By Jack Minch
Lowell Sun (Massachusetts)
Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
PEPPERELL, Mass. — Special Town Meeting on Monday could put an end to the way the Fire Department has picked its leaders since its inception.
Warrant Article 18 would put the authority to hire a fire chief in the hands of the Board of Selectmen instead of the Board of Engineers.
It’s putting Chief Costa Bozicas at odds with the rank and file.
The current system of running the department is democratic but not practical, he said.
The chief has always been selected from among a three-member Board of Engineers, but Pepperell is one of the last municipalities in the state to work that way.
Also under the current system, firefighters are allowed to vote new members in, and vote when its time to promote an officer.
There are several drawbacks to the system, Bozicas argues.
“I cannot talk to my deputies who are my engineers, without posting it for 48 hours to discuss Fire Department business,” he said.
Even moving a piece of equipment from one truck to another requires a meeting, he said.
Article 18 would adopt a state statute in which selectmen hire the fire chief, and the chief is responsible for hiring and promoting firefighters.
“I think it’s something that should have been done years ago,” Bozicas said.
There are plans to buy James W. Gorham’s home and .338 acres at 47 Hollis St. if Article 20 passes.
The town would straighten the intersection where Brookline, Hollis and Groton streets meet with Willys Boulevard.
The four roads don’t meet cleanly, which creates occasional accidents, said Town Administrator Robert Hanson.
“The actual number that happen aren’t high but the ones that do are (serious),” he said.
The Police Department wants to fill a vacant position, and make repairs to the Public Safety Complex; the Fire Department wants to replace drafty windows at the Park Street station; the Emergency Planning Committee is advocating the purchase of a reverse-911 system to call town residents in emergencies; the Board of Public Works wants funding to search for new well water sites along the Nashua River and Rail Trail; Library Director Deb Spratt wants to move funds between internal accounts to hire pages; and the town wants to hire a building inspector.