Mosquito spraying to begin in Berlin

August 3, 2008

Specialists from the Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project will be spraying insecticide in Berlin starting tomorrow and continuing on the next three Mondays. The dates could change, depending on weather conditions and local mosquito populations, officials said. Property owners with complaints about mosquitoes should call the regional agency at 508-393-3055 between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, or the town clerk at 978-838-2931 to prevent having a property sprayed. - John Dyer

HEARING ON CELL TOWER WORK - The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing Thursday to begin reviewing an application by MetroPCS to place six new cellular antennas on a Main Street communications tower. The public hearing will start at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. The work being proposed also includes the installation of ground equipment cabinets within an existing shelter on the property at 570 Main St.

- Matt Gunderson

IN LINE FOR FIRE GRANTS - The Fire Department is applying for two federal grants this summer that would fund a new forestry truck and revamp the department's radio system, said Chief Joseph Flanagan. Provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the two grants would total $350,000, said Flanagan. The department operates on a low-band frequency radio system, which is outdated, and the grant would allow the town to expand and modernize its radio coverage, he said. The department expects to hear back by December on the grants, Flanagan said. - Matt Gunderson

STATE AID FOR SCOUT RESERVATION - The town is one step closer to helping preserve the Nobscot Scout Reservation thanks to an environmental bond bill passed by the Legislature on July 23 that would provide $2.5 million to purchase development rights for the property, according to the office of state Representative Pam Richardson, a Framingham Democrat. The 400-acre reservation in Sudbury and Framingham is one of the largest undeveloped pieces of open space in the area. The bill will use borrowed funds to spend $1.6 billion on parks, pathways, and open space throughout the state. It also includes funds to preserve Lake Waushakum and the Sudbury River in Framingham and Ashland. - Tanya Perez-Brennan

PROGRESS ON SENIOR CENTER - The Board of Selectmen recently hired Anthony DiLuzio of the Foxborough-based McGuire Group to be the project manager for the town's senior center project. Under the $128,500 contract approved on July 14, DiLuzio will coordinate contractors working on the center. In February, town voters approved $4.4 million to reconstruct the Church Street senior center. But since then, the price tag for the project has ballooned to $5.1 million, said Michelle Ciccolo, Hudson's community development director. She hoped to find other sources of funds to make up for the shortfall.

- John Dyer

COPPER THEFTS - Two homes were hit by copper thieves in daytime heists July 22 and 25 that could cost homeowners thousands of dollars. The thieves ripped copper gutters and downspouts off the homes on Sandy Pond Road and Lexington Road, said Police Lieutenant Kevin Kennedy. He said he did not know the value of what was taken, but said one homeowner received a $30,000 estimate for the labor and materials to replace the gutters and downspouts. The thefts in Lincoln follow a July 7 incident in Concord in which 270 feet of copper worth $1,500 was stolen from a house. Copper thefts have also been reported in Littleton and Bedford. Kennedy said the thefts may be related and that police are investigating.

- John M. Guilfoil

DPW TO STUDY OUTSOURCING - The city's Department of Public Works is studying the pros and cons of outsourcing work done by the department's forestry, park, and cemetery division. Commissioner Ronald LaFreniere said his department is conducting the study at the behest of the City Council. LaFreniere didn't have an opinion about whether the division's duties should be outsourced, but he said he would carefully examine whether services could be maintained at current levels if the division's duties were turned over to private, for-profit firms. He expects the study to be finished this summer. The division has a budget of $1.4 million and 19 workers, he said.

- John Dyer

BOARD VACANCIES - The Board of Selectmen is trying to fill a high number of empty positions on town boards and committees. A total of 11 committees need volunteers. A few of the panels with openings include the Cable Television Committee, the Board of Appeals, the Board of Health, and the Council on Aging. Interested residents can call the selectmen's office. - Matt Gunderson

VERIZON MOVING INTO TOWN - The Board of Selectmen has granted Verizon a franchise to offer cable television to residents. The July 21 decision means Verizon and the town's longtime cable provider, Charter Communications, will be in competition for customers in town. The move ends two years of negotiations between town officials and Verizon, said Cable Access TV director Kathy Dalgliesh. She said it will be a few months before Verizon can carry public-access television, which includes coverage of local sports events and government meetings. - John Dyer

