The Ashburnham Board of Selectmen continues to express the importance of residents located on South Main Street to fill out and return the income surveys that have been distributed to households in order to complete the Community Development Block Grant application.  Kevin Flynn, of the MRPC, stressed that the South Main Street area may not be considered on the application if all the surveys are not returned.  If there is a lack of participation, the project will shift to another area.  All surveys are confidential and those wishing to respond by phone to complete the survey are urged to call the MRPC at 978-345-7376.  The completed grant application is due on December 16. The  South Main Street area has been determined to be in dire need of repair.  The grant would cover reclamation and repaving as well as sidewalks and will not cost the town or the taxpayers any additional money.   We all pay federal taxes.  Wouldn’t it be nice to get something back from the Federal Government?  Let’s not miss out on this opportunity.

Kudos to Donna Burton, Maggie Whitney and Ed Schlott, as well as others, for cleaning out the VMS building so it would be “move in ready” for the new tenants.  The Town of Ashburnham has reached a lease agreement with Pat Stewart, president of the North Country Sustainability Center (NCSC), to lease the vacated VMS building.  The rent amount is $1 per month for the next twelve months.  Yes, $1!  NCSC will be responsible for paying for the remaining oil in the oil tank and all future oil deliveries to heat the building, the repair and maintenance of the boiler, the insurance on the building, snow removal and electricity.  No town funds will go towards keeping VMS open.  There has been some concern expressed with the car traffic being so close to the playground.  This will be addressed.  This is a win/win for the town and NCSC.  Looking forward to the farmers markets, workshops and activities planned at the center. 

The selectmen agreed to a request that the Town’s Boards and Committees come before the BOS at least once a year for review.  The review will give some perspective on where we are going, what’s working, what’s getting in the way and what direction we want to take within each board and committee.  This will also help to validate the volunteers time.  These boards and committees served by concerned and caring citizens can sometimes be a thankless job.  This provides the opportunity to communicate each committee’s goals and objectives as well as being thanked for their time.

Anne Cervantes’ last day as Treasurer for Ashburnham will be November 27.  Doug Briggs requested that the BOS support him by appointing Barbara Brown as the Interim Treasurer and compensate her accordingly during the interim period.  Paul Pollastri, a former employee for the town, has applied for and is being considered as Anne’s replacement.  Paul is a longtime resident of Ashburnham and spent 20 years as the town’s Treasurer/Collector.  If hired, the schedule will be flexible, part-time, not to exceed 20 hours.  The salary is not expected to exceed $35,000 annually.  Best wishes to Anne as she begins a new journey.

The Ashburnham Municipal Light Plant has reached an agreement with the LLC Corporation for the pass through in the amount of $25,000 per 1 MW for the installation of solar panels for 20 years.  This is the first large scale green energy initiative for Ashburnham.

In other business:

BOS agreed to sign a mutual aid agreement for the APD for transparency between towns and the ability to cross town borders to make an arrest.

The MA DOR is short on people for tax classification hearings to set the tax rate for the towns and is working on the larger towns first.  Ashburnham’s should be held on Monday, December 5.

The transfer of a liquor license from The Firehouse Pub to Café 57 will take place on December 5.

There will be a joint meeting between the BOS and the Advisory Board on Monday, December 12, for the purpose of discussing the FY13 Budget and Revenues.