Northern Middlesex Council of Governments

TOWN SERVICES:

Town Contacts (as of June 2008)

Board of Selectmen:
Michael S. Rosa - Chairman
Marc. T. Lombardo - Vice Chair
James F. O'Donnell Jr. - Member
Robert M. Correnti - Member
Robert Accomando
Phone: (978) 671-0939

Town Manager:
Rich Scanlon - Acting Town Manager
Phone: (978) 671-0942
email: richs@town.billerica.ma.us

Town Clerk:
Shirley E. Schult
Phone: (978) 671-0924

Town Engineer:
Kelly Conway
Phone: (978) 671-0955

Building Inspector's Office:
Milton H. Kinney Jr.
David Lenzie
Thomas Brooks
Phone: (978) 671-0959

Town Planner:
Peter Kennedy
Phone: (978) 671-0962
Email: pkennedy@town.billerica.ma.us

Planning Board:
Paul Marasco - Chairman
Justin McCarthy - ViceChairman
Richard Casey - Secretary
Vincent D. MacDonald
Edward R. McLaughlin
Richard Baraldi Sr.
Phone: (978) 671-0962

Environmental Investigator:
Martin Houlne
Phone: (978) 671-0966

Conservation Commission:
Thomas Woodford.- Chairperson
Diane DePaso - Vice-Chair
Elizabeth Gallagher
Joanne Giovino
James Miller
John A. Aliperta
Phone: (978) 671-0966

Director of Public Works:
Abdul Akhatib
Phone: (978) 671-1313

Director of Public Health:
Richard Berube
Phone: (978) 671-0931

Public Water System:

100% of the community is serviced by town water. During FY99, 1,569 million gallons of water were pumped from the Town’s Treatment Plant on the Concord River and distributed throughout the community. The average daily volume of usage was 4.69 million gallons.

Trash Collection:

The Town has curbside trash collection and recycling. Total recycled waste collected in FY99 was 1,956.51 tons; total trash collected was 4.69 million gallons.

Sewer:

The Town is currently implementing an aggressive 15 million dollar sewer expansion program. When completed, this project will bring the public sewer system to over 70% of the community. The Town operates a Wastewater Treatment Plant with design capacity of 5.4 million gallons per day (MGD). Average daily flow for 1999 at the plant was 3 MGD.

Library:

The library expansion project is currently underway in 2000. The Billerica Public Library in FY2000 had circulation of 241,582 and was visited by 189,904 patrons. The number of patrons in the FY2000 is much lower then previous years due to the library being closed for renovations for a month.

Schools:

Billerica public school system is made up of six k – 5 elementary schools; two middle schools and one high school. 1999 – 2000 school enrollment: 6,604 pupils.

Public Safety:

Billerica Police Department has 66 permanent uniformed officers. Billerica Fire Department is staffed by 73 firefighters. In case of emergency call 911.

Chief of Police: Chief Daniel Rosa (978) 667-1212

Chief of Fire Department: Chief Anthony Capaldo (978) 6633433

Rail:

Commuter rail service to North Station, Boston, is available at Lowell Gallagher Terminal or at the newly renovated North Billerica Station (Travel time 40 minutes). Freight rail service is available from the Springfield Terminal Railway, contact number: (978) 663 – 1073.

Bus:

Billerica is a member of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA). Fixed bus service is provided, and paratransit services, including medical trips to Boston, are available for the elderly and disabled through LRTA’s Road Runner program. The LRTA route connects to the MBTA route at Chestnut St. Burlington with the bus connection to Alewife station.

