ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen have ratified the appointment of a full-time police officer and a new reserve officer.

 

Police Chief Richard Tarsa asked the board Wednesday to promote reserve Police Officer Natasha Antona to full time and bring on Dylan Vandoloski as a reserve.

 

"As Yogi Berra once said: it is déjà vu all over again," Tarsa said. "A few months ago I came before the board asking for this reserve officer appointment and I am very proud and happy to be before the board asking to take it to the next step."

 

The department has been struggling to fill its ranks over the past few years because of the limitations of using Civil Service, which requires using candidates from the state exam list. The town dissolved its adoption of the Civil Service law last year and, since then, Tarsa has been filling out the department.

 

Tarsa said Antona interned with the department while studying English at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and found herself very interested in criminal justice. Tarsa said she went on to study criminal justice and was appointed as a reserve officer in February.

 

"She has the praise of her colleagues and as well as mine and I think she has made tremendous progress to get us to this point this evening," he said. 

 

Selectman Joseph Nowak said he was happy to see the department continue to diversify.

 

"I am very happy we have another woman on the force," he said. "I think it is a complement to the force."

 

Tarsa said Antona will start July 1 and attend the full-time academy in October.

 

The board then ratified Vandoloski, who Tarsa said is currently a part-time officer in Cheshire.

 

"He is a mechanic, but he has a passion for law enforcement and he wants to come here to Adams," he said. "He is an advocate for community policing and wants to give back to the community ... I think he will be a great addition to the department and the community."

 

Interim Town Administrator Donna Cesan, who was part of the interview process for both officers, said it was encouraging to meet two young people excited to work in town. 

 

"One of the pleasures of being the interim town administrator is to meet young people that are starting their careers here," she said. "It is great to see how excited they are not only to work in Adams but to be part of the community."

 

Tarsa said in the coming months he plans to bring more reserve officers before the board. 

 

"I have talked about this before putting a reserve team together, so we can promote our department," he said. "Dylan is our latest addition and I am very happy to say that we have others waiting in the wings."

 

In other business, Selectwoman Christine Hoyt gave a report on a recent personnel subcommittee meeting that discussed the status of the town administrator search process.

 

"We did talk about looking at the possibility of hiring a consultant and getting some people here to look at this," Hoyt said.

 

Since the departure of Tony Mazzucco last year, the town has been going through a search process while Cesan filled in during the interim. Recently Hoyt announced that the search committee could not bring forward three qualified candidates for final interviews with the Selectmen.

 

One of the concerns was the salary level being offered and town meeting earlier this approved a higher range to attract more candidates.

 

The screening committee has been temporarily disbanded but the town looks to pick up the search effort again in the coming months.