2026-08-11 - Select Board

21:00Uh we start with open forum. Is there

21:02anybody here who would like to speak at

21:05open forum?

21:09No. And feel free if for any reason you

21:12can't hear any of us this evening to let

21:14us know.

21:17Okay. With that, we are here this

21:21evening to uh hire a new fire chief for

21:26the town of Westboro.

21:28Um and I know um on Friday all of you

21:32said thank you to Chief Purcell. I would

21:34like to say thank you to Chief Purcell

21:36today for the wonderful job that he has

21:38done for this town um and his

21:40well-deserved retirement and look

21:42forward to telling him that again in

21:45September at our Turos.

21:47Um, but tonight we're here, there are

21:49two finalist candidates for the position

21:51of fire chief. Uh, Roger Busha and

21:55Daniel Hair. I'm saying those right. Um,

21:58we're going to do interviews with both

22:00candidates this evening and then

22:02following those interviews, individually

22:04interview each of them, there will be

22:06deliberation and then uh there will be a

22:08vote taken.

22:10Um at this time

22:13uh we'll have an opening statement from

22:16uh select member Marshall.

22:18>> Great. And thank you um very much. I'm

22:20speaking on behalf of the board tonight

22:22just to give um the board uh a reminder

22:24of the process that brought us here and

22:27to inform the public as well. And thank

22:29you to everyone for your patience while

22:30I was stuck in traffic.

22:33Okay. Uh so the fire chief search

22:36process began on June 9th when the

22:38select board considered whether to

22:39conduct an internal or external search.

22:42The select board voted 32 in favor of

22:46conducting an internal search limited to

22:48current fire department employees

22:50holding a supervisory rank. The board

22:52then unanimously established a

22:54nine-member search committee designed to

22:57include municipal leadership, public

22:59safety and fire service expertise and

23:02community representation.

23:06The town conducted a public recruitment

23:08process for the community seats,

23:10receiving six applications, and the

23:12select board appointed the search

23:14committee on July 6.

23:18The committee included a select board

23:20representative, town manager, police

23:22chief, community development director, a

23:24retired fire chief serving as a subject

23:27matter expert, and four community

23:29representatives,

23:31several of whom had specific fire

23:33experience.

23:37Okay. Um, sorry, let me just check my

23:40notes here.

23:42Right.

23:45Um we conducted a preliminary screening

23:48on um July 21st

23:52um and sorry

23:56uh conducting preliminary interviews.

23:59Following those interviews, the

24:00candidates were asked to prepare a

24:0290-day transition plan. All candidates

24:04that applied were asked to provide that

24:06plan and to participate in an

24:08independent assessment center conducted

24:10by a third-party consultant.

24:14The assessment center evaluated

24:16candidates through several different

24:17exercises. I'll outline those here. An

24:21inbasket exercise, basically simulating

24:23the day-to-day demands placed upon a

24:25chief. You can think of that as sort of

24:26the administrative process and the churn

24:28of the day. A personnel roleplay focused

24:31on handling an employee issue. A

24:34tactical exercise assessing command and

24:36control decision-making during a

24:37simulated emergency. in a written and

24:41oral exercise requiring candidates to

24:43prepare, report and presentation. And I

24:45would uh just um share with the board

24:49that assessment also was it wasn't like

24:52do this, do this, do this. And those

24:53four exercises, they were pulled in and

24:55out of of those exercises really

24:58stimulating kind of the stress of all of

25:00those uh measurements uh being assessed.

25:03So they might be working on the in

25:05basket and then be pulled out to go and

25:08uh work on the command and control

25:09scenario. So just for context. Okay.

25:14Uh finally on August 6th the search

25:16committee reconvene to p to review the

25:19full body of screening materials again.

25:21So those were the interview materials

25:23and the assessment materials and

25:26obviously uh additional um um materials

25:30submitted by the applicants. And then

25:32finally, we selected the search

25:34committee selected the finalists being

25:36um selected to the excuse me,

25:38recommended to the select board. Uh

25:40which brings us here tonight. Um the

25:43search committee ultimately brought

25:44forward two candidates and that is

25:47what's um those individuals are here

25:49before the board tonight. And I just

25:51want to thank everyone on the search

25:53committee for a fantastic job. We worked

25:54really well as a group. We had some

25:56really um healthy uh deliberations and

26:00um it was a a great great mix. I want

26:02the board to know a great mix of u

26:05participants on that committee um really

26:08providing

26:09a varied um uh input and perspective on

26:13what the new chief uh should be

26:15comprising.

26:17>> Shelby, thank you very much. Um

26:23captain, thank you. Um I just saying in

26:26final we have uh 15 questions here. We

26:30are going to provide in fairness the

26:32same 15 questions to each of the two

26:34candidates. There will be um

26:36opportunities for select board members

26:38to ask for clarification potentially of

26:40a question if they would like but in

26:43fairness we're going to maintain the

26:44same questions for both candidates.

26:48And with that um Shelby I believe you

26:50have the first question.

26:51>> Yes I do. Um, do we want to ask for

26:54>> introduction?

26:56>> Oh, that's not the first question.

26:58>> Well, yeah, [laughter] I think we'll go

27:00with that. Yes. Sorry. Uh, uh, good

27:02evening. Uh, so the first question is,

27:05please provide an overview of your

27:07background, obviously an introduction as

27:09well, your experience in the Westboro

27:10Fire Department, and tell us why you

27:13wish to be the next leader of the

27:14Westboro Fire Department.

27:16>> Thank you for the question. Um, so for

27:18those that don't know me, I'm Roger

27:19Bush. Um, I have been at the Westboro

27:21Fire Department now for 15 years. I

27:23currently have I have the privilege to

27:25serve as a shift commander for group

27:26one. With that responsibility, I oversee

27:30emergency operations and non-emergency

27:31operations on a on my day-to-day basis

27:33when I'm uh scheduled to work. Um, my

27:37career started about 22 years ago when I

27:41started as an an auxiliary firefighter

27:43in the town of uh Webster where I was

27:46assigned the rescue one. And I learned

27:48from some of the best people in special

27:49operations and they taught me the

27:52passion and I carried that experience,

27:56that passion um and the things that they

27:58taught me through my career. Um from

28:01there I also worked at Webster MS as a

28:05EMT as I was going through paramedic

28:07school and um eventually got hired

28:09full-time for the town of Long Meadow

28:11where they sent me through the fire

28:12academy. I was there for a short period

28:15as young people do. I got homesick and I

28:17went back to central Mass um where I was

28:20uh ended up on several uh urban EMS high

28:24volume um systems including 11 years on

28:27Worcester EMS both full-time and

28:29part-time which was a great place to

28:31work. It helped me develop my skills as

28:32a paramedic. Helped me develop my

28:34bedside manner. I was able to work with

28:36um with people of all different rank

28:39structures, fire department, police

28:40department, so on and so forth. And uh I

28:43also spent um some time working with the

28:46Oxford Fire Department where I was able

28:47to get a tremendous amount of fire

28:49experience. And during that time period

28:52while I was working at West Street in

28:53Oxford Fire Department, uh then

28:56firefighter Pat Purcell um approached me

28:59and recruited me to come to the Westboro

29:01Fire Department and I have called it my

29:03home ever since.

29:05Since I've been here, the community has

29:07been extremely supportive of the fire

29:09department, supportive of us and our

29:11training. Um, and they have been willing

29:14to send me to uh various amounts of

29:17training. I've traveled to different

29:18areas of the country to go to several

29:20different conferences. I was able to

29:22bring that knowledge back um and pass it

29:25on to other members of the department.

29:27Uh I have also taken every class that I

29:29possibly could at the Mass Fire Academy.

29:32I am an assistant squad leader for the

29:34technical rescue team. I also uh

29:36function as a specialty rescue diver as

29:39well for the district team. Um which

29:41unfortunately has been very busy this

29:43summer. Uh on top of that I am the

29:46department's shift uh training officer

29:49and I have been able to restructure our

29:53training program to provide more quality

29:56more hours um to bring us uh to bring

29:59our our uh standing with ISO better

30:01going from a four up to a two. It was

30:04very instrumental in that and it has um

30:07put us in a good position to hopefully

30:10achieve that ISO1 which is our ultimate

30:12goal. Um, in addition to that, uh, I

30:16also am the program director of our

30:18youth fire setting prevention and

30:19intervention program where I oversee

30:21three YFPI specialists. And since its

30:24inception, we've had several successful

30:27um, interventions with youth that were

30:30causing fires that were potentially

30:31injuring people. Uh, and it's been great

30:34outcomes for them and their family. So

30:38with that um

30:40in addition to my experience and

30:43education has been provided to you guys

30:44through my resume and um I would like to

30:47talk about a few attributes that I've

30:49developed over the course of my my

30:51career.

30:53First would be my interpersonal skills.

30:56So I've really developed my

30:58interpersonal skills over the last 22

30:59years where I have um been able to lead

31:03through example, right? I'm able to

31:05build relationships, um, long-term

31:08lasting relationships, even uh,

31:12sorry, just grab a sip of water.

31:21>> [clears throat]

31:22>> So, h having been assigned to every

31:23shift at the Westboro Fire Department

31:25since I've started here with my inter

31:28interpersonal skills, I have been able

31:30to um use those skills to build good

31:34teams, help people define what their

31:37goals are, help them achieve it, and

31:39help them see the best versions of

31:40themselves. Um I'm I'm the kind of guy I

31:43don't I don't like to let things get

31:44into conflict. I like to uh do the hard

31:47work up front to make sure that there's

31:49good communication so that everybody's

31:51on the same page and not let it draw

31:53out. That way we can all um work well

31:56together and not extend that that uh

31:58conflict. Um second would be my

32:02conceptual skills and my vision for

32:04departmental needs and personnel needs.

32:07Um these first two attributes or these

32:11skills that I provided you I feel they

32:15work hand in hand where they help me

32:16guide other members of the department

32:19help me build those relationships help

32:21me find the best versions of themselves

32:23of themselves and also help them you

32:26know understand and um feel a passion

32:31for their mission here at the Westboro

32:33Fire Department and what they could

32:34provide for the community and also see

32:36how they can fit into the bigger picture

32:39um with the with the town's goals and

32:40the department's goals.

32:43And uh lastly, I would say would be my

32:45um recognition prime decision-m and my

32:48diagnostic skills. So over the years and

32:51through my experience, I've been able to

32:53develop um kind of a mental library or a

32:56checklist that helps me get to the core

32:58issues with complex issues or complex

33:01incidents and therefore mitigating

33:04emergencies and non-emergency incidents.

33:06um through teamwork and communication.

33:09Um personally, I'm a father of four

33:12great children. Uh I love watching them

33:14grow into excellent people. They test my

33:17leadership skills every single day. Um

33:20and I I have beautiful wife who keeps me

33:22humble and she's very supportive for me

33:24to chase my dreams and do great things.

33:26Uh I'm an avid biker when the New

33:28England weather cooperates, which was

33:30great today. I actually went on a long

33:31ride today, so it felt good. Um,

33:35but yeah,

33:37I'm an advocate for

33:40good uh mental health and physical

33:42well-being, especially in a career like

33:44the fire service where it's so important

33:45that you have to be in good physical

33:46shape and we also take care of each

33:48other's mental well-being as well. So,

33:50I'm a strong advocate with that for and

33:52been supportive of our uh of our um

33:54well-being programs. So, it's an honor

33:58to be here and stand in front of you to

34:00present these attributes that I feel

34:02would be um would would definitely help

34:05me in leading the department forward.

34:09>> Thank you. Um I'm going to ask you go a

34:12little bit deeper there. So, um Yes,

34:14sir.

34:14>> Feel free to take a drink of water

34:16whenever you need it. Just relax. Um

34:19what is one area of leadership that you

34:20continue to work on improving?

34:23um and what specifically are you doing

34:25to become a stronger leader?

34:27>> Thank you for the question.

34:32So I would say one area that I am still

34:36working on

34:38would be

34:41relaying my ideas and listening to other

34:44people's ideas and coming to common

34:46ground and realizing that I don't always

34:48have the right answer. Over the years,

34:51I've definitely worked on that and I've

34:52gotten significantly better. I've gotten

34:54better at delegating tasks. Um, and also

34:57when people come to me with ideas, even

35:00if I have my reservations, I say, you

35:02know what, good, you're right. Let's go

35:04with your plan and see how it works.

35:06Right? And nine times out of 10 or say

35:0999 times out of 100, it works way better

35:11than I ever would have done it. So, um,

35:13that was an area that I definitely

35:15struggled with for a while. I think it's

35:16that type A personality, but I realized

35:19that weakness in myself and and I have

35:21um worked on making myself better at

35:24that.

35:27>> Thank you.

35:28>> You're welcome.

35:29>> And just as a reminder, the questions

35:31are there. I didn't know if you saw.

35:33Yeah.

35:33>> Yeah.

35:34>> We tried to not make them. We tried to

35:36not make them multiart this time. No

35:38guarantees.

35:41Captain, please describe your leadership

35:43style and how your style might influence

35:46changes in the current structure and

35:47philosophy of the department. Thank you

35:50for the question.

35:52I would describe my leadership style as

35:54transformational um with a little bit

35:58leaning towards servant leadership. I

35:59believe it is my job as a leader to

36:01serve the people that work for me or

36:02work under me, right? Um but as a

36:05transformational leadership uh sorry

36:07transformational leader

36:11I enjoy motivating people

36:14to display the best versions of

36:16themselves right whether it's coming up

36:17with projects if they say hey we want to

36:19change something on the truck it's like

36:21you know hey awesome let's talk about it

36:23show me how it works let's present it to

36:25the department right so motivate them

36:27encourage them um and then we can move

36:30forward to start affecting that that

36:32change Um,

36:39let me just think about that for one

36:40second, please.

36:47So, yeah, it's I I would describe it as

36:50transformational leadership where I I

36:52enjoy motivating people. I enjoy helping

36:56them work through problems. Um,

37:00I enjoy

37:03leading by example and um showing that

37:06I'm a good role model and always always

37:08being a good role model inside work and

37:11outside of work, right? Um

37:14because we're we're always firefighters

37:16no matter what. So, if I show that I'm a

37:17good role model, that I'm willing to mo

37:19help motivate them and I'm motivated

37:21myself and I'm willing to put the work

37:23in. Also, like I'm a captain, I'm a

37:25shift, I'm a shift commander, but I take

37:27out the trash every single morning, you

37:29know, and I'm washing the trucks with

37:30them. So I I lead by example in that. So

37:32a transformational leadership with uh

37:34some servant leadership as well.

37:37>> Thank you.

37:38>> Welcome. Thank you.

37:45>> U captain, could you provide examples of

37:48your ability to work with the public,

37:50other department leaders, and local

37:52officials like the select board to

37:55address community issues? What is your

37:58approach to fostering cooperation among

38:01key stakeholders?

38:11>> I would say some uh examples every day

38:13when we respond to emergency incidents,

38:14we're working with the public. Sometimes

38:16it's in their their most dire um need

38:19that they need our assistance. But

38:21beyond that, we do inspections and I

38:24always work with people and I help them

38:26understand that this is code. If we have

38:29to ask them to change something, it's

38:30not punitive. It's all about

38:32communication, right? and my my work

38:34with the uh youth fire setting

38:36prevention and intervention program has

38:39really helped me with my um my

38:42communication with the with the public

38:44and community risk reduction and working

38:47with youth and their families and and a

38:49lot of it is uh is contacting

38:54um different uh associations or

38:57different agencies that could help the

38:59families out. So we are constantly

39:02interacting with department heads from

39:05uh the state level to mental health. Um

39:10my my approach to

39:13our stakeholders is always having open

39:16communication, building strong

39:18relationships, um and displaying

39:21confidence in them, that we are a

39:23trusted organization and that if they

39:25need us, they can rely, you know,

39:26they'll always be able to rely on us and

39:28that we're always willing to work with

39:30them. Um and that we're we're we're not

39:33a punitive organization. were there to

39:36work with people.

39:40>> Captain, thank you for being here

39:41tonight and putting your name in the

39:42hat.

39:43>> Thank you, sir.

39:44>> With examples, share how you would

39:45handle resistance to change both

39:47internally and externally.

