Politics & Government

Selectmen Get Update from Government Study Council

The Selectment get an update from the Government Study Council, approve some vacancies, and discuss traffic on Route 140.

Town Government Study Council chairman Jerry McGovern gave an update on the board’s efforts to find a better way for the town to govern at last night's meeting of the Board of Selectmen. While they will not make the original deadline of October, it is not from a lack of activity but rather because of level of research going into the study of better governing.

Since the council set up shop earlier this year, they have read reports from over 20 towns, visited towns with a population size that is similar to Wrentham, and even sought advice from UMass Boston and Clark University.

Currently the board is developing the methodology to help examine efficient governing and a citizen survey. Interviews with town official are expected to take place during September and October.

Find out what's happening in Wrenthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Initially a seven member council, there is a vacancy currently open on the council. McGovern has requested that the person who fills the vacancy be someone who is not an elected official but rather someone with either a background in HR, facility management, or I.T. The next update from the Town Government Study Council is currently planned for January.

Jan Angelico of the Council on Aging gave an update on the latest happenings at the Wrentham Senior Center. Reaffirming their committing to serving the senior citizens of Wrentham, Angelico highlighted the work of volunteers who deliver wellness calls to senior citizens every day and 9 a.m. check in calls.

Find out what's happening in Wrenthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Angelico also informed the board that the applications for fuel assistance this year should match the 40 that applied last year. The program is open to all residence of Wrentham.

Two applicants for the vacancies on the Cultural Council were approved unanimously. Joan Korslund and Joseph Levesque will now be apart of the council at least until their term expires on June 30, 2015. Both Korslund and Levesque cited a desire to volunteer in their community and favorable experiences serving on committees as their reasons for applying for the openings.

With school starting soon, concern has risen over the pending traffic that is set to build up on weekday mornings on Route 140. With students trying to get to King Philip High Schools and others stopping at Dunkin' Donuts, traffic jams in the area have a tendacy to develop with cars trying to turn left into Dunkin Donuts and left out of the drive way.

One of the proposals floated was a no left turn rule into the Dunkin Donuts parking lot on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. with access to the coffee shop allowed only from Depot street. While no decisions were made tonight, the Selectmen were optimistic that they would have a chance to talk with the store owners to come up with a solution.

The town will be parting with a part of its truck fleet with the board’s approval to sell a 1998 Ford E-350 that the town owns. The truck is no longer save to drive and would only be sold for scrap parts.

Town departments may now spend their gift fund for fiscal year 2013 as long as the money involved has no strings attached. Before the change, departments had to get approval once they reached $1,000 in expenditures.

The board also approved its list of election workers, voted to sign the state’s warrant for the primary election, and to fix drainage issues on Williams St.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Wrentham