Pattie Pacella
Neighb News Correspondent
The Acushnet Selectboard met on Tuesday, 9/22/20 and discussed the re-opening of town hall on October 5. The public will be allowed inside the building Monday–Friday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Chairperson Kevin Gaspar stated that “masks will be required by both citizens stepping into Town Hall, along with employees who will be assisting residents.”
Mr. Gaspar also said there will be a logbook for contact tracing with residents’ names, addresses and phone numbers.
“Please be reasonable and not argue about giving that information and things will go smoothly,” he stated.
Residents will be expected to maintain proper social distancing, and everyone entering the building will be required to have their temperature taken by the kiosk in the main lobby. Guidelines apply to both town hall and the Parting Ways Buildilng. Full guidelines are available on the town’s website at https://www. acushnet.ma.us
The Selectboard also decided to hold a special town meeting on Novebmer 14, and will accept articles for capital expenditures only. Deadline is 10/16/20. The meeting will be at Ford Middle School conducted under COVID-19 guidelines as they did for the special TM on June 20.
Mr. Gaspar stated he had a conversation with Police Chief Christopher Richmond, who was present, about the vacancy of Sergeant in the APD. Mr. Gaspar stated the discussion came up because there was a void of an “Officer in Charge” in the schedule.
“Basically someone right out of the academy could be put into the officer-in-charge position and that kind of scared the hell out of me,” said Mr. Gaspar. “I think it scares a lot of people.”
He said that he and Chief Richmond discussed promoting from within.
Chief Richmond stated there were two credible officers for consideration of the position: Officer Danny D’Amaral and officer Jeremy Faunce. Both officers were also present.
Mr. Gaspar reviewed their resumes briefly highlighting their qualifications. He said that Officer D’Amaral has been with the department for eight years full time, four years part-time. He has a bachelor’s in criminal justice and many certifications.
Mr. Gaspar stated that Officer Faunce has worked in the detective’s division, had many certifications as well and was recently deputized as a US Marshall, working with the FBI on occasion.
“I can’t think of two better guys to promote to Sergeant,” Mr. Gaspar stated. “I commend the both of you.”
Selectboard member David Wojnar stated he had previous interaction with both officers and thanked them for their service; also stating either would be a good fit for the role of Sergeant.
Mr. Gaspar added that the two men were “prime examples of what we want our young coming out of the police academy to strive for.”
Mr. Gaspar advised that according to the civil service rules, the person with the highest civil service exam test score should be granted the position. With that being said, Mr. Gaspar stated that he was extremely happy to make the motion to promote Officer Danny D’Amaral to the Sergeant position. Mr. Desroches and Mr. Wojnar both approved the appointment.
In another conversation with Chief Richmond, Mr. Gaspar said there was a vacancy in the detective division for a sergeant and Chief Richmond recommended Officer Faunce to that position.
“The last six to seven months have certainly been a challenge to all of us and COVID19 has definitely rewritten some rules,” Chief Richmond said, adding that due to shift changes, there was a vacancy, and he recommended Officer Faunce.
“I know he’s earned it,” Chief Richmond stated. “He has many resources through his work ethic and experiences, as well as his personality to get the job done.”
The board agreed voted unanimously to appoint Officer Faunce to Sergeant in the Detective division. The Selectboard agreed to set up a date in the near future for a pinning ceremony.
In other business Town Administrator Julie Hebert had a shout out to Fire Chief Kevin Gallagher and his staff for working diligently to get testing for employees in the school system. There was a great article in the Standard-Times, she said an a picture that made it into the New York Times.
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