39:50>> Thank you.

39:54[clears throat]

39:56>> So, dealing with resistance to change

40:00most of the time is people don't have

40:02the why. They don't understand why it's

40:04happening. So if we have clear

40:06communication, clear expectations, and

40:09help people understand exactly why this

40:11change is occurring and it's not just

40:13falling out of the sky, then people will

40:16be more likely to go with that change,

40:18especially if it's a slow progression.

40:20But for me, it always comes down to

40:23helping people understand the why.

40:25>> Thank you.

40:26>> You're welcome. Thank you.

40:36That's me. Sorry, just making my notes.

40:39>> The board has had an opportunity to

40:41review the 90-day plan you prepared to

40:43address your initial weeks as chief.

40:46Tonight, we'd like to hear about your

40:48long-term vision. Specifically, where do

40:51you envision the Westboro Fire

40:53Department 5 years from now? and what

40:55are two or three most important

40:58initiatives you believe must be

41:00accomplished to get there?

41:03>> Thank you for the question.

41:12So my my vision of the Westboro Fire

41:14Department in the next let's say 1 to 5

41:17years and 5 to 10 years is our

41:20population has increased by a

41:22significant amount since 2010. From 2010

41:24to 2020, um we had an increase of about

41:2718%. And with all the projects that have

41:29been going on, um the PY project, we

41:31have several more uh four and fivetory

41:34um apartment complexes that are are are

41:36in the works. Um we're looking at a

41:38pretty significant population boom as

41:40well. And with that comes calls. Um ER

41:44wait times are some of the longest in

41:46the in the country here in the state of

41:48Massachusetts. So, a lot of times when

41:50we send our ambulances out to the to the

41:52hospital, they might get stuck at the

41:54what they call holding the wall for

41:56anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours.

41:58We've had a crew wait before. Um, this

42:00takes services away from Westboro,

42:02right? So with the expansion of the

42:06town, the increase in the population, I

42:09know there's been some talk about uh

42:10reszoning and uh changing structures of

42:13different businesses. Um

42:16with our limited access highways, we're

42:19already uh have been focused on the

42:22potential of uh station two and running

42:24a two-station um staffing model or

42:26response model.

42:28So my my vision that I see is

42:32um working on collaboration with the

42:35town of Southboro. There's already been

42:37the talk of um the regionalization study

42:39that goes through. So if chosen, I would

42:42communicate with Chief Punini. We'd come

42:44down with uh come up with a list of

42:46metrics to be studied for that

42:48regionalization program and see where

42:51exactly we could start sharing our

42:52resources before that. maybe sign a a

42:55memorandum of understanding so that we

42:58can um share services so that either

43:00town's not getting too taxed. Right? So

43:03my my vision would be a a slow roll of

43:06um increasing our staffing levels,

43:08increasing our minimum staffing levels

43:10in order to support that two um that

43:13two-station response model. Now that

43:16that comes at a cost, right? So,

43:19in my um in my staffing proposal that

43:22was provided for the assessment center

43:23and for and with my 90-day loop, I I I

43:25provided my thoughts on some different

43:28um budgetary things that we could do to

43:31try to move money around to to for as

43:34little um effect on the taxpayers as

43:36possible. So, my I'm just going to refer

43:40to question. I want to make sure that

43:41I'm answering uh your full question.

43:45Right.

43:50So within within that five that one to

43:53fiveyear range when we look back at the

43:55organiz or organizational assessment

43:57that was performed by MRI on page 64

43:59they had suggested that we should be at

44:02um a staffing level at 12 per shift with

44:05they even they uh also suggested two and

44:08a half staffing uh sorry two and a half

44:10staff positions in the during the day.

44:13Um, right now we have one shift of 12.

44:16So that would require us to hire three

44:18more firefighter paramedics or

44:20firefighter EMTs to bring each shift up

44:22to the level of 12. And that would bring

44:24our minimum staffing level up to 10,

44:27which would minimize the instances that

44:29our u our truck company is being downed.

44:32And when we have uh members of this

44:34community who are living 95 ft in the

44:36air, sleeping 95 ft in the air, it would

44:38be comforting to them to know that they

44:40have a ladder company that is staffed at

44:42all times. Right? So the goal would be

44:44to minimize the amount of times that

44:45we're browning that company out while

44:47also still providing the services that

44:50the taxpayers and the the residents

44:52expect. So in addition to those three,

44:57um MRI also suggested that two and a

44:59half staff positions. So

45:02my proposal and my suggestion would be

45:05like uh Chief Purcell had said a few

45:07years ago would be to combine those two

45:09positions um which would be the EMS

45:12officer position and the training

45:13officer position into one operations

45:15deputy position that could oversee both

45:17of those operations. And instead of

45:20hiring a part-time mechanic like the um

45:22like the study had said, we could

45:25consider hiring a full-time mechanic

45:27that could oversee all of the

45:29maintenance for uh the fire department,

45:31the police department, assisted DPW, and

45:34um the town of Foxboro already runs a

45:37very successful fixer program where they

45:39provide repair services for uh their uh

45:44mutual aid partners. Um and it would be

45:49a self- sustaining program. Um cover the

45:52cost of that. This is all you know

45:55potential cover the cost of that uh

45:58mechanic

46:00offset cost of our own preventative

46:02maintenance and has the potential for a

46:05revenue for the uh department as well.

46:07So, and it would assist our other our

46:10mutual aid partners because now they're

46:12not paying obscene amounts of money to

46:15get their apparatus repaired or sending

46:17it, you know, to Windsorlocks,

46:19Connecticut to, you know, get brakes

46:20changed or whatever. They could just

46:22send it to the to the neighboring

46:23community and we could help them out

46:24with that. Um, so that would be my

46:27vision for the the next 1 to 5 years. On

46:31the horizon, we um have been talking

46:33about the regional emergency

46:34communication center. Um, right now we

46:37run a communication center out of the

46:39fire department. We have line items in

46:41in our budget right now that handles

46:44those dispatchers.

46:46When that regional communication center

46:48opens up and those dispatchers

46:50officially move over there, we could

46:53potentially leverage the money from

46:54those line items to increase our minimum

46:57staffing level. And then we definitely

47:00won't have a problem with browning out

47:01our our truck company and keeping it

47:03staffed. And then we have full cam uh

47:05command and control. And then we have

47:07the the potential of making our shift

47:09commanders into a battalion chief level

47:11position because they're now running all

47:12those companies all at once, which is

47:14something that I would envision we would

47:16want to do before we have that two um

47:18station staffing model because once we

47:20have that, we're going to have a shift

47:22commander that will have to have command

47:24and control of two separate stations,

47:26potentially five to six companies. So,

47:29um, promoting somebody into that

47:30position as a a shift commander and

47:32moving a captain into an engine position

47:34as a secondary line boss would be

47:36instrumental. So, those those are a few

47:38of the the the things I see um with

47:42growth for the department over the next

47:431 to 5 years. Um and then talking

47:46further um expansion

47:49uh with uh station two again looking at

47:54our options um to limit the amount of

47:57burden on the on the tax base. We would

48:00look at it more as like as a as an

48:02investment and um looking whether it's

48:07leveraging our ambulance billing and the

48:09the mass pike billing and hazardous

48:11materials response billing. if we were

48:13to set that up into an enterprise

48:14account to offset the cost of some of

48:16the um some of the staffing positions,

48:19that's a potential as well. Um I have

48:21all that stuff listed in my staffing

48:23proposal that I could provide for you

48:24guys as well.

48:28>> Yeah. Um just a one specific followup if

48:31you if you don't mind. Uh can you tell

48:33us your thoughts and plans for the town

48:36to achieve an ISO1 certification?

48:39So

48:41the last I know we have our paperwork in

48:44right now to be evaluated for the ISO1.

48:46Um where we came up short over the last

48:49several years has actually been in our

48:51training. So as the training officer

48:53when I was able to restructure our

48:54training um utilize our first D software

48:57to better track our our hours and then

49:01accurately um

49:04accurately code exactly what we were

49:06doing because that's what it came down

49:07to. It's not that we weren't doing the

49:09training. We had the hours of training.

49:11It just wasn't coded appropriately. So,

49:14um, that was one of the things that was

49:15it was very instrumental for me when I

49:17went down to FDIC a couple of years ago.

49:18I sat through several of their um their

49:21their fire officer and their uh training

49:23officer courses and it broke it down

49:25exactly what we needed to do. So when I

49:27came back from that, we were able to sit

49:29down with our training division,

49:30implement some of these things, and then

49:32we started to um accurately record

49:35exactly what ISO was looking for. So the

49:39last the last I had heard is all of our

49:41paperwork is in. I believe the next step

49:43for that would be to um have a a site

49:48visit, go through our equipment. Um,

49:50basically they're just going through a

49:51checklist of all of our equipment to

49:52make make sure that we have all of the

49:54stuff that they require for that ISO

49:56rating. So, we were we were very very

49:59close to getting it the last time uh

50:01Chief Purcell presented it to you. I I

50:04think we might be there. I don't want to

50:06count the chickens first, but we I could

50:08say the big thing was the training and

50:10we were able to restructure and

50:11accurately document it and we sent them

50:12all that stuff. So, I'm hoping that that

50:14is what gets us there.

50:15>> Thank you.

50:16>> Yeah. Thank you.

50:18Um, C, I think you answered some of this

50:21already in this last question, but I'll

50:23throw it up. But how do you plan to

50:25balance the needs of the fire

50:26department, including addressing

50:27critical apparatus, facility, or

50:29staffing needs with the broader

50:31strategic goals and budget limitations

50:33of the town?

50:34>> Thank you for the question.

50:38When it comes to the limitations,

50:41it would be my job to not only be an

50:43advocate for the town, but be an

50:44advocate for the department, right? So

50:46that would be a time when I have to sit

50:47down with the select board, with the

50:49town manager, explain exactly what we

50:51need in order to maintain our

50:54operational readiness and not affect our

50:56staffing levels. If it came down to uh

51:00budget restrictions or a request of

51:03reduction, we'd have to sit down, we'd

51:05have to prioritize exactly where we

51:07could cut without affecting those

51:08operations and without affecting

51:10staffing level. Um because that's that's

51:12the the important part, right? We want

51:14to make sure that we have the people to

51:16make sure that the trucks roll out the

51:17door. In addition to that, we want to

51:19make sure we have enough people to roll

51:20the ambulances out the door. Not saying

51:23this is the only thing that we should

51:24focus on, but the ambulances do provide

51:25a revenue for the town, which offsets

51:27the budget as well. So, if we don't have

51:29the people, we don't have the revenue.

51:31Um, so we'd have to sit down, have a

51:33conversation, see where we could

51:35prioritize and trim the fat without

51:37affecting those things.

51:39>> Thank you.

51:42Okay, captain. How will you develop

51:45future leaders within the department and

51:47what does succession planning look like

51:49to you?

51:53>> First and foremost would be lead by

51:54example, right? That's part of that

51:57transformational leadership. if I am a

52:00good role model to them and I show them

52:02um

52:05you what good leadership is and also

52:08recognizing that uh leadership is a

52:10practice just like practicing medicine

52:12right I'm not perfect at it there's

52:13sometimes I make a mistake um just like

52:16physicians make a mistake sometimes um

52:20but what I do is I I when it comes to

52:22developing good leaders is I empower

52:24them and what I mean by empower them is

52:28I give them the opportunity to take the

52:30stage and show what they have, right? I

52:33encourage them to take that first step

52:36forward and lead by example. If they

52:38have an idea, hey, let's run with it and

52:40see what happens. You're running the

52:42training today. Um,

52:45I'm just going to take a look at the

52:45question. I'll make sure I answer all of

52:47it for you.

52:51Exactly. That's uh succession planning.

52:54It's something that I've actually been

52:55working on with the with the training

52:57division right now as well because I

52:59know I'm not always going to be the

53:00training officer. So, I bring several of

53:02the lieutenants in and I get them very

53:04much involved with what we're doing, how

53:06we're keeping track of our record

53:07management system, um how we're logging

53:10the hours, how to create the outlines,

53:12how to present the material, right? Um

53:15and then also encouraging them to take

53:17classes. Uh I I have had the the

53:19privilege of working under a fantastic

53:22mentor and chief Purcell who always

53:24encouraged me to go to these different

53:26classes. In fact, sometimes he would

53:27throw a pamphlet on be, hey, this class

53:29happens in November. Clear your

53:30schedule, you know, and it's like, you

53:32know, that it was instrumental for me to

53:34be able to to have the opportunity to go

53:36to those classes and learn from

53:38worldclass leaders from not just the

53:39state of Massachusetts or even, you

53:41know, from New England, but from all

53:43over the country. Um so succession plan

53:46to me is making sure that we are

53:48developing these these uh leaders in

53:51lower ranks so that they can do my job

53:55when I'm not there. Right? That's the

53:56that's the whole point is

53:59if you know as a captain it's my job to

54:01make sure that the lieutenant can do the

54:04job of the captain and as a lieutenant

54:06it's lieutenant's job to make sure that

54:07the firefighters could do the job as a

54:09lieutenant if they have to step into

54:11that role. Um, so that's what succession

54:12planning is to me is empowering them

54:14into those positions and helping them

54:16make those um like company officer level

54:18decisions or higher.

54:20>> Thank you.

54:25>> How do you stay current with

54:26developments, best practices and changes

54:29in your profession? What professional

54:31organizations, publications, training,

54:33cert certifications or other resources

54:36do you rely on to keep your knowledge up

54:38to date?

54:40We're very fortunate right now in 2026

54:43where you can pull out your phone and

54:46you can pull up a video on anything in

54:48the fire service right now. Any sort of

54:50training whatsoever. If we're out there

54:52throwing ladders and we want to know a

54:53certain way that Mike Champo does it

54:55from FDNY, it's right there at our

54:57fingertips. Right. So, we we have an

55:00advantage of being able to use the

55:02internet and use YouTube and use these

55:04publications like Fire Engineering

55:06Magazine, Firehouse Magazine, Rescue One

55:08Magazine. Um, we get the the articles,

55:11um, I'm sorry, we get the magazines

55:12delivered to the station every month and

55:14we'll thumb through them and we

55:16highlight different training exercises.

55:19Um, I mean, especially with fire

55:22engineering, you have worldclass

55:23leaders, retired chiefs, people who have

55:25been there, done that, and they'll write

55:27an article and we'll sit there and we'll

55:29we'll talk about it and we'll discuss

55:30it. And usually what happens, we sit

55:32there and talk about it and discuss it,

55:33and that day or a week later, we go on

55:35that call and it was like, "Oh man, I'm

55:36glad I'm glad that we read that, you

55:38know." Um, so we stay up to date by

55:40reading those publications like fire

55:42engineering. Uh, we are very lucky here

55:45in the town of Westboro where we have

55:47the u firefighters association um which

55:51which uh loves the fire department and

55:54they uh very graciously donate money to

55:57um send us the training. So, uh, the

56:00last several years we've been able to

56:01send, uh, four members down to FDIC

56:04every year, which is the, um, the fire

56:07department instructors conference down

56:08in Indianapolis, and it's usually 40,000

56:11firefighters. They have all different

56:13kinds of classes, seminars, uh, you name

56:16it, they have it. Um, you could be

56:19repelling from, you know, 300 feet from

56:21the top of Lucas Oil Stadium to just

56:23sitting through a class with somebody

56:25talking to you about how to deal with

56:26difficult people, right? which is a

56:28class that I I took a class like that.

56:29It was fantastic. It was it was

56:30unbelievable information. So, um we're

56:33we're very fortunate that we have those

56:35publications. So, that's how we we stay

56:37up to date. And um obviously the the

56:39Massachusetts Fire Academy provides uh

56:41free courses to any uh firefighter in

56:44the state of Massachusetts that holds a

56:45firefighter 12 certification.

56:52Um, please discuss an emerging trend in

56:55the fire service or EMS that you think

56:57could significantly impact Westboro.

57:07I think an emerging trend in the fire

57:10service and EMS that would affect

57:12Westbro but the fire service as a whole

57:15is um the current drop in recruitment.

