WEATHERSFIELD — The Selectboard approved two member resignations at an Aug. 4 special meeting, where the remaining board of three launched a search for residents willing to join temporarily. The resignations come as the town also loses its town manager, marking three departures from town leadership in under a month.
Kelly O’Brien tendered her resignation on July 21, citing a challenging year. Chair Mike Todd followed suit one week later, writing in his letter that he doesn’t have enough time to invest in the role.
Todd’s three-year term was slated to end in March 2027, though he has been on the board several years before the most recent re-election. O’Brien’s two-year term ends at the same time, but she started back in 2020.
“People come and go in municipal government. That’s the way it is in any town,” said Town Manager Brandon Gulnick, whose last day is Aug. 14.
About one month ago, town manager of seven years Gulnick, 37, decided to end his time in Weathersfield to pursue a new role as Hanover’s finance director.
Gulnick, in a Tuesday phone interview, said he hadn’t been looking to leave Weathersfield, but saw the new role as too good an opportunity for professional growth to pass up.
“I have no concern with the state of Weathersfield at all,” said Gulnick, who added that he expects a full board by the end of the month.
As for his soon-to-be-vacant position, the town opted to hire Pracademic Partners, a national recruitment firm, to find a permanent replacement for around $20,000.
The Selectboard also designated the town’s human resources manager Suzanne Terrell and fire chief Josh Compo as Transition Team Leaders, who will temporarily perform the duties of town manager together for $600 a week.
In O’Brien’s resignation letter, she described the past year as a “tough one” but did not refer to anything specific. O’Brien also said it was a pleasure to work with everyone.
“Let’s hope that all of those people out there who think they can do a better job will step up to the plate instead of complaining about how things are done,” she wrote in her letter read aloud by Todd at the July 27 meeting.
As for his resignation, Todd wrote that he has committed many hours to the role to help the town make collective decisions, but does not have the time to serve in a way he feels is necessary during a transitional phase for Weathersfield.
“It’s been an honor to serve you, but the town is clearly seeking different leadership, and perhaps a different direction,” Todd wrote in his letter read aloud Tuesday by Vice Chair Rika Henderson.
Written complaints against the Selectboard are a rarity, said Gulnick, who recalls only ever seeing one.
That is, until this March, when the town received 14 complaints, with the majority of them focused on the Selectboard’s first meeting after Town Meeting.
On March 5, the board went about its usual business, starting with the pledge of allegiance. When it came time to appoint Patience Bearse as recording secretary, Todd said he was unwilling to vote in favor because he said Bearse did not stand and recite the pledge a few minutes prior.
“I’m a veteran, I can’t accept that,” Todd said at the meeting.
Another member, Joseph Bublat, agreed with Todd’s sentiment, adding that he doesn’t believe the recording secretary should be related to someone on the Selectboard, as Patience Bearse is member deForest Bearse’s daughter.
Following this meeting, the town received over a dozen complaints over the behavior of Todd and Bublat, including one from Patience Bearse herself.
She wrote that the roadblock in an otherwise typical appointment procedure violated her constitutional rights and the town’s personnel policy prohibiting harassment, bullying and discrimination.
“It is my own personal choice to stand respectfully but not engage further in the pledge,” said Bearse, who added in the complaint that she did stand during the pledge but did not recite it.
On March 23, the board voted in favor of appointing Bearse as recording secretary, with deForest Bearse recusing and Bublat opposing for a second time.
Four months later, the Selectboard responded to the slew of complaints by adopting a resolution affirming its commitment to professionalism and respect among the board and consistency with law and town policies. An internal review determined that no further investigation into the complaints is warranted, the resolution stated.
Weathersfield also faced two general budget failures this year, on Town Meeting Day and again on May 19. The amount approved on July 7 was $2.02 million by a tally of 236 to 153. Voters also rejected the first school budget and highway budget.
The Selectboard also voted in February to terminate its contract with the Windsor County Sheriff’s Office, forcing the town to create its own police department, which Gulnick noted was an added stressor this year.
With budgets approved, the town is now working to fill vacancies. Under the current Selectboard of three, nothing can be approved without a unanimous vote. The Selectboard asks those interested in filling in for Todd and O’Brien to submit a letter of interest to the Selectboard by Aug. 20.
The Selectboard will interview candidates at its Aug. 24 meeting and possibly appoint two replacements. It’s still unclear whether those appointees would serve until the November or March election, though the board expects to have an answer by then.
