Town Notes
Published on July 18th, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - Looking for a chief
Police Chief Eugene Passaro acknowledges that the two Stoneham officers rumored to be interested in the chief’s post — Lt. Greg O’Keefe and Lt. Joe DelRossi — are qualified for the job, but Passaro wants to wait until all the names are in and the new Town Administrator is aboard before commenting on how the new top cop should be picked.
The deadline for applications is July 31. Passaro is retiring in October. Acting Town Administrator Ron Florino estimated that around 20 applications were in as of this week.
Passaro said that the new TA will lead the effort to find the next chief. The TA has appointing authority, and Selectmen have a week to veto the choice.
But Passaro added that a few qualifications should be prerequisite: a college degree, graduation from the FBI Academy and years of experience in a decision-making role.
One down, three to go
Dr. Robert Markel, the candidate for Town Administrator that all five Selectmen wanted to interview as a finalist, took a job last week with the Town of Norfolk.
Markel of Springfield was formerly the Executive Director of the Boston Management Consortium.
The remaining three candidates are David Berry of Maynard, the Town Coordinator of Bolton; Joseph Gregory of Lynn, former chief administrator of a community in Newfoundland, Canada with a $20 million annual budget; and David Owen of Bedford, the Interim Town Administrator of Douglas. These candidates each received four out of five Selectmen votes to become finalists.
Selectmen interviewed the finalists on Tuesday and Wednesday night of this week. The board could announce a decision as early as next Tuesday.
Markey stays put
U.S. Congressman Ed Markey (D-7th District) of Malden will continue to represent Stoneham in the House of Representatives. The proposed redistricting announced by State House Speaker Tom Finneran last week leaves Stoneham in the 7th District.
The effects of reprecincting at the local level on state representative and state senate districts won’t be determined until this fall. Stoneham will go from six precincts to seven.
ATT adds charge
Stoneham residents who use ATT for in-state long distance calls will have to pay 50 cents more each month beginning in August.
ATT has decided to pass along to the consumer a portion of the fee local telephone companies charge ATT for using the local lines for in-state long distance service.
Affected customers should have received a postcard from ATT explaining the charge.
Birmingham fund raiser
State Senate President Thomas Birmingham of Chelsea hosted a fund raiser for his gubernatorial campaign at the Marconi Club Saturday afternoon.
About six weeks ago a Birmingham staffer from Stoneham invited the Stoneham Selectmen and School Committee to meet the Senate President. Selectmen Tony Kennedy, Cosmo Ciccarello and Bob Sweeney and School Committee member Marc Grimaldi met with Birmingham.
“The town is not formally supporting any candidate, but I think it is good for Stoneham to know people in high places,” Kennedy said.
Birmingham drafted the Chapter 70 legislation in 1993 and continues to be a major player in education policy.
Lead paint at East School
Students and teachers of the SEEM Collaborative had to evacuate the East School last week after a potentially harmful amount of lead paint was identified in the old building.
SEEM — the Special Education Educational Mutual Collaborative — runs programs throughout the year in several area school buildings. SEEM rents the North School and the East School from the Stoneham Schools.
Students, teachers, equipment and supplies were moved from the East School temporarily to the South School. Other area schools where SEEM operates are also helping out with space.
SEEM and the School Department will work together to clean the building.
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!