Berlin Select Board Approves Six Appointments and Playground Contract at June Meeting

BERLIN — June 15, 2026 — Berlin Select Board approves six appointments, playground contract, and fire union deal in busy June session. The board unanimously approved a $200,000 South Common playground project — drawing $20,000 from the Bullard House ARPA account to supplement a prior $180,000 appropriation — and ratified a three-year Fire Union Collective Bargaining Agreement covering FY2027 through FY2029. Interim Town Administrator Jeff Hahn warned the board that demolition of the former fire station, originally budgeted at roughly $80,000 to $85,000, could require several hundred thousand dollars more at a fall special town meeting due to an underscoped concrete retaining wall, oil-contaminated flooring, and prevailing wage costs. The board also confirmed that the town is in active contract negotiations with permanent Town Administrator candidate Alex McGee, with a July start targeted. Six appointments were approved unanimously: Andy Dowd as temporary town clerk at $75 an hour, D. Green as assistant town administrator effective July 1, Eric Strait as part-time executive assistant, Donna Kunst as part-time payroll and benefits coordinator effective July 1, Richard Fregan as backup van driver, and Lynn Ryan to another term on the Assabet Regional School Committee in a joint vote with Berlin-Boylston School Committee members.