TAX RATE: Residential - $11.02 per $1,000, Commercial- $24.75 per $1,000

Population Trends – BILLERICA (2000 U.S. Census)
(Updated May 25, 2002)

1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	# Change 1990-2000	Percent Change 1990-2000
17,867	31,480	36,727	37,609	38,981	1,372	3.6

Persons by Sex (2000 U.S. Census)

Male	19,823
Female	19,158

Age Distribution (2000 U.S. Census)

Age	# of Persons	Percentage
Under 5	2,689	6.9
5 - 14	5,755	14.8
15 - 44	17,920	45.9
45 - 64	9,357	24.0
65 & over	3,260	8.4

Race and Ethnicity (2000 U.S. Census)

	# of Persons	Pecentage of Population
White	36,906	94.7
Black	432	1.1
Am Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut	39	0.1
Asian or Pacific Islander	1,080	3.2
Hispanic Origin	600	1.5

Households (2000 U.S. Census)

1980	1990	2000
10,645	11,695	12,919

Household Size (2000 U.S. Census)

2.92 persons per household

Poverty Status (2000 U.S. Census)

Persons Below Poverty Level	Billerica	Massachusetts
Number	1,414	573,421
Percentage	3.8	9.3

Households by Type (2000 U.S. Census)

	Households	Percentage of Households
Marred Couple/ Family	8,535	68.6
Female Household	1,217	9.8
Non-Family Household	2,674	21.6

Income Distribution (2000 U.S. Census)

Income	Households	Percentage of Households
Less than $10,000	353	2.7
$10,000-$14,999	401	3.1
$15,000-$24,999	816	6.3
$25,000-$34,999	875	6.8
$35,000-$49,999	1,720	13.3
$50,000-$74,999	3,324	25.6
$75,000-$99,999	2,615	20.2
$100,000-$149,999	2,103	16.2
$150,000-$199,999	487	3.8
$200,000 or more	267	2.1

Sources of Income (2000 U.S. Census)

	# of Households	Average Income
Wage and Salary	11,544	$74,166
Social Security	2,930	$10,491
Public Assistance	132	$2,174
Retirement	2,489	$14,283
Supplemental Security	382	$6,916

HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS

Housing Units (2000 U.S. Census)

1970	1980	1990	2000
8,184	10,884	12,005	13,071

Median Household Income (2000 U.S. Census)

1970	1980	1990	2000
$11,331	$23,267	$47,830	$67,799

Median Home Sale Price (Banker & Tradesman)

	1994	1996	1998	2000
Single Family	$136,000	$144,000	$164,900	$215,000
Condo	$38,000	$35,000	$63,800	$82,250
All Sales	$127,950	$140,000	$160,000	$200,000

Housing Unit Permit Data

1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000
60	120	171	138	107	69

Housing Breakdown by Occupancy (2000 U.S. Census)

	# of Units	Percentage of Total Units
Total Housing Units	13,071	100
Total Occupied Units	12,919	98.8
Owner Occupied	10,899	83.4
Renter Occupied	2,020	15.4
Total Vacant	152	1.2

LAND USE CLASSIFICATION (Mass. GIS 1991)

Billerica Land Use	Acreage (acres)	Percentage of Total
Residential	6,664.89	39.6
Commercial	397	2.4
Industrial	992.9	5.9
Agriculture	542.81	3.2
Open Space/ Recreation	7,223.34	42.9
Transportation/ Mining/ Waste	673.07	4.0
Water	340.19	2.0
Total Acreage	16,834.22	100

RECREATION

Billerica Recreation Department
One Ed Hays Way
Billerica, MA 01821
Phone: (978) 671 – 0921
Fax: (978) 671 – 0927
Director: Joseph J. Higgins Jr.

The Recreation Department offers year-round programs, trips and special events for all residents and employees of Billerica.

Recreational Facilities

Recreational sites/facilities include:

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (55 acres)
Hiking, nature observation, cross-country skiing, canoeing

Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Park (200 acres)
Located off Treble Cove Rd., this park was deeded to the Town from Middlesex County in 1995 via a legislative act. Features include Concord River frontage, walking trails, show horse rink, soccer fields, radio control airport, fishing, canoeing, cross country running trail, cross country skiing, community gardens, special events, nature observation and the first in the nation Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Lampson Recreation Complex
Basketball courts, tennis courts, football field, softball fields, multi-use field, ice-skating, recreation office.

