Pepperell Select Board Approves Standing Annual Pride Flag Display at Unity Pole

PEPPERELL — March 11, 2026 — Pepperell Select Board approves annual Pride flag display and narrows budget gap to roughly $225,000. The board voted unanimously March 11 to fly the Progress Pride Flag at the town's unity pole each year from June 1 through 7, making the display a permanent calendar entry after Megan Messler of Pepperell Pride argued that late-month displays "seem like an afterthought." The board also appointed Jennifer Harris, a National Grid sustainability professional, to the Climate Change Committee with a term through June 30, 2028. Town Administrator Andrew reported that the North Middlesex Regional School District's March 10 vote to draw roughly $500,000 from excess-and-deficiency funds and trim $100,000 in line-item expenses will reduce Pepperell's outstanding budget deficit from approximately $506,000 to roughly $200,000 to $225,000 — with snow and ice spending already $284,000 over budget and winter not yet finished. The board also voted to move a slate of routine warrant articles to the 2026 Annual Town Meeting and to dedicate the 2025 Annual Town Report to the 250th Anniversary Committee.