WILBRAHAM – At the Nov. 18 Wilbraham Select Board meeting, Josh Gagnon was interviewed for the position of a police officer in the town. The Holyoke native has a degree from American International College in criminal justice and psychology. Gagnon is leaving the Vermont State Police to return home to Western Massachusetts.

Selectman Robert Boilard asked him during the interview about how he deals with people who are “hostile.” In response, Gagnon told the story of a man he had dealt with who had mental health issues and had expressed the desire to harm himself.

“If I can talk it down, that’s the best thing. We don’t go in hot,” Gagnon said. “It’s a matter of talking, treating everyone like a person.”

Selectman Robert Russell asked the candidate about how he views self-improvement. Gagnon said that, as a team, officers should look back and reevaluate calls to see what can be done better. Personally, he said, he gets as much training as possible, including training he received in narcotics from the Drug Enforcement Administration at Quantico.

Select Board Chair Susan Bunnell asked him if there were any laws that he felt should be eliminated or added. Gagnon said that he would like to make domestic violence laws stronger.

 “We end up dealing with the same people every six months,” Gagnon said, adding that he would like the laws to “show them we mean business.”

Police Chief Robert Zollo said Gagnon had everything they needed in an officer and quoted his current captain with the Vermont State Police as saying, “If it took me buying him a crocodile to keep him, I would.” The board voted unanimously to appoint him.

Fire Chief Michael Andrews had two pieces of business with the board. The first was a pair of technology and efficiency fund transfers.

The first request was for $2,500 for software to more accurately record time off for the fire department and “cut down on unintentional mistakes.” Andrews said this would eliminate the use of paper and save time. He said the system had been implemented in his former department.

The second technology and efficiency transfer request was for $6,780 that would streamline operations. Currently, the department uses three separate systems and has to input information into each system separately. Andrews said that the new software will eliminate “duplication of effort” and connect with the dispatch system. The elimination of the two other programs would save $4,000 per year, however, the cost of the new program is approximately $5,280 per year. Both requests were approved by the board.

The second item of business brought by Andrews was clarification on how many candidate interviews for fire captain they wished to complete. There are two captain positions open in the department and currently nine candidates. The board decided that the top five candidates, after testing this weekend, will appear before them for interviews.

Tree Warden David Graziano asked the board for a $15,000 reserve fund transfer to tackle the removal of dead trees throughout the town. He said the Gypsy moth damage over the past few years has led to an increase in oak tree and ash tree mortality. For context, Graziano said the removal of two trees recently cost $4,500.

Boilard asked Town Administrator Nick Breault if tree removal would be “properly funded” in the next year’s budget. Breault said that they were working on adding to the budget for the problem.

Graziano said that he had done an assessment and estimated there is $78,000 worth of tree removal needed in town.

“Maybe we can take care of it in the three-five year plan,” suggested Graziano.

Bunnell encouraged him to take the position with National Grid that removing some of the trees will limit outages.

Moving on in the meeting, Breault said the broadband committee has three potential solutions to report and suggested they bring the committee in to discuss it with the board.

Breault also recently met with Howard Barber, director of Finance, Operations and Human Resources for the Hamden Wilbraham Regional School District and said the Massachusetts School Building Authority will vote on Feb. 12, 2020, regarding the schematic design for the Wilbraham Middle School roof project. A special town meeting is being arranged for early spring to vote on funding the project.

 Bunnell said the senior center forum that took place on Nov. 13 was a success with “a good number of comments and questions.” Presentations from the Senior Center Feasibility Study Committee are available for viewing on the town’s website.

During the public forum, resident Dave Sanders asked about the status of the town building survey. Breault said the town was working on it trying to determine how much grant money could be used for the survey. The town has tackled the energy efficiency survey first. Requests for proposals regarding the building survey will be out in December with a 30-day response deadline. Boilard said a report could be expected in early spring.

Sanders and resident Matt Villamaino asked if Memorial School would be evaluated in terms of usage of the building as a school. Boilard said that the evaluation will be determining structural soundness, not purpose.

The select board established a Senior Center Building Committee consisting of nine as-yet-to-be-selected members to evaluate the time, expenses and operating costs of building a Senior Center at 240R Springfield St. Residents interested in joining the committee can contact Breault at the Town Hall.

The board discussed whether to disband the Senior Center Feasibility Study Committee, but Boilard said he would like them to have at least one meeting with the Senior Center Building Committee.

A resident asked if the building committee could veto the site chosen by the feasibility study.

“I’d be inclined to say we have a site,” Bunnell said. Boilard added, “In my eyes, we’re going forward with the site picked. I mean, [the committee] did their due diligence in picking a site.”

Resident Bob Torville told the board that there had been talk on the social media of coyotes in Wilbraham. Bunnell said the town is aware of it and it is being looked into.

Peter Alondie, Jr. received the commendation for his more than 30 years of volunteering in the town on the cemetery commission and helping to restore the old meeting house, among other accomplishments.