NORWAY — The Select Board unanimously voted Thursday to hire attorney Jeffrey Wilson as town manager, starting Dec. 15.
Jeffrey Wilson speaks in Franklin County Superior Courtb in Farmington in 2019. Wilson was named Town Manager in Norway. Sun Journal file photo
He succeeds Dennis Lajoie, who retired in April.
Bradley Plante has served as interim town manager for the past six months.
A native of Massachusetts, Wilson moved to Norway in 2014 and operates the law office Wilson & Associates in Paris. He graduated from Boston College Law School in 2007 and practiced law in Burlington, Vermont, and Portland before opening his firm in 2015.
In other business, the board approved a request from Langford and Low Construction for an extension in order to dig up a section of Winter Street to install a 6-inch fire sprinkler line for the Pace Ambulance facility at the Stephens Memorial Hospital campus. Town policy restricts roadwork beyond Oct. 15.
The project would likely be done next week and include tapping into the water main and all associated piping and site work, such as backfill and paving.
Plante said the highway crew had some concerns with plowing if there are problems this winter with the new pavement. The company said it will guarantee the quality of the work on behalf of MaineHealth. Should the pavement fail, a contingency fund will be available to replace the pavement at no charge to the town.
Selectman Sarah Carter announced Norway has received a second Community Resilience Partnership Community Action Grant from the state for $48,526. The money will be used to place solar panels on the roof of the Police Department. Some additional funds will also go for more assessments of town buildings for energy efficiency.
The board accepted three donations for the Fire department. A $10,000 gift from the family of Jim and Pirkko McBride and a $1,000 anonymous gift will go toward self-contained breathing apparatus for the Fire Department. Fire Chief David Knox said the money should pay for 11 units. The McBride gift was in honor of recently retired Fire Chief Dennis Yates.
The West Oxford Agricultural Society made a $200 donation, which will be used for fire prevention.
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