* incumbents
(one three-year seat)
Age: 61
Years living in town: 42
Previous elected office held: Rindge Budget Advisory Committee – 7 years (6 as Chairman), Planning Board – 3 years
Other qualifications:
I have a general working knowledge of town operations thru involvement with a number of Town of Rindge committees over the years. Additionally, my very broad business and life experience will be a beneficial asset to the quality management of Rindge operations and needs. Examples of my relevant experience include:
Rindge Capital Improvement committee (2 years); BS Business degree; Real Estate Appraisal contractor for Lenders and Banks; Owner and operator in long haul trucking Company; Involvement in construction contracting as driver and equipment operator; Purchase, maintenance and operation of residential and commercial properties; Built and operate a climate controlled self-storage facility; Founding and operating a successful 29-year-old local disposable medical device manufacturing operation with 24 hour operations.
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them?
Maintaining a stable municipal town tax rate.
This has to be addressed through experienced management and common sense review of the effectiveness, affordability and benefit of budget spending, operations, and employee needs. Does the budget spending meet our needs and benefit the taxpayers of Rindge?
Maintaining the effective and efficient staffing and department operations that currently exist.
To address this, I would utilize my operational experience to review the facts, evaluate the Town needs and promote a co-operative team effort that respects differing opinions. Based on my broad business experience and knowledge of Town operations, I am confident that this approach will consistently generate positive results for the taxpayers and the staff who provide the services to them.
Age: 70
Years living in town: 20
Previous elected office held: budget advisory committee alternate
Other qualifications:
I’ve had twelve year’s restaurant experience and as manager I learned how to motivate and keep good people in a high turnover field. In my nine years as supervisor I was able to assist and support good managers. Skills I learned are communicating with people in a way that was seen as help and not interference, and honing my analytical skills by reviewing and comparing budgets.
I was treasurer of the RAMS (Rindge Men’s Athletic Social Club) for ten years and now treasurer of the Rindge Firefighters Association. I serve on the board of the Historical Society after volunteering and am a volunteer at the Library.
As a teacher of twenty-five year, I’ve been department head at two different schools and worked on collaborative teams. I’ve taught third graders to eighth graders and college students and have had 15 years of coaching.
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them?
They are effective communication and continuing town services at or near the current tax level. The key to keeping current level of services is keeping good people. Although everyone sometimes feels that snow could be removed quicker or more frequently, when you compare us with our neighbors we usually have cleaner and safer roads. Our library readership is growing among youth in an increasingly digital word. Our fire personnel manage multiple town roles, including building permits and inspections all while handling twice the call volume of similarly sized towns.
In the past three years we have lost a town manager, a police chief and a deputy fire chief. We must keep our valuable town employees who are allowing us to work on a tight budget. To lose them would be costly. We cannot attract highly skilled and qualified people by outbidding other towns. Therefore we need to create a positive environment where people want to work for the Rindge Community
A related issue is communication with the community. We have a town office web site that has links to the departments and a Facebook page. More is needed. A number of years ago we had a gathering of twenty town organizations to look at a way to share information. We agreed that a universal bulletin board was needed. I want the Board of Selectmen to examine this issue and consult with town employees and with outside volunteer organizations as to a solution.
I would keep lines of communication open and ensure that the board speaks with one voice in setting policy that is clear and fair. If you support me with your vote next Tuesday I will do my part to have civil professional meetings, a professional and responsive town office and keep Rindge affordable.
(two three-year seats)
Age: 64
Years living in town: 30
Previous elected office held: Planning Board
Other qualifications: Nine years on planning board, selected to be an alternate, elected to a 2 year term and two 3-year terms, served as chair and vice-chair. Additional experience includes appointed member of Personnel, CIP, Economic Development, and Agriculture Committees. Founder and Co-Market Manager of the Rindge Farmers and Crafters Market.
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them?
Two issues that I think are important. First, is the approaching demographic shift, as baby boomers begin to downsize and the availability of housing to meet their needs. Second, is how do we, as a town, address the housing needs of first-time renters/buyers AND those looking to downsize while maintaining the rural aspect of our town.
I think that the work that the Planning Board has done in reviewing and updating the Master Plan is a step in the right direction. Other areas to consider are researching innovative zoning approaches that would maintain the town’s rural qualities and provide housing options both for those new to the housing market and those who are looking to downsize.
Age: 55
Years living in town: 13
Previous elected office held: Emerson Pond Improvement Association – elected in 2009 – currently still hold this position. Vice President of Rindge Crime Watch – elected in 2012 through 2016. President of Rindge Crime Watch – elected in 2016 – currently still hold this position.
