Acton housing lottery

The town will hold a lottery for three new town homes for eligible first-time home buyers. An informational meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 in Town Hall. The two-bedroom home costs $154,400 and the three-bedroom homes cost $171,700. The buyers must meet income and asset requirements to be eligible to participate in the lottery. The application deadline is March 14, and the lottery will be held March 26. For more information and an application, e-mail lotteryinfo@mcohousingservices.com or call 978-456-8388. Applications also are available in the clerk's office at Town Hall and at town libraries. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

GREEN AMBITION - The town has joined EPA New England's Community Energy Challenge, which asks communities to reduce air pollution by curbing energy use by at least 10 percent and improving the energy performance of municipal buildings while seeking renewable-energy alternatives. Arlington and other participating communities receive free training from the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as technical support of software that tracks energy use and helps to identify areas where effeciency could be improved. "We believe that an energy management strategy for our municipal buildings and facilities will help us enhance our financial health and aid in preserving the environment for future generations," Town Manager Brian Sullivan said in a statement. - Brenda J. Buote

REVERSE 911 COVERAGE - Selectmen have authorized the town's participation in a countywide reverse 911 emergency notification system overseen by the Worcester County sheriff's office in West Boylston. Initially, joining the service will be free, according to Town Administrator Shaun Suhoski, and officials will have to designate agents who will be trained. The town will be fully linked to the system within a couple of months. The system was put into place with a $250,000 federal Homeland Security grant. In the case of an emergency, homes with a standard telephone in participating communities would be notified. If the federal grant expires, it would cost roughly $1,000 annually for the town to continue participation, Suhoski said. - Taryn Plumb

SCHOOL REQUEST TRIMMED - The Finance Committee will review town budget requests this week, including a school district budget that was trimmed by about $350,000 last week. The School Committee had cut the district's $30.4 million request during two sessions, eliminating plans to fill some empty jobs and $150,000 from special education, according to Superintendent Maureen LaCroix. But the Finance Committee had asked the district for a reduction of $605,000. The current request represents an increase over this year's $28.2 million budget. It calls for a new guidance counselor at the high school to focus on Hanscom Air Force Base students, LaCroix said. It also would pay for an English language specialist to help students who do not speak English as their first language. The Finance Committee will probably decide this week on its budget recommendation, LaCroix said. Then the Board of Selectmen will put a final budget before voters at the March 24 Town Meeting. - Kytja Weir

PLANS FOR WELLINGTON SCHOOL - School and town officials will sit down with representatives from the state School Building Authority next week to discuss plans for Wellington Elementary School. The town wants a new building to replace the old school, and the authority has included Belmont on a list of towns under consideration for funding. The estimated cost of construction is $40 million to $45 million, and the town hopes to receive at least a 40 percent reimbursement from the state. The meeting is scheduled for next Thursday. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

BALANCED BUDGET VOWED - Town Manager Rocco Longo says he plans to present selectmen with a balanced budget before his departure at the end of the month. Longo, who lives in Duxbury, was selected by Marshfield selectmen as their new town administrator last month. He has served in Billerica since 2005. - Joyce Pellino Crane

LAND PURCHASE CONSIDERED - The Board of Selectmen has called a Special Town Meeting for March 17 for residents to vote on a land purchase. The town is interested in buying a 30-acre parcel on Liberty Square Road. It has received a $235,000 state grant to help pay for the land. If the town buys the parcel, it plans to sell about 4 acres to a developer to raise money to offset the purchase price. The remaining 26 acres would be set aside for conservation. The land abuts about 60 acres of town-owned conservation land. The price is not yet known. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at Blanchard Memorial School. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

