Grafton will re-start its search for fire chief after first choice rejects offer

A shell-shocked Select Board agreed to re-start the search for Grafton’s first full-time fire chief, just one day after their top choice, Glastonbury, Connecticut Fire Chief Michael Thurz, rejected the town’s offer.

The board, meeting in an emergency session Thursday afternoon, opted not to offer the post to Groveland Fire Chief Robert Valentine despite favorable comments about his interview before the final vote to hire Thurz.

“Public safety is the top priority,” Select Board member Mathew Often said. “We need to get this right.”

The search process this time around has a special sense of urgency: Fire Chief Mickey Gauthier is set to retire at the end of December after meeting the state’s mandatory retirement age. While he has indicated to Select Board member Colleen Roy that he is willing to file for an extension, other options include choosing an interim chief, either from among the department’s current fire captains or from outside the department.

Roy said she had spent the past day researching the situation, including a discussion with Gauthier.

“Some of the qualifications may have limited the candidates who did apply,” Roy suggested. One in particular stood out: the post required a candidate with administrative experience.

This eliminated several very likely candidates, including people within the Grafton Fire Department ranks.

While it was suggested that Valentine should be re-interviewed, Select Board Chair Peter Carlson said that would be Valentine’s choice — if he was interested in re-applying. Like other board members, Carlson said a new search committee should be appointed and that the Select Board should meet with Gauthier and the fire captains.

I have all the confidence in the department today that they are going to do the job,” Carlson said.

Select Board member Ray Mead, who served as a fire captain and district chief during his 32 years with the Grafton Fire Department, was not in favor of Gauthier extending his service or meeting with the board. He suggested Gauthier didn’t have much input into the report of the Fire Department Study Committee, which Mead chaired.

“I don’t think we should be talking about the chief like that,” Roy said.

“It would be really disrespectful — he’s a crucial part of this conversation no matter what happens,” Often agreed.

Select Board member Doreen DeFazio, the board’s representative to the search committee, agreed with Roy that the job description for the next chief could use some tweaks. While she felt the search committee did a solid job over the past six months, she also agreed that a new committee, with a new charge, should be named.

“We thought we were done and we’re not done,” she said. “It’s by no means a reflection of the committee… we just haven’t found the right candidate yet.”

Fire Chief Search Committee Chair Lydia Bogar was disappointed with the outcome of their six months of research, discussions, and interviews.

“Why didn’t the Select Board speak with FD command staff before appointing the FD Chief Search Committee?” Bogar asked. “My hand was raised for over 60 minutes during this afternoon’s meeting. The Chairman’s failure to recognize me as either Chair of the Search Committee or as a concerned citizen made his other comments even more patronizing.”

The Select Board plans to meet with the Fire Department’s command staff as soon as possible, with an eye toward Tuesday, October 19, the day after Town Meeting.

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