Williamstown Select Board Has Three Applicants for Interim Appointment
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A three-term member of the board, a teacher at Mount Greylock Regional School and a town native have stepped forward to fill an interim position on the Select Board.
The vacancy came up this summer when Andrew Hogeland announced that he and his wife are moving out of town. He was not specific about the exact date of his departure but encouraged his remaining four colleagues to find a replacement as soon as possible.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24, in a rescheduled bimonthly meeting, the board plans to interview and select from among three people who submitted paperwork to take Hogeland's place until the May town election.
Hugh Daley, Alexander Davis and Matt Neely each submitted a Government Engagement form to apply to serve for the next seven months.
Daley is no stranger to the board, having served for nine years from 2014 to 2023. After not seeking re-election last year, he found a different way to serve the town, as one of its representatives on the Hoosac Water Quality District.
His application emphasized the importance of service.
"Public service is a primary civic duty in our system of self governance," Daley wrote.
During his time on the Select Board, he served as its representative on the Mount Greylock Regional School Building Committee, working to get the most favorable terms for Williamstown and Lanesborough for the bonds that paid for the addition/renovation project at the middle/high school.
Davis teaches literature and composition to seventh-graders at Mount Greylock.
He and his family moved to his wife's hometown 10 years ago, and the couple has three children enrolled at Williamstown Elementary School.
"The Select Board is a challenging position with a lot of responsibility, and I think that I'd be interested in answering this call," Davis said. "I believe in Williamstown and in the people who live here, and I want to do what I can to help them prosper."
Davis noted in his application that he recently was elected to the Democratic Town Committee and has been involved with the grassroots progressive group Greylock Together.
In terms of government service, Davis previously has volunteered on the town's Sign Commission.
Neely comes from a long line of business and civic leaders in town.
His grandmother, Dorothy Hickey, founded and ran Sweetbrook Nursing, he noted in a letter to the board. His mother, K. Elaine Neely, ran that facility and founded Sweetwood Retirement Center in addition to serving the town on its Finance Committee and Hoosac Water Quality District and, more recently, the Williamstown Fire District's Building Committee. In 2018, K. Elaine Neely received the town's Scarborough Solomon Flynt Community Service Award.
Matt Neely served for 10 years on the Fund for Williamstown and currently serves on the Finance Committee at St. John's Episcopal Church. He operated a financial services business in town that he sold in August, Neely wrote.
His two children, who currently attend WES, are active in the community, playing Santa's elves in the Holiday Walk Reindog Parade and appearing in commercials for the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce.
"All this is a long-winded way of saying that the Neely family has four generations of engaged, committed citizens," Neely wrote. "I have a lifelong love of Williamstown and would like to help in whatever way I can to ensure it is a prosperous, welcoming place for many generations to come."
Select Board Chair Jane Patton encouraged her colleagues to reach out to the three applicants if they want to get to know them better before Tuesday's meeting. Hogeland last week after learning that there are three applicants on the table, said he would submit his formal letter of resignation with an end date for his service on the board.
In May, the final year of Hogeland's fourth three-year term on the board will be on the ballot, along with two other full three-year terms.
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