57:18So right now a lot of fire departments

57:22are finding it very difficult to find

57:24people to work. Um I remember when when

57:28I when I applied to the town of Westbrow

57:31I believe I was one applicant out of

57:33around 90 and lately that's been

57:35dropping down to 15 10 seven. So, um, I

57:40think it's imperative that the the fire

57:42service and us as a fire department, we

57:45get out there and we do these job fairs

57:47and we try to reach out to people in the

57:49in the community to um, recruit folks

57:53and see how rewarding this career

57:55actually can be, right? Um, so I I think

57:58that that's a like an an epidemic that

58:01we're dealing with right now is the

58:02recruitment portion of it. Um, we we

58:06have seen some issues with retention.

58:08Uh, where I don't want to see people

58:11people are contract chasing, but may

58:14maybe maybe some of these younger guys

58:15are just smarter than we were. We we

58:16when we got on a job, we wanted to stay

58:18there and be the best that we could,

58:20right? Um, but there were some people

58:22they they're chasing their dreams,

58:24right? They're going to bigger

58:25departments. Um, and they're they're

58:27moving on and they're getting more

58:28experience. So that is something that we

58:31have to stay focused on in the town of

58:33Westboro and the fire service in general

58:35is our recruitment and our our retention

58:36practices.

58:38>> Thank you.

58:39>> Welcome. Thank you.

58:42>> What do you believe is the appropriate

58:43relationship between the fire chief, the

58:46town manager, and the select board? How

58:48do you ensure each fulfills its proper

58:51role while maintaining productive

58:52working relationships?

58:54>> Thank you.

58:58I believe we all should work as a team,

59:00right? It's all about communication. Um,

59:09let me think about that for a second. I

59:10just want to make sure that I'm

59:11answering your question appropriately.

59:19We're we're all a team here

59:21in the town of Westboro. We all work

59:23together. Part of that is having good

59:25communication, but also being able to

59:27have um accountability with one another,

59:30right? Um just like having a good friend

59:33where if somebody is making a mistake,

59:36it's our responsibility to make sure

59:37that we are holding that person

59:38accountable respectfully, right? Um

59:44so that that's that's the relationship

59:46that I feel that the the town manager

59:48and the board of selectment that the uh

59:50select board should have is just o is

59:53open communication

59:56um

59:59but als but being open and honest with

1:00:01each other and holding each other

1:00:03accountable.

1:00:05>> Thank you.

1:00:06>> You're welcome.

1:00:08Um, captain, how would you handle

1:00:10implementing or following a select board

1:00:12policy or directive or supporting an

1:00:14initiative the board is highly invested

1:00:16in and that you did not agree with?

1:00:19>> I'm sorry. Do you mind just asking the

1:00:20question again? I didn't get the whole

1:00:21thing.

1:00:22>> Sure. How would you handle implementing

1:00:24or following a select board policy or

1:00:27directive or supporting an initiative

1:00:29the board is highly invested in that you

1:00:32did not agree with?

1:00:34>> Thank you for the question.

1:00:37The first thing I would do is have a

1:00:38discussion and so I understood the why

1:00:42behind why the initiative was being put

1:00:44out. If I understand the why, it would

1:00:46make it easier for me to implement it,

1:00:48right? Um at the end of the day,

1:00:51decisions have to be made, policies have

1:00:53to be made, and initiatives have to be

1:00:54implemented.

1:00:56For me, it's a lot easier to move those

1:00:58initiatives forward if everybody

1:01:00understands exactly why

1:01:03that initiative is being put into place,

1:01:06right? Um if it is a blind policy with

1:01:09no explanation, going back to um the

1:01:12question about affecting change, people

1:01:15are going to be resistant to that when

1:01:16they don't understand why it's coming

1:01:17out. It's just showing up. So for me it

1:01:19would start with a simple discussion so

1:01:22that I understand understood the why

1:01:24behind the the board's decision or the

1:01:26town manager's decision so that I could

1:01:28then relieve that forward and be

1:01:30supportive of it.

1:01:32>> Just just if I could follow up. So

1:01:35thank you for your answering the why but

1:01:37say we give you the why but you as far

1:01:40as you said I just don't agree with

1:01:43that. How would you how would you handle

1:01:45that with the board?

1:01:52If I don't agree with something

1:01:55again, I would I would have a discussion

1:01:56just to make sure that I understood the

1:01:57why. But then it if it's an initiative

1:02:01that has to be implemented, the

1:02:02initiative will be implemented. And I

1:02:04would make sure that I looked into all

1:02:07of it to make to understand why exactly

1:02:11I felt I was so resistant to it cuz

1:02:14maybe I just didn't understand it at

1:02:15first and I would come around. Um but if

1:02:18the select board and the town manager

1:02:20came out with this is something that

1:02:21needs to be implemented, it needs to be

1:02:23implemented. I might relay if I have any

1:02:27um reservations about it, but at the end

1:02:30of it, if it's something that needs to

1:02:31be implemented, it will be implemented

1:02:33and I would do my best to uh advocate

1:02:35for the town and or the department.

1:02:38>> Thank you.

1:02:38>> Welcome.

1:02:42>> Residents increasingly expect their fire

1:02:45department to be visible, approachable,

1:02:47and engaged beyond emergency response.

1:02:50What role do you believe the fire chief

1:02:52should have in community engagement and

1:02:55how will you ensure the department

1:02:57reflects that philosophy?

1:02:59>> Thank you for the question.

1:03:02>> I actually I love all the community

1:03:04engagement that the fire department

1:03:05already does. I think when um when Chief

1:03:07Purcell would go out and do the senior

1:03:09the senior breakfast or we would do the

1:03:11senior cookout

1:03:12um it makes us more visible, right? I I

1:03:16believe that as a as a department head,

1:03:18we should make ourselves available to

1:03:20the residents to answer questions beyond

1:03:22just the normal select board meetings um

1:03:24or or open meetings,

1:03:26hosting a Q&A session with the residents

1:03:29where they could come down, you know, we

1:03:31could have a discussion with the with

1:03:32the rec center. Maybe we could um rent

1:03:35out a room or something or they could

1:03:36provide us with a room where we could

1:03:38sit there and just provide uh answers to

1:03:40the residents as they come through. Um,

1:03:42in addition, we spend a lot of time when

1:03:45there's uh like when there's summer

1:03:47camps, the the kids are out there in

1:03:48their bathing suits and they call for

1:03:49the fire truck to come down there and

1:03:51spray them. Um, those are those are uh

1:03:54like community engagement things that we

1:03:55we all love doing. The last one that we

1:03:57did, we we we emptied out our tank on

1:03:59the kids and, you know, they were all

1:04:01bummed out cuz it was empty. Hold on one

1:04:02second, let me go refill it. I'm coming

1:04:04right back. You know, spray them down

1:04:05again. Um,

1:04:07so making ourselves more more open to

1:04:11the the public. It's been a long time

1:04:13since we've had an open house at the

1:04:15fire department. Um, we had them

1:04:17precoid. It kind it ended up fizzling

1:04:20out a little bit. I think that's a good

1:04:21opportunity for um the community to come

1:04:24down, meet the firefighters, meet the

1:04:26fire chief and the officers. Um whether

1:04:29they have to express any concerns or if

1:04:31it's just well wishes. Uh we used to do

1:04:33the the moving net at the fire station.

1:04:34and we'd have the blow up um projector

1:04:36screen. I definitely think that that's

1:04:38something that we could get back into to

1:04:40invite the community. Um you know, with

1:04:44us being here in the center of town and

1:04:47being right there, you know, people kind

1:04:48of gravitate to that fire station to the

1:04:50fire department. So, making ourselves

1:04:51more open and available to them.

1:04:56Um let's see, quick followup. Um,

1:05:01oh, can you describe how you engage with

1:05:03the residents and various key impacted

1:05:06committees and groups in town?

1:05:09Like I said, the follow-ups are up

1:05:11there.

1:05:12>> I'm sorry. I could go to a followup. Can

1:05:14you just ask one more time?

1:05:15>> Sure. Can you describe how you engage

1:05:18with the residents and various key

1:05:20impacted committees and groups in town?

1:05:23>> Thank you for the question. Um for for

1:05:26me

1:05:27not being a part of the fire prevention

1:05:29bureau uh my

1:05:32access to the public or I shouldn't say

1:05:34my access to the public but um my

1:05:36communications with the public and

1:05:37different organizations has been

1:05:39primarily limited to emergency response.

1:05:41Uh however with the the youth fire

1:05:44setting program it has um given me the

1:05:46ability to to speak with members of

1:05:49different communities um and uh whether

1:05:54it's religious leaders or um mental

1:05:58health leaders in in in the community.

1:06:00Um

1:06:02I want to make sure that I'm answering

1:06:03you. Do you mind clarifying the question

1:06:04again? I'm apologize.

1:06:06>> Yeah. No, no problem. Um, and it's

1:06:08really just sort of how will you engage

1:06:09with sort of these key impacted

1:06:12communities and groups in town.

1:06:14>> Yeah. Um, that's been my that's been my

1:06:17primary um

1:06:20involvement has been on emergency

1:06:22response so far. So, unfortunately, I

1:06:24don't have a lot for you when with these

1:06:26with the key impacts.

1:06:34As you know, the fire chief must devote

1:06:36a great deal of time in addition to and

1:06:39outside of normal office hours to the

1:06:41business of the town. Do you have any

1:06:43concerns about this requirement?

1:06:46>> No, sir. I do not.

1:06:49>> I like that. That was an easy one.

1:06:55>> So, final question. Do you wish to

1:06:58elaborate on any of the answers you've

1:06:59provided tonight? Or is there anything

1:07:01else you would like us to know as we

1:07:03consider your candidacy?

1:07:12[sighs]

1:07:23>> I apologize. I'm just taking a moment to

1:07:25take it all in. Um

1:07:3215 years ago,

1:07:34if you'll indulge me for a minute, 15

1:07:35years ago when I was given the

1:07:38opportunity to come here to Westboro, um

1:07:42I immediately found my home and the the

1:07:46town, the the community, the residents

1:07:48there, you know, it was so warm and it

1:07:51was inviting, right? And I I saw the uh

1:07:58I saw how much they appreciated the fire

1:08:00department here because I've seen the

1:08:02opposite side of that. Right. So

1:08:06the the the residents here have been

1:08:08extremely

1:08:10um

1:08:13I don't even know the word to describe

1:08:14but it their support has been

1:08:17unparalleled to anywhere else that I've

1:08:19seen where they invest into their

1:08:22firefighters cuz they want us to be the

1:08:24best, right? They expect us to be the

1:08:26best. So when when I when I come to work

1:08:29every day and I

1:08:32I see the firefighters that work for us,

1:08:34they're out there training. They're

1:08:35checking trucks. They're making sure the

1:08:37equipment is is ready to go. And us as

1:08:40an officer core, we never have to ask

1:08:42them to do that. They they know they

1:08:45they they understand their mission and

1:08:47they're dedicated to this community.

1:08:51that it it warms my heart when I see

1:08:53that because I I understand my mission

1:08:55and I am extremely proud to be a

1:08:58Westboro firefighter. I've been here

1:09:00I've been here, like I said, I've been

1:09:01here for 15 years and every morning when

1:09:04I have to come into work, I have a smile

1:09:05on my face and I am excited to be with

1:09:07with the with the men and women on my

1:09:09shift. Um, so I don't think I'm

1:09:14answering your question all the way, but

1:09:16I just wanted to relay that. Um,

1:09:22all of the attributes that I have

1:09:23learned, all the skills that I have

1:09:24developed over the last 22 years that

1:09:27I've been involved in the fire service,

1:09:29I dedicate that time and all those

1:09:31skills to the Westboro Fire Department

1:09:34in the town of Westboro because I want

1:09:36to see this community flourish and I

1:09:39want to see the fire department flourish

1:09:40as well.

1:09:43>> Thank you.

1:09:44>> Welcome. Thank And and I guess I said 15

1:09:46questions, but but one more and that is

1:09:49do you have any questions for us?

1:09:51>> I do. If you don't mind if I refer to my

1:09:52notes here. Um I just have two questions

1:09:58from the perspectives of the select

1:10:00board and town manager. What does

1:10:02success look like for the fire chief in

1:10:04the first 3 to six months? Specifically

1:10:07regarding organiz organizational culture

1:10:10and relationship building.

1:10:12>> What was the last part? Relationship

1:10:14building.

1:10:14>> Relationship building.

1:10:26>> Does does anybody want to start on that

1:10:28one or

1:10:29>> Yeah. I mean, do we want to just give

1:10:31our thoughts?

1:10:32>> Yeah. So, um I think given that this was

1:10:34an internal search, um and we've got two

1:10:37amazing individuals before us, um

1:10:41inevitably

1:10:43one will not move forward. And I think

1:10:46that um building that relationship is

1:10:49going to be critical. And then I'll um

1:10:52making sure that um as the fire chief,

1:10:55the candidate um going forward would you

1:10:58know really be building upon the

1:11:01existing relationships but with that

1:11:03lens now I'm your chief and I think that

1:11:05that those first three to six months uh

1:11:08is is critical. Um I also think that uh

1:11:13organizationally I mean my observation

1:11:15of Chief Parcell has been he has been I

1:11:18don't even want to use the word strong

1:11:20chief because that's different kind but

1:11:21he he's been a strong leader but he's

1:11:23he's been an open leader. We've seen him

1:11:25develop people um his firefighters uh uh

1:11:28beneath him um bringing them forward

1:11:32giving them opportunities some of which

1:11:33you cited and I think that that has um I

1:11:37think that gives the community

1:11:39confidence. I think that gives I would

1:11:40imagine it would give your um

1:11:44uh parallel partners of police and DPW

1:11:47confidence and certainly um mutual aid

1:11:50partners. So,

1:11:52>> thank you.

1:11:52>> Yeah, I I'll I'll just add on next. We

1:11:54go around this way. Um, I think on the

1:11:58relationship building side, I think it's

1:12:00um

1:12:02it's important for um you to be out

1:12:06there and people to know who you are

1:12:08>> and what you represent and you're you

1:12:10know um as Shelby said, it was um we've

1:12:16had uh just a really phenomenal chief

1:12:20and Chief Purcell. um this next chief we

1:12:23expect to be just as phenomenal if not

1:12:25better and that's the expectation that

1:12:27as you talked about the community as us

1:12:29as a board that that's what we're

1:12:30looking for here. So, I think it's it's

1:12:32important in that initial time um for

1:12:38uh the next chief to get out there and

1:12:40really um get to know the people, but

1:12:43but just as important, let them know who

1:12:46you are,

1:12:47>> what you represent, um you know, who you

1:12:50represent, you know, back at the station

1:12:53and whatever. And and and just get them

1:12:56to know you and start building those

1:12:58relationships. And it doesn't happen

1:12:59overnight. and I know you know that that

1:13:01well. So, it's really about, you know,

1:13:03starting to get out there um and looking

1:13:07at your plan. That's part of the plan to

1:13:09to get to know a lot of people in,

1:13:12>> you know, 6 months, 90 days, three

1:13:15months goes by really fast. But,

1:13:17>> um to me, it's it's a continuous piece

1:13:20because it is learning, things change,

1:13:22things evolve. But it's uh um personally

1:13:27for me it's all about building those

1:13:29relationships, continue to strengthen

1:13:31those relationships.

1:13:32>> Thank you.

1:13:36>> Uh yeah, unlike Ian, I will not compare

1:13:39you to Chief Bell. Uh it's nobody wants

1:13:42to be the guy that follows Bellich and

1:13:44uh I don't think that's fair. Um, but I

1:13:47will I do think that the town and myself

1:13:51has high expectations, high standards,

1:13:55and I will hold you the I will hold the

1:13:58next fire chief to those standards. Um,

1:14:01as far as the organizational culture, I

1:14:04echo Shelby's concern with an internal

1:14:07search. I don't know how many candidates

1:14:08there were originally. Um there will

1:14:12obviously be um someone disappointed,

1:14:17right? Um whether it's you or another

1:14:19candidate, I I think that will be a

1:14:23challenge for the next chief. And uh you

1:14:26know my belief as with Christie or Chief

1:14:31Manardi is that uh you are in charge of

1:14:34your department, you're in charge of

1:14:36those uh unless it becomes a problem and

1:14:39then we'll get involved. So um

1:14:44understood and as somebody who

1:14:46appreciates clear expectations and

1:14:47standards, I agree with you on that one

1:14:50and I hope I wouldn't disappoint.

