At their Sept. 7 meeting, the Lincoln County Commissioners declined to elaborate on their reason or reasons for placing Tim Pellerin, Director of Lincoln County Communications and the Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency, on paid administrative leave last week.
“He’s still on administrative leave,” Chairman Lynn Orne said. It is “unknown at this time” when the commissioners will act on the matter, Orne said.
The Commissioners placed Pellerin, a veteran firefighter and administrator with 32 years experience in emergency service work on leave Aug. 29. Pellerin also serves as Whitefield’s volunteer fire chief.
The Commissioners discussed the matter Tuesday in an executive session. “We appointed (county administrator) John O’Connell as acting EMA Director until further notice,” Commissioner Sheridan Bond said. Deputy Director Ken Desmond will also be absent next week, as he is attending a 40-hour training in Alabama.
“We had to put somebody in charge,” Bond said.
Desmond and Deputy Director Kim Kaiser reported an uneventful weekend in Pellerin’s absence, marked by the anticlimactic performance of Hurricane Earl.
Earl caused two “very small” power outages in Waldoboro and Somerville, Kaiser said, both on roads with 50 or less residents. The agency focused on preparedness for the storm, including informing visitors to the area about evacuation routes.
“We weathered the storm quite well,” Desmond said.