Other qualifications: I have been an Alternate on the Rindge Planning Board for 7 years first being appointed in 2013. I have been a seated Alternate actively involved in making decisions by asking questions, making or seconding motions and voting more often than being an unseated Alternate. Before retiring I worked in Banking as a Branch Manager for 10 years. My position included processing second mortgages and home equity lines of credit, as well as becoming very accustomed to deeds. While working for a Civil Engineer that specialized in SDS approvals I became familiar with plot plans, assisted with plotting topography and preparing a certified mailing to abutters. Attending 95% of the Board of Selectmen meetings since 2011 has enabled me to keep up to date with the issues concerning the Town of Rindge.
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them? I would like to see more communication between the departments and various boards making the approval process readily available for the Citizens to know what the exact procedures and time constraints are. The recent updating of the Site Plan Regulations is an example of what I would like to see more of.
Since becoming involved with the Planning Board one of my main concerns has been to safeguard our water bodies and our personal wells (our only source of drinking water) by making sure we adhere to the setbacks when approving applications.
Age: 40
Years living in town: 2.5 years
Previous elected office held:
Other qualifications: I have been running my own construction, excavation and property maintenance business since 1998. I am well aware of town building codes and the effects of land development on the environment and community. I believe it is important to safeguard property values as well as making sure wildlife habitats are protected. My knowledge and experience, and outgoing personality would be an asset to the town and residents of Rindge.
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them?
(Did not respond to request for candidate profile.)
(two three-year seats)
Age: 52
Years living in town: almost 15
Previous elected office held: Budget Advisory Committee: Alternate, Telecom and Technology Committee: Chair.
Other qualifications: I have experience with the town budget from serving with the BAC and from working with budgets over my career in private industry.
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them?
It is important to manage spending costs so that our town departments and services have the funding they need.
It is also important that we work hard to minimize tax impacts on the citizens.
As part of the Budget Advisory Committee, I will help address these needs by looking at the long term needs rather than just a single year impact to be sure that we get the best overall value and return on our investments. I also recommend that we annually fund reserve accounts that will be used for future purchases in order to minimize future tax impact. Funding these accounts now will decrease the amount that we would need to borrow in the future.
Age: 71
Years living in town: 7
Previous elected office held: budget advisory committee (three years appointed and three years elected)
Other qualifications: Did not answer
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them? I have been pushing for two things to happen. First, I want the transparency, which we have achieved to continue into the future. Secondly, I would like to see us work even more closely with other committees such as CIP committee and others to get a better idea as to what is necessary in order to ensure the best possible services to meet the needs of our residents.
(Did not respond to request for profile.)
Age: 34
Years living in town: My fiancée Meagan and I bought our old farmhouse back in February of 2018. We met in college at Fitchburg State. I’m taking classes at Franklin Pierce so I can sit for the CPA exam. We’re getting married in Troy – We love this region and are thrilled to call Rindge home.
Previous elected office held: none
Other qualifications: As an experienced revenue operations accountant at one of the largest software companies on the planet, I have learned about approaches to budgeting and forecasting, as well as financial planning best practices, that most people are never exposed to. I would like nothing more than to use this experience for the good of my neighbors in Rindge.
What are two issues you think are important and how would you address them?
There are two warrant articles I sincerely hope will pass on March 12th. I’m going address Article 12 and Article 24 by voting yes to pass both.
First – Article 12, which is to fund an upgrade of our tax assessment and collections systems.
I support the passage of this article because I have seen, firsthand, the problems that are caused by trying to cobble a solution together from different software and hardware vendors – Needing to contact multiple support teams, and sometimes getting conflicting information from those support teams is a real headache. It is an inefficient use of town resources to continue to patch the current system together. We are overdue for an upgrade, the cost is reasonable, and the cash is already on hand in the unassigned fund, which means there will be no impact to our taxes. For these reasons, I strongly encourage my neighbors to vote Yes on Article 12.
Second – Article 24, which is to fund help a full-time youth librarian position.
I support the passage of this article, because I think the library is an integral part of the fabric of a small town. The time I spent in a small town library as a youngster helped my education, my critical-thinking, and problem solving skills. A kid whose nose is in a book, is not a kid causing trouble or a getting bad grades. In my opinion, the benefit to our community vastly outweighs the minimal tax impact of passing this article. This is why I encourage my neighbors to vote Yes on Article 24.