Joan Eliyesil

While the Parks and Recreation Commission continues its search for a location to install new athletic fields, an existing facility has outlived its expected lifespan and needs to be revived—the McCurdy Track and the playing field inside it. The commission asked the Capital Planning and Investment Committee at its Oct. 31 meeting for a little over $2.4 million to renovate the track and field, and an additional $1.7 million to renovate and build an addition onto the “track shack,” the storage shed adjacent to the track.

When Annual Town Meeting rolls around again next spring, voters might want to consider packing a lunch. At its Nov. 19 meeting, the Select Board voted to return to a single-session Town Meeting, to be held in the spring. Special town meetings could still be called as needed at other times of the year.

Select Board hits pause button on DPW renovation; transfer station could be at risk

Department of Public Works Director David Smith has been on the job for only about a month, but already he has plans for improving the department. The Press caught up with him at “Meet the Crew” day, an event held at the DPW on Nov. 27 to encourage residents to connect with department staff. Smith said that event, which was well attended, was part of his plan to improve residents' awareness of what DPW workers do besides plowing roads and whacking weeds.

Harvard's ambulance service is requesting funds to help purchase a second ambulance for the town—but not because it intends to put two ambulances into service. The intention is to purchase a replacement for the existing ambulance two years earlier than scheduled to take advantage of money the state is giving towns affected by the closing of Nashoba Valley Medical Center a few months ago. The service plans to keep the existing ambulance as backup.

Fire Chief Rick Sicard came before the Capital Planning and Investment Committee at its Nov. 20 meeting in the hope the committee will get the ball rolling on a new fire station. But the project is proving to be a funding conundrum. Building behind the existing station is possible, but expensive because of the ledge in that area. Moving to another site would require buying land prior to design, with no guarantee that a new station would be funded in the future.

The nearly $2 million the town received in American Rescue Plan Act funds in 2021 has now either been spent or committed to projects. Many of the projects completed in town over the past three years were paid for, at least in part, by ARPA money, including the design for the Devens water connection project and supplemental funding for the new senior center. The Select Board approved all expenditures from the ARPA funds.

Fire Chief Rick Sicard came before the Capital Planning and Investment Committee at its Nov. 20 meeting in the hope the committee would get the ball rolling on a new fire station. But the project is proving to be a conundrum. Choosing the best site for a new station has been difficult and is further complicated by the Select Board's suggestion last week that a new fire-EMS station might be combined with a new Department of Public Works facility to save money and solve problems related to the old landfill closure at the DPW site.

Thanks to a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, many patients who were accustomed to receiving care from the now-closed Nashoba Valley Medical Center will have access to a shuttle to Emerson Hospital. The free service will be run by the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority and is expected to begin in mid-to-late January.

The furnace that burns waste oil to heat the Department of Public Works mechanic's garage has become so unreliable that Director Dave Smith asked the Select Board for emergency funds to replace it. The board met Dec. 26 and voted to reallocate $15,595 from previously allocated American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase a propane furnace for the garage.