FREEPORT

The Freeport Town Council is scheduled to confirm the town manager’s appointment of a new fire chief at its 6:30 p.m. meeting tonight at the town hall.

The council will consider a motion to confirm the appointment of Charles Jordan as Freeport fire chief for an indefinite term. He would fill the vacancy created by the May retirement of Darrel Fournier, the town’s longtime fire chief.

According to Town Manager Peter Joseph’s memo to the council, he has nominated Jordan, who served 25 years with the Rockland Fire Department.

Jordan, of Camden, began in Rockland as a call firefighter and climbed the ladder until reaching the fulltime position of fire chief. He served as that department’s chief for 10 years. Joseph notes that Rockland is a similar-sized city to Freeport with a comparable mix of commercial and residential properties.

Jordan also has a degree in economics and worked as a commercial property appraiser prior to his fire chief position. Joseph wrote that Jordan’s private sector experience with numbers and finance, along with budget development and administrative skills in his former chief position, were major deciding factors in his nomination.

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Jordan wrote in a May 10 letter to the fire chief search committee that upon his retirement from Rockland Fire and EMS in early 2014, “I thought it was time to hang up my helmet for good. I quickly found, however, that I truly missed every aspect of the fire service.”

He and his wife, Robin, moved to Camden where he serves as a call firefighter.

“I am unapologetically, a firefighters’ chief. My core belief is that by caring deeply about the members of the department, those members will in turn form bonds with each other and care deeply for those they serve,” he stated in his letter.

Joseph selected Jordan out of a pool of more than 30 applicants for the position. Six of those applicants were chosen for initial interviews and two of those candidates were selected for further one-on-one meetings and interviews with Joseph. If confirmed by the council tonight, Jordan will start Aug. 1.

The council will also consider amendments to the administrative code, including a change in name from the Solid Waste/Recycling Advisory Board to the Sustainability Advisory Board and an increase of five to seven members.

The council will consider awarding a public peddler license to Linda Gastonguay, doing business as J&Ls at Depot and Mill streets, and scheduling a public hearing July 19 to discuss approving several annual special amusement permit applications for six establishments in town.

The council will also discuss suggested amendments by the Shellfish Commission regarding student commercial shellfish licensing tonight.

FREEPORT Town Manager Peter Joseph selected Charles Jordan out of a pool of more than 30 applicants for the fire chief position.



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