ATHOL — Anthony Brighenti wasn’t expecting to become chairman of the Athol Board of Selectmen, but he’s ready to hit the ground running.
Brighenti’s chairmanship was ushered in by Lee Chauvette’s decision to step down earlier this month, and Brighenti is determined to ensure board meetings maintain the level of civility Chauvette demanded.
Chauvette, who remains on the board, resigned as chairman due to what he described as the board’s disregard for community input regarding proposed regionalization of the town’s emergency service dispatching. He opposes how the board reached an inter-municipal agreement with Gardner, where Athol’s dispatching services would be handled. He resigned at the Nov. 15 meeting after failing to receive a second on his motion to exercise the agreement’s opt-out clause with an obligatory 18 months’ notice.
Brighenti, 71, said he thinks it is premature to opt out at this point. He said it is in Athol’s best interests for its elected officials to resolve any issues or concerns related to regionalization. Brighenti said he feels Chauvette did an excellent job as chairman and he looks forward to helping Athol move forward.
Athol Town Manager Shaun Suhoski said he is confident Brighenti will officiate board meetings with the same efficiency Chauvette and Stephen Raymond did.
“It is important to note that all five members of this board seem motivated to do what they believe to be the best interests of the entire community,” he said in an e-mail.
Brighenti said he is going into his 12th year on the board and ran for election because he wanted to help the town out of a roughly 20-year rough patch.
“I think we’ve accomplished a number of things — we have a new police station, new Council on Aging, new library,” he said. “The town of Athol and the taxpayer have stepped up to the plate.”
Brighenti said the 1980s and ’90s were a difficult time for Athol, because a lot of employers had left town and there were not many people leaving big cities for smaller communities. He said there used to be at least 15 factories in Athol.
“If you lost a job at one factory on Monday, on Tuesday morning you could go get another one,” he recalled. “That’s no baloney. That’s the truth.”
Brighenti said Athol still has some very successful factories, such as Whipps Inc. and the L.S. Starrett Company, and said he is “very thankful for that.”
He said SmartAsset, a financial technology company headquartered in New York, ranked Athol the 10th best place to retire in Massachusetts because its taxes are livable.
Brighenti, a retired state game warden, said he hopes to see the North Quabbin Commons attract a few more businesses. He said there are talks about bringing in a movie theater and a hotel.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 258.
On Twitter: @DomenicPoli