Hopkinton town officials will once again begin the search for a town administrator, as Leon Kenison has announced his resignation.

Kenison, who accepted the job last fall, will serve his last day in Hopkinton on July 17 before taking over as the Nashua Public Works director.

In recent years, the town has gone through several permanent and interim town administrators.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Scott Flood said that while the board hadn’t yet met to discuss the process, he believes the town will handle it similarly to how it did when Kenison was hired.

“I think the process we employed last time worked well where we had assistance from an outside organization and internally had a committee as well to screen the applications before they got to the selectmen,” said Flood. “Personally, I look for someone with management skills, as those are critical.”

In addition to being the Board of Selectmen chairman in Bow, Kenison also has a background in engineering, and he has previously spent 37 years working for the state Department of Transportation.

“It’s going to be more challenging and perhaps incorporate my background in engineering more than being a Town Administrator does,” said Kenison. “There are many things I may be able to help them with.”

Flood said it was Kenison’s wealth of experience in multiple areas that made him a good town administrator, and that he will be missed by the town.

“This did come as a surprise to me,” said Flood. “While it’s a loss for Hopkinton, I can certainly understand where Leon was coming from in wanting to move on to a better position.”

While searching for a replacement for Kenison, Flood said the board would ideally find someone who could bring longevity and stability to the position.

Kenison said he knows what he will miss about his months in Hopkinton.

“It will definitely be the people,” said Kenison. “The staff, the board and just about everyone I met have been great. I met a lot of people since last fall, and I consider it an outstanding staff. It meets the needs of the town and they’re all great people.”

The Hopkinton and Fall Mountain girls track teams weren’t in much of a mood for sharing during the Class M & S state championship meet. In the end, it was the Hawks who shared least and gained most, earning 148.5 points and a third consecutive title on Saturday, May 30.

The two teams ran away from the competition, but Fall Mountain’s 108 points weren’t enough to topple the Hawks. Third-place Somersworth managed 49 points.

Hopkinton entered the meet without its team captain, Quin Nichols, lost a week prior to the event with mononucleosis.

Carolyn Maynard helped make up for Nichols’ absence, winning three events, and the Hawks swept the three relay events to pull away after the two-team race was in a near dead heat midway through the meet.

“We have good depth for a school of our size,” said Hopkinton head coach Rick Welch. “Last year we had it won halfway through. This year when you have two teams who score over 100 points, there isn’t much left for everyone else.”

Amelia Paquette won the shot put, Jacqui Foti did the same in pole vault, Elise Ewing was second in the triple jump, and Libby Wetterer was third in the 100- and 300- meter hurdles, all qualifying for the Meet of Champions on Saturday, June 6, at the University of New Hampshire.

Emily Cousens joins her teammates after earning second place in the 800-meter run, third place in the 1,600 and fourth in the 3,200. Ali Grise was fourth in the 100- and 200-meter dashes to qualify for the MOC.

“We’re back practicing (immediately),” said Welch. “It seems like almost the entire team still has some season left.”

The boys team scored 20 points to place 13th among 27 teams.

Garlow Oakley represents the Hawks in an individual event at UNH after he came in third in the pole vault. Sam Helrich and Mike Klinker placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the same event. Hopkinton’s 4x800 relay team earned first place, while the 4x400 team took sixth.

Hopkinton school officials decided to stay in house when looking for a new superintendent, recently naming high school Principal Steve Chamberlin to the position.

Current superintendent Brian Blake recently resigned, and on Tuesday, April 7, board members announced that Chamberlin will fill the vacancy beginning July 1.

“Steve embodies the qualities we are looking for in our district’s educational leader, and our board is looking forward to working with him,” said School Board Chairman David Luneau in a statement.

Chamberlin has been the school’s principal since 2003, and before that he was an assistant principal after a stint as a math teacher at Hollis-Brookline High School.

“I think for continuity’s sake it helps (having chosen an inhouse candidate). I see it as having been in an extended job interview,” said Chamberlin, who also said he is both excited and nervous about taking on the role. “They know what they are getting with me, and I know what I’m in for.”