1:14:53Yeah, I will just say um a couple things

1:14:55here. Um the words that come to my mind

1:14:57when I think of organizational

1:14:58leadership and or building is um really

1:15:02a leader who is approachable and a good

1:15:04communicator. You know, someone who

1:15:07understands that the people that work

1:15:08for them as well as the people that he

1:15:10works for um may not be as knowledgeable

1:15:13as as that individual and therefore

1:15:15might come to you with, you know, what

1:15:16you consider to be what they may

1:15:18consider to be a dumb question, but in

1:15:19reality is really important to them. So

1:15:22it's always having those open ears

1:15:23listening to them and providing them the

1:15:25good information or pointing them in the

1:15:27right direction as a leader um to bring

1:15:29as you spoke earlier uh to elevate them

1:15:32in their career path as for those that

1:15:34are internal. Uh it's also as far as the

1:15:36community piece of it is concerned. It's

1:15:39also reaching out to the various

1:15:40different um boards and making yourself

1:15:42as available as possible. Uh there are a

1:15:45number of committees in town that uh do

1:15:47have um you know the the need to have

1:15:50the ear the fire chief uh the police

1:15:52chief town manager etc etc on a reg

1:15:55regular basis. So it's really about

1:15:57being available being that point of

1:15:58knowledge and also listening and

1:16:00understanding with creative ideas as to

1:16:02how you can help them. So thank you.

1:16:07Um and and finally, I would just say um

1:16:10you know, whoever whoever is selected

1:16:13one, we chose to do an internal search

1:16:16because of the strength of the fire

1:16:18department and everybody within the

1:16:19Westboro Fire Department and that it

1:16:21made sense to try to maintain the

1:16:24culture and the strength of the fire

1:16:25department.

1:16:27um whoever is selected by this board I

1:16:30would expect deserves our full support

1:16:34that that we have chosen that individual

1:16:36and and we need to support that

1:16:38individual out of the gate. So, if as

1:16:42you're trying to get to know the

1:16:44community, if there's anything we can

1:16:45do, our town manager can do to help you

1:16:49with that or the individual. Um, you

1:16:52know, I I think it's incumbent upon us

1:16:54to try and and support the new fire

1:16:57chief and and make sure that

1:17:00we do what we can do to help them within

1:17:02the community as well. So, thank you for

1:17:04the question.

1:17:05>> Sean, can I add one more thing?

1:17:06>> Absolutely. to not repeating anything.

1:17:10The fire department runs on systems. You

1:17:13have it's the nature of the work. Um but

1:17:16I think that ensuring that the systems

1:17:19develop and advance use of technology

1:17:23um um

1:17:26and understanding it's a very human

1:17:29business um so um in terms of

1:17:33organizational culture and structure but

1:17:35continuing to build on the systems that

1:17:37are there I think are are essential and

1:17:39then the other piece of this recognizing

1:17:42our own chain of command you know

1:17:44through the town manager and

1:17:45relationship with the fire chief. I

1:17:47think it's important that um that there

1:17:50is a relationship with the board and

1:17:53individual board members that we have a

1:17:56um you know it's we're not strangers to

1:17:59each other but yet still recognizing

1:18:01that balance of of the the relationship

1:18:03of the three-legged stool so to speak.

1:18:05>> Understood. Yeah.

1:18:09>> Okay. Another question.

1:18:10>> Just one more if you don't mind. Um, if

1:18:13I am chosen to lead a department and

1:18:14serve as your next fire chief, what are

1:18:16what is one major goal or initiative

1:18:19that you as the governing body and

1:18:21management team um hope that I could

1:18:24help accomplish for the betterment of

1:18:26the fire department and the community?

1:18:29>> We have to debate that now. [laughter]

1:18:31>> Yeah, that that could be a long

1:18:33>> Yeah,

1:18:35>> give us a second, please.

1:18:37>> Because I guess we should only give you

1:18:38one, right? Is it

1:18:40>> just one? Yeah, that was

1:18:44[laughter]

1:18:45>> elimination of all.

1:18:46>> I got a lot of paper here.

1:18:51>> I

1:18:51>> Do you want to start down there? Well, I

1:18:53I think u your one of your immediate

1:18:57goals, which I didn't honestly see

1:18:59highlighted in your 90-day plan, was uh

1:19:03grasping the budget and

1:19:06uh preparing a budget for

1:19:09um really you're going to have to hit

1:19:11the ground running on that. So, I I know

1:19:13that's not a major goal. That's an

1:19:15annual goal, but um you know, I'd love

1:19:19to hear your thoughts on that. uh

1:19:21because I I'm not clear at this point on

1:19:24how much experience you have in that.

1:19:29>> Would you like me to answer that

1:19:30question now for you, sir?

1:19:33>> Sure. Well, everyone else is thinking.

1:19:35>> Sure.

1:19:35>> Yeah.

1:19:36>> Um so my experience with budgeting and

1:19:39capital improvement is limited. However,

1:19:42Chief Purcell was a great mentor and he

1:19:44built a fantastic scaffold. Um

1:19:48with that I have taken several courses

1:19:50in budgeting and accounting which has

1:19:52helped me develop some uh understanding

1:19:54of budgeting and helped me put together

1:19:57um

1:19:58when I did my staff and proposal for the

1:20:00uh for the assessment center. So I I

1:20:03have I have an understanding of it. Uh

1:20:05I'm a fast learner um and I'm always

1:20:07willing to accept the challenge and I'm

1:20:09not afraid to ask for help if I needed

1:20:11that. So, I would leverage the um

1:20:13expertise of the finance department and

1:20:15or use uh utilize um FCAM's fire chief's

1:20:20mentorship program and andor call Chief

1:20:24Purcell um to help me out. Um but it it

1:20:28it's certainly something that um I have

1:20:30an understanding for and I'm willing to

1:20:32learn and uh and and develop it further.

1:20:38>> I'll give it a go. So I would just say

1:20:40in general there's a number of

1:20:42initiatives which some of you some some

1:20:44of them you spoke about tonight um

1:20:46whether it was the wreck or or the

1:20:47substation that is is is being developed

1:20:51conceptually. Um

1:20:54a new organization that you know that

1:20:56you would be leading um these are a lot

1:20:59of big balls to be juggling right and

1:21:01and I think that is the biggest thing

1:21:03biggest challenge you're going to have

1:21:04is really working through all of that.

1:21:06the budget, you know, that budget season

1:21:08starts for us here in the next couple of

1:21:10weeks. So, it's a it's a tall task and I

1:21:14would look for you to work your way

1:21:15through that. You're certainly going to

1:21:16need um some help. You know, nobody

1:21:20knows everything. So, you are going to

1:21:21need some help through that process. Um,

1:21:24and I I think that's I'm looking for

1:21:26somebody who can get through that

1:21:27without um getting frustrated in

1:21:31themsel,

1:21:32>> but really seeing that, hey, I I can get

1:21:35through this and I can make a difference

1:21:36here and and be successful for the town

1:21:38and for for the department.

1:21:41>> Thank you.

1:21:43>> I just add on to that because Patrick, I

1:21:46I think you nailed it in terms of what's

1:21:48there. I think what I'd go on I think

1:21:50the one you didn't mention well two you

1:21:53mentioned regionalization is something

1:21:54that's out there then the ISO1 which you

1:21:57talked about um but they are a number of

1:22:02really large initiatives expectation

1:22:04here is um for the new chief to come in

1:22:07and you know evaluate it and prioritize

1:22:10and and um

1:22:13figure out are those the right steps for

1:22:16us to be to be taken as the new leader

1:22:18of the department, how you would handle

1:22:20that and

1:22:23is there something else that takes

1:22:25priority? I don't know. We don't know.

1:22:28We're not fire professionals. The town

1:22:29manager is not a fire professional. We

1:22:32look to our fire chief and our leaders

1:22:35for that. So, it's that it is that

1:22:37two-way street, the communication you

1:22:38talked about, but there are some big

1:22:39things

1:22:40>> I think that um we're excited about, but

1:22:44we're also nervous about as as leaders.

1:22:47but also being taxpayers in the town and

1:22:50and representing the residents who are

1:22:53concerned about their tax bills. And

1:22:55these are, you know, a lot of

1:22:58some of some of these are are big

1:23:00initiatives to to to take on and um

1:23:03understanding that um taking ownership

1:23:07of that of what you're going to come

1:23:08through, not just because it was

1:23:11there before you, but now you or the

1:23:14next chief has to take ownership for

1:23:16that and lead it forward. So, our

1:23:18expectation is that you are um fully

1:23:22committed and that it is your priority.

1:23:24um to take forward as a town.

1:23:27>> Thank you.

1:23:30>> Sure.

1:23:30>> Um no, and it's interesting, right? So

1:23:34to my understanding, there is no

1:23:36regional fire regionalization in the

1:23:38state of Massachusetts like Chief PCEL

1:23:41and the chief from Southboro sort of

1:23:44came up with this idea to look at it,

1:23:46right? And and now it's sort of being

1:23:48it's going to be dropped in the you know

1:23:50in a first year fire chief's lap. So, so

1:23:53that's kind of a big one. And, you know,

1:23:56I'd be surprised if it's, hey, you know,

1:23:58we're we're full speed ahead on this,

1:24:00but I think we still want to do the

1:24:02study and and find out what we can find.

1:24:05Um, for me, I think the second

1:24:07substation is is the biggest thing. And

1:24:10and that it's I think it's necessary.

1:24:15I think it's also necessary for us to

1:24:17try and see what we can do to

1:24:21um do it in as cost-effective a manner

1:24:23as we can, right? And I don't know if

1:24:26that's possible. Um but I mean for me in

1:24:30the long term I think that's that's the

1:24:32biggest thing I see. So thank you.

1:24:34>> Thank you. And I think uh the fortunate

1:24:36thing is with how close we are with

1:24:38South Bro and you know we do resource

1:24:40share as is right now. We've I've

1:24:42developed a good relationship with Chief

1:24:43Pontini already and we have been in

1:24:45conversations about different things

1:24:46already. So,

1:24:47>> excellent.

1:24:49>> Yeah. Hard to pick just one. Um so I'll

1:24:52just very quickly list a couple. Uh one

1:24:55is because I can. Uh so I think um

1:25:00building a bench succession planning um

1:25:03is essential. Um, this board has

1:25:06demonstrated a strong desire for that to

1:25:09be the case throughout all the

1:25:11departments in the town. And so I think

1:25:13that that's important. Um, it speaks to

1:25:16you're going to have a lot to do if

1:25:18you're the chief and

1:25:20um you you're one person and there's

1:25:23last I knew only 24 hours in a day. And

1:25:26so um u succession planning and

1:25:30delegating and elevating is is I think

1:25:32is is critically important for the next

1:25:34chief. Um cost of equipment wasn't

1:25:38discussed tonight. Um the um chief

1:25:41purcell comes to us with some incredible

1:25:44presentations and incredible numbers

1:25:46over the years. That's something that

1:25:48related to the budget that's going to

1:25:49have to be factored into and that

1:25:51planning and and working with the

1:25:53capital expenditures plan. Um uh the

1:25:57substation I would echo what Sean said

1:25:59and then also department uh interdep

1:26:02departmental relationships. I think that

1:26:05again, big shoes to fill, uh, great role

1:26:09model, but you're gonna have to set your

1:26:10own tone and you probably have a lens to

1:26:14some things that you think could

1:26:16improve. Um, and finding your voice in

1:26:18that process, um, I think is going to be

1:26:21both, uh, an opportunity and a

1:26:23challenge. And, um, I think that that's

1:26:26important for the next chief.

1:26:28>> Thank you,

1:26:32>> Captain. Thank you very much for being

1:26:34here this evening and putting your

1:26:35>> Thank you.

1:26:36>> I appreciate it. I just wanted to say

1:26:37thank you again for allowing me this

1:26:39opportunity to be a part of this

1:26:40process. Um like I said before, I um

1:26:46it's been a great honor to call myself a

1:26:48Westboro firefighter. Um and I'm I'm

1:26:51confident that I would be able to build

1:26:53those relationships that you that you uh

1:26:55just discussed and that we could move

1:26:57these initiatives forward. um as a

1:27:00select select board has asked me asked

1:27:02of the fire chief. So, thank you again.

1:27:04>> Thank you.

1:27:05>> Thank you very much. Thank you.

1:27:33>> [clears throat]

1:28:05[snorts]

1:28:57>> Thanks.

1:29:01>> Good evening.

1:29:02>> Good evening.

1:29:03>> Welcome.

1:29:04>> Thank you. Keep this handy.

1:29:07>> Thank you very much for being here this

1:29:10evening and for putting your foot

1:29:11forward uh for this opportunity.

1:29:14Um we have 15 questions um for you this

1:29:18evening. the same 15 questions we just

1:29:20asked. Um I guess the first one begins

1:29:24with also your introduction. So

1:29:26[laughter]

1:29:27um and I'll let uh Shelby take it away.

1:29:30>> Okay, great. And u all the questions are

1:29:33available there. So don't hesitate to

1:29:34turn and take a look and

1:29:36>> thank you

1:29:37>> settle in with us for a little bit. So

1:29:40welcome and congratulations for making

1:29:41it this far.

1:29:42>> Thank you. Um so the first question is

1:29:45please provide an overview of your

1:29:47background, your experience in the

1:29:48Westboro Fire Department and tell us why

1:29:51you wish to be the next leader of the

1:29:52Westboro Fire Department.

1:29:54>> Sure. Um I would just like to start by

1:29:56saying that I'd like to thank the board

1:29:59and the search committee. Um the board's

1:30:02decision to stay internal has had a real

1:30:04positive effect on morale. It's tangible

1:30:06at the station. And then just to the

1:30:08search committee, their time and effort,

1:30:09it's it was a very fair and uh well-run

1:30:12process. So, I'd start with that. Um I'm

1:30:15Daniel Hair. Uh I've been on the fire

1:30:17department since 2002, about 25 years.

1:30:20Um I grew up in Sterling, just north of

1:30:22Worcester. I'm one of four kids. Um as a

1:30:25young guy, I was uh always intrigued to

1:30:27go down the fire station with my

1:30:28parents, the big glass doors, and I saw

1:30:31the fire trucks. I knew someday that

1:30:32that would be an opportunity for me. Um,

1:30:35so growing up in Sterling, I was had an

1:30:37opportunity to get on the fire

1:30:38department very young. At 14, I was able

1:30:40to join and start training through high

1:30:42school. Um, through my high school

1:30:45years, I kind of realized that if I

1:30:46wanted to be busy on the fire

1:30:48department, I had to get involved with

1:30:49the ambulance service. We had a

1:30:50volunteer ambulance service at the time.

1:30:52So, a senior in high school, I attended

1:30:53EMT school at Quinc Sigman Community

1:30:55College and got my EMT. And I just kind

1:30:58of hit the ground running with my EMT.

1:31:00After high school, I went on worked

1:31:02full-time as an EMT. Discovered that if

1:31:05I wanted to be a good practitioner, I

1:31:06needed to go to paramedic school. So,

1:31:08after a couple years of working as a

1:31:09EMT, I got my paramedic. I did my

1:31:12paramedic training in Worcester Quinc

1:31:13Sigman. Got my associates degree then.

1:31:15Um, actually during my internship, I was

1:31:19out in Malro responding to calls daily

1:31:21in West Bro during my ride time and that

1:31:23was my first introduction to Westbrow

1:31:24fire and that was sort of before they

1:31:26had paramedics. Um, and then my goal was

1:31:30at the time to become a paramedic in

1:31:31Worcester. It was a busy system. So, I

1:31:33got experience in Metro Boston, went on

1:31:36uh worked out there for about a year and

1:31:37then was able to get hired in Worcester

1:31:39and I worked there full-time for a

1:31:40couple years and an opportunity

1:31:42presented itself in West Bro. They had

1:31:44then become paramedic level. Um, so I

1:31:46joined the fire department in O2

1:31:49and then I just really hit the ground

1:31:50running and I took advantage of the uh

1:31:53education incentives. I went back to

1:31:55college. I got my bachelor's degree,

1:31:57continued on, got my master's degree

1:31:58after that. Um, I stayed active in my

1:32:02call department where I lived at the

1:32:03time in Sterling and uh I promoted to

1:32:05lieutenant with them before I did here.

