TOWN OF DUNSTABLE

Northern Massachusetts, bordered Nashua, New Hampshire, on the north; Tyngsborough on the east and southeast; Groton on the south and southwest; and Pepperell on the west. Dunstable is about 9 miles west of Lowell, 25 miles northeast of Fitchburg, 34 miles northwest of Boston, and 235 miles from New York City.

Town of Dunstable website

TOWN SERVICES:  

TOWN CONTACTS:(as of May 2004)  

Board of Selectmen (978) 649 – 4514 x224
Susan Psaledakis Chairman 
Robert F. Nelson
Ted Gaudette 

Town Clerk (978) 649 – 4514 x222
Carol Skerrett  email: CSkerrett@dunstable-ma.gov or townclerk@charter.net

Planning Board (978) 649-4514 x230
George J. Basbanes – Chairman
Judith K. Larter
Anne J. Farina
Brett A. Rock
Willard J. Goldthwaite Jr. 

Conservation Commission (978) 649 – 4514 x230
Marilyn Pike, Chairman
Judith K. Larter
Jeffrey Haight
Leah D. Basbanes
Alan Chaney
William Moeller
Juan Amodei

Highway Department: (978) 649 -4514
Ed Fahy
James Regan

Water Department: (978) 649-4514 x230
Karl Huber - Chairman
David Wellington
Peter Georges

Treasurer/Collector: (978) 649-4514 x228
Bonnie Ricardelli

Building Inspector: (978) 649-4514
Dana Barnes

Public Water Systems:
The majority of Dunstable’s homes and businesses use private wells. Public water is available in the town center area servicing about 5% of the town population. Public water source is the Salmon Brook aquifer north of Main St. Average of 25,000 gallons per day is pumped. 

Trash Collection:
The Town has a trash transfer station and recycling drop – off facility. 

Sewer:
There is no public sewer available within Dunstable. All waste treatment is handled through onsite septic systems. 

Library:
Circulation at the Dunstable Free Public Library in FY99 was 26,478 items. Holdings total approximately 27,000 volumes. 

Schools:
Dunstable is a member of the Groton – Dunstable Regional School District made up of 4 elementary schools, I middle school and on high school. School system 1997 – 98 enrollments: 2,258 pupils, Dunstable is also member community for the Greater Lowell Vocational Technical High School, which had 1997-98 enrollments of 1,931 pupils. 

Public Safety:
6 permanent uniformed officers staff Dunstable Police Dept. The Town has a volunteer Fire Dept. of 21 people. 

Chief of Police: Chief James Downes III, Business: (978) 649-7445

Chief of Fire Department: Chief George Bacon, (978) 649-6661

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:
Dunstable is a member of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA). Fixed bus service is provided, and paratransit services, including medical trip to Boston, are available for the elderly and disabled through LRTA’s Roadrunner program.   

FY2003 TAX RATE: Residential - $14.07 per $1,000, Commercial- $14.07 per $1,000

Population Trends – DUNSTABLE 
(Updated May 25, 2002)

1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	#Change 1990-2000	%Change 1990-2000
824	1,292	1,671	2,236	2,829	593	26.5%

 

Persons by Sex (2000 U.S. Census) 

Male	1,398
Female	1,431

 

Age Distribution (2000 U.S. Census) 

	Persons	%
Under 5	236	8.3
5 – 14	510	18
15 – 44	1,149	40.6
45 – 64	741	26.2
65 & over	193	6.9

  

Race and Ethnicity (2000 U.S. Census) 

	Persons	%
White	2,758	97.5
Black	3	0.1
Am Indian, Eskimo or Aleut	1	0
Asian or Pacific Islander	43	1.5
Hispanic Origin	15	0.5

 

Households (2000 U.S. Census) 

1980	1990	2000
480	692	923

 

Household Size (2000 U.S. Census) 

3.10 persons per household 

Poverty Status (2000 U.S. Census) 

Persons Below Poverty Level:	Dunstable	Mass.
	55	573,421
	1.9%	9.3%

 

Households by Type (2000 U.S. Census)                                   

	Households	%
Married Couple/ Family	798	86.5
Female Householder	66	7.2
Non-Family Household	125	13.5

 

Income Distribution (2000 U.S. Census) 

	Households	%
Less than $ 10,000	17	1.8
$ 10,000 - $ 14,999	13	1.6
$ 15,000 - $ 24,999	16	2.0
$ 25,000 - $ 34,999	35	3.7
$ 35,000 - $ 49,999	88	9.4
$ 50,000 - $ 74,999	165	17.6
$ 75,000 - $ 99,999	235	25.1
$ 100,000 - $ 149,999	196	20.9
$ 150,000 - $ 199,999	91	9.7
$ 200,000 or more	43	4.6

