Interim municipal leader appointed Dover-Foxcroft town manager

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Dover-Foxcroft Interim Town Manager Alsina Brenenstuhl now has the temporary title removed. Brenenstuhl was appointed as town manager by the select board during Monday night’s meeting by a unanimous 7-0 vote.

Brenenstuhl will have a three-contract with a six-month probationary period. The select board was set to discuss expectations for this timeframe period during an executive session later in the evening.

Her starting annual salary will be $100,000 and this will increase to $104,000 after completing the probationary period.

“Alsina’s been working with us since August of last year,” Select Chair Tom Lizotte said.

Brenenstuhl was appointed as interim town manager in late January following the departure of Jack Clukey after he had been town manager for two decades. Last summer, Brenenstuhl was hired to fill the then newly created communications director/project manager position.

“She stepped into difficult circumstances (earlier this year) as interim town manager in an understaffed office coming up on budget season and town meeting season where everything seemed to be stacked in an adverse arrangement for her,” Lizotte said. “She persevered by just outworking most problems and really has earned this promotion the old fashioned way and that’s through work.”

Department heads, employees and citizens also speak favorably of her, Lizotte said.

Mentioning how she voted no when a previous town manager candidate was brought forward, Selectperson Jane Conroy said she did so “because I felt the board did not do their job to find the best person for the size of our town and our future needs and I think we found that person.”

The town manager search took about six months of discussion and interviews but the community is fortunate to have Brenenstuhl, Lizotte said.

“I’m super excited, especially to serve the community I have been part of the last seven years now,” Brenenstuhl said. “I see great things ahead, working with everybody.” 

The department heads have appreciated the new town manager, Police Chief Seth Burnes said. “She has proven that she is very easy for us department heads to work for,” he said.

Brenenstuhl is now the first woman to serve as Dover-Foxcroft town manager, Lizotte mentioned. The milestone has gone largely unnoticed but that is a good thing, he said.

In late March a town manager candidate withdrew her candidacy following a 3-3 vote by the select board. 

Lois Jones, a resident of Dover-Foxcroft who has been town manager in Bradford, Sangerville and more recently in Corinna, withdrew her candidacy “due to the uncertainty and confusion resulting from the stalemated vote at March 26’s board meeting,” Lizotte said during a special meeting last month. “She feels that the lack of a strong support from the select board puts any candidate in an untenable position and I agree totally with her assessment.”

Dover-Foxcroft contracted with the Maine Municipal Association to help with the town manager search process. An association consultant reviewed what the town is looking for and conducted initial interviews to find candidates for the select board to interview.

A contract was negotiated with Jones and signed by her with April 14 as the start date. She would have had a $100,000 salary plus benefits, which would have increased to $104,000 after a six-month probationary period. The employee agreement was for three years with several out clauses included for Jones and the town.

In other business, the board voted to place a new fire department ordinance on the June 10 municipal referendum. 

The existing ordinance is 23 years old and “it’s not in line in any way with how the department operates,’ Fire Chief Brian Gaudet said.

The multiple page document details daily operations, duties of officers and members, hiring and more. 

The board asked and the item can be added to the referendum post-town meeting because it will not impact the proposed 2025-26 municipal budget. 

After discussing the future of the James Sullivan Wiley House barn on East Main Street, the select board asked officials with the neighboring Central Hall Commons to come back in two-plus months at the July meeting with a plan for the town-owned property that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“It’s not totally gone by any means,” Gaudet said as he — Gaudet is also the Dover-Foxcroft code enforcement officer – and the building inspector looked at the attached barn. A contractor would be able to provide a much better estimate of the costs to fix the barn, he said.

The 1850-era structure served as a law office and then was used by the Charlotte White Center and Penquis before being purchased by the town given its location next to Central Hall.

The town just went through a difficult budget process to bring a spending plan to the June ballot, Selectperson Joel Vail said. “I think it’s fair to say we don’t have money to spend on a building now,” he said as the property could be placed on the market.

Piscataquis Area Community Center Executive Director Manda Stewart gave an update on the Park Street facility during public comment. 

The center now has about 730 members, “so that’s a huge win,” Stewart said.

“Twenty-four hour access is officially happening so we are working out the kinks in that,” she said.

The pool area is being washed, this needs to be done three times, and then the surface needs to be completely free of moisture before it can be sealed and painted. The timeframe for this process is to be determined.

The center is planning a poker run with the Dover Rovers ATV Club on June 21.