1:32:07So like in 2012 I promoted to lieutenant

1:32:10with Sterling and then in 2016 I was

1:32:13able to promote to lieutenant here in

1:32:15Westboro.

1:32:16And then just kind of taking classes at

1:32:19the at the fire academy and bettering

1:32:21myself, I was able to get my fire

1:32:23officer certifications one, two, and

1:32:25three. And then in 2020 or 2021, uh I

1:32:29promoted to captain. So I've been in an

1:32:31officer role for about 10 years now. And

1:32:34then over the last five years as captain

1:32:37kind of got more involved with uh the

1:32:39command staff, with the chief, doing

1:32:41stuff around the budget, doing things

1:32:43with, you know, uh I was able to assist

1:32:46with a grant applications. Um I got I

1:32:50organized uh training for active shooter

1:32:54and got reimbursement funding for that.

1:32:56I was able to get like $20,000 back from

1:32:58the government to to help put everybody

1:33:00on the department through that training.

1:33:03Um, and then just, you know, overall

1:33:07over the last few years, I just been

1:33:08really paying close attention to what's

1:33:10going on with town government. You I

1:33:12glue myself to the government channel. I

1:33:14watch a lot of board meetings. It's very

1:33:16exciting.

1:33:17>> Um, [laughter]

1:33:19uh, last year I attended the budget uh,

1:33:21summit with the chief and the deputy. U,

1:33:23but I've been tuning in to budget summit

1:33:25last couple years just to just to get an

1:33:27understanding as to, you know, how the

1:33:29town operates. Um, so that's been it's

1:33:32been interesting. Last year, uh, myself

1:33:34and a couple other officers were had the

1:33:35opportunity to work on the capital plan.

1:33:38We actually revised our ambulance

1:33:40purchasing because it's just like the

1:33:42the per the pricing has gone through the

1:33:44roof and then the time to produce an

1:33:47ambulance has gone through the roof. So,

1:33:49our old plan wasn't working. Our mileage

1:33:51is through the roof on these trucks now.

1:33:52So, we're we actually revamped the plan

1:33:54and it looks like it's going to be

1:33:56better for us. So, so that's, you know,

1:33:59in a nutshell, that's me. Um, I'm

1:34:02excited to be here tonight.

1:34:04Thank you.

1:34:06>> Can you I don't know if you hit on it,

1:34:08but this the last piece, the the why you

1:34:11wish to be the next leader.

1:34:12>> Yeah.

1:34:13>> Oh, thank you.

1:34:14>> Sorry, it was it was a multiple part

1:34:15question. I just wanted

1:34:17>> um I think throughout my my career, I I

1:34:21always set that goal like someday I'll

1:34:24have the car in the driveway. I'll be

1:34:25the guy running the show. Um, I just

1:34:28have a lot of people in my network that

1:34:31have always said, "Hey, you're the guy."

1:34:33You know, I think it's my personality,

1:34:36the way I deal with people. Um, I'm I'm

1:34:38a friendly, easygoing guy until you have

1:34:42to be the other guy, but I'm direct. I'm

1:34:44not a grudge holder, you know? I um

1:34:49I just I I've developed followership

1:34:51over the years. Wherever I've been,

1:34:53whatever group I'm working with, I've

1:34:55always done well with people following

1:34:58me, wanting to work on my shift, you

1:35:00know, wanting to, you know, excited when

1:35:02I pick up an overtime shift. I can

1:35:04remember being a firefighter, a young

1:35:06firefighter in Westbrook, showing up for

1:35:08a fire from home and people being like,

1:35:10"Thank God you're here." And and you

1:35:12know, I wouldn't say I'm God's gift to

1:35:14firefighting, but I just have that

1:35:15presence where people believe in me and

1:35:17that's pushed me along the way. So,

1:35:19those are some of the reasons why I

1:35:20think I'd be a great choice for your

1:35:22next fire chief.

1:35:25>> Um,

1:35:26following on to that, what is one area

1:35:28of leadership that you continue to work

1:35:30on improving and what are you doing to

1:35:32become a stronger leader?

1:35:36>> I consider myself a transformational

1:35:38leader. Um, I think I take constructive

1:35:43criticism very well. Um, and I'm a very

1:35:46direct person. So, one of the areas I've

1:35:48worked on is that not everybody takes

1:35:51constructive criticism the way I do. So,

1:35:53trying to meet people where they're at.

1:35:54And I think, you know, in the early

1:35:57years of being a captain and a shift

1:35:59commander, I had to learn those lessons.

1:36:01And I was blessed with having

1:36:02lieutenants that worked with me that

1:36:04said, "Hey, Cap, you're coming on a

1:36:06little too strong today." Like, you

1:36:07know, is everything okay? And I've had

1:36:10to dial that back a bit. And that's an

1:36:12area where I've improved. You know, I I

1:36:14think I was a little too direct

1:36:15sometimes or not taking into

1:36:17consideration where people are at.

1:36:21>> Thank you.

1:36:23>> Great. Um, please describe your

1:36:26leadership style and how your style

1:36:28might influence changes in the current

1:36:30structure and philosophy of the

1:36:32department.

1:36:33>> Sure. So, I was saying before, I believe

1:36:36that I'm transformational and and I

1:36:38think at this point, you know, we're

1:36:39transitioning to new leadership, perhaps

1:36:42new policies. Uh, I have a goal to come

1:36:45up with a um kind of a rule book. We

1:36:48would call it like a book of general

1:36:50orders. We have a lot of things that

1:36:52kind of fall outside the policy, but

1:36:54they need to happen every day. And then,

1:36:56you know, in the past, we've sent emails

1:36:58out as like a memo, but that memo kind

1:37:00of gets buried off in the time. I want

1:37:02to develop a book where people can refer

1:37:05to it. We can test people on it for

1:37:07promotion and just hold people a little

1:37:09bit more accountable for like the

1:37:10day-to-day stuff. Um, I plan to mentor

1:37:14our leadership, our, you know, our

1:37:16officers. It's it's a weakness we have

1:37:18in the fire service throughout the whole

1:37:20country is that we do all this

1:37:22preparation and training and then we

1:37:23become officers and we fall short

1:37:25training our officers, training our

1:37:27leadership. So, I I I plan to make that

1:37:30a priority to whether it's bringing in

1:37:32outside help to do that or just having

1:37:35one-on-one conversations about, you

1:37:37know, directive what I what my

1:37:39expectations are for the officers on the

1:37:41department, you know, and if they fall

1:37:43short, bringing them in and having a

1:37:46chat and just trying to get people on

1:37:47board to where I think they need to be.

1:37:51>> Thank you.

1:37:51>> Sure.

1:37:57Can you uh provide examples of your

1:37:59ability to work with the p public other

1:38:02department leaders and local officials

1:38:04including the select board uh to address

1:38:07community issues? What is your approach

1:38:10to fostering fostering cooperation among

1:38:13key stakeholders?

1:38:14>> Sure.

1:38:16I just think having an open door policy,

1:38:19being approachable, um connecting with

1:38:21folks,

1:38:23you know, I love the community

1:38:24activities. When you're on shift, you

1:38:26don't always get to participate in the

1:38:28community activities because I work the

1:38:3024-hour schedule. So, you're here I'm

1:38:32here 8 days a month. So, if it doesn't

1:38:33fall on a on a given day, you know, it's

1:38:36it's sometimes the opportunities aren't

1:38:37there. But whether it's fundraisers or,

1:38:40you know, a community breakfast, the

1:38:42senior center, uh, you know, I recently

1:38:45attended uh the farmers market. We

1:38:47sprayed the kids down, but I got an

1:38:49opportunity to meet with some of the

1:38:50other key groups in town. Uh, Community

1:38:52Connect was there, Westbrook Community

1:38:54Connect. Um, and it was a fun event. You

1:38:57know, I played catch with uh the police

1:38:59detective and he found out how poor I am

1:39:01at sports cuz I I dropped the ball. I

1:39:03could hear my father yelling at me cuz I

1:39:05could never catch anything. But um just

1:39:07those opportunities to go out in the

1:39:09public and uh wearing a uniform that

1:39:11says, you know, hope police say fire

1:39:13chief on it and and having those

1:39:15interactions with the public being

1:39:17available.

1:39:24Um with examples, share how with

1:39:27examples share how you would handle

1:39:28resistance to change both internally and

1:39:31externally.

1:39:34It it goes back to communication and uh

1:39:36making sure people understand whether

1:39:39it's the firefighters or the public, you

1:39:41know, make sure they understand the need

1:39:44for change. Um

1:39:47with the firefighters, you know,

1:39:49recently we've been talking about

1:39:50regionalization and depends on what day

1:39:53of the week it is at fire station as to

1:39:54whether people are excited about that or

1:39:56not excited about that. But it's it's

1:39:58equalizing the communication cells

1:40:00within the department. you know, we

1:40:02don't we we're studying it. We don't

1:40:03know what that's going to look like yet.

1:40:05And it's important not to get ahead of

1:40:07ourselves. You know, in terms of

1:40:09examples in the public, I I like to use

1:40:11the example when we do community, you

1:40:14know, uh we out doing code enforcement

1:40:16perhaps and we used to do a lot more

1:40:20company based inspections in facilities,

1:40:23but not just telling people, hey, this

1:40:25is wrong, but taking the time to explain

1:40:28why it's why it's wrong or why it's

1:40:31important to the fire department that

1:40:33the exit lights illuminate when the

1:40:35power is out or, you know, just really

1:40:37reiterating the need not only for the

1:40:40people in town but for the firefighters

1:40:41that go into these buildings. Why some

1:40:43of the codes are important. So I think

1:40:46just communication and collaboration and

1:40:48good listening.

1:40:54>> That would be me.

1:40:57>> The the board has had the opportunity to

1:41:00review your 90-day plan

1:41:02that addresses your initial weeks as

1:41:04chief. Tonight, we'd like to hear about

1:41:06your long-term vision. Specifically,

1:41:08where where do you envision the Westboro

1:41:10Fire Department five years from now and

1:41:13what are two or three most important

1:41:15initiatives that you believe must be

1:41:17accomplished to get there?

1:41:19>> Sure. So, sort of first and foremost, we

1:41:23we're working on the the regionalized

1:41:26dispatch center and a lot for us, you

1:41:30know, we that needs to get accomplished.

1:41:32We're going to study regionalization

1:41:34which would follow suit with the

1:41:36regionalized dispatch perhaps. Um

1:41:405 years out. I mean I've been here for

1:41:4225 years and for the last 10 years we've

1:41:44been talking about the need for a

1:41:45substation and growing the department.

1:41:48You know COVID hit the economy hasn't

1:41:50been great for that. Um we've been kind

1:41:52of back and forth with the Commonwealth

1:41:54over a piece of land. Um in 5 years if

1:41:58things go really well I I would envision

1:41:59a substation being built. I would

1:42:01envision some growth. Um we my

1:42:04understanding is we continue to build

1:42:06you know um retirement communities in

1:42:08West Bro. There's an impact on the

1:42:10ambulance service. So we can only do so

1:42:12much with what we have. I would say 5

1:42:15years from now I would like to see the

1:42:18substation being constructed and some

1:42:20growth to the department. Um

1:42:23we're on the cusp of ISO1. We're very

1:42:26close on that. um that that would be

1:42:28something in the that that probably

1:42:30would be accomplished easily in the next

1:42:32100 days. Um but in terms of five years

1:42:35um you know things like um integrated

1:42:38community health um I'm not sure where

1:42:41that's going to land with the fire

1:42:42service. I'm not sure how we're going to

1:42:44generate revenue from it yet, but if we

1:42:46can, you know, this we could play a role

1:42:48in that and that would be decompressing

1:42:51the emergency rooms. Right now, we're

1:42:53going out to people's houses and they

1:42:54might have a relatively subacute issue

1:42:57going on, but because of the legality of

1:42:59everything, we have to transport them to

1:43:01the emergency room where they could sit

1:43:03for 14 hours in a waiting room. If we

1:43:06had integrated mobile health and there

1:43:08was a way to do it, the fire service and

1:43:10and maybe generate revenue, we could be

1:43:13part of the solution to a major problem

1:43:15in healthcare. It's it's there are

1:43:17private hospitals that are doing this,

1:43:18but we there aren't a lot of examples of

1:43:20the fire department doing, but that's

1:43:22something in five years that that could

1:43:24be exciting for West Brog to be part of.

1:43:30>> Okay. And there was a follow on

1:43:33question, but you mentioned the ISO1.

1:43:35So,

1:43:36>> great.

1:43:39Um,

1:43:41happen. How do you plan to balance the

1:43:43needs of the fire department, including

1:43:45addressing critical apparatus, facility,

1:43:48or staffing needs with the broader

1:43:50strategic goals and budget limitations

1:43:52of the town?

1:43:54>> I think you just have to as the

1:43:56department head, you have to realize

1:43:57that we're not the only department in

1:43:59West Bro. Um, we have a new building. We

1:44:02have a lot of really nice apparatus. So,

1:44:05we might see something that we think we

1:44:07need, but there might be another

1:44:09department in town that has a greater

1:44:10need. And I think through collaboration

1:44:12with other department heads and the town

1:44:14manager, we have to balance that. Um

1:44:17certainly I recognize that there's other

1:44:19important things going on in Westbrow

1:44:20besides the fire department. So um we

1:44:23just do the best to work with what we

1:44:25have. You know, I always think, you

1:44:27know, try to get an initiative passed or

1:44:29get some, you know, something new, but

1:44:31if we can't do it, then we're just going

1:44:33to do it how we did it yesterday. And

1:44:35and we've been successful. So, we're

1:44:37always trying to make ourselves better,

1:44:39but if if there's other needs and we

1:44:41can't get what we need right now, then

1:44:43we wait, you know, and and and it would

1:44:46be my job to satisfy the firefighters or

1:44:49whatever on my end. And and I at the end

1:44:52of the day, I have to we're like an

1:44:54insurance policy to the town. So I just

1:44:57have to make sure that I provide you

1:44:59folks with the right data so you know

1:45:00the risk that we're taking and then we

1:45:02make a we make a joint decision on

1:45:04passing over a potential you know

1:45:06something we that we think we need and

1:45:09waiting you know.

1:45:11>> Great. Thank you.

1:45:12>> Sure.

1:45:15>> How will you develop future leaders

1:45:17within the department and what does

1:45:19succession planning look like to you?

1:45:23Um, well, I'd like to see the any of the

1:45:26officer corps that wants to promote up,

1:45:29whether they're lieutenants or, you

1:45:31know, trying to be captains or whatnot,

1:45:34you know, have them attend conferences.

1:45:35We we routinely attend the chief's

1:45:37conference in Worcester every year. The

1:45:38the Massachusetts Fire Chiefs holds

1:45:40their conference locally in Worcester,

1:45:41so that's easy for us. There is a cost

1:45:44associated with it, so we've had to

1:45:45balance that over the last couple years

1:45:47as we've been trying to satisfy ISO1.

1:45:50there's some training components that

1:45:51cost money. So, we've had to like kind

1:45:53of balance that out. So, we didn't we

1:45:55didn't attend last year, but because

1:45:56we're trying to accomplish ISO1. So, but

1:46:00uh having them, you know, attend

1:46:02training conferences, working directly

1:46:04with the officers, like one-on-one

1:46:06counseling, just, you know, finding out

1:46:09what they specifically want to learn or

1:46:11where they think they need to be

1:46:12developed and just really focusing in on

1:46:15individual meetings, you know, directed

1:46:17at, you know, their development. Um, I

1:46:21was encouraged by the past leadership to

1:46:24get my college done and that's been a

1:46:26big deal at the our firehouse. There's a

1:46:28lot of guys pursu, you know, guys and

1:46:30gals pursuing college. So, I would be a

1:46:33big proponent of people getting the

1:46:34college education because I think that's

1:46:35really important.

