Melrose Select Board Approves Body Cameras, Craft Lot Developer Letter of Intent

MELROSE -- February 18, 2021, Melrose Select Board approves police body cameras and a developer letter of intent for the long-vacant Craft Lot. The board voted unanimously Thursday to adopt a body-worn camera policy for the police department, with Officer Matt McDonald saying five cameras are expected to be in service by mid-summer 2021 at a cost not specified at the meeting. The board also unanimously approved a letter of intent with Venture Properties to negotiate development of the Craft Lot in the 400 block of downtown, a parcel that has sat empty since roughly 1995; the letter carries no financial obligation. City Engineer Mike Nielsen told the board the dam bridge replacement project remains on schedule for a fall bid opening, contingent on county bonding dollars. The board authorized WSB to advertise two separate bid packages, street improvements opening April 7 and chip seal opening March 11, and approved a $181,653 fire department budget while green-lighting a search for bids on a replacement 3,000-gallon tanker that manufacturers say is 12 months out.