Essex Select Board Awards Fuel Depot Design Contract to Web Engineering for $15,000

ESSEX — January 27, 2025 — Essex Select Board awards fuel depot design contract, raises town clerk pay. The board voted unanimously January 27 to hire Web Engineering of Scituate for $15,000 to design a municipal fuel depot serving the DPW, police, and fire departments, accepting Town Administrator Brendan Egan's recommendation over four competing firms that bid as high as $25,000. The board also voted unanimously to raise the town clerk salary range from $55,000–$77,010 to $70,000–$90,000 and to set Town Clerk Amy Akal's actual salary at $83,000 for fiscal year 26, subject to town meeting appropriation. In department head reports, Manchester Essex Regional School Committee Vice Chair Kate Koch-Sundqvist reported a proposed school budget at 5.4 percent growth — which Finance Committee Chair Jody translated to a $561,395 Essex assessment increase, exceeding the town's entire estimated $517,000 levy-limit capacity — while newly appointed Fire Chief Christian Hassel warned that converting from a call to a full-time fire department would add at least $1 million annually to the town budget.