options — open space discount, residential exemption, small commercial exemption, and split tax rate — maintaining a uniform tax factor of one. Building Inspector Robert Kelly's written determination that Mass Composting Group's proposed soil reclamation project at 161 Nashua Road constitutes a prohibited commercial dumping ground was read into the record and referred to town counsel. A public nuisance hearing over loose dogs at 50 Blood Street was continued to October 29 after neighbors described repeated incidents and the dog owners cited new fencing installed since July.