BOS minutes 11-30-15

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Minutes
Board of Selectmen Meeting
Tuesday November 30, 2015
Memorial Hall - Salah Meeting Room
Present: John J. Connolly, Chairman, Robert E. Burr Jr., Vice-Chairman, Kevin T. Feeney, Clerk, Victor D.
Del Vecchio, Member, Mark J. Porter, Member, William T. Friel, Town Administrator, Jennifer Kemalian,
Administrative Secretary.
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.
The meeting was opened by noting that the Interviews for candidates for the Town Administrator
position would take place.
The first candidate to be interviewed was Mark Rees. He introduced himself by noting he had 35 years
of municipal experience. He noted that he was proficient in financial management, project
management, environmental compliance, management and supervisory rolls. The Board took the
opportunity to ask him several questions. Mr. Rees described his knowledge with ADA compliance and
Emergency Management. He noted that he could be helpful with the MS4 Water regulations. He
explained that his communication styled included being accessible. He communicated best with one on
one interaction with staff and Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Rees continued by highlighting his extensive experience with contract negotiations. He noted that
he believed that transparency was extremely important and that social media was a critical effective
tool. He noted that his strengths were financial planning and management skills.
The Board thanked him for his interview.
The next candidate was Roy Witherow. Mr. Witherow noted that he was attracted to Canton because it
was a well managed community that was transit oriented, project planning community that was
planning for the future. Mr. Witherow made the Board aware of his experience with ADA compliance
and Emergency management training. The projects he was looking forward to working on in Canton are
the MS4 water regulations, traffic, and Paul Revere Village. He explained that his communication style
included weekly updates in a newsletter to department heads. He also thought that transparency and
social media were important issues. Mr. Witherow discussed how he established relationships with
people not under his command.
The Board thanked him for his interview.
The next candidate was Kimberly Newman. Ms. Newman described the Canton Town Administrator's
position as her dream job. She noted her willingness to move to Canton and that she had family close
by. When asked about her ADA compliance and Emergency Management experience, she explained
that she had experience in both areas and provided a brief summary. She was asked to identify areas in
Canton that need improvement. She noted that traffic was a large concern as well as school
overcrowding. She continued to explain her communication style, which would bean evolving process.