Town Administrator reported that special legislation authorizing the sale of a property to the town for a planned fire substation was reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government and that the town will begin the procurement process for construction next week.

The announcement followed discussion by the Board of Selectmen about next steps for the Charlton Fire Department. The board also scheduled interviews for the fire chief position during its regular meeting on Dec. 10, with an additional agenda item at 6 p.m. to set the slate of questions and the interviews to take place at 6:30 p.m. The position was posted internally on Nov. 13 with a Nov. 21 deadline; three applications were received, the town administrator said.

Why it matters: authorizing the property sale and beginning procurement are required steps before the town can hire contractors and move forward with construction. Choosing a new fire chief is a separate personnel decision that will shape department leadership during the project and operations going forward.

Details from the meeting: the town administrator said the special legislation remains subject to formal action by the Massachusetts House and Senate. If the legislature approves the bill, the town plans to open procurement for the substation construction the week after the meeting. The fire chief posting was advertised Nov. 13; human resources received three applications by the Nov. 21 deadline. Selectmen discussed interviewing all three candidates in one evening to avoid giving any candidate an advantage; the board agreed to follow a format used previously in which candidates may wait in the clerk’s office and are asked the same questions in the same order.

No formal vote was required to set the interview date; selectmen took consensus to schedule the interviews for Dec. 10 with the additional 6 p.m. agenda item to set interview questions.

Board actions: the board recorded a consensus to hold interviews on Dec. 10 with the schedule noted above. The special legislation remains pending at the state level and procurement will not start until the necessary legislative approvals are completed, per the town administrator.

Next steps and context: the town will monitor the bill’s progress in the House and Senate. The procurement schedule, contract documents and any required town meeting or appropriation were not specified at the meeting.