October 19, 2021

“Motion to exercise first right of refusal by Hewins, second by Hoffman. Vote 3-2 (Bogart, Belbin).” (Motion: Hewins, second: Hoffman)

Read it in the official minutes, page 2 (PDF)

“Motion by Townsend to hire LaFond as Town Administrator for an 18 month contract to the end of fiscal year 2022; at the same time, establish clear goals and objectives, with written evaluations, to be done at the end of 6 months and at the end of 12 months, second by Hewins. Townsend stated that this is a different Board than the Board that hired LaFond. Expectations have not been communicated to LaFond. Carver has a unique Public Safety set up than other towns. The Route 44 project is the largest project the town has ever had and does not believe it is a good idea to bring someone new in during this as LaFond brings continuity to all the projects going on at this time. Belbin stated he does not feel he can vote that way. Belbin asked if the Chair or Vice Chair has contacted Mr. Kelley. Belbin stated he has and stated that Kelley is still interested in working for the Town. Belbin stated he does not support LaFond as the Town Administrator. Hewins stated that it is a serious misunderstanding that the Town will just go on if the Town wants to preserve its rural character. We need a town administrator who supports our town's character and the people working under him support that as well. Rural character doesn't happen overnight and it takes a team effort since it can get lost quickly. LaFond has things well in hand, the Public Safety departments know him and trust him, there are new Department Heads who are working with LaFond to fix things that have fallen through the cracks. Townsend stated that giving written evaluations gives the Board the opportunity to bring forward issues that may have not been made clear earlier on. He stated this would be a poor time to change Town Administrators. A short-term contract is a good compromise solution to this Board. Bogart stated she was the first one a few meetings ago to say that there are options. She questioned if anyone has asked LaFond if he would say an additional 6 months. She stated she is not comfortable offering either candidate a long-term contract. Bogart stated 18 months is too long for her to agree to. She would be open to asked LaFond to stay on another 6 months paired with continuing a search. Townsend stated he would explain how he got to 18 months. The contract expires at the end of December which is the start of the budget season. The best time would be at the end of the fiscal year at the end of June. The Screening Committee worked hard and did the best they could. They brought forth 3 candidates and one withdrew. Six months is not helpful to the town and sitting down as a Board and establishing clear goals with an evaluation, gives the Board a chance to evaluate him. He stated 18 months is not a long time and it gives the Board time to make decisions. He stated 18 months is unusually short for a Town Administrator contract. Hoffman asked why December 31 was negotiated with the Interim contract. Belbin stated the by-laws allow a process for a Town Administrator, but does not for an Interim. He stated if a decision is not made tonight, the Board is violating the bylaws. There is no good time to get someone into this position. He agrees a decision needs to be made tonight and it is between Kelley and LaFond. Townsend agrees there may not be a good time, but stated this is a bad time. He thinks Mr. Kelley was a good applicant and had a good interview. He stated there are not too many towns of Carver's size and Carver's rural character with a huge project like we have going on and LaFond has made himself intimate with this project and that project is not going to stop because the Board needs to choose a Town Administrator. Hoffman asked if the Board had to use the list that was presented by the Screening Committee, Townsend stated Town Counsel sent a statement that the Board would not be violating the bylaws if the Board does not choose someone from the list forwarded by the Screening Committee. Belbin does not agree with this. Hoffman wants to be sure a Screening Committee has plenty of time and that at the 12 month evaluation, if it is not satisfactory, to negotiate a notice to be given for LaFond. Bogart asked how it would be different than doing a 6 month contract. Townsend stated that LaFond would be permanent. The difference is that LaFond being an interim could have limited the applicant pool and by him being permanent, the Board could choose not to renew his contract and then it would be open to applicants. Hewins stated that due to the time of year the 18-month contract falls, it would give the Board more time to find a Town Administrator and town meeting would be done and it would be a better time. Townsend stated this allows the Town to have continuity. He stated Mr. Walsh, Chair of the Screening Committee, stated that he felt there would have been more applicants if LaFond was not the Interim applying for the permanent position. Vote 2-3.” (Motion: Townsend, second: Hewins)

Read it in the official minutes, page 3 (PDF)

“Motion by Hewins to appoint LaFond as a permanent Town Administrator for a 6-month period, second by Townsend. Hewins stated she thinks 18 months is better. Hewins asked if Bogart is amendable with a 6month contract. Bogart stated she is if the search continues. Townsend asked if there is some period of time that Bogart would be amenable longer than 6 months and less than 18 months as it does not benefit the Town to continue to search. Bogart would like someone she is totally confident in and is open to another 6 months and would like to see if someone else would come along in the next 6 months. Belbin stated that the only real project going on is the roadway project and the development project is not going on until the next two years or so. The road construction project is easy and quick. Belbin stated the people who have come through the screening process are the ones we have to choose from. Hewins stated that what people don't realize is the right now LaFond is the chief negotiator for the Route 44 development project and there is a lot to get through before the project comes to fruition. The upfront negotiations are what drives the project. LaFond is someone extremely competent and LaFond was in the town for 17 years prior to our former administrator, and LaFond did a good job back then, too. Hewins pointed out to Bogart that it is the town she moved to for the rural character that LaFond worked hard to establish. Townsend stated that every Public Safety Chief has endorsed LaFond and what gets overlooked is that the Town Hall stayed open the entire time during the pandemic except for a couple of weeks. Plymouth Town Hall was closed for a year. People were able to get permits and go to the Town Clerk's office and that benefited everyone in town and a lot of that credit goes to LaFond. Belbin stated that he requested for a search to start in February. Townsend stated there are a lot of things that could have happened, but we are here now. Vote 2-3.” (Motion: Hewins, second: Townsend)

Read it in the official minutes, page 5 (PDF)

“Motion by Hewins to appoint LaFond as Town Administrator for a period of 12 months, second by Townsend. Townsend asked if Bogart would accept this as it would get the Town through the budget process and to the end of Town Meeting, second by Hewins Bogart stated she feels she is in the hot seat. Belbin stated he is offended. Vote 2-3.” (Motion: Hewins, second: Townsend)

Read it in the official minutes, page 6 (PDF)

“Motion by Bogart to amend her motion to re-open the Town Administrator search and to appoint a new screening committee. Townsend asked for authorization to reach out to the current screening committee to see their interest level in continuing the process, then the Board can make decisions on moving forward with the process as an amendment to Bogart's motion. Bogart amended her motion to re-open the Town Administrator search and to authorize Weston to contact the most recent screening committee members to see if they want to continue serving on a screening committee, second by Hoffman. Vote 3-2 (Hewins, Belbin).” (Motion: Bogart, second: Hoffman)

Read it in the official minutes, page 6 (PDF)

“Motion by Hoffman to choose neither candidate as permanent Town Administrator, second by Belbin. Belbin stated this finalizes this decision by the Board. Townsend stated that Weston should be contacting the finalists, not a member of the Board without authorization of the Board. Vote 2-3.” (Motion: Hoffman, second: Belbin)

Read it in the official minutes, page 6 (PDF)

“Motion by Hoffman to have Weston to look into the available candidates or whatever the process for an Interim Town Administrator, second by Bogart. Bogart asked what this process means. Weston stated there are various firms that can provide outreach to candidates. Vote 3-2 (Hewins, Belbin).” (Motion: Hoffman, second: Bogart)

Read it in the official minutes, page 7 (PDF)