Who's at the helm?

Ryan Hutton
North Adams Transcript
Tuesday, September 16

ADAMS --Last week, the Selectmen officially accepted the resignation of Town Administrator William Ketcham and appointed Selectman Donald Sommer as interim administrator. This week, Sommer went on a three-week vacation to Austria.

Selectman Chairman Joseph C. Solomon said he will be filling in for Sommer until he gets back.

"I'm going to be there for now," he said. "The other board members said they'll help out too. All of our department heads are capable people and can run things just fine. I can definitely find some time to spend down at town hall and be on call. I check my e-mail quite a bit every day anyway, so I'm reachable."

No one has commented on the reasons for Ketcham's departure or on whether he will be compensated for his time. Solomon said the Transcript's request for the records is being reviewed by Town Counsel Edmund St. John III.

"There's won't be designated office hours until Mr. Sommer gets back," Solomon said. "Everything will go through (Administrative Assistant) Haley (Meczywor) until then and she has several ways to contact me."

Unlike Sommer, who is retired, Solomon and the other board members have full-time jobs. Solomon said this was one of the reasons Sommer was selected to fill in for Ketcham despite having the trip already planned.

"The board thinks that Mr. Sommer can do a great job," he said. "Other than this, he certainly has the available time."

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