The Brentwood Select Board agreed on Oct. 21 to move forward with a contract to hire Chester (Barry) Murch as the town's next police chief, contingent on satisfactory background checks and the board's final review and signature.

Board members said the conditional hire is intended to stabilize the department. A Select Board member summarized Murch's background at the meeting: "He was the, well, first off, he started in the United States Army as a Desert Storm veteran from 1987 to 1991, then moved on to be, the an officer at the Lee, Police Department, was there for approximately 8, 7 or 8 years, and then became chief, at the Lee Police Department for, 13 more years. He retired from the chief police department, saw this position, knew that this was the position that was right, for him. And, as a result, you know, wants to come out of retirement and to stabilize and work with our, police department." The board introduced Murch at the meeting and thanked him for attending.

The Select Board said it expects to receive background-check results in a "reasonably timely manner," and that, upon the board's satisfaction with those results and completion of the contract, the town will finalize Mr. Murch's appointment. No final contract signature or personnel vote was recorded in the meeting minutes beyond that conditional agreement.

The board also noted it had scheduled police and animal-control budget discussion for Dec. 2 to give the incoming chief an opportunity to review and, if appropriate, propose adjustments.

Murch's prior service and the board's stated goal to "stabilize" the department were presented as the primary reasons for the hire; no disciplinary history, salary, start date, or vote tally was reported in the public remarks.

The board did not take a separate formal roll-call vote on the hire during the public portion of the meeting; instead, members recorded intent to proceed after background checks and contract review.