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Fire chief announces retirement; board approves acceptance of Burn JAG grant award
Summary
Skowhegan’s fire chief announced his retirement after decades in the fire service and told the Select Board he will work with town staff on an exit timeline. The board also accepted a Burn JAG grant award reported at the meeting.
Skowhegan Fire Chief announced to the Select Board that he plans to retire after a long career in fire service and that he has discussed an exit strategy with the interim town manager. The chief said he intends to see the town through upcoming work and will coordinate timing of his departure with staff; he declined to give a firm exit date at the meeting but said he had discussed timing with the town manager and informed department staff.
During the same department report, the chief said the Burn JAG grant program notified the town that an award was being made for a project administered by Scott Heaton. The grant amount was described in public remarks as approximately $717,100 (speaker cited a rounded figure and said the exact amount would be documented). The chief asked the Select Board to accept the award and to authorize the town manager to sign the required paperwork; a motion was made to accept the grant and the board approved the acceptance.
Why this matters: The fire chief’s retirement initiates a personnel transition that will require staffing and continuity planning. The grant acceptance was presented as a financial resource for equipment or program use tied to the Burn JAG award; the department indicated it will provide necessary paperwork and coordinate with the town manager on grant administration.
What the board did: The board accepted the chief’s announcement and voted to accept the reported Burn JAG grant award and to authorize paperwork as needed. The meeting record indicates the board approved accepting the award and directed staff to complete required documentation.
Ending: The chief said he will work with town staff on an exit strategy and thanked the board and community; town staff will process the grant paperwork and provide the board with documentation for the award amount and planned uses.
Note: This article reports the actions and statements recorded in the meeting; the exact grant award figure was given orally by the chief and staff said they will provide the signed paperwork and exact award amount.
