Foxboro town manager on the hot seat
BY FRANK MORTIMER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Monday, May 14, 2012
Foxboro Town Manager Kevin Paicos. (Staff photo by Martin Gavin)
FOXBORO - Some casino opponents may view him as a welcome defender of the town.
For those who saw jobs and revenue for Foxboro in the Wynn Resorts plan, he may have seemed an obstacle.
But as selectmen prepare to complete their annual performance reviews for Town Manager Kevin Paicos, there are no heroes or villains - just a manager who, board members say, weathered a brutal year with other town officials and residents.
The past 12 months were marked by freak storms, power outages, a divisive casino issue, and a Kraft Group lawsuit against the town - which has since been dropped - related to billboards on Route 1.
Briefly discussing the performance evaluation process last week, selectmen Chairman James DeVellis said former board member Larry Harrington's individual evaluation of Paicos will be part of that process.
Harrington publicly excoriated Paicos in a board meeting early this month.
The board hired Paicos in the fall of 2010, on a 4-1 vote, with member Lorraine Brue alone in opposition.
Since then, she has often supported Paicos. Harrington, who strongly supported the hire, more recently butted heads with Paicos, notably over the billboards controversy.
Paicos' contract runs to June 30, 2014.
Asked to comment on the inclusion of Harrington's review of Paicos in the evaluation process, Brue said she may request placing the matter of Harrington's involvement on the board's next agenda, on May 24.
"I'd like to discuss the process in a little more detail," Brue said.
Board members will be meeting with Paicos individually this week to provide him with their written evaluations, Brue said.
DeVellis will compile evaluations from the board, and create a composite review.
He and member Lynda Walsh developed a new evaluation form, a format Paicos agreed to.
At a recent selectmen's meeting, member Mark Sullivan offered Paicos reassurances that he would received a fair evaluation - one that takes into consideration how difficult the task of managing the town has been over the past 12 months.
The board will publicly discuss the evaluation at some point after the writeups are given to him.
The individual evaluations by board members become a public record.
For those who saw jobs and revenue for Foxboro in the Wynn Resorts plan, he may have seemed an obstacle.
But as selectmen prepare to complete their annual performance reviews for Town Manager Kevin Paicos, there are no heroes or villains - just a manager who, board members say, weathered a brutal year with other town officials and residents.
The past 12 months were marked by freak storms, power outages, a divisive casino issue, and a Kraft Group lawsuit against the town - which has since been dropped - related to billboards on Route 1.
Briefly discussing the performance evaluation process last week, selectmen Chairman James DeVellis said former board member Larry Harrington's individual evaluation of Paicos will be part of that process.
The board hired Paicos in the fall of 2010, on a 4-1 vote, with member Lorraine Brue alone in opposition.
Since then, she has often supported Paicos. Harrington, who strongly supported the hire, more recently butted heads with Paicos, notably over the billboards controversy.
Paicos' contract runs to June 30, 2014.
Asked to comment on the inclusion of Harrington's review of Paicos in the evaluation process, Brue said she may request placing the matter of Harrington's involvement on the board's next agenda, on May 24.
"I'd like to discuss the process in a little more detail," Brue said.
DeVellis will compile evaluations from the board, and create a composite review.
He and member Lynda Walsh developed a new evaluation form, a format Paicos agreed to.
At a recent selectmen's meeting, member Mark Sullivan offered Paicos reassurances that he would received a fair evaluation - one that takes into consideration how difficult the task of managing the town has been over the past 12 months.
The board will publicly discuss the evaluation at some point after the writeups are given to him.
The individual evaluations by board members become a public record.
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