WHATELY — After a nearly half-century journey that took her through numerous roles in Town Hall, Lynn Sibley is taking a step back from serving Whately’s residents — sort of.
Sibley retired last week after 46 years as a Whately employee, although she will remain in a part-time role with the town. She has worked through a laundry list of town positions, continuing a long-running family tradition of serving Whately residents.
“My family’s been here since probably the start of Whately,” Sibley said. “It’s my hometown, I care what happens in it. … It’s been a great 46 years and I’ve worked with a lot of people that were fantastic.”
Beginning in 1977, Sibley served as a firefighter/EMT with the Whately Fire Department before becoming the Selectboard secretary in 1982, a position she held for six years. She spent 10 years as the Board of Health secretary until 1998, when she became municipal secretary. She took over the town clerk role a year later.
In 2005, Sibley became the town administrator — while still serving as town clerk — and held both positions until 2014. She then became the treasurer/collector and town clerk in 2015, and held both roles until 2021, when she became just treasurer/collector. She has also served as Whately’s emergency management director since 2001.
Looking back on her experiences, she mentioned leading the push to renovate the former youth center on Christian Lane into the Whately Police Station, which opened in 2008. Previously, the department worked out of a cramped office in the former Whately Center School.
“While I was town administrator I was able to procure a grant so they could renovate what used to be our youth center into the police station,” Sibley said. “I was very pleased with that grant.”
With her (semi) retirement, Sibley will spend 18 hours a week as assistant treasurer/collector, while current Town Clerk Amy Schrader will become the treasurer/collector. Schrader will remain town clerk because she was elected to the role. Administrative Assistant Amy Lavallee will become assistant town clerk.
“I like the job and I like to keep busy,” Sibley said of offering to remain with the town on a part-time basis. With some of her new-found time, she said she’ll be focusing on remodeling the house, traveling and spending time with her family and grandchildren.
At a Feb. 28 Selectboard meeting, the board and Town Administrator Brian Domina thanked Sibley for everything she’s done for the town, including her willingness to work part-time to train the new treasurer/collector.
“Honestly, if Lynn went elsewhere, I don’t know how we would train the next treasurer/collector,” Domina said.
Selectboard member Julianna Waggoner said Sibley has been a “mainstay” in town since Waggoner and her family moved to Whately two decades ago.
“You were going to get done whatever I needed to get done, kindly, politely and efficiently,” Waggoner said. “You were greatly appreciated.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.