Selectmen Move Forward on Town Meeting Articles

February 10, 2017

By Debra Parkhurst

At the Selectmen’s February 6 meeting, Steve Hagan, Community Preservation Committee,  reported on the status of The Community Preservation Funds and the Committee’s recommendations for FY18.   There are 16 line items, some as continuing payments for projects already underway, and some allocated for future projects (such as the Coast Guard site redevelopment).

One is a proposed feasibility study for community gardens for $20,000.  The present location on Hartwell Road has become too shady, and the study will look at rehabilitation or expansion of the current site as well as the suitability of another site on Concord Road.  The Selectmen also heard details about a proposed stone dust trail that would link Wiggins Avenue to Bridge Street and to the retail area along The Great Road (along the perimeter of the shopping center parking lot).  The path is “multi-use,” suitable for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The Selectmen also have learned that the proposed rehabilitation of kitchens and baths in Ashby Place is no longer a legal expenditure from CPC funds. The committee had approved the item pending review by Town Counsel.They discussed seeking help from local representatives on ways to overcome these blocks or to find other funding to help make improvements to these affordable housing units.

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A portion of the meeting was a hearing on the Salary Administration Plan Bylaw. Aleksandra Stapczynski of Human Resources Services, Inc. (HRS) presented a report to the Selectmen on her review of the Salary Administration Plan for town employees. The Selectmen had hired HRS to conduct a review of town salaries and compensation.   HRS has conducted similar reviews for over 300 municipalities in Massachusetts.    The company conducted a comprehensive survey, reviewing all levels of professional, management, and administrative functions as well as the classification and compensation levels. They looked at data from 20 similar AAA rated communities, and also performed a market driven analysis that reviewed wages in general in the community.   They looked at 72 position titles that represent 100 employees and conducted interviews.  HRS made several recommendations.  In some categories, compensation will increase from 6 percent to 10 percent primarily at the lower end of the scale. Town Manager Rick Reed explained that in a normal year, the Merit Article would have been recommended at over $170,000.  This year, to accommodate the recommended changes, the Merit Article will be recommended at$195,000.The Selectmen voted to approve the new salary bylaw.

The Selectmen are proposing a General Bylaw Amendment to eliminate the use of “thin film single use” plastic bags used by business establishments in Bedford.Selectman Mark Siegenthaler explained that this bylaw is based on bylaws presently on the books in communities such as Concord, Brookline, and Hamilton, among others.   Its intention is to reduce use of plastic bags given out in retail stores.  Selectman William Moonan said he had brought the bylaw to the attention of the Chamber of Commerce, and there has been no comment.

Speaking in opposition, resident Jim O’Neill brought several types of bags to the hearing, noting that he re-uses them; either at the store or for refuse.  He said that such bags may be returned to the store or disposed of as part of the town’s trash collection.  Bedford trash is incinerated and used to produce electricity.   He has not noticed that bags are “dumped in the Concord River.”  He did not believe paper was a better alternative to plastic bags.

Frances Bigda-Peyton of “Transition Towns” applauded this initial ban on single-use plastic bags and said that it was good to focus on reduction and re-use. Similarly, Janet Powers, and other members of “Mothers Out Front,” came to support the initiative.  Powers said she usually picks up several bags on her daily walks in some of Bedford’s wooded areas.   Selectman Siegenthaler said Americans discard billions of plastic bags a year, each with an average use time of 12 minutes.    He proposed this bylaw amendment as a way to begin to address “basic source reduction.”

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