Above: Dan Kolenda (center) joined Selectmen Bill Boland (left) and John Rooney (right) at the selectmen’s table last night
Less than 24 hours after being elected to the Board of Selectmen, Dan Kolenda got down to work, joining fellow selectmen Bill Boland and John Rooney at the board’s meeting last night.
It was the first time the selectmen’s table was full since Selectwoman Bonnie Phaneuf unexpectedly resigned earlier this year. Her seat had been vacant since February. While the board was able to legally operate with only two members – the minimum required for a quorum – with no third member things could have gotten tricky if the two selectmen voted in opposition to each other.
“Now Mr. Rooney and I are free to disagree all we want,” Boland joked. “It’s appropriate that you’re sitting between us because you’re our tie-breaker.”
For his part, Kolenda said he was “thrilled” to be part of the board, and he thanked Phaneuf, who endorsed him during his campaign, for her support. “She spent a lot of time serving this town and serving it exceptionally well. I want to thank her for that,” he said.
Kolenda is not a newcomer to town governance. He also has a seat on the Regional School Committee. Kolenda said town rules do not require him to resign from the school committee now that he has been sworn in as a selectmen, but he has yet to decide whether he will continue. He said the wants to talk with both selectmen and school committee members before making a decision.
“I would like to continue (with the Regional School Committee) if there are no conflicts, but if there are conflicts, I need to have those discussions,” Kolenda said.
Kolenda’s first official votes as a selectman were to name Boland chairman and Rooney vice-chariman of the board.
“As a rookie,” Boland said to Kolenda, “Your job is to learn.”
Congratulations Mr. Kolenda — thank you for stepping up to serve the Town of Southborough!
I have often seen these type of pictures of the selectmen working hard on their laptops during meetings and I was curious what they were so intently doing.
I wonder if Bill Boland was watching the Celtics game was viewable on the Internet last night?
Actually, there wasn’t a Celtics game on Tuesday night, but there was a Red Sox game. And while the selectmen may have wished they were watching the game (or not given the results), it’s more likely they were accessing supporting material. Selectmen have a packet of information emailed to them in advance of every meeting. It contains all the info they’ll need during the meeting, and they often reference it online instead of printing it out. The environment thanks them.