Selectmen prepare to fill Paicos' role as town administrator
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Reporter

Selectmen took the first step on Monday to fill the Town Administrator Kevin Paicos' position while he is on active duty with the United States National Guard.

Selectmen plan to hire an interim administrator and will not attempt to perform Piacos' duties themselves.

"We've moved beyond that time," Board Chairman Jonathan Dennehy said.

Paicos, a medic with the National Guard Reserve Special Forces, will serve on a three-week training assignment from April 21 to May 12 and then will serve on a long-term assignment beginning in the next several months.

Paicos has gotten a three-day leave from the training assignment to attend the town meeting on Saturday, May 5.

The selectmen agreed to appoint Paul Bouchell for the three-week period and to conduct a search for the long-term interim.

"It's a couple of days a week and he already knows us," said Selectman Christopher Gagnon of Bouchell.

Bouchell served as the interim town administrator in November, during Paicos' last four-week training assignment.

The selectmen voted to have Paicos develop an advertisement to search for a long-term interim town administrator. The board will review the ad at their next meeting before it is published.

They expect to hold interviews at the end of May and appoint someone around the beginning of June.

"The budget contains my full salary so you shouldn't have a problem funding the position," Paicos said.

The qualified applicants will probably be retired town administrators or a town administrator between jobs, Paicos said.

Municipalities can adopt a state law that requires them to pay the difference between the salary paid by the military and the town. But Ashburnham has not adopted the law and does not have it on the warrant for the upcoming town meeting.

In other business:

+ Selectmen met with state Rep. Bob Rice to discuss local aid mandates from the Office of Dam Safety, and the status of the School Building Assistance program.

"This should not be a local burden," Rice said of the dam repairs. "This is a statewide problem."

Rice also said that the House Ways and Means budget would be released on April 14.

+ Selectmen also gave their permission for part of the Longsjo bike race to go through Ashburnham.