Select Board appoints new fire chief, considers a sharps dropbox

Aug. 14, 2019 | Sarah Heinonen
sarah@thereminder.com

The Select Board poses with newly-appointed Fire Chief Michael Andrews and his wife Lisa Andrews.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen

WILBRAHAM – Wilbraham has a new fire chief.

The Select Board voted to appoint Michael Andrews to the position at their Aug. 12 meeting. Andrews won out over two other applicants, Capt. Dan Corliss and Deputy Fire Chief Peter Nothe, who had been acting fire chief.

“Each individual person offered something different. Dan and Peter have been with the department for a long time,” said Selectman Robert Boilard. “And then you got Mr. Andrews who might bring a fresh set of eyes.”

Select Board Chair Susan Bunnell praised the “caliber of candidate” that the department offers, but said, “I believe there is some value in bringing in an external candidate.”

Also on the agenda was a public hearing regarding the installation of electrical conduit on Shirley Road proposed by National Grid. Mandy Cavanaugh, a representative of the company, said there had been multiple faults and outages in the area, requiring the replacement of the current conduit.

The project would also include two pole boxes in the vicinity of 23 Shirley Rd. and 26 Shirley Rd., however the exact location of the pole boxes was different depending on which map was cited. The board tabled the discussion until a definitive location was submitted.

Bunnell explained that there would be no need for a special town meeting to vote on the appropriation of funding for the replacement of the Wilbraham Middle School roof. The Massachusetts School Building Authority, through which the school district has applied for project cost reimbursement, will not conduct a final vote until April. The timeline allows for the appropriation of funding to appear as a warrant article at the 2020 annual town meeting.

The Select Board discussed the town’s adoption of a dropbox for “sharps,” medical instruments such as needles and syringes that pose a hazard if thrown away in the trash.

The Board of Health representatives who addressed the Select Board said that by installing a sharps dropbox they would be “advocating for the safety of our residents and our sanitation workers.”

Bunnell inquired about the proposed location of the dropbox at the Town Hall, suggesting the Police Station is open 24 hours and currently has a medication drop box in the lobby. The police department had already rejected the idea when the Board of Health had reached out to them.

There were different types of drop boxes presented by the Board of Health, some would need to be secured in an office, while others are freestanding locked units. The cost for each style varied, but it was suggested that the price would be roughly $1,400. The town would contract with a waste disposal company to empty the box when needed.

The source of funding for the project had not yet been identified, but Bunnell said that perhaps community groups could help with the cost. It was later mentioned that the Wilbraham-Hampden Rotary Club was looking for a project with which to help.

Dispatch Supervisor Anthony Gentile told the Select Board that two reimbursement grants had been received from the state, a $52,134 grant for 911 and a $20,119 training grant which, Gentile said, meant the cost of dispatcher training would not fall on the town. Boilard asked if there were any stipulations to accepting the grants. There were not.

Gentile also informed the board that Wilbraham is now the alternate public safety answering point for overflow 911 calls from East Longmeadow. The system will automatically reroute unanswered calls after four or five rings. Wilbraham has a similar agreement with Ludlow.

Gentile said the system is usually only used in an event where many people at the site of an accident call 911 at once.

The Select Board accepted the resignation of Richard Hoffman from the Agricultural Commission, retroactive to July 2, while Lauren Hatch received a certificate from the board for her 20 years of service to the town.

Share this: