Foster jumps right into post on Board of Selectmen

Date: 6/18/2012

June 18, 2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

LONGMEADOW — Newly elected Selectman Richard Foster didn't have much time to get his feet wet after winning a seat on the Select Board.

Instead, he had to dive in headfirst.

Foster, who was elected on June 12, took his place at the table on June 13 as the Select Board interviewed four candidates for the town manager opening, making for a seven-hour first day on the job.

"We were sworn in, then had a meeting a few hours later," Foster said with a laugh. "It was a baptism by fire, I guess you could say."

Foster, a newcomer to the Select Board, was awarded a seat by the voters along with incumbent Paul Santaniello to two open three-year positions at the Annual Town Election. Foster takes the seat vacated by Robert Aseltine, who elected not to run for re-election.

Santaniello was the leading vote getter with 405 votes. Foster received 292 votes, beating out Mark Barowsky by 88 votes. Barowsky actively campaigned against residents voting for him after being elected to a one-year seat at a Special Town Election.

A mere 4.8 percent of the voting population made their way to the polls for the election.

"Mark got over 200 votes, so I don't know if the word didn't get out to people or if they just decided to vote for him," Foster said.

Barowsky's name was still on the ballot despite already holding a seat because state law prohibits the altering of ballots after they have been printed.

He attempted to prevent residents from voting for him because had he been elected to the three-year seat, he would have had to resign from a seat and another Special Town Election would have had to take place at an additional cost to the town.

Foster said that despite knowing that one of his opponents was not actively running, he did not take it for granted.

"I was fairly actively campaigning the past few weeks," he said.

Foster said that once a town manager is hired, he would like to see the Select Board and the town focus its efforts on creating a long-term plan for the town.

"I think this town has a lot of priorities, but one of the biggest ones is establishing programmatic planning for facilities and long-term planning," he said. "I think we are weak in this area. We have done studies, but he have not consolidated those studies into a long-range plan."

Using the new high school as an example, he said the town needs to be aware of and plan ahead for future obstacles, asserting that currently the town's long-range goals do not extend much past the next five years.

"We've got a new high school today, but in 40 or 50 years, we're probably going to be building another school," he said. "That's just the way of things. Eventually the systems and resources in that building will become outdated and even the bricks and mortar will need to be addressed."

Transparency, he said, is a must in the process.

"What I would like to see is the community fully identify its needs for the next 15 to 20 years and let the public know its needs," he said.

Finding new external revenue sources is also something he would like the see the town pursue. The new town manager, he added, will be a key piece in that puzzle.

"We're looking for our new town manager to come in with a toolbox of skills to figure that out," he said. "We should be looking to obtain every ounce of external funding we can get out hands on."