Cheshire to Interview Police Chief Candidate
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Select Board will interview the candidate for police chief at 3 p.m. Friday, leaving open the possibility of hiring him that day.
Adams Police Sgt. Matthew Wright is the only candidate brought forward so far to take over the chief's post. It's currently being filled by retired Chief Timothy Garner, who stepped in last year when his successor was charged with solicitation.
Wright has been with the Adams Police Department for 19 years, working as a reserve and temporary officer for three years and hired full time in 2010. He had applied for the interim police chief post in Adams last year but the town hired retired Lanesborough Police Chief Timothy Sorrell to prevent a void in the staffing.
Sorrell also stepped in to replace a chief who had been charged, this time with fraud. Adams is planning to start a search for a new chief.
Town meeting approved $110,000 toward a chief's salary.
Cheshire initially received seven applicants for its police chief position; two did not meet the minimum qualifications outlined in the job posting, and one candidate withdrew from the process. The remaining four went through the written process and two advanced to the assessment center. One of those candidates withdrew leaving Wright as the lone candidate.
Select Board Chair Michelle Francesconi explained the search consultants were very impressed with the remaining candidate, recommending he move forward to the final interview. The consultants sent the board 18 questions for the interview; board members will pick 12, with each member asking three questions and Francesconi asking the first and last. Board member Scott McWhirt is recusing himself from the interview as he had worked with Wright in the Adams Police Department prior to his retirement in 2016.
At the Select Board's previous meeting, Francesconi discussed having the Police Department alternate shifts to have someone covering the evening shift as a recent incident was left to State Police who were tied up at the time. The board voted to do that in the interim until a new police chief has started.
In other business, Flaherty Road will be one-way after residents' concerns are answered.
On Tuesday, the Select Board voted to make the road, a short, narrow residential street that connects at the start of Wells Road and the end of East Main Street, one way. There are a total of five residents on Flaherty.
Town Administrator Jennifer Morse said she was approached by a couple of the residents at the beginning of summer requesting a change because to safety concerns and had previously spoken about it at a Select Board meeting at the beginning of July.
Morse explained they had a meeting with all of the residents and all have agreed to the change. A couple of residents were in attendance to make comments, saying a one-way street would make the area safer because the bridge on Windsor Road restricts visibility.
"I think Flaherty Road should be a one-way. It's just not wide enough for two vehicles. Now, understand that plowing and emergency seems great to me, but make it one way. There's no room," said resident Bruce Richardson.
"I think the safety issue happens to be when you're traveling up, going from Main Street up to Windsor because of the way the bridges now coordinate, the road comes up and you kind of have to swing to the right a little bit, and you still can't see anyone coming down up to Notch Road area when they come down," said resident James Rose.
"And several of us have had some pretty close calls when you kind of get out, and you now know you have to kind of sneak out, and then sneak out, and then sneak out before you actually make the full turn, it has been especially, for me anyway, interesting when there's a motorcycle coming around because you won't see that motorcycle until that person is on top of you, and they can't see us either because of where the bridge and the road come and the road swings up it meets the bridge, and you can only see the far side, you can't see the closest. So that's a safety issue on our part," he said, noting it is what got the discussion on changing the road started.
The board voted to change the street to a one way from the south side to the north side, Windsor Road to Main Street/Wells Road. Once the Department of Public Works is able to get signage up, the change will be implemented.
At the July meeting, DPW Director Corey McGrath also requested that the town consider paving Flaherty Road given its poor condition. The road was paved before the meeting and the residents thanked him for a job well done.
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