NORWAY — Norway police Chief Jeffrey Campbell, who has served as interim town manager for 19 months, told the Select Board on Thursday he has received 12 applications for the permanent position. The job posting is set to close Dec. 8.
During the meeting at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Forum, the Select Board discussed the process of filling the vacant town manager position.
Campbell has served as interim town manager since April 2024, when he succeeded Jeffrey Wilson, who left after being appointed a district court judge.
Campbell joined the Norway Police Department in 2010 and became chief in the summer of 2023, succeeding Robert Federico after his retirement. When Wilson was nominated to the district court bench, the Select Board appointed Campbell interim town manager until a permanent replacement is hired.
Select Board Vice Chair Sarah Hill-Carter said the board is expected to meet Dec. 12 to review the applications for town manager and decide who moves forward in the hiring process.
Board Chair Russell Newcomb said he hopes regular meetings will return by Dec. 12 to a newly renovated space in the Norway Town Office on Danforth Street. For the past several months, the board has met at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Forum while renovations continued at the Town Office.
“Hopefully we’ll have an update on the Town Office and where everyone is going to be,” Newcomb said.
According to a bid posted on the town’s Facebook page in November 2024, upgrades to the Norway Town Office include interior renovations such as demolishing partitions, removing suspended ceilings and modifying existing plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems.
In other matters, the board unanimously approved permits for bingo and beano at American Legion Post 82 and Norway Commons, the 55-plus community formerly known as Town and Country.
In old business at its Nov. 6 meeting, the Select Board awarded a $50,000 Community Development Block Grant to Lights Out Gallery on Tannery Street in Norway.
Daniel Sipe, co-founder of Lights Out Gallery, said the money will support the gallery’s youth programs. He said Lights Out has offered youth programming in Norway for a few years, but has struggled to meet community demand.
Sipe said the money is intended for low- and middle-income families and individuals, adding that most of the community served in Oxford County falls into those categories.
Last year, Sipe said, all of the students enrolled in youth programs at Lights Out were students in the Oxford Hills School District, or MSAD 17, or homeschooled within the area.
“We’ve never been able to meet the demand because more people have signed up than we’ve had spaces,” Sipe said in a telephone interview. “We’ve only been able to have one teacher leading one class each day, but this will allow us to offer more options.”
Sipe said he hopes to offer classes for every student who signs up. Last year, some students were turned away because there were not enough teachers to meet demand.
The new funding is expected to expand opportunities for young artists. Sipe said the gallery plans to bring in additional instructors to teach more intensive courses, such as photography, for older high school students.
“We’re going to try to bring in different teachers that are going to teach more intensive courses for older students,” Sipe said. “And then we’ll have a general youth arts program that’s kind of more focused on introducing lots of different kinds of artistic practices to young people.”