1:46:43How do you how do you stay current with

1:46:45developments, best practices, and

1:46:47changes in your profession? What

1:46:49professional organizations,

1:46:50publications, training, certifications,

1:46:53or other resources do you rely on to

1:46:55keep your knowledge up to date? Sure. So

1:46:59I subscribe to Fire Engineering, which

1:47:00is one of our trade journals, and they

1:47:03have a very thorough website that goes

1:47:06along with the subscription. So you get

1:47:07the magazine, but they have just endless

1:47:10p u

1:47:12uh I'm trying to come up with the word.

1:47:15Um YouTube videos, etc. on training. Um

1:47:19podcast is what I was going for a moment

1:47:21ago. Um so that's one of the big ones

1:47:23that I like right now. But YouTube in

1:47:26itself, there's just so many successful

1:47:28battalion chiefs and fire chiefs across

1:47:30the country that have developed podcasts

1:47:32on YouTube and you could just spend

1:47:34hours of time watching videos and

1:47:36getting great advice from people all

1:47:38over the country. Um certainly as a

1:47:41union firefighter, the IIAFF has tons of

1:47:44resources. If if selected as your fire

1:47:46chief, I would look to join the

1:47:47International Association of Fire

1:47:49Chiefs. Again, another big resource. Um

1:47:53this fall I've signed up um through the

1:47:55town manager's office I've signed up for

1:47:57uh a class put on by Suffach University

1:48:00and the Mass Municipal Association and

1:48:03it's going to be focused on human

1:48:04resources. So that's another thing I've

1:48:06done. Um, Chief Purcell as a parting

1:48:09gift uh signed me up to go out to uh a

1:48:11conference that's being held by our

1:48:14records management company out in uh

1:48:16it's going to be in I'm trying to think

1:48:19Tennessee or something, but that's

1:48:20coming up in September. So, just trying

1:48:23to get stay current with, you know,

1:48:26conferences. I I would plan to attend

1:48:28the chief's conference every year to

1:48:30stay

1:48:31stay not only to stay focused and stay

1:48:34on top of the newest information, but um

1:48:36last fall I was able to get credentialed

1:48:38as a fire chief and there's a process

1:48:40that I have to maintain that. So I have

1:48:42to go and go to conference and get

1:48:44points and keep that keep that

1:48:46certification up.

1:48:52Please discuss an emerging trend in the

1:48:55fire service or EMS that you think could

1:48:57significantly impact Westboro.

1:49:01>> Well, the biggest problem, one of the

1:49:03biggest problems we have today is uh

1:49:06recruitment and retention. And actually

1:49:08recruitment is not a huge issue for us,

1:49:09but retention has been. Um when I was

1:49:12young in the fire service, you were just

1:49:14lucky enough to get a job was very

1:49:16competitive. Um today, um folks once

1:49:20they get their paramedic and they have

1:49:22academy training, they kind of can go

1:49:24anywhere they want and and whether it's

1:49:26a generational thing or not, um people

1:49:29are always looking for the greener grass

1:49:31going elsewhere. And we've had people

1:49:32come and, you know, leave and come back,

1:49:35but we just don't have as many people

1:49:37interested as we once did um in in doing

1:49:40this job. Um, I often wonder if it's,

1:49:43you know, when I was a kid, if I saw an

1:49:45ambulance or a firetruck, I was just so

1:49:46excited. But these kids today are on

1:49:49their iPads and stuff. I don't know if

1:49:50it's if it has anything to do with it or

1:49:52not. But, um, I don't I think of ideas

1:49:54where we could like get into the job

1:49:56fairs again, get into the high school,

1:49:58the area high schools, the trade

1:49:59schools, and set up a table and just

1:50:02tell people about our job because I I

1:50:03just don't think people know. I don't

1:50:05think the kids today know what we do.

1:50:07and you know in West Bro you know maybe

1:50:10getting into the church groups just

1:50:12trying to get into different populations

1:50:13and telling them what we do um and

1:50:15telling them the benefits of the job

1:50:17because it's an awesome job you know but

1:50:19we we don't always do a great job of

1:50:21advertising that

1:50:26>> thank you

1:50:28what do you believe is the appropriate

1:50:30relationship between the fire chief the

1:50:32select board and the town manager

1:50:35and how do you ensure each ful fulfills

1:50:37its proper role while maintaining

1:50:39productive working relationships.

1:50:42>> Well, I I envision and I and again I do

1:50:45pay attention because I I I watch a lot

1:50:47of meetings, but over the years I paid

1:50:50close attention to this and I remember

1:50:52the days where the members of select

1:50:54board would come into the fire station

1:50:55and visit the fire chief and then that

1:50:57kind of stopped and it made sense to me

1:51:00that the information should travel

1:51:02through the town manager so that it's

1:51:05like the the game of telephone. And it's

1:51:06a communication problem we have within

1:51:08our building because we work in four

1:51:10different groups, four different

1:51:11captains, you know, all the different

1:51:13lieutenants and then all the different

1:51:14firefighters. So information doesn't

1:51:17travel well if if it's not directed

1:51:20through somebody. So I think that I

1:51:23would plan on talking through the town

1:51:24managers to the board and I would I

1:51:27would hope the board would do the same

1:51:28and you know that way there's no gaps in

1:51:31communication. someone has information

1:51:33and you have a meeting and then all of a

1:51:35sudden someone had information that

1:51:37someone else didn't have. I think it

1:51:38would help close those loops and I think

1:51:39that's why over the years we've changed

1:51:42it to to collaborate through the town

1:51:44manager's office. So that that's that's

1:51:45how I would see it. Certainly I have an

1:51:47open door but I I think that going

1:51:50through the town manager kind of closes

1:51:52those gaps.

1:51:56>> Um just want to make sure we covered all

1:51:59that. Um,

1:52:01okay.

1:52:03>> Thank you.

1:52:08>> Um,

1:52:10how would you handle implementing

1:52:13or following a select board policy or

1:52:15directive or supporting an initiative

1:52:18the board is highly invested in uh that

1:52:21you did not agree with?

1:52:23>> Sure. So, I mean, I guess I would want

1:52:26to learn exactly where the board's

1:52:29coming from, and I'd want to have open

1:52:32dialogue with the board about, you know,

1:52:34my concerns, but at the end of the day,

1:52:37if if the board sees fit to send a

1:52:40policy out that affects us, we're going

1:52:42to we're going to follow the policy

1:52:43because you're the governing board for

1:52:45the town. So, you know, I would want to

1:52:48make sure that I understand where the

1:52:49board's coming from and I understand the

1:52:51policy and that they understand any

1:52:53concerns that I might have, especially

1:52:55if it's around safety or something like

1:52:57that. But at the end of the day, we're

1:52:59going to follow we're going to follow

1:53:01policy. That's what we do, you know.

1:53:06>> Thank you.

1:53:06>> Sure.

1:53:08Residents increasingly expect their fire

1:53:11department to be visible, approachable,

1:53:13and engaged beyond emergency response.

1:53:16What role do you believe the fire chief

1:53:18should play in community engagement? And

1:53:20how will you ensure the department

1:53:22reflects that philosophy?

1:53:24>> Well, I I spoke a little bit about it,

1:53:26but I think you have to be active in the

1:53:28community and whether it's at community

1:53:30events, again, wearing uniforms so that

1:53:32folks know who you are. Um staying

1:53:35active and fundraising. the the police

1:53:37and fire department have um foundations

1:53:39that support them. So going to

1:53:41fundraisers where the community gets to

1:53:43engage and it's, you know, you know,

1:53:45whether it's golfing or, you know, a

1:53:47fundraiser at a restaurant, just getting

1:53:49out and seeing the people, introducing

1:53:51yourself. Um, you know, at a car

1:53:54accident or something in the there's a

1:53:55car accident in the Rotary, if I

1:53:57responded as a fire chief, I'm probably

1:53:58not going to be needed operationally,

1:54:00but I might be on the sidewalk

1:54:02explaining to residents what's going on

1:54:04and why we're doing what we're doing.

1:54:06just being a face to the public, whether

1:54:08it's trying to get involved with the

1:54:09senior center, going to, you know,

1:54:12community breakfast at the senior center

1:54:13or, you know, getting invited into the

1:54:17retirement communities and doing fire

1:54:18safety talks. Anything to get your face

1:54:21out to the public, introduce yourself,

1:54:23be in uniform, be available.

1:54:27you. Oh, and uh followup, can you

1:54:30describe how you engage with residents

1:54:32and various key impacted communities and

1:54:35groups in town? I did. Do we answer?

1:54:39>> Oh, what' I say? Impacted committees.

1:54:42>> Pardon me.

1:54:43>> Can you read that again?

1:54:45>> Yeah, I guess I should. Okay.

1:54:47Can you describe how you will engage

1:54:49with the residents and various key

1:54:52impacted committees and groups in town?

1:54:55I said communities. Okay. Sorry.

1:54:57>> Well, I I guess if there's a committee

1:54:59that's discussing something that

1:55:00involves a fire department getting

1:55:02trying to get yourself invited in or if

1:55:04it's an open meeting attending um I know

1:55:07like the deputy chief a lot of his work

1:55:09recently is resolved revolved around

1:55:11fire prevention and he attends planning

1:55:13board meetings and such what whatever I

1:55:15can do to put my face out there and be

1:55:17available attending especially in the

1:55:19first year where I'm trying to make new

1:55:21connections and meet people attending

1:55:23all these different meetings that are

1:55:24open meetings and just being present and

1:55:26being available for questions. Um,

1:55:29again, all the other things I mentioned

1:55:31before, going out and being, you know,

1:55:33whether it's fundraising or the, you

1:55:34know, the community impact stuff. Um, if

1:55:37it can shadow the safe unit, we have the

1:55:39firefighters at work and do safe in the

1:55:41schools. Even even with the kids getting

1:55:43out trying to get in the schools and be

1:55:45visible in the schools, you know,

1:55:47they'll go home and tell their parents,

1:55:48hey, the fire chief was at school today.

1:55:50You know, that that that means something

1:55:51to the to the parents. So,

1:55:54>> thank you. Sure.

1:55:58>> As you know, the fire chief must devote

1:56:00a great deal of time in addition to and

1:56:03outside of normal office hours to the

1:56:05business of the town. Do you have any

1:56:07concerns about this requirement?

1:56:10>> No.

1:56:12I I I mean, I'll elaborate. I I would if

1:56:15selected to be your next fire chief, I

1:56:16would look forward to the opportunity to

1:56:19work hard and be here and cover

1:56:21meetings, do whatever I have to do to be

1:56:23successful and lead the department. I

1:56:25would have no reservations about the

1:56:26amount of time I would have to put in.

1:56:28Um, if I was selected to be your next

1:56:30fire chief, I have big shoes to fill and

1:56:32I know that. So, I I would be happy to

1:56:35put in the time.

1:56:39Uh, do you wish to elaborate on any of

1:56:41the answers you have provided tonight or

1:56:43is there anything else you would like us

1:56:45to know as we consider your candidacy?

1:56:49>> No, I mean I think what I would tell you

1:56:50is that I'm I'm very excited for this

1:56:52opportunity. Um, I've been spending my

1:56:55whole career preparing for something

1:56:56like this. I I kind of always say that

1:56:59timing is is interesting. Like I didn't

1:57:01know Chief Purcell was going to retire

1:57:03this year, but like I'm at the point

1:57:05where this is really good timing for me.

1:57:06I mean, I've been I I did my college

1:57:09education fairly early on in my career,

1:57:11but I've been continuing to better

1:57:13myself um throughout the year. Uh I I

1:57:16offered my portfolio to you folks. In

1:57:19that portfolio, I have like numerous

1:57:21letters from other fire chiefs. And

1:57:24those are chiefs that I they're tangible

1:57:26to me to network with as I, you know, if

1:57:28I'm selected and I have to learn this

1:57:30job over the next year or so, those are

1:57:32folks that I are very tangible to me

1:57:34that I can call upon. You know, we're

1:57:36blessed that Chief Purcell is not moving

1:57:38to Alaska. Um, so he's very available to

1:57:41us. Um, I just I I was introduced to

1:57:45this community when I was in paramedic

1:57:46school and the paramedics or the EMTs

1:57:50and firefighters at that time were just

1:57:51great folks. When I started here, I had

1:57:55this realization in 2002. I walked in

1:57:58the door and there were older

1:58:00firefighters working here that were

1:58:02happy and enjoyed what they were doing.

1:58:04And that just wasn't a thing at my other

1:58:06job where I came from. Um, I fell in

1:58:09love with this town. I love walking

1:58:10around at night in the summertime. I

1:58:12loved interacting with folks, whether

1:58:14it's over at line and Dairy Queen or

1:58:16people that are around the 911 memorial

1:58:18at night. It's it's a wonderful

1:58:20community and I'd love to lead the fire

1:58:21department here.

1:58:23>> Thanks.

1:58:23>> Thanks.

1:58:25>> Do you want to give your follow

1:58:27question?

1:58:28>> No,

1:58:30>> I was just going to say that's that

1:58:31completes our our questions. Are there

1:58:33any questions you have of us?

1:58:36>> Um, no. I I I don't think I have any

1:58:38questions tonight. I I appreciate your

1:58:39time. Um, I'm excited to be part of this

1:58:43process. I'm excited to have been here.

1:58:45What I'll tell you is that um Chief

1:58:48Purcell offered you a a bench of, you

1:58:51know, as he referred to in your meeting

1:58:54about having people interested in

1:58:56becoming the fire chief. If I'm selected

1:58:58to be your fire chief, I know we had

1:59:00four great candidates. Two of us made it

1:59:02to the final round. At the end of my

1:59:04tenure, I will assure you that we will

1:59:06have a bench of people that want to take

1:59:08my place. I will assure that to you. Um

1:59:11we have great talent at 42 Milk Street.

1:59:14There's a lot of people that could do

1:59:16this job. I'm just I'm excited that I

1:59:18was able to get to this part and I

1:59:20appreciate your time tonight.

1:59:23>> Thank you very much.

1:59:24>> Thank you.

1:59:30>> Much appreciated.

1:59:33>> Should go back down to my cave. Yeah.

1:59:35[laughter]

1:59:39>> Where is that?

1:59:40>> I want to know exactly where is

1:59:42>> my office.

1:59:44>> [laughter]

1:59:46>> We can call it the cave now.

1:59:47>> Yeah, I guess.

1:59:54>> Okay. So, we move on to uh deliberations

1:59:56and consideration of appointment. Um I

2:00:01guess is there anything we should

2:00:03consider Christie or

2:00:05>> Okay. Um

2:00:08anybody who would wish to begin? Could

2:00:12we just have a moment?

2:00:13>> Yeah. Just give us

2:00:15>> Yeah. our thoughts here.

2:00:17>> Round everything we have. Sure.

2:00:19>> Yeah.

2:00:23[clears throat]

2:08:04Let me know when you're ready.

2:12:08We're not sleeping up here in case

2:12:09anyone's wondering like what are they

2:12:11doing?

2:12:13Lots to factor.

2:12:17>> A lot of material to go through.

2:12:21Sean, I'm all set when you are

2:12:22>> ready.

2:12:30>> Gentlemen, thank you both for coming

2:12:32here this evening. It's much

2:12:33appreciated.

2:12:35Um, I think you've made the decision

2:12:36difficult for us, which probably is

2:12:38going to make one of you feel any

2:12:39better, but uh,

2:12:43who would like to begin?

2:12:46>> Sure. So I'll I'll start.

2:12:48[clears throat] Uh I want to echo thanks

2:12:49to both

2:12:52Roger and Daniel for uh

2:12:55coming forward. You have made this very

2:12:57very difficult and that is to your

2:12:59credit and to the credit of the work of

2:13:01the outgoing chief.

2:13:04Um, I want to be clear that my uh

2:13:08assessment, it was on the search

2:13:09committee, but my assessment is really

2:13:11reflective of the material before me.

