2012 Report of BOS

2012 Report of the Board of Selectmen

The Board of Selectmen had a busy and challenging year, overcoming setbacks while moving ahead accomplishing goals and broadening our vision for the future.

In May the Board had a change in leadership with Raymond Dennehy, Jr., retiring from the Board after more than six years of service and we welcomed Neil Sulmasy in his stead. Our thanks to Raymond for his dedication incite and service to the Town of Princeton.

A major setback occurred in the middle of July 2012, when we were compelled to put our first full time Fire Chief on paid administrative leave. John Bennett became our acting Fire Chief and is doing a magnificent job of leadership with the cooperation of a talented and dedicated crew in keeping the reorganization momentum for the Fire Department, Ambulance Service and Emergency Management services on track. In the meantime, the Select Board has put together another search committee in hopes of finding the right full time leadership for that department.

Also in the Public Safety Department we continue to explore Dispatch Regionalization,

We are looking for the right fit and are currently exploring an agreement with the town of Holden. We believe with the right Regional marriage we can provide more complete emergency service efficiently and because of available grant money at a great savings in startup equipment cost.

The Police Department continues to run smoothly under the direction of Chief Michele Powers. By recommendation of Chief Powers, the Board of Selectmen voted a new Sergeant position to the department. This move provides Chief Powers better management backup when she is unavailable. This change did not increase the size of the department.

During the construction period of 2012, The Highway Department reconstructed Mirick Road from route 31 northeast to Beaman Road completely funded by a STRAP (Small Town Rural Assistance Program) grant. A benefit of $450,000.00 to the town. plus they covered the  overrun cost of $46,270 due to the efforts of our Town Administrator.  Hubbardston Road (Route 62) was resurfaced from Gates Road to the Hubbardston Town line. Engineering, and all permits are in place for reconstruction of Greene Road scheduled to commence as soon as spring 2013 conditions permit.

To aid coordination efficiency, the position of Tree Warden was added to the Highway Department. Bob Mason has been doing an excellent job of filling that post.

The Road Advisory Committee is moving forward rapidly with plans for the East Princeton Village 140 road reconstruction. An Engineering firm has been hired and meetings with Village residents have taken place. The short-term goal is to get on the Central Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization TIP (Transportation Improvement Program) list. Twenty-five percent of the engineering plan must be complete by April 2013 in order to be considered for the list. This need is becoming more urgent due to the deterioration of the bridge over Keyes Brook.

The Wachusett Regional School District experienced big changes in the administration during the 2012 calendar year starting with the firing of the Director of Business & Finance followed by the retirement of the superintendent. The School Committee appointed Joseph Scanlon as the new Director of Business & Finance and has hired Anthony Gasbarro as Interim Superintendent. A search committee for a new superintendent has been formed. We look forward to working with the new administration and Darryll McCall, Director of Operations, in solving our declining school enrollment. Our Middle School Enrollment Study Committee has been asked to continue their work in tandem with the administration.

This year the school Committee has reviewed the Wachusett Regional Agreement, which occurs every five years. They have visited every town seeking ideas and comments from the various town officials and citizens.

The Thomas Prince School Green Repair started in the summer of 2011 is one sky light away from completion and the PCB mitigation is complete but will require annual testing. As soon as the final numbers are established our Town Administrator and Town Treasurer will present a financing schedule. This could happen before 2013 Annual Town Meeting.   

The Town’s financial situation is solid and our bond rating excellent due to careful spending and planning despite the continuing depressed economy. State and Federal aid in FY 13 only represented 7.4 percent of our total revenue. So while every dollar counts, the impact to Princeton when State funds are cut is not as great as it is in most communities. We continue to look for every way possible to trim expenditures and all department heads are encouraged to do the same.

Recognizing that we enjoy skilled and capable town employees we hired a management consultant to evaluate our compensation plan to see where improvements could be made.

D. I. Jacobs Consulting Company put together a plan for us and presented it to the employees in November 2012. While they found that compensation levels were mostly competitive, clarity, classification and the present compensation culture needed improvement.  In December 2012, the Board of Selectmen voted to implement the new compensation plan and adopt it into the town’s Personnel Policy..

In 2011 the Select Board established the Underutilized Town Assets Committee.  Several possible house lots were identified however it might serve the town better to put them on the market after there is an upswing in values. The study did bring to light the sixty-acre Boylston Park that has been largely ignored.  Forester Rex Baker volunteered his time and expertise to evaluate the property. There is potential for many recreation uses not being offered in our present recreation program. We hope to explore these possibilities more in the future.

Looking ahead we will be asking for a sum of money to fund a professional evaluation of all our government buildings for both maintenance purposes and future use. This will allow us to create a maintenance schedule and establish future Public Safety and community space needs.

In October the Select Board appointed a Broadband Study Committee with the charge to bring broadband service to every home in Princeton ASAP.  It is expected that this could be accomplished sometime in 2014. For more information read the Broadband Committee report elsewhere in this publication.

The Select Boards November 2012 Town Administrator evaluation gave extremely high marks to John Lebeaux. From the Town Administrator down through all town employees to all our wonderful committee members and volunteers we heartily thank you for all your expertise, hard work, intelligence and town spirit. You are why the town is doing great and is such a wonderful place to live.

Respectfully submitted,
Princeton Board of Selectman
Edie Morgan, Chair
Stan Moss
Neil Sulmasy, clerk
2012