Newcastle Town Administrator Ron Grenier said Jan. 10 the field of candidates for his successor is “down to two finalists.”
Grenier wouldn’t provide the names of the finalists. As of Dec. 20, the candidates were Clinton, Tenn. City Manager David Bollings; Patricia Moody D’Angelo, a research assistant at the state public advocate’s office; Hope Town Administrator Jonathan Duke; and, Boothbay Assessor Justin VanDongen.
The Newcastle Board of Selectmen met with the candidates in executive (private) session Jan. 10 and will meet again Fri., Jan. 13 at 9 a.m., also in executive session, Grenier said.
The board has questions for the Nobleboro/Jefferson Transfer Station Board of Directors before it grants full approval, Grenier said.
The assessment for Newcastle’s share of the facility’s budget totals $109,650, a $1200 increase since the previous year.
The transfer station says the increase is due to a corresponding increase in Newcastle’s population, Grenier said, but he described the rise in population as “very insignificant.”
Bremen, Damariscotta, Jefferson and Nobleboro all have lower assessments this year.
Dick Spear, the chairman of the Nobleboro Board of Selectmen, plans to attend the Newcastle Board of Selectmen’s Mon., Feb. 13 meeting to answer questions about the transfer station.
The Jefferson and Nobleboro selectmen also sit on the Nobleboro/Jefferson Transfer Station Board of Directors.
The Newcastle selectmen want to ask Spear about the assessment and ask him if Newcastle has the right to representation on the facility’s board.
Newcastle has not had a seat on the board “for some time,” Grenier said.
In other business, Grenier signed a loan Jan. 10 for the purchase of the town’s new fire truck. The town will make its first $27,084 annual payment on the 15-year loan Feb. 9.