2:13:13And I'm sort of blocking out kind of the

2:13:16search committee work because I think

2:13:18that that's the fair approach and um um

2:13:20here

2:13:22to this board and and to the public. Um

2:13:26so I think that both candidates um bring

2:13:30forward exceptional skills. I I would

2:13:34highlight I'll go through and sort of

2:13:36highlight um one and then the other and

2:13:39not in any particular order here. Um so

2:13:42I'll start with um uh the first

2:13:45candidate Busha. Um

2:13:48I think that the um training experience

2:13:53both um experientially coming up through

2:13:57the ranks as well as being a training uh

2:13:59leader. Um lots of experience there. um

2:14:02um is notable um highly technical um as

2:14:08was evidenced in the assessment center

2:14:10uh scoring um very high in that category

2:14:14um and obviously years of experience as

2:14:16a shift commander. I would also

2:14:18emphasize the performance in the

2:14:20assessment center on the inbasket and

2:14:22oral and written as uh among the highest

2:14:24of the candidates.

2:14:29um candidate hair um

2:14:35great communication skills

2:14:38um and conveyance of that energy. Um

2:14:40budget experience

2:14:42has has an understanding of municipal

2:14:44government as demonstrated through the

2:14:46examples shared and those that we've um

2:14:49seen over over time. um has um the has

2:14:55extensive uh education already has his

2:14:57bachelor's and masters. Congratulations

2:14:59to that. um um in addition to the

2:15:02experience and obviously his shift

2:15:04commandment skills.

2:15:06Um I think both bring forward um

2:15:10different energy and um I can and but

2:15:14clearly both have a very strong very

2:15:17strong passion and love for uh this

2:15:20community and for the Westboro Fire

2:15:22Department. So, um, I just thought it

2:15:24best to share my thoughts, um, on kind

2:15:27of where I see the strengths and I love

2:15:29to hear from the rest of the members.

2:15:32>> Thank you. Sure. I'd happy to go next

2:15:35and thank you, Shelby, for leading off

2:15:37and and thank you again to both of you.

2:15:39I know this is not easy. Um, and uh, but

2:15:45uh, as before, congratulations both of

2:15:48you for making it uh, this far. um

2:15:53and you didn't make it easy on us. I'd

2:15:55say um going through and for those that

2:15:58listened, we heard a lot of uh similar

2:16:00things and similar answers to um our

2:16:04questions and I think that is um I think

2:16:08that's great because I think it it's it

2:16:10it echoes what um you've learned in the

2:16:13fire services, but just as importantly

2:16:15in the Westboro Fire Department. So um

2:16:18you know, thank you both uh for that. I

2:16:21think you both bring

2:16:24um

2:16:26uh strong experience um differences

2:16:30um of course in in the ways you've gone

2:16:32through the department but I think um

2:16:34both highly qualified. Um I will say uh

2:16:41not to repeat some things that select

2:16:44board member Marshall said um you know

2:16:47maybe just a few to to add to that. Um

2:16:52I think uh

2:16:55you know strong communication sty styles

2:16:57from both of you different um uh in that

2:17:01I think for

2:17:04um

2:17:06Captain Hair just a little bit more

2:17:08conversational a little more um

2:17:12a little more comfortable with this is a

2:17:14nervous experience in that but I also

2:17:16balance that out with um the assessment

2:17:19scores where Kad Bush to echo what it is

2:17:24very uh strong scores um uh in

2:17:27categories uh there that display the

2:17:30skills um that you have. I think the

2:17:32written communications from what I saw

2:17:35um uh strong on both but but Captain

2:17:38Buché I think um

2:17:41very very well spoken through uh what

2:17:44you submitted to us. Um I think the uh

2:17:49pieces again that uh put in um budget

2:17:52knowledge the experience in capital plan

2:17:55uh Captain Hair that you had I apologize

2:17:59Captain Bush if I am I getting that

2:18:01right Ba Bush Bush sorry

2:18:04>> I already said it wrong thank you yes

2:18:06sorry

2:18:06>> I thought I was listening there so um

2:18:10but um

2:18:12the as I saw I think in in the um in the

2:18:17resumeumés, but also um Captain Hair

2:18:21mentioned it was the chief credentiing.

2:18:24I didn't see that Captain Buché and

2:18:25yours. I'm not sure if I missed that or

2:18:28or not, but that was one that I just

2:18:30wanted to highlight um as a difference

2:18:32that I saw there. Um

2:18:36I think uh

2:18:43um

2:18:45from a the questioning tonight um again

2:18:49I think uh

2:18:52there were there were just a couple that

2:18:54um that that came to mind in terms of uh

2:19:00uh differences that I saw. I think the

2:19:04um

2:19:06question on the the kind of the

2:19:10directive by a select board policy not

2:19:12agreeing with I think both talked about

2:19:15communication asking understand why um I

2:19:19think Captain her came you came back to

2:19:22me and said I'd offer

2:19:25my um suggestions and rationale why um

2:19:30you know I might not agree But at the

2:19:32end of the day, I think both of you said

2:19:34that it's the policy of the board and we

2:19:36will take that back and and um and

2:19:41communicate. I think uh Kevin Bush, your

2:19:43piece was I'll make in terms of your

2:19:46communication style, I'll make sure that

2:19:47that gets back and communicated to the

2:19:50staff to make sure they understand why

2:19:52we're doing it. So it's not just your

2:19:55disagreement, but under making sure that

2:19:56the disagreement is not um you know

2:19:59taken down to to the levels there. So, I

2:20:02appreciated that. Um,

2:20:05the second one was just uh the question

2:20:08uh select board member Marshall asked

2:20:09about the relationship between the fire

2:20:11chief, town manager, select board. I

2:20:12think that's really an important one for

2:20:14us because

2:20:16um we all play key things, but we all

2:20:18have our roles to play. Um and um I

2:20:24think both of you talked about open

2:20:26communication and and working together.

2:20:29Um, uh, Captain H, you just added and

2:20:32and kind of went into depth about kind

2:20:34of working through the town manager and

2:20:36why you felt that was important and I

2:20:38and um, personally I I agree with you

2:20:41and it is something that's different. um

2:20:45have been on the board the longest are

2:20:47the ones here and and yeah that we've

2:20:49had some struggles of um individual

2:20:52board members with with uh chiefs and

2:20:56whatever and and miscommunication that

2:20:58that occurred there. So I think that um

2:21:02remembering the roles we have to play

2:21:03and how that works and and um and

2:21:07working through that is important. So, I

2:21:10think I've talked a lot here. Those are

2:21:12things that um

2:21:15uh came out to me. Um

2:21:20just kind of um

2:21:23areas of difference. Again, a lot of

2:21:25them were um as I said, you're really

2:21:28the same in terms of in terms of your

2:21:30responses. So, um and not saying that in

2:21:32a bad way um but uh in a good way. So

2:21:36it's it's to me it's tough to

2:21:37differentiate through the questions

2:21:39tonight based on the responses for many

2:21:41of the questions but I will stop there.

2:21:44>> Okay.

2:21:44>> Thank you.

2:21:47>> Sure. I'll go.

2:21:48>> Sure. [snorts]

2:21:49>> Um so I'll just like to thank uh first

2:21:52of all the selection committee the town

2:21:54manager and the team as well as the Pero

2:21:56Consulting and Associates for their

2:21:58assessment process and the five former

2:22:00chiefs that were part of the assessment

2:22:02team. I want to just indicate to the

2:22:04community how serious this was taken by

2:22:05the board and the the the the

2:22:07professionalism that was implemented

2:22:09here as we got to this point today. Um

2:22:12I'd also like to thank Chief Purcell for

2:22:14building such a strong bench. And

2:22:16finally, the candidates themselves.

2:22:17You've succeeded in making this

2:22:19difficult for us. Um as a board member

2:22:22who voted uh for an exter external

2:22:24search, I'm thrilled to have such great

2:22:27candidates. You both really exemplified

2:22:30uh your department, your careers. So

2:22:32thank you very much for being here again

2:22:34for putting your names in the hat and uh

2:22:36going through this process. Um in

2:22:39general uh I just want to share with my

2:22:41with you all my process as I approached

2:22:43this because there was a lot of

2:22:45information that was provided to us

2:22:47obviously through the process you all

2:22:48had to go through. So, I literally after

2:22:51I had gone through our packet twice um

2:22:54with your resumes, with your cover

2:22:56letters, with the assessment, with the

2:22:59uh 90-day plan that you you each

2:23:01submitted, etc. I actually put together

2:23:04as I'm I'm a data guy. I put together,

2:23:07you know, a scoring system, weighted

2:23:09those things so I could come up with.

2:23:10And you you both fared very very well in

2:23:12my assessment before even tonight. Um

2:23:15very very close coming in the door. So

2:23:16it really for me hinged on um the

2:23:19discussion tonight that we had with each

2:23:20of you. So um which I found very

2:23:22informative from both of you to learn

2:23:24more about the department to learn more

2:23:26about the challenges of the department

2:23:28uh some of the opportunities as I like

2:23:30to say you know they're not always

2:23:31challenges they're really opportunities

2:23:32to do better things. So um thank you for

2:23:35that. Um,

2:23:38uh, you know, in in in going through the

2:23:39questionnaire tonight, I literally had

2:23:41to score each one of those. And of the

2:23:4215 questions, uh, you both scored pretty

2:23:45much exactly the same on 10 of those

2:23:47questions. So, that tells you how, uh,

2:23:50wonderful both of you are as far as

2:23:51candidates. Um, I did find, you know,

2:23:54just to give you guys kudos on each on

2:23:56each areas. Um, uh, candidate Bush, I

2:24:00found that your your answers were were

2:24:02poignant in regards to the work with the

2:24:04public, your training knowledge, the ISO

2:24:07work that you talked about as well as

2:24:09your long-term plan. I thought I found

2:24:11it to be informative. I found it to be

2:24:13thorough. Uh, so thank you very much for

2:24:15that. Um, candidate hair, I I I you

2:24:18know, I wrote a number of things down

2:24:20here, but the ones that stood out to me

2:24:22were the you really had a firm

2:24:24understanding of the role of the select

2:24:25board, the town manager, and the role of

2:24:27the fire chief, as well as any

2:24:28department head with the town. Um, your

2:24:32financial awareness, your willingness to

2:24:34share with us that you have done your

2:24:36homework and over the last couple of

2:24:38years of attending meetings and and

2:24:39watching and better trying to better

2:24:41understand that. I for one when I got

2:24:43the first budget book which is about

2:24:45this thick from our town manager each

2:24:47year. I mean it it's a it's an eye

2:24:49popper. Right. So um good luck catching

2:24:52up on that one. Um uh that you're chief

2:24:55certified is is an important uh factor

2:24:58for me. Um also the additional

2:25:01information you provided us in our in

2:25:02our mailboxes. I found it really

2:25:04compelling that you had saved notes and

2:25:06letters from residents going back

2:25:08decades thanking you for your service.

2:25:11that was extremely impactful. Um, and

2:25:15then obviously the numerous

2:25:16recommendations. So, thank you very

2:25:18much.

2:25:23Um, well, first of all, wow. Uh, really

2:25:27uh I've never been through this process

2:25:29before. Um, I hope we always get this

2:25:34pool of candidates. I want to thank

2:25:36>> Mark. Can you just

2:25:36>> I'm sorry. I want to thank everybody who

2:25:38applied. Uh, you know, I want to thank

2:25:41the entire department really. It's uh

2:25:44it's nice to have hard decisions and

2:25:46this is a hard one. Um,

2:25:50you know, for me uh I only get one shot

2:25:53at this. You hopefully whoever, you

2:25:57know, gets this job, the other one will

2:25:59have another shot at this someday. And

2:26:01uh but I only get one shot at this right

2:26:03now. And it's really making it difficult

2:26:05for me uh because I I'm drawing on

2:26:08mostly what I saw tonight. You know, the

2:26:11the background information that we got

2:26:13was extremely helpful. Uh the fire chief

2:26:16assessment was extremely helpful. Uh and

2:26:19there were some uh

2:26:22you know I think a clear one candidate

2:26:25had a clear advantage in that assessment

2:26:27in my opinion. Um, as far as tonight

2:26:30goes,

2:26:32um,

2:26:34you both did very well in my opinion in

2:26:37answering the questions. I thought, um,

2:26:40uh, Captain Busher,

2:26:43uh, is that right?

2:26:45[laughter]

2:26:47Uh, I like that you paused to think

2:26:49about your responses. I like that you,

2:26:53um, came in with some notes. uh you

2:26:56clearly anticipated some of our

2:26:58questions and had some notes that you

2:27:00could reference.

2:27:01Um I thought most of your answers were

2:27:04more more thorough. Now I want to say

2:27:07most but some of your answers were more

2:27:09thorough. Um in particular um

2:27:15you know what are you doing to becoming

2:27:18a stronger leader? I felt like you um

2:27:22really identified something that you

2:27:24need to work on. Uh, I think a good

2:27:26leader I, you know, understands their

2:27:28own I think a good leader understands

2:27:30their own shortcomings and I'm not sure

2:27:33Captain Hair um really got there in his

2:27:36response. Uh, and again, pardon me, I

2:27:40only had one shot at this. If I could go

2:27:41back and watch the video, maybe I would

2:27:44um hear something different, but that

2:27:46was my impression. Um

2:27:50I thought um

2:27:53your answer on uh

2:27:56describing your leadership style was was

2:27:58better similar but more thorough. Um

2:28:04I thought your answer on uh your your um

2:28:09provide examples of your ability to work

2:28:11with the public. Um,

2:28:15again, more thorough, not necessarily

2:28:18better, but just more thorough. Um,

2:28:21which I appreciate. Um, and again, I

2:28:24think it may have come from

2:28:26thinking through your response before

2:28:28you're answering, which,

2:28:31believe me, a firefighter, I'm sure, has

2:28:34to think quickly on their feet. But I

2:28:36thought the

2:28:38um willingness to pause

2:28:43make sure that your answer was really

2:28:46addressing the question. Um, for

2:28:48example, I uh uh Captain Har's answer on

2:28:54um

2:28:57the uh how would you handle resistance

2:29:01to both to change both internally and

2:29:03externally?

2:29:04Um,

2:29:07I'm sorry, the one before that, the um

2:29:10provide examples of your ability to work

2:29:12with the public. I'm not sure that

2:29:14Captain Hair answered the question uh or

2:29:16at least the entire question. Um, I do

2:29:20think that uh Captain Hair's answer on

2:29:24um

2:29:25the five-year plan was uh a little bit

2:29:29better. Um, you both addressed all of a

2:29:32lot of the,

2:29:34you know, the ISO, the uh the regional

2:29:38uh dispatch center, the regionalization

2:29:40of the the force, but I thought Captain

2:29:42Hair's answer addressed some really

2:29:45innovative ideas for revenue creation.

2:29:48Um, as much as I like the mechanic idea,

2:29:51I thought the um um

2:29:57I forget it what what community

2:29:59>> integrated community health concept

2:30:01might

2:30:02>> be more of a revenue driver for the

2:30:05department. So, I thought that was a

2:30:06good answer.

2:30:08Um,

2:30:15again, I don't want to get I mean, there

2:30:17were a couple others that I could

2:30:18probably go into, but it really had to

2:30:20do more with thoroughess of response um

2:30:23for me that um Captain Buché was u much

2:30:28more thorough in his responses. And I

2:30:30did also like the fact that you had two

2:30:32very good questions for us as a board.

2:30:36Uh I thought that was uh

2:30:40gave [clears throat] us a chance to

2:30:42interact and give you you know uh give

2:30:46you an idea of where we're coming from.

2:30:48And the final point I wanted to make was

2:30:50I hope that no matter what happens I

2:30:52feel confident that no matter what

2:30:54happens um the entire department will

2:30:58rally around our appointment and um

2:31:02support that that decision. So, I'm I'm

2:31:06excited for that.

2:31:09>> All right. Thanks, Mark. Um, yes. Again,

2:31:12thank you both. You both um you

2:31:14represent yourself well today. You

2:31:16represented your former chief well

2:31:17today. And I think you really

2:31:19represented the strength of the entire

2:31:22Westboro Fire Department today. So, um,

2:31:26and you know, the decision of this board

2:31:30to do an internal search, yet you made

2:31:32it look like a pretty intelligent one.

2:31:35So, thank you. Um,

2:31:39I think it there there was a lot of very

2:31:42similar answers, which I would expect

2:31:44working in the same department

2:31:46underneath the same chief, hearing the

2:31:48same message. Um, so that that uh gave

2:31:52me confidence.

