Select Board Renews Fire Chief's Contract
Select Board · Meeting of September 14, 2026
Southwick Select Board renews fire chief's contract, splits 2-1 on early voting hours. Fire Chief Stefanowicz received a three-year contract renewal after what members called extensive back-and-forth negotiations. Town Clerk Christina Mayette's memorandum to cut early-voting hours during the first week ahead of the state election passed 2-1, with member Ross Anderson dissenting.
The board also re-executed a conservation restriction for 74 College Highway after a typo forced a second vote, approved Library Director Lynn Blair's request to adjust holiday hours and hire Nathan Crane as circulation librarian, and signed off on DPW's Rich Bozak's closeout of a lead-and-copper water pipe inventory project funded by the state DEP. Under old business, Board of Health Vice Chair Trish Labiniak presented a draft framework for coordinating fire, conservation, planning and health review of any future battery storage or data center application, with staff targeting an October 1 state compliance deadline. A resident, identified as Jason Perron, told the board during public comment: "I'm not asking Southwick to say no to data centers."
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,904 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of September 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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