Selectmen approve wastewater facility upgrade
By Sarah Freedman Contributing Writer

Hudson - On Oct. 22, the Hudson Board of Selectmen approved a contract for $14.2 million to upgrade Hudson's Wastewater Treatment Facility.

According to Paul Blazar, executive assistant for Hudson, the upgrade to the facility would include a "major reconstruction," the biggest cost of which would involve additional machinery to filter out phosphorus and minerals from the discharge into the Assabet River.

The contract, which was a low bid, will be with Carlin Contracting Company Inc., a Waterford, Conn.-based firm, and will cover construction to be completed as of the last months of 2009.

Selectmen Fred Lucy and Carl Leeber backed and seconded the motion respectively, and it was subsequently approved by the board.

A resident in attendance inquired about the high cost. Board Chair Antonio Loura addressed this concern, saying that the upgrade "has been studied for the last five years" and is a mandatory state measure.

The selectmen determined at an April 23 meeting that the upgrade was "both in the public interest and necessary to protect the public health" and followed Chapters 21 and 29C of the General Laws of Massachusetts, which concern loans for construction activities relative to Water Pollution Abatement Projects.

Other business

Another issue on the board's agenda was directing SullivanHayes Northeast LLC, a firm whose headquarters is based in Florida, and Benderson Development Company, a firm based in Farmington, Conn., to acquire 88,635 square feet of property in the town of Berlin connected to Route 62.

Blazar said the land was purchased by the town of Berlin and is being sold back to Hudson because the town needs control of water transmission lines.

The board also approved a motion to waive public advertisement about Hudson's acquisition of the land.

Other business discussed at the meeting included an approval to adopt a recommendation made by the Internal Traffic Committee to expand the "no parking" zone downtown on Church, Felton, Houghton, Market, Pope, South and Washington streets.

The board also approved the committee's suggestion to limit parking in the new municipal lot on Houghton Street next to the South Street Park to two hours and enforce a prohibition on overnight parking during the winter parking ban, which begins Nov. 19, according to Lucy.

Several issues brought up in an open forum by the selectman included fire safety issues in retail stores during the holiday shopping season.

Leeber raised concerns about temporary displays in retail stores and supermarkets hindering fire safety in aisles. He asked to look into the board's options in regulating these displays.

"It becomes a fire issue," he said. "The challenge is that these temporary displays fall through a crack in the regulations."

Blazar responded by saying that the board has the power to inspect for potential fire safety issues, but that the obstruction of aisles is a common problem during the holiday shopping season.

Board member Santino Parente announced that there would be a public auction of vehicles sponsored by the Department of Public Works Saturday Nov. 3.