Select Board Member Accuses Colleague of Misleading Regional Planning Agency

Select Board · Meeting of August 12, 2026

Pepperell Select Board member accuses colleague of misleading state planning agency on solar study. Charles Walkovich told the board Wednesday that fellow member Anthony Beattie falsely told NMCOG the board had approved a solar-panel study, calling it "falsifying information to a state agency"; Beattie disputed the characterization, and no board vote had ever authorized the request. The board separately approved, unanimously, two National Grid pole petitions, nine new poles on Brookline Street and Bemis Road and a net addition of one pole at Wheeler and Cranberry streets, plus a utility easement license.

Members voted 2-1, with Beattie dissenting, to require unanimous Select Board approval before flying any flag on town property. Town Administrator Andrew MacLean previewed a 45-page rewrite of the town's roughly 30-year-old financial policies, covering a combined budget of about 45 million to 47 million dollars, with adoption pushed to August 26. The board also voted unanimously to submit an application to NMCOG seeking state FFIO funds for a solar-feasibility consultant.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,689 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of August 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.