Erving Select Board Sets March 3 Police Chief Interviews, Debates Bridge Closure

ERVING — February 22, 2021 — Erving Select Board advances police chief finalists and weighs Church Street bridge closure. The two-member board — Chair Jacob Smith and Member William Bembury, meeting without Member James Loynd — accepted a screening committee's recommendation to move forward with two finalists, identified as Robert and David Wright, for the open chief position, scheduling remote interviews for March 3 beginning at 6:15 p.m. On the Church Street bridge, engineers from Weston & Sampson told a joint session of the Select Board, Finance Committee, and Capital Planning Committee that construction replacement costs would run roughly $1 million, with a $195,000 engineering contract already unanimously backed by the Capital Planning Committee for inclusion in a late-March special town meeting warrant. Bembury argued for immediate full closure — "bite the bullet, close the bridge" — while Smith said he was open to compromise but wanted to see the formal MassDOT de-rating letter before committing. The board also voted unanimously to forgive a $4,795 COVID-19 micro-enterprise relief loan to Artscape Landscape and Design owner Arthur A. Kaczynski II, the last of three pandemic loans issued by the town.