Barre Select Board approves website, permit software, and fleet emergency review

BARRE — August 21, 2017 — Barre's Select Board approved a new $12,000 town website contract and authorized a permit-tracking software rollout while hearing an urgent police fleet briefing at its August 21 session. Town administrative official Andrew won board approval to replace the town's stalled website — more than a year in development at a cost of roughly $500 with minimal usable content — with a GovOffice platform at approximately $4,000 per year over three years, drawn from the IT budget, with a December 2017 launch target. A police department presenter warned the board that two cruisers — a 2008 Impala and a Crown Victoria — are "on borrowed time," with replacement costs estimated at roughly $50,000 per vehicle including outfitting, and the board agreed to convene a joint session with the Finance Committee and capital planning committee to address the roughly $100,000 gap. The board also voted to waive Town Hall rental fees for a women's recovery group and for Q-Drug's September 21 recovery celebration, appointed Kathleen Linehan to the Zoning Board of Appeals, reappointed Ralph Gendron to the South Barre Common Committee, and approved FY17 year-end departmental transfers — all unanimously.