Selectmen Won’t Sign
High Pressure Contract
By M. D. Drysdale

The Randolph Selectboard voted unanimously Wednesday to turn down a dispatching contract whose terms, said Selectman Larry Townsend, were "pretty close to blackmail."

The contract was for dispatching services for the town fire departments—the job that local resident Ella Tewksbury used to do reliably for pennies.

The board would dearly like to find another Ella somewhere—a retired person who stays home a lot and knows the town. Instead, Randolph has been using the town of Hartford’s Emergency Services Department, and its billing was jacked up last year from $13,000 to $18,500.

Now Hartford is looking for a new five-year contract, and Randolph wants to look for other alternatives.

A recent meeting with Hartford officials confirmed they were offering a five-year contract without any guarantees as to what the price would be, Town Manager Peter Butterfield said.

It would be, said Selectman Ken Goss, "a wonderful contract—for Hartford."

Hartford did offer the option of a three-year contract, but that option had to be grabbed by March 6—the very next day. Otherwise, the town would have to take the five-year contract or let the contract run out July 1.

Butterfield recommended the board take the three-year deal. So did Randolph Center Fire Chief Al Floyd and Fire Services Chair Kermit LaBounty, who were present at the meeting.

But the more the board talked about it, the more dissatisfied they became. It wasn’t only the price—the service was also a problem, they discovered. Examples were given of emergency services being dispatched to the wrong part of town.

Butterfield again urged the board to "swallow this bitter pill" and take the three-year contract, but the board wasn’t buying it.

"This is high-power salesmanship, and I don’t like it," thundered Selectman Jim Hutchinson. It was Hutchinson who made the motion not to accept the contract, and Townsend seconded it.

"That means we’d have to start (looking for alternatives) tomorrow," Selectboard Chair Steve Webster chimed in.

The vote not to accept the contract was 5-0, and the job of finding the alternative was given to the town manager.

Sheriff’s Contract

Another discussion was held on whether to extend the law enforcement contract with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The contract called for $8000 to run patrols outside the Village area. The contract is three-quarters used up, Butterfield told the board, and the Sheriff was recommending another $2000 to $4000.

The board agreed to an extra $2000—"but that’s all," cautioned Townsend.