The selection process brought together faculty, operations staff, administrators, parents and community members in order to conduct interviews, and Chamberlin was unanimously chosen at the end of the process.

“I suspect it’ll be a huge learning curve, and that’s something that really excites me. It’s a different skillset and a different area,” said Chamberlin. “I’ve lived close to the heartbeat of the school district for some years.”

Chamberlin has two masters degrees in education from the University of Massachusetts and Notre Dame College in addition to a degree in mathematics from Springfield College.

Having worked closely with the School Board already as principal, Chamberlin said he knows what direction he wants to keep the district moving in.

“The community wants quality schools,” he said. “The groundwork has been laid for a real evaluation. We’re trying to make sure we’re high quality and can support this type of education. We want to have a real look at what we’re doing to make sure we can sustain it.

Hopkinton residents voted down raises for the district’s educators and support staff before approving a budget lowered by the School Board during the annual School District Meeting.

After seeing voters deny two collective bargaining agreements that would have resulted in a total of about $330,000 in increases, board members decided to back the Budget Committee’s proposed operating budget during the Saturday, March 7, meeting.

Despite a motion to trim the budget even more, residents approved the Budget Committee and School Board’s recommendation of about $15.6 million by a 371-106 vote.

In total, the meeting lasted about five hours, with the majority of the discussion centering on the teacher and support staff contracts.

Resident Ian Tewksbury said during the debate that he does not believe voting down the contracts was in the school’s best interest.

“If we don’t support this contract, I won’t be surprised if we lose some teachers. There’s nothing to stop them from going to other districts if we do,” said Tewksbury.

“I’m very disappointed in the Budget Committee.”

Alan Bloomquist was against the articles because of the current level of pay for educators and the state of the economy.

“I just think this is the time to say, ‘Hey, if you’re a teacher, be happy you’re employed because your neighbors are losing their jobs,’” Bloomquist said. “Let’s just try to take a breather here.”

School Board Chairman David Luneau told residents that the contract was a key part in continuing the highquality education that Hopkinton provides.

“As we pay our teachers, we’re investing in our teachers,” said Luneau. “We need the contract to attract the best teachers to Hopkinton, and also to keep them here.”

Voters did approve a new contract for the custodial staff that will result in a 1.94 percent increase in salary and benefits during a five-year contract.

Hopkinton educators are currently paid at an above-average rate, board members said during the meeting, with 59 percent making more than $60,000 and 19 percent coming in above $70,000.

When it came time to discuss the operating budget, Luneau said the board was willing to support the Budget Committee’s suggested increase of $98,691, an increase of less than 1 percent over last year’s figure.

“We have seen today that voters are not in favor of increase, so we are willing to move ahead with the Budget Committee’s figure,” said Luneau.

When Hopkinton voters go to the polls on March 10, they can expect to see a warrant article asking voters to adopt official ballot law, or SB-2, in the school district.

Arnold Coda, along with three other residents – Diane LaChance, Beth Bloomquist and Beth Taylor – collected 112 signatures in four days. Only 25 were needed for it to be placed on the ballot.

“I think that’s an indication of the dissatisfaction of the people here in town,” said Coda. “In the minds of a lot of people in this town, the School Board and administration do not listen to the townspeople. The townspeople feel shut off. The older people are not going to School District Meetings because they feel it’s useless.”

Coda feels costs within the school district are out of control, as the Budget Committee’s proposed budget on this year’s town warrant is $15,620,642, an increase of $98,691 over the current year’s budget.

“People are saying they’re not getting any explanations from the School Board or administration about why the cost is going up this year,” said Coda.

Hopkinton School Board Chairman David Luneau said the district is in the middle third of districts throughout the state in per pupil spending.

“We’re not speaking out against education, we’re speaking out against the cost of it,” said Coda.