2:31:53Um,

2:31:55I think you both

2:31:58um

2:32:00clearly can can command folks and can

2:32:03command a room and have a and of a

2:32:05presence and to be able to do that

2:32:07because obviously you as a chief you

2:32:09find yourself

2:32:11in situations that are critical, right?

2:32:14Where

2:32:16immediately you may not have the

2:32:18opportunity to explain why something

2:32:20needs to be done. you just need it to be

2:32:23done and that the individuals who report

2:32:26to you, you can build that trust that

2:32:29that will happen.

2:32:32Um I think um I I appreciated both your

2:32:38answers. I thought Chief Hair I think

2:32:42you you appeared more confident today in

2:32:45front of us, which I think made some

2:32:47sense there, you know, an age gap here

2:32:49and stuff. Um,

2:32:52and I think the experience you've had,

2:32:56especially recently in terms of some of

2:32:59the um, responsibilities of a fire chief

2:33:02and sort of being involved with the

2:33:04budget plan, sort of listening and maybe

2:33:07not necessarily participating on town

2:33:11committee meetings, but you know,

2:33:13monitoring them and understanding the

2:33:15sort of idiosyncrasies or the the inner

2:33:19workings of those committees.

2:33:21Um I think um

2:33:24they I appreciate it. Um I think I think

2:33:28both your assessment scores were were

2:33:31very good as as I would certainly expect

2:33:34they would be. Um

2:33:39and um I I could make a lot of the other

2:33:43points that were made here by other

2:33:44members of the select board, but I think

2:33:47you're both strong candidates for this

2:33:49job. Thank you very much.

2:33:54Um, do we want further discussion?

2:33:59Does somebody want to make a motion?

2:34:03What do folks think?

2:34:09Um, so just a point for the the board,

2:34:12this is something that I learned. I'm

2:34:14going to bring this into the search from

2:34:16the search committee. And that was the

2:34:19um just for awareness because it wasn't

2:34:21aware to me the fire chief certification

2:34:24that was noted um um is a Chrissy help

2:34:28me to sort of explain the process. So it

2:34:31is you you apply to do it and there is a

2:34:35um there is a process through which you

2:34:38have to go through and only so many

2:34:39candidates are approved for that and um

2:34:43so that's not I'm just sort of creating

2:34:45awareness I'm not justifying why one

2:34:48person has it or doesn't um but it

2:34:50sometimes can be narrowed regardless of

2:34:54whether you wanted to do it regardless

2:34:56of interest. So I just wanted to make

2:34:58the board aware of that. Is that

2:35:00accurate, Christie? Yeah. Okay.

2:35:10Oh boy.

2:35:12[laughter]

2:35:14>> Do we have co-chiefs?

2:35:16Is that a thing? Have we ever done that

2:35:18in the Commonwealth?

2:35:19>> Yeah, that would be joke.

2:35:21>> That would be a great way to disappoint

2:35:22both of them.

2:35:23>> Yeah.

2:35:24>> Can we [laughter] Can we just clone

2:35:26Chief Purcell?

2:35:28>> What?

2:35:29>> No. No, no, we have two very good

2:35:31candidates. We don't need to No, I'm

2:35:33just kidding. I'm just kidding.

2:35:36>> I I I do feel I I'll just open up a

2:35:38discussion here. I I do feel that there

2:35:39is a stronger candidate than the other.

2:35:42In particular, I I felt um that

2:35:45candidate her was a stronger candidate

2:35:47regards to the the the discussion

2:35:50tonight. Um, contrary to Mark, your your

2:35:53thoughts on the I'll say the length of

2:35:57uh answers, I found that his answers

2:35:59were more concise. Um, I also found felt

2:36:02that his knowledge in regards to

2:36:04relationship between the boards was

2:36:06spot-on. I did not get a clear feeling

2:36:08on that answer from the other candidate

2:36:11from candidate Busha. Busha um

2:36:13>> Bush

2:36:14>> Bush, sorry. Um and uh um certainly the

2:36:19captain's um certification uh excuse me,

2:36:22not captains, chief certification

2:36:25um is is a strong indication for me. Um

2:36:29and just I I I felt uh her uh Captain

2:36:32Hara was a stronger candidate overall in

2:36:34in regards to the interview itself and

2:36:37that kind of put him over the finish

2:36:38line for me.

2:36:40>> So uh appreciate that uh Patrick. Um

2:36:45um

2:36:46you know I think this is like like a

2:36:48neck andneck

2:36:51>> Kentucky Derby like nosing each other

2:36:53out. Um and so many of the

2:36:57answers

2:36:59um I I think just conveyed their style,

2:37:01you know, and and I don't I think that

2:37:03that's wonderful because it's your style

2:37:05and you own it. and I felt very

2:37:08confident that both of you individually

2:37:10own your style and that's that makes for

2:37:12great leadership. Um

2:37:15I

2:37:17I have to factor in and and um and again

2:37:21just for the public's benefit I think

2:37:22it's important to understand there's no

2:37:24waiting here like we don't have a

2:37:25rubric. So it's not like so many points

2:37:28for the assessment center and so many

2:37:30points for the interview process. like

2:37:32this is just us taking in all of this

2:37:34information and and making um what we

2:37:37feel is the best decision for the uh

2:37:39community going forward in the fire

2:37:41department.

2:37:42Um so

2:37:45to me the you were both very strong in

2:37:48in the interviews some answers better

2:37:50than others. Uh to me one of the

2:37:52differentiators is the um assessment uh

2:37:56center and the performance of uh Captain

2:38:00Buché um in that center um across

2:38:05um as I had mentioned before both

2:38:07tactical in basket and oral and written

2:38:10uh those are three of the four and um

2:38:15you know I I think um I do give Captain

2:38:20her tremendous mendous credit for his

2:38:21educational experience doing that while

2:38:24working. That's no small feat and I that

2:38:27weighs as well in my mind um in addition

2:38:30to this fire chief certification, but I

2:38:32think that Captain Bush could achieve

2:38:34that as um if he were to go forward. Um

2:38:38that that that worries me less. um the

2:38:42educational experience educational

2:38:44completion of a master's degree is

2:38:47important but

2:38:50um I think the interview process

2:38:53demonstrated to me that kind of the

2:38:56ability to handle oneself in this

2:38:58environment

2:39:00um

2:39:02with the strength of the answers and the

2:39:04assessment center made me confident in

2:39:06all of them regardless of education is

2:39:08where I'm going this um And um so I am

2:39:15um

2:39:17I am

2:39:19leaning um more confidently, if you

2:39:23will, uh toward Captain Boucher in this

2:39:26based on all of those factors of uh that

2:39:29I just mentioned.

2:39:35>> Yeah. Um, I I too am leaning towards

2:39:39Captain Buché and um, again, it's a hard

2:39:42decision. I liked Captain Harris's

2:39:44competence. Uh, he's very likable guy.

2:39:48Um, and uh, I would probably follow him,

2:39:52not into a burning building, but

2:39:53somewhere.

2:39:56But um I also felt like there's a lot of

2:40:00things I don't know about the fire

2:40:03department, about being a firefighter, a

2:40:07lieutenant, a captain, a chief. Um and

2:40:10the assessment did weigh a lot with me

2:40:12because of the um re, you know, the the

2:40:16scores that uh other fire chiefs uh gave

2:40:21to these candidates. And I thought um

2:40:26uh there was a a clear dis I don't want

2:40:29to say a clear distinction but there was

2:40:31a distinction between the two candidates

2:40:33and that that meant a lot to me. Um

2:40:39yeah again I'm I'm

2:40:43I don't think we can really go wrong. So

2:40:45that's that's the hard part.

2:40:52No, I I guess to go to to go on with

2:40:56that um that shows how difficult it is.

2:41:00Um

2:41:02I felt that um

2:41:05for me um that Captain Hair was the was

2:41:10the

2:41:12um candidate of choice for myself and I

2:41:14think I highlighted

2:41:17um certain things. I think it's again

2:41:20I think both are qualified to do the

2:41:22job, but who's ready to do the job now?

2:41:24I just felt that Captain Hair had um

2:41:29uh more advanced preparation in terms of

2:41:32um of where that was. I took a lot into

2:41:37um and again similar to

2:41:40uh S remember W thing here too that it's

2:41:44um about how the town is operating

2:41:47taking the time to um have spent over

2:41:49the last year or two and and I know we

2:41:52joked back to him but I think it is

2:41:54important that there's a peculiar place

2:41:57how uh government is run um and

2:42:00understanding uh roles there Um, I echo

2:42:05the thought on the question about how

2:42:07the relationship works. It's an

2:42:09important thing to understand. Um, I

2:42:12thought again I thought he nailed it.

2:42:15Um,

2:42:18I think uh and again the budget

2:42:20knowledge actually working on the

2:42:21capital plan I think it just is is that

2:42:23piece ahead of of of

2:42:25>> um who's prepared. Um I will say that in

2:42:30looking and and again I want to make

2:42:31sure public knows in looking at this and

2:42:33I don't fully understand I've read what

2:42:36was in there and how the you know

2:42:38different differentiating the numbers

2:42:40are um in terms of of the assessment I

2:42:44thought that in the summary

2:42:47um you know both were above average on

2:42:53two out of the four and the other two um

2:42:57relatively close with one slightly

2:43:00better than than the other and the other

2:43:02one the opposite maybe a little bit more

2:43:04um differentiating there. So again I had

2:43:08a tough time using that as

2:43:10differentiation but it was part of

2:43:12weighing in here and it did come back to

2:43:14what I saw tonight and I do think uh

2:43:16different than um what suppor

2:43:21I I looked at kind of the comfort level

2:43:23that was here tonight. And I know this

2:43:24is a tough experience, but it was uh

2:43:27thinking about coming in front of um a

2:43:31town meeting, working through difficult

2:43:34situations. I felt that um Captain Hair

2:43:38through the interview tonight seemed

2:43:41more

2:43:43um prepared and comfortable in that

2:43:45situation than Captain Buché did. And uh

2:43:51so for me it it it to me

2:43:55it was it was clear to me of of who I

2:43:57thought was um the candidate that I

2:44:00would um make a motion to recommend on

2:44:04and that that was Captain Captain Hair.

2:44:09>> Thanks.

2:44:11Thanks. [laughter]

2:44:14Um,

2:44:15>> that's why you're in the middle seat,

2:44:16Sean.

2:44:19>> Got to stop going last.

2:44:21>> Um, I I think you're both going to be

2:44:24excellent captains in the future.

2:44:26>> Chiefs.

2:44:27>> Chiefs. Damn it. [laughter]

2:44:28>> I did the same. Don't feel bad. I did

2:44:30the same thing.

2:44:31>> Communities, committees, it's all the

2:44:33same. [laughter]

2:44:36>> It's all right.

2:44:37>> No, no, it's

2:44:40gotta own that. Okay. Um, and you know,

2:44:43I don't think we could make a wrong

2:44:45decision. Um, clearly there's there's a

2:44:49there's a lot of competing thoughts on

2:44:50this board. Uh, I thought you you both

2:44:53presented well tonight. I did think um,

2:44:57Captain Hair was was a little stronger

2:45:00this evening and I and I would go

2:45:02towards Captain Hair. Um

2:45:06and uh

2:45:08and instead of me going through my

2:45:10reasons, why don't

2:45:12>> if somebody would like to make a motion.

2:45:16>> Thank you both for making this so

2:45:17difficult.

2:45:18>> Yeah.

2:45:19So, um before I I'll volunteer and make

2:45:22a motion, but one of the things that I

2:45:24did raise to the town manager prior to

2:45:26the meeting was uh in our packet, it did

2:45:28talk about um the you know the um

2:45:32>> requirement around uh having a drug

2:45:35screening, a um background check as well

2:45:38as uh physical or um and so I would move

2:45:43to appoint Daniel as our next fire chief

2:45:45contingent on

2:45:48uh passing those

2:45:50>> and

2:45:50>> successful contract negotiations

2:45:52>> and successful contract negotiations.

2:45:54>> Second.

2:45:56>> Any further discussion?

2:45:58>> Um,

2:46:00yes. Um, and I'm glad Patrick I I

2:46:03thought you might because you're so

2:46:04detail- oriented, I thought you might

2:46:06bring up something else. Um, and

2:46:08Christie, this question is for you for

2:46:10some guidance here. Um and um I want to

2:46:15say within process

2:46:18um Captain Hair currently holds lots of

2:46:21other roles

2:46:24and he was emphatic which I was

2:46:26confident in his answer with saying nope

2:46:28I've got enough time but it is

2:46:30concerning to me I want to share with

2:46:32the board that um and perhaps that I

2:46:36don't know how we address that because

2:46:37we didn't ask it during the interview

2:46:38process that

2:46:40>> contract negotiations

2:46:45speak of

2:46:46>> well

2:46:46>> through contract negotiations.

2:46:48>> Okay. Is it through contract

2:46:49negotiations? I mean I I I just I mean

2:46:52again it's very common for firefighters

2:46:54to work in their communities. That's

2:46:55what I'm specifically talking about.

2:46:57He's not like moonlighting is some other

2:46:59role. I just want to be clear. Um but we

2:47:03expect

2:47:05like full commitment and dedication to

2:47:08this position and that that is one thing

2:47:11that's it's really not factoring in but

2:47:14if that nomination were to go forward um

2:47:17that would be a that is a concern

2:47:19>> to me that's part of the successful

2:47:20contract negotiation part of the motion

2:47:22right that that is something that we

2:47:24would make sure

2:47:25>> I didn't want to assume that it was to

2:47:26be honest with

2:47:27>> that's my expectation

2:47:28>> okay well I would just say that I think

2:47:30chief pursel demonstrated the time

2:47:32commitment that the job takes and I

2:47:33think both captains are aware of that.

2:47:36Um, so I think their responses tonight

2:47:37reflected their understanding of excuse

2:47:40me [clears throat] what the job what the

2:47:41job takes. So we can certainly discuss

2:47:43it in contract negotiations

2:47:44>> if the board is comfortable with that. I

2:47:46just wanted to make sure that I brought

2:47:48that.

2:47:48>> Yeah, I'm not concerned about that from

2:47:50either candidate.

2:47:51>> Okay.

2:47:52>> Yeah. And just to that point, I had

2:47:53asked the question to Tom manager

2:47:55earlier because I noticed in both

2:47:56candidates that there's both multiple

2:47:59roles currently or at least two roles

2:48:02currently.

2:48:02>> Yeah.

2:48:03>> More with one but

2:48:04>> yes

2:48:04>> in presently.

2:48:08>> Okay. So we have a motion. We have a

2:48:10second. Um all those in favor

2:48:18Yes.

2:48:40>> Yeah.

2:48:44>> Thank you to all the members of the fire

2:48:46department who are here this evening.

2:48:48Thank you very much. And everybody else,

2:48:49thank you very much.

2:48:53>> We want to um

2:49:15congratulations.

2:49:16>> Congratulations. Congratulations.

2:49:18Thanks.

2:49:34Do you want

2:49:59You don't have anything else, right?

2:50:01>> Executive session.

2:50:01>> Executive session.

2:50:03>> Can we just Yeah.

2:50:26I think we're

2:50:38Does Mark want to do the

2:50:47>> um Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. We're just sort

2:50:49of moving to

2:50:54>> All right. Uh could I get a motion to

2:50:56move to executive session?

2:50:57>> I'll make them a motion under Mass

2:50:59General Law Chapter 38 section 21 uh A2

2:51:03to conduct strategy sessions uh in

2:51:06preparation for contract negotiations

2:51:09with non-UN personnel. Fire chief chief.

2:51:14>> Thank you. Um, I do believe that

2:51:18um this uh would be detrimental if uh if

2:51:23we did this in public session. We will

2:51:26not be returning to open session

2:51:28following executive session.

2:51:30>> Uh second. Thank you.

2:51:33>> Yes. Johnson. Yes.

2:51:35>> Well, Chess Silver, yes.

2:51:37>> And Kio, yes. And thank you to West TV.

2:51:41>> Thank you to our candidates.

2:51:42>> Yes.