Municipal governments

Salem — New Republican First Selectman Ed Chmielewski ushered in a new guard on the Emergency Preparedness Agency and has begun reshaping other boards and commissions in town as vacancies arise.

Some Democrats have decried the move as political, while one commission chairman alleged it’s part of an effort to take authority from volunteers.

Board members and commissioners from both parties said former First Selectman Kevin Lyden used to give them the option to be considered for reappointment when their terms were up. While the town charter doesn’t specifically lay out guidelines for reappointment, the loose framework in Salem was described by some as a “gentlemen’s agreement.”

Chmielewski was elected in November to replace Lyden, who chose not to seek reelection after 12 years in office. Lyden, an unaffiliated candidate endorsed by the Republicans, now serves on the Board of Selectmen.

Chmielewski took his seat at the head of the selectmen’s table for the first time in December after beating Democrat Hugh McKenney the month before. One of his first orders of business was to appoint four people to the agency charged in the town charter with managing any emergency “caused by an enemy attack or manmade disaster.”

The first selectman touted Republicans Eva Agathos, Dan Marsh and Erik Trotter, as well as Democrat Pete Lynch, for their combined experience in the military, fire services, law enforcement and the state Department of Correction. The final member, Mike Bednarz, is a Groton fire official hired by Chmielewski late last year to replace 21-year emergency management director Don Bourdeau Jr.

Chmielewski at the time cited Bourdeau’s recent retirement from the position as the reason behind the replacement. Bourdeau, who still serves as the public works director, could not be reached for comment.

Chmielewski last week said the four appointed members of the emergency preparedness agency are “high performing, highly skilled, world-class” volunteers selected to revive what he described as an underperforming group.

“I’m new at this,” Chmielewski said. “We’re dealing with COVID, we’re dealing with a lot of things. But at the same time we just enhanced and improved — and to tell you the truth made your family safer and my family safer — because of what we’ve done in emergency management.”

Chmielewski is a retired New London police sergeant and U.S. Army National Guard major. He spent eight years on the Board of Selectmen and eight years on the Board of Education.

Chip Weston, a two-year chief of Salem Volunteer Fire Company and a member of the Emergency Preparedness Agency for more than a decade, said the former members’ terms expired amid the coronavirus pandemic. They were awaiting a belated swearing-in at April’s meeting when they were told without ceremony that they had been replaced, according to Weston.

Town charter empowers selectmen to select volunteers for appointed boards and commissions and specifies that they serve until their successors are appointed. There is a provision for elected officials that allows selectmen to fill any vacancy after 30 days, but that provision does not exist for appointed offices.

Weston, a Republican, said he got a call from Chmielewski a week after the new iteration of the committee was formed to let him know the fire chief wasn’t on it.

Weston said his own ouster “wasn’t really heartbreaking” to him. Instead, he reserved his anger for the first selectman’s treatment of the former emergency management director. Weston described Bourdeau’s departure from the emergency management not as a retirement, but a “cold blooded” move on the part of first selectman.

“Shut the door on him and didn’t let him back in,” Weston said.

The fire chief acknowledged his GOP registration but described himself as generally apolitical. “It appears to be very Republican-motivated in how they’re picking people and choosing people,” he said of the appointment process. “They basically took the old guard and said ‘there’s the door’ and we’re bringing in a bunch of new people.”

Chmielewski said outgoing members were told their expertise would be welcome in a “volunteer group in emergency management” being formed separately from the official agency.

Selectman TJ Butcher, the sole Democrat on the five-member Board of Selectmen who also serves as the chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, voted in favor of all the appointments made since he was elected in November. He told The Day last week that he needs to own the mistake.

“I wanted to be a team player. I wanted to look like, ‘No, I’m not here to muckrack. I’m here to work with the town,'” he said. “But I really feel in hindsight like that was a really important vote and I would’ve voted differently if I had that vote today.”

He said an agenda that comes out just 24 hours before selectmen gather for their monthly meeting — the minimum amount of time required by the state Freedom of Information law designed to promote access to public meetings — does not give him enough time to familiarize himself with issues to be discussed.

Describing himself as “blindsided” by the appointments, he said he didn’t realize the significance of the move until his phone “started ringing off the hook.”