“I do not support SB-2 because it takes away from the meeting where the voters deliberate and come to a decision,” said Luneau. “One of the problems I see with SB-2 is rather than a district meeting, you have a deliberative session a month before the vote, and very very few people show up. These deliberative sessions determine what is on the ballot.”

“No system is perfect,” said Coda. “The School District Meeting is not perfect. SB-2 is not perfect.” The School Board plans to discuss the article at its March 3 meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Maple Street School and will make a recommendation for or against the article then.

This article requires a threefifths ballot vote.

Voting day is Tuesday, March 10, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Hopkinton High School.

The School District Meeting is Saturday, March 7, at 9 a.m., at Hopkinton High School.

Seventy-nine Hopkinton residents have signed a petition asking for the resignation of Board of Selectmen Chairman Scott Flood.

It is the third petition that has been filed with the town with the request, and Flood said he believes the disagreement centers on his desire to lower the budget.

“I think I’ve always been respectful. You have to do what the board feels is in the best interest in the town,” said Flood. “It is a result of two special interest groups in town objecting to the fact that I’m trying to cut costs.”

Some residents have expressed disagreement with Flood in the past regarding his stance on the Slusser Senior Center.

Flood has previously said that selectmen should consider the idea of making the facility a community building.

The petition says Flood has not listened to the voice of the town.

“He has not followed the will of the people, but used his position for his own agenda,” the petition reads. “In these trying times, the Town needs a leader to put forth every effort to unite the voters and the employees in a common purpose, not to divide. We realize there is not a legal course of action to achieve this, but we hope you will take the best interest of the Town to heart and comply.”

When asked if he felt the frustration of some residents is a result of frustration with the current state of the economy, Flood said he thought it was more than that. “It’s not just frustration, it’s survival,” said Flood. “I know a family where both parents have lost their jobs, and they have no income. I know a lot of people whose houses have been foreclosed on. We’re past frustrated. This is serious survival mode for people.”

Flood also said financial times will get more difficult in the upcoming years for Hopkinton residents with revenues down and the proposed school budget coming in with an approximately $850,000 increase compared to last year.

“There’s no question that I feel this next year will be even worse economically than this year,” said Flood. “If you assume revenue being equal, it’ll be about a $1.10 increase (per $1,000). Couple that with expecting the revenue going down and the reassessment will be done in December, we could end up with an increase of almost $2 (on the tax bill) in the fall.”

Hopkinton selectmen agreed on a policy for renting out the Slusser Senior Center, a method that could potentially earn money for the building’s operating costs.

During a Monday, Feb. 3, Board of Selectmen meeting, board members decided that from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. the building will remain a senior center, but after hours and on holidays it can be rented out to the general public.

“That’s been a thorny issue because there are some in town that think it should be available to the general public. That’s not the idea that the donor gave. It needs to be a senior center,” said Selectman George Langwasser.

“It’s not a community center as some people would want to designate it. On the other hand, it’s a public building and should be available to the public.”

The approved plan was one presented to the selectmen by recreation director Justin La Vigne.

“I think it’s a good thing,” said La Vigne. “I think it’s great for the community. I’m glad the selectmen agree that it should be a drop-in senior center first.”

A warrant article still being developed would ask voters to approve the creation of a revolving fund to deposit the rental fees into.

“The revolving fund will hopefully build up to a point where certain portions of the operating expenses can be taken out of there,” said Langwasser. “To create that, it has to be approved by the town.”

Although La Vigne said it will be good to have the money going toward the Slusser Center, he said that isn’t the only reason for the resolution.

“We’ll have to see after a year or two how much money comes in,” said La Vigne. “It isn’t about the money, it’s about utilizing the building for the community.”

Debate in town has centered on the building and whether it should be used as a general community building or remain a senior center.

Langwasser and La Vigne both said this plan is a good way to keep the building as a senior center, but also have the entire community be able to use it.

“When there’s a conflict, the seniors win out because it is a senior center,” said Langwasser. “On the other side of the coin, to have a building sitting there that could be rented out when the seniors aren’t there, this accommodates that.”

