Northern Middlesex Council of Go

INCORPORATED 1729

TOTAL AREA: 31.33 Square Miles

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Board of Selectmen/Town Administrator/
Open Town Meeting

TOWN SERVICES:

TOWN CONTACTS (as of August 2011)

Board of Selectmen: (978) 692-5500

Robert Jefferies - Chair	Valerie Wormell - Vice Chair	Andrea Peraner-Sweet - Clerk
Kelly Ross	Jim Sullivan

Town Department Contacts:

Town Manager	Jodi Ross	(978) 692-5500
Town Clerk	Kaari Mai Tari	(978) 692-5515
Building Commissioner	Matthew Hakala	(978) 692-5527
Town Planner	Chris Kluchman	(978) 692-5524
Highway Department Superintendent	Richard "Chip" Barrett	(978) 692-5520
Chief of Police	Chief Thomas McEnaney	(978) 692-2161
Chief of Fire Department	Chief Richard Rochon	(978) 692-5542
Parks and Recreation Director	Patricia Savage	(978) 692-5532

Planning Board: (978) 692-5524

Mike Green- Chair	Kevin Borselli - Vice Chair	Dennis Galvin
Kate Hollister	Prasad Vasiraju

Conservation Commission: (978) 692-5524

Eric Fahle - Chair	Peter Mahler - Vice Chair	John Cunningham
Brian Douglas	Marilyn Frank	Jim Gozzo
Ann Jefferies

Public Water System:
Approximately 75% of the town residences and 90% of business are serviced by the public water system. Pumping capacity of the eight municipal wells is 3,580 gallons per minute. For the fiscal year of 1999 1.764 million gallons of water was used per day on average.

Trash Collection:
The Town has curbside trash collection and recycling. Recyclables collected including paper, glass, metal, plastics, white goods and textiles totaling 2,677.8 tons.

Sewer:
Public sewerage is not available in Westford. All waste treatment is handled on site.

Library:
The J.V. Fletcher Public Library in FY99 had circulation of 271,584; total library holdings including media were approximately 107,000 items.

Schools:
Westford School System is made up of four k – 5 elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. 1999 – 2000 enrollment: 4,602 pupils. The Town is also one of seven member communities of the Nashoba Valley Technical School.

Public Safety:
38 permanent officers staff Westford Police Dept. The Fire Dept. roster totals 22 full-time firefighters including the Chief.

Chief of Police: Chief Thomas McEnaney (978) 692-2161 Email: tmcenaney@wetsfordma.gov

Chief of Fire Department: Chief Richard Rochon (978) 692-5542 Email: rrochon@westfordma.gov

Rail:
Commuter rail service to North Station, Boston is available at Lowell Gallagher Terminal or North Billerica Station (Travel time 40 min). Freight rail service is available from Guilford Transportation, contact number: (978) 663 – 1073.

Bus:
Westford is a member of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA). Fixed bus service is provided along Route 110 via the Number 15 bus. Paratransit services, including medical trips to Boston, are also available for the elderly and through the LRTA’s RoadRunner program.

FY 2011 TAX RATE: Residential - $15.23 per $1,000, Commercial- $15.50 per $1,000

Community Census Profiles: 2010 Census data is currently becoming available in sections. Tables will be updated as new data is received. The 2000 Census Tables that have not been updated as of yet will remain below. Updated 1/25/12.

2010 Population Trends: Includes Community Population, Population by Age and Population by Race,

2010 Housing Profile: Includes Housing Units, Housing Occupancy, and Housing Tenure

2010 Household Relationship Profile: Includes Number of Households, Household Relationships, and Households by Type

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

Poverty Status (2000 U.S. Census)

Persons Below Poverty Level:	Westford	Mass.
	345	573,421
	1.7%	9.3%

Income Distribution (2000 U.S. Census)

	Households	%
Less than $ 10,000	85	1.2%
$ 10,000 - $ 14,999	193	2.8%
$ 15,000 - $ 24,999	234	3.4%
$ 25,000 - $ 34,999	277	4.1%
$ 35,000 - $ 49,999	546	8.0%
$ 50,000 - $ 74,999	936	13.7%
$ 75,000 - $ 99,999	1,211	17.7%
$ 100,000 - $ 149,999	1,778	26.0%
$ 150,000 - $ 199,999	902	13.2%
$ 200,000 or more	674	9.9%

Sources of Income (2000 U.S. Census)

