Blandford Select Board Backs Ballot Tabulator, Tables Road Tree Contract

BLANDFORD -- March 25, 2024, Blandford Select Board advances ballot tabulator purchase and tables water-department tree contract. At the March 25 meeting, the board moved to schedule a special Finance Committee session to secure funding for a roughly $6,700 ImageCast Precinct 2 optical-scan tabulator, intended to replace the town's aging Prinker machine, with Town Clerk noting the equipment would not be billed until after July 1 and that more than 400 such devices are in use statewide. The board unanimously appointed John Carrington to the Hilltown Ambulance Association and approved payroll and payment warrants, while tabling a $4,500 ash-tree removal request on Jethro Jones Road after Highway Superintendent Dave reported finding little evidence of the hazard described. Town Administrator Mike briefed members on three MIIA mandatory recommendations, facility maintenance programs, job hazard analyses, and incident investigation protocols, all required within three years. The board also learned the westbound Turnpike service area owes the town approximately $200,000 in unpaid water bills, with members agreeing the coming MassDOT lease-renewal process is the town's best leverage to seek collection.