Also at the selectmen meeting, board members discussed proposed warrant articles that could ask the town to approve the sale of Columbia Hall.

“At this point we haven’t had a real good debate about that to decide how that will be written,” said Langwasser. “We want to decide what to do with it, whether to fix it up or sell it. It can’t just sit there and deteriorate, it is a town asset.”

Another warrant article discussed would, if passed, mean all residents would be required to pay for ambulance services, even uninsured residents.

“Traditionally, in the town of Hopkinton, if someone does not have insurance, the town does not charge the individual for transportation,” Langwasser said.

Hopkinton selectmen voted to reiterate their policy on e-mail communications during a recent meeting after discussions on whether board members were following the state’s Right to Know Law.

Selectman George Langwasser brought up the subject during a Nov. 10 meeting, after Chairman Scott Flood e-mailed the four other board members and Town Administrator Leon Kenison with a memo with the subject, “Eyes Only.”

In the e-mail, Flood lists 12 subjects he feels the selectmen should begin to address in upcoming meetings, including potentially making the Slusser Senior Center a community center and moving the Town Clerk’s office to Town Hall.

“I welcome your thoughts and other ideas on the foregoing,” Flood closed the e-mail with. “Please send me your unvarnished thoughts.”

Langwasser said that by welcoming input from the other board members via e-mail, it was essentially holding a meeting without the public’s knowledge – a violation of the Right to Know Law.

“You can put forth an idea and let it go,” said Langwasser. “When you start to invite comments and suggestions back, you’re making a discussion out of the realm of the public, which is what the law is designed to counteract.”

Resident Janet Krzyzaniak went to Town Hall and requested recent documents pertaining to a variety of departments in town, and was surprised to find the email in the file.

“The big thing that is very upsetting to me is the memo and how it pertains to the Right to Know Law,” she said. “If I hadn’t had a gut feeling that something was going on, we wouldn’t have seen this memo.”

Flood said he did not intend to violate the RSA, and that the law did exactly what it was supposed to.

“It’s undisputed that the letter was sent to the selectmen and the Town Administrator,” Flood said. “She went into the office and asked for the documents, and obtained the letter. The process worked as it was intended to work.”

Town Clerk Sue Strickford was scheduled on the agenda for Monday, Nov. 17, to talk about the cost of potentially moving her office to Town Hall, but was informed that afternoon she was taken off the agenda. Strickford was told the Board had too many budget items to discuss and they would not have time for her concern during that meeting.

“I told them that I was certainly a budget item, and a big budget item,” Strickford said. “I respected his opinion, so I went in to talk as a citizen instead of my role with the town.”

Strickford was also upset that the potential move was discussed through the e-mail, and felt Flood’s correspondence had violated the law.

“I felt that we need to respect that Right to Know Law, and I was really disappointed that he, as a practicing attorney, would so blatantly disregard that by sending the e-mail,” Strickford said.

Flood said that the ideas in his e-mail are only that, potential ideas to save the town money during an upcoming time period when Hopkinton will likely struggle with revenue down and costs up.

“It’s consistent with the goal to economize and save money while providing the services to the town,” Flood said. “It’s an idea. Nothing that we have plans for.”

Turning the Slusser Senior Center into a community building could save the town money, according to Flood.

“There is over $250,000 that has been designated to assist or fund a community center. It’s just sitting there not doing any good in that account,” Flood said.

“Since we have this beautiful building that’s been built, it may be appropriate to use those funds to create an endowment or trust to help support that building.”

Krzyzaniak, chairman of the Senior Recreation Committee, said doing so may leave open the possibility that Gene Slusser could attempt to recapture his $1.5 million donation to the town since he donated the money with the understanding that Hopkinton would use it to build a senior center.

Langwasser said the possibility that the e-mail violated the Right to Know Law could be damaging to the board.

“It can be injurious to the reputation of the board because the general public has the right to believe the that the issues discussed in an open meeting are really what the board is talking about,” he said. “The public doesn’t have to agree, but the point remains it should take place in an open meeting.”