Familiar faces return to the Meetinghouse on Monday, June 27, as the Select Board meets for the first time since the June 14 election. Newly re-elected members Tammy Donovan and Dustin Ward return to start full three-year terms. They’ll join continuing members Peter Bragdon, Stephen Hathorne and Paul Larrivee for the first order of business: electing a chair and vice chair for the coming year.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will be live-streamed at this link. Preceding the meeting will be a 6 p.m. executive session in which the board will discuss initial steps on a town manager search, following the resignation of Town Manager Christine Landes.
Boards and Committee appointments. Topping the June 27 agenda are the board’s new appointments to town boards and committees. Expiring terms end in June. Once again, several committees have more applicants than open seats, among them the Budget Committee, Economic Development Committee and Land Management Planning Committee. Review the openings, applications, and letters in support at pp. 3-4 and 26-86 of the agenda packet.
How the board will decide among applicants is a ongoing question, particularly as serving members ask to be re-appointed and new applicants seek those spots. Past practice has varied. The board began a discussion of board and committee policies this year, including guidelines for appointments, but that effort remains at a preliminary stage.
At this meeting, board members will also decide who among them will serve as liaisons to the various boards and committees for the coming year.
RFPs for upcoming purchases. The board will also move forward on purchases authorized by voters for the new fiscal year that starts July 1. Draft requests for proposals to be reviewed include those for a new ambulance, an upgraded, integrated phone system, heat pumps for the Library and Meetinghouse, and roll-off containers for the Transfer Station. Spin through the RFPs at pp. 88-130 of the agenda packet.
Several other topics are on the board’s docket, including formalities associated with the start of a new year. Find the full agenda packet, including departmental reports, at this link.
To submit a written public comment for this meeting, send an email by 10 a.m. Monday June 27 to both the Town Manager (townmanager@newgloucester.com) and Deputy Clerk (smyers@newgloucester.com). Include your name and address, and if you want your comment read aloud, include “please read.” Staff ask that comments be submitted in Word or PDF format. Find details at the Municipal Officers page here.
— Joanne Cole
