Wales board keeps zoning status quo
By Patty Lawrence-Perry CORRESPONDENT
Selectmen voted unanimously this week to take no action on hiring or appointing either a tri-town zoning enforcement officer or a Wales assistant zoning officer.
Following up on a Feb. 5 meeting of selectmen from Brimfield, Holland and Wales in which they discussed hiring an officer for the three towns in order to save money, Building Inspector and Zoning Officer Jack Keough met with selectmen on Tuesday night to discuss whether or not he needs an assistant.
Eric H. Esiason, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, asked Mr. Keough, �Do you feel overwhelmed by it, or do you think you can handle the volume of complaints that come through, or do you feel the need for assistance?�
Mr. Keough responded that he does not need an assistant for his work in Wales. He said he has never gone to court over zoning in Wales, �but a couple of issues exist right now� that may go to court.
Mr. Keough is zoning officer for Brimfield, Holland and Warren in addition to Wales, and said Holland and Warren don�t have a lot of zoning violations either. However, he told selectmen that if officials want a tri-town zoning enforcement officer, �I wouldn�t mind it a bit.�
He said he prefers a person in that position be an assistant to him, �because if a complaint comes in to me and it�s given to an assistant, I would have to be the one to make the proper decision� on whether an issue is a violation. The process is time-consuming, he said, because �you have to look at your bylaws, and that�s when I have to get down to what is the real problem here.�
Mr. Keough said, �There are legitimate gripes out there, (but) we�re not overwhelmed.�
Selectmen voted to take no action on the question, �because Mr. Keough is capable of doing the job himself. It works the way it is right now,� Mr. Esiason said. The board also agreed that Mr. Keough should charge the town for his time if he has to go to court over zoning violations.