Boxborough Select Board Authorizes Regional Dispatch Exploration in Unanimous Vote

BOXBOROUGH -- May 24, 2023, Boxborough Select Board backs formal exploration of regional dispatch amid local staffing crisis. The newly seated board, Chair Kristin Hilberg and members Wes Hilberg, Dave McKinnon, and Priya Sundaram, voted 4-0 Wednesday to authorize Town Administrator Michael Johns to begin the formal process of joining the Nashoba Valley Regional Dispatch District, which already serves Devens, Berlin, Lancaster, Bolton, and Harvard from a center at Devens. Boxborough has been routing its 9-1-1 calls through Nashoba Valley on a temporary basis for roughly 30 days after the local center dropped to two dispatchers; Johns said a full membership would carry a $200,000 annual assessment, with the state covering 100 percent of that cost for the first three years under an incentive program. The fire chief, who is departing in June, urged the board not to move too fast and to ensure frontline fire and police supervisors have direct involvement, noting that two thirds of dispatch volume runs through fire and EMS and that infrastructure questions, including radio box compatibility and potential tower additions, remain unresolved. The board also voted 4-0 to appoint Ramya Suresh to the Public Celebrations and Ceremonies Committee through June 30, 2025.