HAMPDEN — With Police Chief Scott Trombly’s upcoming retirement on July 17, the Selectboard discussed how to undertake the search for a new chief.
Town Administrator Brian Domina said that if the town does not want to conduct the search on its own, it could handle the job description, advertising and resume collection, and hire a professional search firm to administer the candidate assessments. Domina said the issue with an in-house search is that town employees do not have connections within the law enforcement community. Alternatively, a firm could be hired to handle all aspects of the search process. Trombly had recommended two potential firms.
Selectboard Chair John Flynn said he would like to include both internal and external candidates. Domina added that local people had already inquired about the position.
Trombly previously told the board that he would be willing to serve as an interim police chief during the search. However, he said he had a hard finish date of Sept. 1, Labor Day. To serve as an interim chief on a month-to-month basis, Trombly wanted a maximum of 24 hours per week at $75 per hour, which Flynn said is less than his current salary.
The Selectboard also discussed hiring a facilities manager. Domina said that $70,000 is the baseline salary for a full-time employee in that role. However, the town only has $40,000 approved for the position. Flynn said a budget would be needed for expenses, as not all repairs can be foreseen. Selectboard member Donald Davenport said an article on the fall Town Meeting warrant would be needed to add money for the position.
Domina asked if the position would be part-time or full-time. He said it would make a difference in the “types of candidates” who applied. He said there would be an initial “rush of work at the new town offices at the former Thornton W. Burgess Middle School, but then the projects would taper off.
Davenport said the position was originally conceived of as part facilities manager and part custodial services. While the town owns several large buildings, he said they do not consistently require major repairs. That said, Davenport pointed out that work would be needed at the Senior Center and the police station. Flynn added that a list of projects at Academy Hall had recently been presented to the board, and the existing Town House will need to be maintained for safety. Domina was told to create a full-time job description.
Hampden is in the last year of the current regional emergency dispatch contract with Wilbraham. Discussing negotiating a new contract, Flynn said, “I don’t think we’ve been in the loop as much as we should have been.” He said he had not seen reports from the quarterly meetings that were supposed to take place between Dispatch Director Anthony Gentile and members of Hampden’s Police and Fire departments. “Since [dispatch has] brought on Belchertown, it must have changed the dynamics somehow,” Flynn said of Belchertown joining the regional system. “The cost is different.” Domina added that Hampden is interested in security cameras at the Highway Department and Academy Hall that could be tied into the dispatch system.
Flynn acknowledged, “The service has been good,” and he liked that the dispatchers are familiar with Hampden.
Newly elected Selectboard member Eric Vanderleeden was asked about the status of the proposed townwide fiber optic internet network. As a member of Hampden’s Fiber Optic Committee, Vanderleeden explained that just after a vendor had been chosen to build a fiber network in 2024, Spectrum approached the town with an offer to create a hybrid fiber-coaxial system in Hampden. These systems use fiber optic lines from the distribution facility to neighborhood hubs. From there, the signal travels the final distance to customers through coaxial cable. Vanderleeden said hybrid fiber-coaxial is “superior” to coaxial internet and, “It should be better than what we have.”
Spectrum’s network is slated to be ready by January 2026 and will purportedly deliver symmetrical upload and download speeds, “which is all we were trying to accomplish,” Vanderleeden said. Given this, he said, “We couldn’t then move forward and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to ask the residents to put this on the line — to borrow all this money for a potential system — if Spectrum is going to step up to the plate.’”
