Annual Town Meeting
As the Banner reported, Town Meeting was “smooth sailing” this year with all 27 articles passing and very few questions or objections from the floor. I want to thank personally the staff members who helped me prepare the warrant and the budget. That would include all the department heads and especially Trudi Brazil, Town Accountant; Charleen Greenhalgh, Assistant Town Administrator; and Cynthia Slade, Town Clerk/Treasurer/Collector. Thank you also to Nicole Tudor, Susan Joseph, and Jarod Cabral for all their coordination work and preparation at the Community Center.
Thank you to the Finance Committee for your support on the budget and especially Chairman Bob Panesitti for his guidance and participation on the Budget Task Force. Thank you to the Moderator Monica Kraft for a well-run meeting and for her input into the warrant and motions. And last, but not least, thank you to the Board of Selectmen for your support and guidance and participation on the Budget Task force.
Beach Program
I have selected Steven St. Clair as the new Beach Supervisor. He will start work on May 21. Steven is a six-year veteran of the Beach program in Wellfleet. He is in his last year at UMass-Lowell and will bring new eyes and enthusiasm to the program.
I had a meeting this week with Jack Farley, who for several years has trained and managed the Truro lifeguards. Jack is on board for the upcoming summer and will be working with new Beach Supervisor Steven St. Clair to prepare and oversee the lifeguards. We have scheduled the “surf school” for June 16 and 17. We also plan to launch a new software program at the Beach Office this year, which should make registering easier and allow for better reporting on the types of transactions and monies collected.
Old North Cemetery Bids
We received seven bids for the granite post and pipe fence, and six bids for the cobblestone driveways. The two lowest bids were $36,579 for the fence and $42,350 for the driveways. Both were well within our budget. We received many bids from both on-Cape and off-Cape companies, which I think says a lot about the slow recovery in the economy.
Paul Morris and his crew have removed the old split-rail fence and graded the driveways. We also received permission from Mass. Highway for the third curb cut onto Route 6. We're still hoping it might be finished by Memorial Day.
New Assessor
Belinda Eyestone started on April 25 and is settling in as the new Deputy Assessor. She has already reviewed five cases that will be going before the Appellate Tax Board in May and June. She has been warmly welcomed by the staff and the Board of Assessors.
New Library Assistant
Margaret (Maggie) Prickitt has been selected as the new Library Assistant. She started work on Tuesday, April 24. Maggie has a long history of volunteer work at the Library and is a “known commodity” whose work is highly respected.
Fire Truck contract completed
I have completed the contract with Yankee Fire & Rescue for the new wild-land pumper Fire Truck. Depending on the availability of the chassis and the number of other orders that the company is working on, the anticipated delivery date is April 2013. The money for this vehicle was approved over three years ago, and we are finally moving forward with the procurement.
Bells on the Hill
We have turned the bells back on after they were found to be within acceptable levels following the mitigation recommended by the consultant. There is still a problem with the chimes, and Tom Whooley from VHB, Inc. will be at the Town Hall on April 30 to take further measurements.
Early Closing on May 18
We have been developing plans for a Town office/facility clean up day on May 18. Staff would be invited to wear casual clothes to work to help sort and dispose of unneeded files and equipment. Paul Morris and his crew would have trucks and trailers at each building for refuse. We would like to end the day with a staff cookout sponsored by the Recreation Department.
We will work from 8:00 - 2:00, and then close the Town offices for the cookout. We're hoping the cleanup can provide us with some much needed storage space, and the cookout will be a chance to get together before the busy summer season.
Let the season begin! Welcome back to our summer residents and visitors.
Sincerely,
Rex Peterson
Town Administrator
townadm@truro-ma.gov
(508) 349-7004, ext 10