“The unhappiness was palatable,” he said of the displaced volunteers. “They were hurt.”

Recreation Commission

Alan Maziarz, chairman for about three years of the Recreation Commission, said he put in a request with Chmielewski to get Democrat Teri Natoli reappointed when her term expired. He said he did not get a response.

“The next thing I know, he’s picking his own people to join rec commission,” Maziarz said.

The Board of Selectmen in February appointed Republican Joshua Rehrig, Republican Jocelyn Glidewell and Democrat Alexandra Marsh to the Recreation Commission. The nine-member group currently consists of three Republicans and three Democrats, as well as one Independent and one unaffiliated member. There is one vacancy.

Tension between the first selectmen’s administration and the recreation commission has been evident in the construction of a disc golf course at the town park on Route 82. Maziarz said the course, which was years in the making, had a soft opening in November before the punch list of remaining tasks was completed. It was closed down about two weeks later by the town, according to the chairman.

He said the commission is near the end of the $21,000 allotted for the project in the capital budget for large-ticket items.

Chmielewski said he shut down the course with input from the Public Works Department and his public safety team due to safety concerns, but is committed to reopening with improved signage and safety features.

Chmielewski said he wants to make sure the project is done right, while Maziarz said the first selectman wants to make sure it’s done his way. Otherwise, Maziarz said Chmielewski would be willing to work with the commission to resolve the issues instead of taking management on himself.

Among other things, the recreation commission is charged by the town charter with planning for the development and expansion of the town’s recreation spaces and acquiring, installing and maintaining athletic facilities and equipment.

“I think he really wants to make all the decisions here,” Maziarz said. “We are feeling less and less empowered. Why are we even doing this if he’s going to make the decisions? He’s kind of taken that authority and leadership from us.”

Both Chmielewski and Maziarz agreed on one thing: the need for a formal, streamlined process guiding recreation projects going forward. The first selectman said he created a form with multiple checkboxes and required signatures to ensure oversight by all the relevant town staff members, boards and commissions.

The current vacancy on the recreation commission resulted from the recent resignation of Republican Art Bergman in protest of Chmielewski’s handling of various issues, according to Maziarz.

Diba Khan-Bureau, vice chairman of the Inland Wetlands and Conservation Commission as well as the Democratic Town Committee, said Chmielewski “has chosen people who are going to vote with him.” She said the focus instead should be on picking people committed to protecting the town’s inland wetlands and watercourses in accordance with state and local regulations.

Selectmen appointed two Republicans for full seats on the inland wetlands commission and two Republicans for alternate seats. One of the full seats and one of the alternate positions were reappointments.

She said failing to offer an opportunity for reappointment to experienced volunteers does a disservice to the commissions through the loss of institutional knowledge. It’s also an insult to people who have devoted what little spare time they have to serving the town.

“Be kind to people,” she said. “We’re really busy right now.”

Democrat Gary Closius stood up at the selectmen’s meeting last week to say it’s a “simple, common courtesy to notify incumbent appointees that they are not going to be reappointed before the new nominee goes up before the Board of Selectmen for a vote.”

He said the recent appointments have created a feeling that the current administration doesn’t respect or appreciate its volunteers.

“We should be asking quality appointees if they would like to be reappointed to help ensure continuity,” he said. “This would let our volunteers know that they and their efforts are valued and ensure that a broad pool of volunteers are available for the future.”

‘Not a story’

Chmielewski put it this way: “I am the most nonpartisan individual.”

He could not offer specifics about how many appointments, out of more than two dozen made since December, went to the person previously holding the seat. But he emphasized the positions went to a mix of Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated appointees.

“I don’t understand why people are coming down on me,” he said. “I didn’t make the  motion, I didn’t make the second. I’m one of five votes. And Kevin (Lyden), an unaffiliated, voted in favor. The Republicans voted in favor. And TJ (Butcher), the Democrat, voted in favor. He didn’t abstain. He didn’t abstain under protest.”

He said people who are upset they didn’t get reappointed “really isn’t a story.”

“The story is you’ve got a new guy taking over as first selectman and it’s been seamless,” he said.

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