Barre Select Board Approves Grant Bid, Wage Hires, and Surplus Vehicle Disposition

BARRE — December 4, 2017 — Barre's Select Board approved a slate of hires, authorized a state historical grant application, and declared three aging vehicles surplus at its December 4 meeting. The board set the Senior Center director's salary at $39,052 annually at Grade 8, Step 2, and authorized wage rates for three additional municipal workers: Jason Messenger (firefighter/EMT, $15.66/hour), Emma Stoddard (auxiliary firefighter, $13.24/hour), and Jonathan Wheeler (truck driver/skilled laborer, $18.29/hour). Members voted unanimously to pursue a second-stage application to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for a $15,000 veterans memorial grant for the North Common, with a December 15 deadline, noting that in-kind contributions from DPW labor could satisfy the matching requirement at no direct cash cost to the town. The board also read a certificate of announcement on a proposed 37.9-acre DCR land acquisition on Watch Hill Road without waiving the 120-day notice period, and directed the building commissioner to inspect and report within a week on a structurally compromised vacant building adjacent to the fire station.