Selectmen under fire to hire chief

A new fire chief for the town of Woolwich will be selected before the end of the week, selectmen told members of the department at their Monday night meeting.

Several members of the Woolwich Fire Department attended the meeting to find out what progress was being made.

"It is time," said Shaun Plummer. "We need this problem resolved. We need a chief now."

Selectman Dale Chadbourne, chairman of the board, said, "We are aware of the urgency."

"Why can't you hire a chief tonight?" asked firefighter Glenn Kirkpatrick. "Why can't you go into an executive session and select a chief?"

The selectmen did go into an executive session at the end of their meeting, and apparently interviewed two candidates, but made no selection.

Since the resignation of Ken Desmond, the Assistant Fire Chief, James Kaiser has been serving as interim chief. A letter written by Kaiser and signed by five members of the fire department, regarding the reinstatement of four firefighters has created a problem among other members of the department.

William Longley, Jr. who serves as the town code enforcement officer, and is also a member of the fire department, told the selectmen he was not aware of the letter, and he would like the opportunity to ask the author of the letter some questions.

Kaiser was not able to attend the meeting, so there was no further discussion of the letter.

"I have compassion for the town, and citizens of the town," Plummer said, "We need to resolve this problem. It is almost like marshal law over there," referring to the fire department. "It should not have come to this, but it has, and it is up to you, the selectmen, to deal with it."

Selectman Todd McPhee said, "We will deal with it."

Diane Longley told the selectmen she along with Arlene Whitney have completed the review of the River Road and Chopps Point Road for compliance of the 911 ordinance.

She reported that there are several homes that have two residences and only one number to the home. Each resident should an A or a B on the house to indicate the location.

Another resident has two different addresses listed, and one should be eliminated.

According to Longley's report, there are 16-18 buildings at the Chopps Point School with no numbers. The report will be given to the town's 911 addressing officer Jeanne Bernard to resolve.

The selectmen will send members of the Woolwich school committee, and the Woolwich school superintendent a letter informing them of a complaint by neighbor John Donovan.

Donovan attended the selectmen's meeting to tell them he is sometimes unable to get into his driveway because of parents blocking his entrance. He told the selectmen he didn't want to have the cars towed, but something had to be done.

The selectmen understood his concern and said they would start with the letter. Another suggestion was to have the school inform the parents through the weekly school newsletter.

The selectmen will hold a public hearing Monday, March 24, at 6:05 p.m. on a proposed change in the Shellfish Ordinance to increase the license fee by $100.

The Planning Board will hold a public hearing Monday, March 24, at 7 p.m. to discuss the adoption of the Building Code and a proposed Flood Plain Management Ordinance.