By Meredith McCulloch
On Tuesday night, April 10, 2018, the process of finding a successor for Town Manager Richard Reed began. Reed is retiring from the position of Town Manager in August after 30 years of service. Representatives from the search firm Municipal Resources, Inc. Alan Gould, Robert Mercier, and Reginald (Buzz) Stapczynski met with the Selectmen to review the process. (Selectman William Moonan was not able to attend.)
By Jeffrey Epstein
The Selectmen are thinking about how to keep bicycle riders safe, and they heard a presentation on the subject from a traffic engineering firm at their April 9 meeting.
A separate bicycle lane, set off from both the pedestrian sidewalk and automobile lanes, is one option under consideration for the next round of highway work on The Great Road. The presentation, from engineering firm VHB Inc., was only informational and the Selectmen are not considering any formal action yet. VHB Inc. is proposing options for future work, particularly on the downtown stretch near the municipal complex.
By Jeffrey Epstein
The February 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL has renewed interest in a Bedford gun buyback program that has been around for years and is still ongoing.
Bedford residents who have unwanted weapons, such as old rifles owned by a deceased family member, can turn them in by pre-arrangement with the Bedford Police Department and be eligible for a rebate up to $50. (The police caution that the weapons should not be hand-carried into the police station, and an officer will collect the firearm). The program is voluntary.
By Jeffrey Epstein
Covering Monday’s meeting of the Bedford Selectmen
By Jeffrey Epstein
In a time when hot-button issues are turning meetings across the nation into rude shouting matches, the Selectmen quietly edited and codified a longstanding local policy on appropriate meeting conduct Monday. Nothing new, pointed out Chair Margot Fleischman, but good to have as policy nonetheless. “It’s probably the right thing to do,” she said.
By Julie McCay Turner
DPW Engineer Adrienne St John presented a report to Monday’s Selectmen’s meeting proposing a study of traffic flow and the addition of traffic calming measures along Hartford Street, Crescent Avenue, and Bacon Road. Green International Affiliates, Inc. recently provided “an evaluation of this corridor with respect to cut-thru traffic and ways to improve safety to all users,” said St. John.
By Julie McCay Turner
The Selectmen set Bedford’s FY18 tax rate classification in a public hearing during their meeting on Monday evening, February 12. Ron Cordes led them through the financial model that the Assessors used to calculate the new rates during Bedford’s recently finalized Triennial Revaluation Year.
Cordes reported increases in Bedford’s overall value, its residential property value, and its commercial/industrial/personal property (CIP).
Submitted by the Bedford Department of Public Works
The Bedford Selectmen recently voted to reduce the speed limit from 30 MPH to 25 MPH in thickly settled areas. For this purpose, a thickly settled area is a street where houses are less than 200 feet apart for at least a quarter of a mile.
Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
With appreciation for information posted on the Town of Bedford’s website
After an extended process, Bedford’s Assessors are in the final stretch as they complete their triennial revaluation of the town’s assets, and the ultimate certification of Bedford’s FY2018 tax rate.
According to the Town’s website, the reevaluation began two years ago and concluded with the Department of Revenue’s audit of Bedford’s methodologies and the values derived through the town’s mass appraisal system.