WINSLOW — The Town Council named a new chairman, appointed an interim town manager and swore in a new councilor at a special meeting Thursday afternoon.

The meeting began with Doris Labranche and Dale Macklin being sworn in after winning election in November. Labranche is a first-time officeholder while Macklin has been on the council since 2022.

Councilors then appointed Fran Hudson to lead the council as its chair in a 4-3 vote. Hudson, a first-term councilor elected in 2023, ousted incumbent chair Jeff West, who was also nominated for the role.

Town Clerk Audra Fleury, left, administers the oath of office to District 4 Councilor Doris Labranche and District 2 Councilor Dale Macklin at the start of a special meeting of the Winslow Town Council on Thursday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“I want to thank you all for the honor of being elected the chair. I will do what I was elected to do: Be transparent and always do what I believe is in the best interest of the town,” Hudson said at the meeting. “I appreciate the chance to do this and I’m hoping to make a positive change in this town.”

Hudson was elected with the support of Winslow’s new guard of councilors: Herself and Labranche, along with Mike Joseph and Adam Lint. All are holding political office for the first time. Joseph and Lint were elected alongside Hudson when newcomers swept every race in Winslow’s 2023 elections.

Public works director Paul Fongemie was appointed Winslow’s interim town manager in the meeting on a 4-3 vote, largely along the same lines.

Fongemie will temporarily succeed Town Manager Ella Bowman, who resigned after about a year in Winslow due to “hateful” rhetoric and comments from councilors and residents. Her resignation takes effect Feb. 5, though the council can vote to waive her contract sooner.

Winslow Public Works Director Paul Fongemie was appointed Thursday as interim town manager. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Fongemie previously served as interim manager for about three months in 2020 before Bowman’s predecessor, Erica LaCroix, was hired. He will receive a stipend of $1,000 per week beginning Feb. 5, until a full-time successor is found.

“I just hope I can bring a little more togetherness to the council,” Fongemie said at the meeting.

His election came after tense discussion and debate among both councilors and residents in attendance during the meeting that highlighted the political fractures in Winslow’s council.

Hudson’s first move as chair was to suspend the council’s rules so that she could read the agenda instead of Town Clerk Audra Fleury. Her motion, which was not on the agenda, failed after receiving a 4-3 majority vote, as items not on the agenda require a two-thirds overall vote to pass. Councilor Lint said he would add the item to the next council meeting agenda, when it could pass with a majority vote.

As discussions turned to appointing Bowman’s interim replacement, Joseph proposed putting off discussion until the council’s next meeting, saying the town had received one other applicant who should be properly considered before someone was chosen for the role.

Applications have only been open for a few weeks, Joseph said, and hiring internally could be seen as unfair to outside applicants.

“I think it’d only be the fairest thing to do, where we’ve already put it out and we’ve already had applicants that applied,” Joseph said. “If we’re going to be putting it out there, we should be taking a look at these applications.”

District 2 Councilor Dale Macklin speaks Thursday during a special meeting of the Winslow Town Council. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Macklin urged the council to appoint an interim manager as soon as possible to provide a smooth transition ahead of this year’s budget season. Doing otherwise, he said, risked causing administrative chaos in the town office during its busiest part of the year. It’s not uncommon for job applications to be denied before an interview, he added.

“We’re at the 30-day mark before (Bowman) leaves. We’ve had this delayed the entire month of December,” Macklin said. “The longer you wait on this for that training period, the worse it’s going to be when the town manager is gone.”

Councilors discussed finding an interim manager at a Dec. 9 meeting, where no action was taken. Town Attorney William A. Lee III said standard pay for an interim manager can be as much as $100 an hour. West suggested appointing Fongemie during that meeting, saying that hiring in-house would likely save the town money.

West again raised the issue of money at Thursday’s meeting, saying that Fongemie had tentatively agreed to a rate of $1,000 per week and would in turn save the town money.

“Paul has done the job in the past, he’s involved in every big project that the town’s facing, he knows how to do the bonds, he just needs all the credentials to be able to do that,” West said. “He knows all the players involved. I just think he’s the best fit.”

Fongemie’s stipend would come on top of his standard pay as public works director, as he will effectively be juggling both duties at the same time, he said at the meeting.

“I really can’t leave (public works) because there’s no one there,” Fongemie told the council.

A special meeting Thursday of the Winslow Town Council drew a crowd. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Some residents also spoke during the meeting, both in support of and opposition to Fongemie’s hiring.

One resident, who declined to provide her name, urged councilors to consider all applicants and encouraged a transparent hiring process “because of Winslow’s reputation and the coverage in the media.”

Resident Jim Byrne, who served as a councilor from 2005 to 2010, said it “scares the hell out of me” to be without a full-time manager so close to budget season, and urged the council to set aside political differences and move the process along as quickly as possible for the town’s sake.

“I’ve been sitting in your seat years ago and right now, seeing how things are being run, it scares the hell out of me,” Byrne said. “We need a town manager, and we got an interim guy right now that could do the job. Let’s get it done.”

West moved to nominate Fongemie as interim manager after about 20 minutes of discussion, telling the council to “let the chips fall.”

Fongemie was appointed in a 4-3 vote with West, Macklin, Lint and Lee Trahan in favor. Hudson, Joseph and Labranche voted against.

Councilors also voted to maintain their $75 monthly stipend for serving on the council, the same rate as last year, and to meet once a month through 2025, rather than twice a month half the year and once a month the other half.

Councilors will meet with the Maine Municipal Association later this month to discuss a wider search for a full-time town manager, a process which councilors say will likely consider applicants from throughout New England and potentially beyond and cost between $6,000 and $8,000.

A precise timeline for that hiring process is unclear. Councilors have previously said it could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.