SEEKING NEW ASSESSOR - The town is accepting applications for a new full-time principal assessor. The assessor oversees the appraisal of the more than 12,000 properties in town for the purposes of taxation. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree in administration or a related field; at least five years experience in business, accounting, or finance; experience or training in real estate appraisal; and a valid driver's license, according to the town website. Preference is given to applicants with state certification as an accredited assessor. The new assessor will succeed Robert Ellia, who is retiring after 25 years. Applications and resumes may be submitted to the office of the town manager, 100 Maple Avenue, Shrewsbury, 01545. Deadline is Aug. 12. - Manuel Veiga

MORE TIME FOR CONDO PROJECT - The town's Zoning Board of Appeals has received an extension on the time its members can take to consider Woodland Meadows, a condo project of about 40 units proposed for Route 9. Under zoning rules, the board has a limited amount of time to study the proposal unless the developer, Robert Heavey of Natick, agrees to an an extension. Heavey offered an extension at the board's July 16 meeting. The project is being proposed under Chapter 40B, the state law that allows builders to avoid local zoning rules as long as 25 percent of a project's units are set aside as affordable housing. Building inspector Peter Johnson has said the appeals board needs a definitive site plan that shows the boundaries of the project. The developer owns land next to the proposed condos that would not be used in the project. -John Dyer

AVIATION LIGHTS AT ISSUE - Residents have been sending letters to the town's Conservation Commission office to contest preliminary plans to install three aviation-obstruction lights on Marble Hill, said Patricia Perry, Stow's conservation administrator. Minute Man Air Field is seeking the lights as a way of warning incoming aircraft of the prominent hill near the airport, said Perry. There was one informal discussion on the issue at a commission meeting in June, but no formal plans have been submitted, she said. Marble Hill is in a broad swath of town-owned conservation land, and the airport would need the approval of the Conservation Commission to do any work there. Residents have objected to the conservation land being used for the benefit of a private company, said Perry. The aviation lights would also need to be approved by the state Legislature and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office.

- Matt Gunderson

CAPITAL APPOINTMENT - The Board of Selectmen has approved the appointment of Douglas Kohan to the town's Capital Improvement Planning Committee. Kohen, a new Sudbury resident with an MBA from the University of Chicago, will work with the committee on proposed capital and building projects around town. At the same meeting, selectmen also accepted a $2,000 grant from a nonprofit organization to preserve the town's paper records, and set April 4 as the date for the seventh annual Sudbury Day celebration. - John M. Guilfoil

TOWN CENTER ON AGENDA - There will be a public meeting Aug. 18 at 7:15 p.m. in the large hearing room of the town building to discuss state Highway Department design plans for the Wayland Town Center project. Representatives from the Park and Recreation Commission, Historical Commission, Conservation Commission, Board of Road Commissioners, and Board of Selectmen will be on hand to address questions and concerns raised by residents.

- John M. Guilfoil

GOVERNMENT STUDY, TAKE TWO - Moderator Joseph Harrington is calling for a another government study that would consider switching the dates of the town election and Town Meeting. This spring, officials completed a study that recommended Westborough replace its town coordinator with a town manager, a position that carries more power and responsibilities. The recommendation was approved at Town Meeting in May. Harrington wants the town to consider more changes. The election is held a few weeks before Town Meeting. But the Town Meeting warrant, which includes the budget and other important measures, is closed before the election. That means selectmen and other officials who created the warrant sometimes are not in office when Town Meeting members vote. It also means selectmen not in office when the warrant was created are then charged with promoting it at Town Meeting. Harrington wants the election to take place after Town Meeting. That way, new selectmen and other officials would enter office with an established budget for the upcoming year. Harrington expects selectmen to consider it at their Aug. 19 meeting. - John Dyer

STILL CRUISIN' - The 17th annual Massachusetts Cruisers Auto Club Car Show will take place Aug. 17 at the Medway VFW Post 1526 on Holliston Street. Those interested in entering can fill out a registration form online or on the day of the show starting at 8 a.m. The preregistration fee is $10, $12 on show day. For details, visit masscruisers.com. - Rachel Lebeaux

LEARN ABOUT WOLVES - The Friends of the Milford Town Library will play host to live wolves during a seminar called "Wolf Talk" on Aug. 13 from 1 to 2 p.m. The event, to be held at Stacy Middle School, will feature wolf experts Michael and Amy LeBlanc and the live wolves they've raised. - Anna Fiorentino