	# Of Households	Average Income
Wage & Salary	6,227	$113,646
Social Security	1,055	$12,314
Supplemental Security	96	$6,564
Public Assistance	36	$4,535
Retirement	850	$16,951

HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS

Median Household Income (2000 U.S. Census)

1970	1980	1990	2000
$11,897	$27,118	$62,880	$98,272

Median Home Sale Price (Banker & Tradesman)

	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000
1 – Family	$189,700	$209,000	$233,500	$229,900	$297,500
Condo	$85,000	$237,890	$223,087	$242,325	$277,000
All Sales	$176,000	$216,000	$231,000	$269,900	$312,250

Housing Unit Permit Data

1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000
68	176	157	184	195	92

LAND USE CLASSIFICATION (Mass. GIS 1991)

WESTFORD LAND USE	ACREAGE	% OF TOTAL
Residential	4,931.03 Acres	24.6%
Commercial	172.48 Acres	0.9%
Industrial	288.76 Acres	1.4%
Agriculture	996.91 Acres	5.0%
Open Space/ Recreation	12,399.91 Acres	61.8%
Transportation/Mining/Waste	660.41 Acres	3.3%
Water	609.39	3.0%
TOTAL ACREAGE	20,058.90 Acres	100%

RECREATION

Patricia Savage - Director
Parks and Recreation Department
35 Town Farm Road
P.O. box 2444
Westford, MA 01866
(978) 692-5532
Email: psavage@westfordma.gov

Recreational Facilities include:

Nashoba Brook Area (350 Acres)
Cross country skiing, hiking, hunting, nature observation, and snowmobiling

East Boston Camps (241 Acres)
Camping, swimming, picnicking, fishing, boating

Nonset Brook – Vine Brook (174 Acres)
Hunting, nature observation

Tadmuck Swamp Area (142 Acres)
Fresh water fishing, hunting, nature observation

Wyman’s Beach (140 Acres – private fee charged)
Non-motorized boating, camping, hunting, nature observation, picnicking, pool swimming

New Westford Academy (111 Acres)
Baseball/softball, other team sports.

Mystery Spring (106 Acres)
Cross country skiing, hiking, hunting, nature observation, and snowmobiling

Nashoba Valley Ski Area (50 Acres)
Down hill skiing, 4 chairlifts, 3 rope tows, 9 trails

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Employment Base – 2000

LABOR FORCE – 2000	12,230
# Residents Employed	12,044
# Residents Unemployed	186
Westford Unemployment Rate	1.5%
NMCOG Region 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	59
Government	1,001
Construction	309
Manufacturing	4,019
TCPU	180
Trade	2,390
FIRE	400
Services	3,982
Total Employment/Westford	12,341

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 and over	8,881	100.0	10,745	100.0	1,864	21.0
Drove alone	7,876	88.7	9,457	88.0	1,581	20.1
Carpooled	612	6.9	570	5.3	-42	-6.9
Public transportation (including taxicab)	55	0.6	125	1.2	70	127.3
Bicycle or walked	115	1.3	60	0.6	-55	-47.8
Motorcycle or other means	54	0.6	16	0.1	-38	-70.4
Worked at home	169	1.9	517	4.8	348	205.9

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	8,712	100.0	10,228	100.0	1,516	17.4
Less than 5 minutes	216	2.5	168	1.6	-48	-22.2
5 to 9 minutes	770	8.8	823	8.0	53	6.9
10 to 14 minutes	1,165	13.4	1,043	10.2	-122	-10.5
15 to 19 minutes	1,168	13.4	1,153	11.3	-15	-1.3
20 to 29 minutes	1,815	20.8	2,326	22.7	511	28.2
30 to 44 minutes	2,365	27.1	2,215	24.6	147	6.2
45 or more minutes	1,213	13.9	2,203	21.5	990	81.6
Mean travel time to work (minutes)	25.0	X	30.0	X	4.9	X

MEDIA:

Lowell Sun
15 Kearney Square, Lowell, MA 01852
Phone: 458 – 7100

Westford Eagle
15 Fletcher St. Chelmsford, MA 01824
Phone: 692 – 4244

Cablevision
4 Liberty Way, Westford, MA 01886 Phone: 692 – 6500

The Merrimack Journal
1794 Bridge Street, Unit 27B, Dracut, Ma 01826 Phone: 978-441-2770

REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY:

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

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