Barre Select Board accepts free solar array for police station, approves two staff contracts

BARRE -- September 14, 2020, Barre Select Board unanimously accepts donated solar array for police station and formalizes town administrator hire. The board voted 3-0 Monday to accept a turnkey installation of 30 Silfab 320 solar panels on the police station roof from Solar Wolf Energy, with the donating company absorbing all labor, materials, and National Grid interconnection costs, pending confirmation from town counsel that no special town meeting is required. Separately, the board approved a $74,000 annual salary for newly permanent Town Administrator Jessica Sizer, up from her interim rate, and ratified a memorandum of understanding and wage authorization for new Treasurer-Collector Alexander Hagerty. Green Communities coordinators Mimi Kaplan and Kelly Brown briefed the board on plans to add Quabbin Regional School District buildings to Barre's energy reduction plan, a move that could unlock up to $200,000 per state grant round, with a formal adoption vote expected in November. The board also awarded fuel supply contracts to RJ McDonald's for heating oil and diesel and to EP Wine for propane, and approved a $1,258 one-year Voltrec software renewal for the town's electric vehicle charging stations.