A New Selectman and Edited Ordinances
- Theresa Cramer
- Sep 25
- 2 min read
At a brief Stafford Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on September 25, 2025, Tim Cromwell was appointed to fill the seat vacated by John Whetton.
After First Selectman Bill Morrison and Selectman Rick Hartenstein voted to appoint Cromwell, he was then sworn in by the Town Clerk. Shortly thereafter, Cromwell made his first motion as a Selectman to adjourn the meeting. Cromwell is also running for selectman, and with the election just a little more than a month away, and the October 1, 2025, BOS meeting canceled, he may not get to see much action before the voters go to the polls and decide who will spend the next two years at the table.
Once the selectman’s meeting was over and the Cromwells exited, an Informational meeting got underway. Morrison, with some assistance from Whetton in his new capacity as Director of Public Works, explained the rationale behind the proposed ordinance changes.
To familiarize yourself with the proposed changes, read the document included below:
The need for some of the changes was obvious. Anyone paying attention to the Economic Development Commission (EDC) over the past couple of years will know that it has an attendance problem. More often than not, it can’t muster a quorum, so Morrison is proposing to add four alternates to the EDC.
Another proposal refines the language around Staffordville Beach ordinances. This got the most discussion, as residents showed up to chime in. There was some debate over whether to specifically name the Lions Club Moonlight Paddle an exception to the ordinance prohibiting the launch of boats from the beach. Morrison said he has already received feedback suggesting the rules should not specify the event, just that events are allowed by permission of the BOS.
Aaron Hoffman, president of the Staffordville Lake Association, suggested the selectmen consider adding a limit to the number of events that could be approved in a year. Steve Geryk, who is also the Board of Finance Chair, said that if the ordinance is left open to other events, it should include language requiring boats to be washed (which the Lions Club does before its event). Still others were more concerned with clarifying other rules prohibiting smoking or the consumption of drugs and alcohol.
And then there were the driveways and roadways.
Whetton said he has added definitions, cleaned up the language, and introduced fines, with the intention of preventing erosion and ensuring consistency and safety in the 2-5 Ordinance for Driveways. He added similar language to 5-1 Discharge Upon Town Highways. And finally, there was 5-2 Surface Treatment of Roads, which would now require all roads to be built to State DOT standards. Apparently, there have been issues in the past where developers built subdivisions with poorly constructed roads, which the town was ultimately responsible for caring for. This change would prevent such an occurrence from happening again.
The next step for these ordinance changes is a more formal discussion at a BOS meeting.