THETFORD — The four remaining members of the Selectboard decided Monday evening to share more duties and appointed first-term Selectboard member Nick Clark as interim chair until March.
They also met in executive session with new Town Manager Serena Bemis-Goodall as part of her performance review but took no formal action.
The meeting came days after veteran Chairman Stuart Rogers resigned from the board on Friday night, asserting that three of his colleagues were working behind the scenes to oust Bemis-Goodall, who started in August as Thetford’s first town manager. Her six-month probationary period ends in early February.
The Selectboard is now seeking to fill Rogers’ seat with an appointment until the next municipal election, and have asked interested, eligible voters who wish to be considered to submit a letter of interest before Jan. 10.
Clark said via email on Tuesday that his three fellow Selectboard members — Doug Stone, Li Shen and Mike Pomeroy — had other concerns or commitments that precluded them from being the chair, but they agreed to share some duties, such as having signatory authority for payroll checks between duly warned meetings.
“I believe all four of us will be sharing the workload and taking a more equitable approach to managing the Town,” Clark said. He added “no personnel action” was taken by the board after its executive session.
Bemis-Goodall said town officials are trying to determine who will assume some of the roles that Rogers filled beyond the chairmanship — he also resigned as the animal control officer — and that the Selectboard will meet again on Monday to do more work on the town’s budget.
Bemis-Goodall, who previously served as a town manager in Maine and is paid $72,500 in Thetford, said she is happy to talk with any resident about operations of the town.
“My door is always open. If anybody wants to ask a question, I would be more than happy for them to come right into the office, sit down, and we can talk,” she said.
John P. Gregg can be reached at 603-727-3217 or jgregg@vnews.com.