March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Hartland poised to rehire Morgan> Selectmen talked town manager out of resigning

HARTLAND — As one of their last actions of 1996, Hartland selectmen were scheduled to vote late Monday to rehire Town Manager Peggy Morgan for another year, according to board Chairman Keith Bubar. It was a decision board members had hoped for since Morgan announced her resignation in late October.

Selectmen accepted the resignation, but were able to rescind the vote after talking with Morgan.

“We’re going to see if we can’t get her to work a few less hours,” Bubar said. “She was thinking about doing something different, but she decided to stay. This is her home.”

Morgan has served as town manager for 18 years. She is known for her accessibility and dedication to the community. It was not uncommon for people to contact her after hours for assistance with town business. Selectmen also were aware she frequently did town paperwork after regular business hours and early in the morning before the office opened for the day.

“That woman would work 70 to 80 hours a week,” Bubar said.

In the past year, two veteran board members have been replaced, as were two longtime town office employees, the plumbing inspector and code enforcement officer.

“I think it was the idea of losing people she had worked with for years and years. Although the new board members are doing very well, it takes about a year to really learn the position,” Bubar said.

Shirley Humphrey and Dale Hubbard have been selectmen since the March elections. Bubar expects they will remain in 1997. Dan Gilbert, a longtime Hartland resident, has assumed the posts of code enforcement officer and plumbing inspector.

The board also appointed a new staff member to take on some of Morgan’s duties.

Mark Anderson has joined the staff to oversee operations at the town’s landfill and the official closing of the former dump site. He also will work with some aspects of the sewer treatment plant, Bubar said.

Morgan’s resignation attempt in the fall was not her first, but ardent pleas from the board repeatedly have convinced her to stay. As evidence of her value to the community, the board successfully boosted her annual pay to more than $36,000 in 1996. Bubar said additional compensation for another year hasn’t been discussed but could be done while planning the 1997 budget.

Morgan’s decision to stay came as a relief to Bubar, who said town business would not be the same without her. Her advocacy for the town landed many grants to help pay for sewer treatment, sludge disposal and housing renovation. She successfully delayed the closing of the town’s open-burn dump until alternatives were in place.

Her work and dedication on behalf of the town caused selectmen to vote unanimously to rename Great Moose Lake Dam as Morgan Dam in 1991. It was Morgan’s relentless pursuit of grant money that brought about the replacement of an antiquated dam that broke during the flood of 1987.


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