Selectboard Member Mary Layton does not want the Town Manager to oversee the building of the Fire, Police and Public Works Facilities, if the bond for the project is approved at a special town meeting in May. Ms. Layton proposed that the Town hire a separate "Owners Project Manager".
In a statement, titled "Public Vote of No Confidence", distributed at last night's Selectboard meeting, Ms. Layton said the March 2015 defeat of the Bond was a "referendum about lack of public trust in the Town Manager’s judgment and sensitivity to what the Town wants and needs." The Statement concludes that the Project "cannot go forward under the supervision of our current Town Manager."
Ms. Layton's Statement can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5p_pfaeTTstcGtEdWpNQ3Rwd0U/view?usp=sharing
Town Manager Fulton responded with his own memorandum indicating the Layton Statement contained "gross inaccuracies". Mr. Fulton's memorandum can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5p_pfaeTTstTzJBTGtPWE1OU28/view?usp=sharing
In an interview with the Valley News, Mr. Fulton indicated that by statute, the Town Manager is in charge of construction. Even if the Selectboard hired a project manager to supervise the construction that person would be the Town Manager's employee. “They make their policy; I get to implement it,” Fulton said, according to the Valley News article. The article also indicates the Selectboard did not discuss "Layton and Fulton’s dueling memos on Wednesday night".
The Valley News article Norwich Tries to Shore Bond Support by Rob Wolfe is available online at:
http://www.vnews.com/news/townbytown/norwich/16526565-95/norwich-tries-to-shore-bond-support.
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