Hardwick Select Board Approves Sewer Abatement, Police Hire, and Seven Committee Appointments

HARDWICK -- February 20, 2023, Hardwick Select Board seats a seven-member Master Plan Steering Committee and approves a $796.32 sewer abatement at its February 20 meeting. The board, chaired by Julie, full name not confirmed in the recording, unanimously appointed Bill Cole, Michaela Raymond, Lisa Condit, Lisa Cohn, Tammy Borges, Paul Benoit, and Warren Jack Johnson to the new committee on the recommendation of the Planning Board, with terms running through June 30, 2023. The board also confirmed a full-time police officer identified in the audio as Andrew Renault (spelling unverified) and accepted with stated regret the resignation of Gloria Judd from the Council on Aging. Town Administrator Nicole disclosed that legal fees paid to KP Law have exceeded the town's $62,000 not-to-exceed contract cap by $10,689.51, with two of three sewer construction phases not yet bid; USDA has directed the overage be paid from town funds. A Highway Department request to purchase a new wood chipper at a net cost of approximately $50,000 was tabled pending written quotes.