Charged first with hiring a fire chief, the Whitefield municipal volunteer fire department transition committee learned Thursday that one of its members is still uncertain how it will participate.
Coopers Mills Volunteer Fire Dept. representative Brian Huntley said his organization wants more information before making a decision. Kings Mills VFD and North Whitefield VFD are both preparing to sign over to become part of the municipal department, according to Kings Mills representative Louis Sell and North Whitefield’s Brian Ross.
The new ordinance approved by March town meeting voters says the town can “accept the assets of the associations by gift, deed or lease as appropriate.”
The new plan allows each volunteer entity three options – to re-charter as a support organization, to remain as an independent, private fire fighting organization, or to dissolve.
Huntley, who is CMVFD secretary, said, “We don’t know which would fit us.” However, he later stated his organization is “not willing to deed its building or property to the town” and no one at CMVFD will fundraise for the town department, but will do so for the Coopers Mills unit.
Other committee members are Bill Brooke, Carole Cifrino, and Dennis Merrill (chairman), representing civilians; Frances Gauvin, representing emergency medical services; and current town chief Jim Brann. Selectmen Steve McCormick and Frank Ober also attended.
The panel proceeded with naming a subcommittee to review applications and conduct interviews for the hiring. It was decided the subcommittee should be the three citizen representatives and none of the fire department personnel.
McCormick said the first priority is “putting in a chief. Then, the chief would work with the committee and finish the transition from associations to a municipal fire department. It’s not the committee’s job to structure the department. It’s to deal with leases, transfer of ownership. These are the focus areas.”
Applicants must be active Whitefield firefighters. “We don’t have $60,000 to hire a chief from South Portland,” said McCormick. In addition, pointed out Ober, requiring that candidates be active members provides “known quantities for everybody concerned.”
Whitefield has 36 firefighters. To get five applicants, said Ross, “would be stretching it.”
According to a job description enacted by selectmen last year, the “desired minimum qualifications” include a high school diploma or GED equivalent with specialized training in fire department administration, as well as eight years of experience, with four of those in supervisory responsibilities.
After the subcommittee interviews a pool of likely applicants, selectmen will make the final decision.
Following that, applications for deputy chief will go out, said McCormick.
Brann commented that whoever is chief should have a say about who becomes deputy chief. “They have to be able to work well together,” he said.
There was general discussion of the fire chief’s duties. “There’s a lot of paperwork involved in this position, a lot to keep track of,” said Ober.
Sell added, “The ability to communicate is essential,” whether in writing or orally. He also said anyone seeking the position should “buy into this process. It’s not a popularity contest,” and he favored having fire fighters participate in making final recommendations.
Cifrino said she would prefer talking to individual fire fighters on “what they see as important (abilities or characteristics) to look for in a chief. That will help me develop questions and criteria by which I evaluate the candidates.”
McCormick said he liked Cifrino’s idea. He suggested that selectmen and three citizen representatives schedule “a time for fire fighters to come in one by one and tell us what’s important.”
McCormick said he hoped to have applications ready by mid-week and available both at the town office and on the town website (www.townofwhitefield.com).
Applications are due Fri., May 7 and the subcommittee will meet Thurs., May 13 with selectmen. Merrill suggested association members could come in at that time.
