By
Lorraine Glowczak
Brett
Jones, who has lived in Windham for twelve years and is a Captain of the Old
Orchard Beach Fire Department, was selected to fill the vacant Town Council
position at last Tuesday evening’s meeting held on April 14. The unique live Town
Council meeting was conducted online via Zoom due to social distancing
restraints resulting from COVID-19.
Jones
was one of two applicants who applied for the empty seat originally filled by
Rebecca Cummings. Cummings resigned from her position as the elected
representative of the East District at a Town Council meeting held on February
25, 2020. The term for that position is up this election year.
For
those who have closely followed local politics in the past four years, Jones is
a familiar name. He was also appointed as a Town Council member in 2017 to fill
a vacancy after the death of Council Member Tommy Gleason. Gleason passed away
on May 11, 2016 at the age of 67.
“I
felt like I started working on certain issues but didn’t get the opportunity to
see it to completion,” Jones explained as one of the reasons why he applied to
fill in for the empty position for a second time. “Of course, the focus has
shifted now due to the COVID-19. Now we need to help the town ‘keep the lights
on’ and I want to help to lead us as we come out of this [pandemic].”
Jones
stated that his first Town Council experienced offered him an opportunity to
gain knowledge as to what it takes to be a council member. “I learned there are
certain procedures on how things should be done – that we need to go through
“checks and balances”. As a result, reaching a definitive solution to a
situation goes much slower than you want. But the process is important in order
to consider all the details and facts of a certain issue.”
The
two concern most important to Jones are private roads and growth/growth
management. He stated that he has built, lived on and maintained a private road
in Windham and is currently the president of his road association. Jones has
also participated and chaired the town’s private road subcommittee
“Private
roads have been an issue for a long time. With all my experiences with this
matter , I have learned the many do’s and don’ts and I can use those lessons to
assist in this long-standing concern.”
As
for the town’s growth and growth management, Jones is looking forward to
finding a way to tackle the inadequacies of the town’s infrastructure and
sewer. “I own and operate a small farm (Tavern
Hill Farm) so protecting farmland and open space and preserving our rural
characteristic is very important to me,” he began. “But these things
will need to take a back burner for now. We need to adjust our focus for a
while since we are moving into unchartered waters of the pandemic. The
Council’s first and foremost concern is to keep the town running. We need to
help the town’s residents and businesses through this and get to the other
side.”
Jones
stated that his professional career in emergency management equips him with the
experience and knowledge to operate under crisis and difficult situations like
the one we face today. “What I have learned is that you always need to plan for
the worst and hope for the best.”
When
asked if he might consider running for the East District position this fall, he
answered, “Yes. It is a very strong possibility.”
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