 

Sources of Income (2000 U.S. Census) 

	# Of Households	Average Income
Wage & Salary	871	$88,726
Social Security	152	$11,026
Supplemental Security	7	$12,543
Public Assistance	4	$500
Retirement	127	$18,321

 

HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS 

Housing Units (2000 U.S. Census) 

1970	1980	1990	2000
397	490	737	944

 

Median Household Income (2000 U.S. Census) 

1970	1980	1990	2000
$10,000	$24,071	$59,019	$88,633

 

Median Home Sale Price (Banker & Tradesman) 

	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000
1 – Family	$182,500	$163,000	$183,500	$228,400	$282,500
Condo	0	0	0	0	0
All Sales	$150,000	$136,000	$154,500	$156,500	$300,000

 

Housing Unit Permit Data 

1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000
12	28	26	17	32	23

 

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

		% OF TOTAL
TOTAL HOUSING UNITS	944
Total Occupied Units	923	97.8%
Owner Occupied	861	93.3%
Renter Occupied	62	6.7%
Total Vacant	21	2.2%

 

LAND USE CLASSIFICATION (Mass. GIS 1991)

DUNSTABLE LAND USE	ACREAGE	% OF TOTAL
Residential	1,228.29 Acres	11.4
Commercial	68.07 Acres	0.6%
Industrial	0 Acres	0.0%
Agriculture	1,318.47 Acres	12.3%
Open Space/ Recreation	7,929.95 Acres	73.9%
Transportation/Mining/Waste	189.11 Acres	1.8%
Water	0 Acres	0 %
TOTAL ACREAGE	10,733.9 Acres	100%

 

RECREATION 

Dunstable Recreation Commission
59 Lower Dam Way
Dunstable, Ma 01827
Brain LoCapo – Coordinator 

Recreational Facilities

Department of Environmental Management 

Town Forest (119 Acres)
Cross country skiing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, nature observation, and snowmobiling 

Cambridge YMCA (106 Acres)
Non-motorized boating, cross country skiing, fresh water fishing, swimming, hiking, nature observation, target archery. 

Spaulding Proctor (91 Acres)
Non-motorized boating, Non-motorized boating, cross country skiing, fresh water fishing, swimming, hiking, nature observation. 

Salmon Brook Area (35 Acres)
Fresh water fishing, hiking, hunting, nature observation. 

Spectal Hill Lot (23 Acres)
Cross country skiing, hiking, hunting, nature observation 

Swallow/Union School Area 913 Acres)
Fresh water fishing, hiking, nature observation, tennis 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

Employment Base – 2000

LABOR FORCE – 2000	1,705
# Residents Employed	1,671
# Residents Unemployed	34
Dunstable Unemployment Rate	2.0%
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	conf
Government	105
Construction	84
Manufacturing	0
TCPU	0
Trade	54
FIRE	0
Services	22
Total Employment/Dunstable	274

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
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Workers 16 years & over	1,212	100.0	1,550	100.0	338	27.9
Drove alone	1,052	86.8	1,353	87.3	301	28.6
Carpooled	83	6.8	87	5.6	4	4.8
Public transportation (including taxicab)	10	0.8	8	0.5	-2	-20.0
Bicycle or walked	13	1.1	5	0.3	-8	-61.5
Worked at home	54	4.5	97	6.3	43	79.6

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

Subject	1990 Census		2000 Census		Change 1990 to 2000
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
Workers who did not work at home	1,158	100.0	1,453	100.0	295	25.5
Less than 5 minutes	26	2.2	25	1.7	-1	-3.8
5 to 9 minutes	43	3.7	45	3.1	2	4.7
10 to 14 minutes	113	9.8	109	7.5	-4	-3.5
15 to 19 minutes	117	10.1	190	13.1	73	62.4
20 to 29 minutes	293	25.3	343	23.6	50	17.1
30 to 44 minutes	333	28.8	406	27.9	73	21.9
45 or more minutes	233	20.1	335	23.1	102	43.8
Mean travel time to work (minutes)	28.8	X	32.3	X	3.5	X

MEDIA:

Lowell Sun
15 Kearney Square, Lowell, 458 – 7100 

Neighbor to Neighbor
64 Hardy St., Dunstable 

REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY:  

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