NEW VOTING BOOTHS - Town Meeting last week approved $24,000 to buy new voting booths, but rejected a request for $100,000 to hire appraisers and other consultants to evaluate a 270-acre, town-owned tract along the Lexington and Bedford borders that is landlocked by Route 3 and Route 128. Selectmen recommended the measure on a 5-0 vote, and the town Ways and Means Committee endorsed it, 11-1, on grounds that the town should know the value and development potential of the property should it ever decide to sell or develop it for recreational or commercial use. But Town Meeting defeated the appraisal request after spending two hours debating and eventually rejecting a request to fund a challenge to the federal immigration enforcement facility in town. The selectmen may bring the land question back at a future town meeting, Town Administrator Robert A. Mercier said. - Eric Moskowitz

SPENDING SCENARIOS OUTLINED - At a recent meeting with the Finance Committee, Superintendent of Schools Marie Doyle outlined two possible spending scenarios for the 2009 fiscal year - one based on level services and the other on a zero-growth plan. Maintaining level service would require an increase of 6.6 percent to the current school budget, according to Doyle. The other scenario, which would meet the zero-growth guideline proposed by the committee, included possible elimination of such discretionary costs as teacher aides, teacher stipends for special projects, and some custodial staffing. The committee proposed further discussions later this month. - Nancy Shohet West

TOWN URGED TO CONSERVE - The town is accepting applications from groups and individuals interested in joining the Community Conservation Challenge. The challenge is a campaign sponsored by the Public Works Department that encourages residents to save water while raising money for nonprofit groups. Participating customers who use less water next summer than in 2007 will earn funds for local organizations. Anyone with a Concord water account can participate. Civic organizations, neighborhood associations, business groups, and parent-teacher organizations can sign up. Teams that reduce water use can earn up to $1,000 for their organizations. The town received a $31,000 grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust to pay for the challenge. For more information go to conservationchallenge.org or contact Joanne Bissetta, the town's water conservation coordinator, at 978-318-3259. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

EASEMENTS GRANTED - Selectmen have granted parking and septic easements and have transferred a small portion of land to two properties that abut the town common. The board granted a septic easement to the Congregational Church of Harvard and parking and septic easements to The General Store; it also transferred a "sliver of land," roughly 1,200 square feet that covers the store's porch and fire escape, according to Selectman Timothy Clark. The store, which recently changed hands, has been allowed for years to use the land it sits on, although its title never reflected permission from the town to do so. Because of that, Clark said, it has been held up recently on alterations and repairs. - Taryn Plumb

NO COMPETITION - Rod Cole, a Town Meeting member since 2001, is running unopposed for a seat on the School Committee. Cole, who grew up in Virginia and has two children in the local school system, has been a volunteer in the community for many years. He had served on the Appropriation Committee since 2004, but stepped down after announcing his campaign for School Committee. With his experience scrutinizing the town's finances, Cole, 50, hopes to help the School Department develop long-term budget projections and a multiyear budget blueprint. He is seeking to fill the seat that School Committee member Thomas Griffiths will vacate this year. - Brenda J. Buote

MORE STATE AID EYED - Town officials were pleasantly surprised to note that the state's preliminary budget estimates, released in advance of the governor's finalized budget, provide for more aid than they were expecting. Based on the new numbers, the budget allows for a 6.55 percent increase for the schools and a 2.59 percent increase for the town. The unexpected bonus, according to Town Administrator Keith Bergman, is due to an increase from the state of almost $700,000 for Chapter 70 aid, which is the provision by which the state supports school operations and establishes minimum spending requirements for each school district and minimum requirements for each municipality's share of school costs. Bergman pointed out, however, that the numbers should not be considered final until the governor's budget is approved. - Nancy Shohet West

FIREFIGHTERS HONORED - Eleven Medford firefighters last week received the department's Warren W. Thompson Award for bravery and heroism, given by Chief Frank A. Giliberti Jr. at a ceremony hosted by Mayor Michael J. McGlynn. Captain John K. Small, lieutenants James P. Brennan and Michael R. Craven, and firefighters Charles T. Casella, Steven W. Cronin, Stephen J. Doherty, Richard D. Murray, Thomas J. Murray, Joseph G. Rosa, Richard P. Tetrault Jr., and William P. Young received the award. Craven, Tetrault, and Casella were honored for helping to stabilize and defuse a situation in 2005 in which a mother threatened to kill her infant with a carving knife, Giliberti said. Craven was honored again, along with the others, for preventing a 2006 carjacking and detaining the suspect while responding to a separate emergency call, the chief said. The names of the 11 will be inscribed on plaques in the department's hall of fame at fire headquarters. - Eric Moskowitz

