Selectmen agree not to join regional committee
By Karen Mann

Selectmen reaffirmed their decision not give in to federal mandate requiring the town to add more to their emergency response plans.

On the suggestion of Fire Chief Brenton MacAloney, they agreed it was not necessary to appoint a Community Emergency Response Coordinator or to join a regional Emergency Planning Committee.

MacAloney said it was similar to the situation a few months ago, when the federal government was requiring that every town comply with the National Incident Management System. He had told selectmen the town already had a system in place and it would be too much time and money to comply with NIMS. His reasoning for not wanting to join an Emergency Planning Committee was similar.

"To do so would be a redundancy," said MacAloney. "It wouldn't benefit the town. It would only add more work and cost more money."

He added that the regional LEPC would not be an emergency response organization; they are simply a planning organization.

A law was passed in 1986 called the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, said MacAloney. The law states that every citizen has the right to know what hazardous materials are being used in his/her community or nearby businesses.

The law required that each state establish a State Emergency Response Commission. From there, the state said that every community had to have its own local emergency planning c o m m i t t e e . They are now pushing for communities to join regional e m e r g e n c y planning committees and to appoint a coordinator.

The fire department serves as the LEPC in town, MacAloney said. They monitor hazardous material use in the town. He said businesses submit a list of what materials they are using and he is able to provide this information to the public. He also said the fire department has a plan in place to respond to any hazardous material related incidents.

Selectmen agreed that since the fire department already has a plan in place, it was not necessary to appoint a Community Emergency Response Coordinator or join a regional LEPC. They asked MacAloney to write a letter, similar to the one he wrote about complying with NIMS, saying the town already follows the law and has a plan in place.

In other business:

 Selectmen agreed to cover the costs of four radio boxes to be installed at each of the town's schools. The boxes are used by the fire department to monitor disturbances at the schools. Because the fire department is switching to a wireless monitoring system, p a r t i c i p a n t s have to have new boxes i n s t a l l e d . According to MacAloney, the fire department would use money that was already allocated for the project to cover the costs, which would be $6,000.

 Bob Hakala, one of the Westminster Business Park owners, came before selectmen to respond to complaints associated with truck drivers working on the project. According to the complaints, some truck drivers have been starting before 7:30 a.m., which is the official start time because of school. There was also a complaint that trucks have been driving across the Depot Road Bridge, which they are not supposed to do according to the permit issued by the selectmen.

Hakala said he would post a sign with the rules on it, to remind the truck drivers and encouraged police officers at the site to enforce the rules. He also said he would deal with any future incidents as quickly as possible.

 Town Coordinator Karen Murphy informed selectmen of updates made to the Senior Tax Work-off Program. The program allows for qualifying seniors to receive an abatement of up to $750 in exchange for working for the town.

Since 2002, the number of participants has increased from five to 20. Eligibility is based on annual household income. For a one-person household this amount is $40,150. Murphy said eligibility increased by about $5,000 for the upcoming year.

 The Town Hall Reuse Committee decided not to accept the one request for proposal received for the future use of Town Hall on Bacon Street. Town Planner Alicia Altieri said the proposal did not have enough specific information.

Altieri said the proposal, which was submitted by Robert and Marcia Thorell of Princeton, did not have enough information about how the second and third floor would be used. The proposal stated that the second floor would be either an assembly use or residential use, depending on market conditions at the time. Altieri said the committee wanted specific information on what conditions the Thorells would look at to make that decision. The committee also wanted more details about the cost and financing of the project.

Altieri said the committee is reissuing the RFP with a deadline for submissions of Wednesday, Jan. 10.