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Emergency manager asks Hubbardston committee for about $7,000 to rehab highway trailer for mobile communications
Summary
An emergency-management representative asked the finance committee to consider funds (materials estimated $5,000–$7,000; asked for $7,000) and student labor from Monte Tech to convert a 20-year-old highway-department trailer into a mobile communication/command center; no formal vote occurred because the item was not on the agenda.
An emergency-management representative presented a petition to the Town of Hubbardston Finance Committee on July 14 asking for support to renovate a 20-year-old trailer at the highway department so it can serve as a mobile communications and response center.
The presenter (recorded in the transcript as the emergency-management speaker) said the trailer has been in service roughly 20 years, is structurally sound but in rough shape, and could be rewired and refitted with some shelving and a small generator and solar panels. The speaker said Mont(e) Tech students (vocational-technical program) offered to perform labor at no cost if the trailer is moved to their shop; that would leave the town to pay only materials, which the presenter estimated at $5,000–$7,000 and formally requested $7,000. The presenter also noted that Royalston's similar rebuild cost about $10,000 and that hiring private contractors could cost substantially more.
The emergency manager said the trailer could be used by police, fire, the Board of Health (as a mobile clinic), and at large community events as a first-aid/communications hub. The presenter also reported recent grant activity: a $35,000 grant for hazard-mitigation-plan (HMP) upgrades and a successful AMPG grant this year to buy supplies and equipment.
Committee members asked about timeline and maintenance. The presenter replied Mont(e) Tech would likely take two semesters to complete the work if students do it, while a private contractor could finish in six to eight weeks but at higher cost. The chair noted the petition was not on the meeting agenda, so the committee could not vote that night; the presenter asked to have the item placed on the September agenda so work could begin in the coming school year.
No formal transfer or appropriation was approved at the July 14 meeting; the committee agreed to add the item to a future agenda for formal consideration and budgeting.
