The Harveston Select Board voted on Dec. 29 to authorize the temporary town administrator to research and narrow the list of water-testing vendors for municipal properties (48 Gardner and 2 Main St.) and to return to the board with a single recommended vendor. Board members said multiple vendors were performing overlapping work and that consolidating vendors should reduce costs.

During the meeting the board also appointed Travis Brown as the town's chief procurement officer so the town can legally proceed with certain procurement actions (for example, issuing requests for proposals) while the interim town-administrator process continues.

Separately, KP volunteered to serve as the board's representative for an upcoming AT&T meeting on aggregation and cellular coverage; board members accepted the volunteer and suggested Deb as a backup if KP cannot attend.

What happens next: Trisha and staff will whittle the water-testing list to one vendor and present a recommendation to the board; the town will file the CPO appointment form and proceed with procurement needs for grants and facility testing.