A pregnant pause followed as Canterbury fire Chief Peter Angwin and his deputy, Jon Camire, sat down in front of their selectmen Monday.
“Do you think you have anything else to discuss besides the fire truck?” asked Town Administrator Ken Folsom.
Angwin laughed in return. “You’re gonna start right off the bat, aren’t ya? No, I don’t think so, Ken.”
The meeting came the week after two of Angwin’s fire captains quit in response to residents approving a $340,000, selectmen-recommended fire truck versus the $490,000, department-recommended truck at town meeting March 11.
In an interview last week, Angwin indicated that his entire department wanted to quit that night after feeling unsupported by some residents and by the selectmen, though he’s since managed to persaude most of his volunteers to stay on.
On Monday, Angwin didn’t discuss any of that, though he did say he had some personnel items he would address with the selectmen later on. The chief and the selectmen stuck to discussing the fire truck itself, and Angwin agreed to move forward with purchasing the voter-approved fire engine.
Later at the meeting, the selectmen also decided to advertise for a part-time police chief.
Meeting minutes show that in January 2015, the selectmen, budget committee members, Angwin and Camire all agreed on a warrant article for purchasing a new fire engine for under $300,000.
The fire department hoped for a custom truck to replace its nearly three-decade old custom truck, though it was willing to look into a commercial truck.
The next month, however, Angwin and Camire returned with a proposal for a $466,000 lease-to-purchase custom truck, saying there weren’t many options when it came to commercial trucks.
In all the meeting minutes thereafter, Angwin is recorded as looking into a custom truck, which the selectmen disagreed with.
At the Feb. 1 public hearing on the town meeting warrant, as a result of the ongoing disagreement, two articles ended up on the warrant for the two different trucks. Former selectmen chairman Bob Steenson said at town meeting that Angwin didn’t participate in the selectmen’s fire engine research, though Angwin said he did call Folsom for an update several weeks ago, and never received a response.
Emails obtained by the Monitor through a right-to-know request show that on Feb. 2, Folsom sent specification information, or “specs,” to Angwin for the selectmen-recommended truck.
In the month leading up to town meeting, no other email correspondence was made between Angwin, Folsom and the selectmen discussing the truck purchase.
Folsom did note that he spoke over the phone with Angwin during that time, but did not have transcripts of the calls.
Angwin said last week he wanted to find a solution to the disagreement between the selectmen and his department, and he said he would need help from the board.
He and Folsom spoke Monday afternoon.
During the meeting that evening, however, Folsom said that the selectmen didn’t want to change what had been decided at town meeting.
“The feeling from the board is, the town voted to buy the Ferrara,” said Folsom. “That would be the manufacturer you guys should go to.”
“I guess the board at this point feels that this is an opportunity for all of us to try and work together and come up with a conclusion that will work for the town and you guys,” he added.
Folsom said he would be happy to meet with Angwin to discuss the purchase, and to address any concerns with the truck specifications the fire department might have.
Angwin said without much enthusiasm, “I guess that’s where we’ll have to go.”
Once ordered, the fire engine is expected to be delivered in 150 calendar days.
Folsom said, “Pete, you’ve accomplished a lot up there, positive things. This is a bump in the road, and you and the town will get through it.”
“I’m over it. It’ll be fine,” Angwin responded.
“We value all of our firefighters,” newly appointed selectmen Chairwoman Cheryl Gordon said.
In addition to getting the ball rolling on a new fire truck, the selectmen decided to advertise for a new, part-time police chief Monday night.
Sgt. Ernie Beaulieu told the selectmen the April schedule for he and the two remaining officers in the department – Officer Randy DiFruscio resigned recently – would be tight during the last week of the month due to vacation hours and the absence of a chief or administrative assistant.
“It’s going to be tough on the guys,” Beaulieu said.
Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Todd Corey does still check in, said Beaulieu, following his review of the department conducted earlier this year.
In the meantime, Folsom will put together an advertisement for a part-time chief to be sent out later this week and to be posted for two weeks.
“We need to get moving on this,” he said.
The selectmen decided to follow Corey’s recommendations and look for a part-time chief, then have that chief hire two more officers and an administrative assistant.
They also agreed to the process of having the sheriff’s office vet the applicants and whittle them down to six, and then have a committee with representatives from the sheriff’s office and the New Hampshire State Police, an outside police chief, a selectman, Folsom and a town resident interview those candidates and choose the top three.
Selectman George Glines said at that point, he thought all the selectmen should interview the top three candidates, and then choose one.
Folsom said he expected the town would have a new chief by mid-June.
Canterbury has been without an acting police chief since August, when John Laroche was arrested on sexual assault charges and put on unpaid administrative leave. He later resigned. In addition, residents came to the selectmen late last year complaining of unprofessionalism and incompetence in the remaining officers, which prompted the Sheriff’s Office’s review.
(Elodie Reed can be reached at 369-3306, ereed@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @elodie_reed.)