Akeson Park
Soccer fields, canoe put-in/take-out site for Shawsheen River.

Pollard Park
Kids Konnection (children’s playground), picnicking, baseball field.

Micozzi Beach
Swimming, picnic area, playground, sand volleyball court, basketball, handicapped accessible fishing pier, canoe put in/take out, nature observation.

Billerica Public Schools

Many of our Town’s athletic fields are located on school property. At the Marshall Middle School facilities include an out-door hockey rink. All elementary schools have a children’s playground.

Country Club of Billerica

Eighteen hole public golf course, driving range, Barrie Bruce Golf School.

Rangeway Golf

Driving range, miniature golf course.

Minuteman Sportsman Club

Rifle target range, archery

Boys and Girls Club of Greater Billerica

Gymnasium, pool, ropes course, game rooms, before/after school program, special events.

Fishing or Canoeing

Nuttings Lake, Winning Pond, Concord River, Shawsheen River.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Employment Base – 2000

Labor Force - 2000	24,434
# of Residents Employed	23,860
# of Residents Unemployed	574
Billerica Unemployment Rate	2.3%
NMCOG Regional Unemployment Rate	2.5%
State Unemployment Rate	2.6%

Employment by Industry Sector – 2001 (Mass Division of Employment & Training ES - 202 Series)

Agriculture/ Forestry/ Fishing	129
Government	2,063
Construction	1,736
Manufacturing	7,389
TCPU	1,503
Trade	6,490
FIRE	227
Services	6,093
Total Employment/ Billerica	25,630

TCPU = Transportation, Communication and Public Utilities
FIRE = Finance, Insurance and Real Estate
conf = Data suppressed due to confidentiality

Means of Transportation to Work - 2000 (Census Transportation Planning Package 2000)

Subject	1990 Census		2000 Census		Change 1990 to 2000
Subject	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Workers 16 years & over	20,118	100.0	20,426	100.0	308	1.5
Drove alone	17,187	85.4	17,866	87.5	679	4.0
Carpooled	1,862	9.3	1,503	7.4	-359	-19.3
Public transportation (including taxicab)	394	2.0	461	2.3	67	17.0
Bicycle or walked	285	1.4	137	0.7	-148	-51.9
Motorcycle or other means	67	0.3	100	0.5	33	49.3
Worked at home	323	1.6	359	1.8	36	11.1

Travel Time To Work - 2000 (Census Transportation Planning Package 2000)

Subject	1990 Census		2000 Census		Change 1990 to 2000
Subject	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Workers who did not work at home	19,795	100.0	20,067	100.0	272	1.4
Less than 5 minutes	397	2.0	268	1.3	-129	-32.5
5 to 9 minutes	1,876	9.5	1,431	7.1	-445	-23.7
10 to 14 minutes	2,871	14.5	2,458	12.2	-413	-14.4
15 to 19 minutes	3,457	17.5	3,169	15.8	-288	-8.3
20 to 29 minutes	4,514	22.8	4,457	22.2	-57	-1.3
30 to 44 minutes	4,311	21.8	4,875	24.3	564	13.1
45 or more minutes	2,369	12.0	3,409	17.0	1,040	43.9
Mean travel time to work (minutes)	23.4	X	26.6	X	3.3	X

Media:

Lowell Sun
15 Kearney Square, Lowell, (978) 458 – 7100

Billerica MinuteMan
15 Fletcher Street, Chelmsford, (978) 256 – 7196

Media One
12 Washer St, Lowell, (978) 694 – 1010

REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY:

Northern Middlesex Council of Governments
115 Thorndike Street, Lowell MA 01852
Beverly Woods, Executive Director
Phone: (978) 454 – 8021
Fax: (978) 454 – 8023