TREASURER APPOINTED - Officials have appointed Maryann MacKay to serve as permanent town treasurer. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously in October to appoint MacKay to fill in after Elizabeth Craveiro left to take another position, according to the town clerk's office. The board has now made MacKay's position official, with a term expiring Dec. 31. MacKay will also serve as the town collector, which is an indefinite appointment. - Laura M. Colarusso

BIRTHDAY FOR RECREATION GROUP - The Friends of Reading Recreation is getting ready to turn two. The group, which seeks private donations to help fund activities around the town, was founded in March 2006, said Peter Coumounduros, the group's president. Sponsored by Stop & Shop, REI, and Reading Co-operative Bank, the group hosts events such as ice-skating events, basketball tournaments, family hikes, and road races. The group is a nonprofit organization that raised about $15,000 last year and expects to raise about $24,000 in 2008, Coumounduros said. - Laura M. Colarusso

IMPASSE ON COMPLAINT - A tentative agreement in an age discrimination complaint between a police officer and a selectman fell apart last week after mediation failed, leaving the officer pledging to continue with his case. Stoneham Safety Officer Larry Rotondi had filed a complaint in October with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination against the town and Board of Selectmen chairman George Seibold. In the complaint, he charged that Seibold discriminated against him because of his age when the two had a run-in that month in which he said Seibold accused him of sleeping on the job. Rotondi, whose brother Paul also serves on the Board of Selectmen, told the Globe that "bad blood" started with Seibold a few years before the incident. Rotondi, 60, said in his complaint that he thinks Seibold and the town are harassing him to get him to retire. He has served in the Police Department for 33 years and is eligible for full retirement benefits. Both sides met Thursday in mediation. Seibold told the Globe on Friday that the two sides had reached an agreement but it could not be formalized until this week because of a mandated grace period. However, Rotondi said Friday that he was n't pleased and planned to continue with his case. "We thought we had a deal, and it fell through," he said. - Kytja Weir

UPDATE FOR OPEN SPACE PLAN - Officials are working on updating Wilmington's Open Space and Recreation plan. Work on the project began in September 2006 and could be completed by April, though the document may take longer to finish, said Winifred McGowan, the town's assistant director of planning and conservation. The state requires that the town update the plan, which details Wilmington's open space inventory and recreation needs, every five years. The town last updated its plan in August 2002, McGowan said. - Laura M. Colarusso

SCHOOL ADDITION SOUGHT - The Board of Selectmen has called for a Special Town Meeting on March 6 to ask voters to consider a classroom addition at McCall Middle School. The project, estimated to cost between $7.5 million and $8.2 million for 12 classrooms, would help the school handle a surge of students in elementary schools in recent years. The first wave of the increased student enrollment is expected to hit the middle school in 2009, putting the building some 200 students over capacity. The wording and final cost request of the warrant had not been finalized as of last week, according to the town manager's office. The Town Meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Winchester High School auditorium. If the meeting is not completed that night, Town Clerk Mary Ellen Lannon said, the session would continue on March 10. - Kytja Weir

NEW LOOK AT CITY'S ROOTS - Kathy Lucero, vice president of the Woburn Historical Society, is putting the finishing touches on "Woburn: A Leather City," a DVD with interviews and photographs about Woburn's tannery history. The movie, which Lucero is compiling with fellow board member John McElhiney, tells the story of tanning in Woburn from the 1700s through the 1970s, including the history of the tanneries, the leather barons who owned them, and the immigrant families who labored in the tanning industry. It will be shown Monday at 7 p.m. in the First Congregational Church, 322 Main St. Doors open at 6:30. For more information about the society, which holds monthly events, visit woburnhistoricalsociety.com. - Eric Moskowitz