BETHEL — The Board of Selectmen met with newly appointed Town Manager Christine Landes on Monday evening for a goal-setting workshop.

Selectman Pat Carter suggested that Landes look at the to-do list former Town Manager Jim Doar left for his successor, interim Town Manager Steve Eldridge.

“I know that Steve left you a list of things that you could start with, but Jim’s goes back a little further,” Carter said. “I think that would be a good place to start. There’s a lot of things that he put on his list.”

Selectman Don Bennett said he received a letter from a resident shortly after Landes was hired requesting that “the new town manager provide weekly updates about town business.”

“He mentions in his letter that many of the former town managers would send a couple of paragraphs about what town business was accomplished to the Bethel Citizen every week,” Bennett said. “I know that when the column was published, people would seek it out.”

Chairman Stan Howe asked Landes if that was something she could do.

Landes asked how often she would have to write a column.

Bethel Citizen editor Alison Aloisio said that if Landes were to write a column, it wouldn’t have to be weekly.

“In the past, some town managers would write a column every other week,” Aloisio said.

Howe said Landes could look into revisiting the town’s sign ordinance.

Selectman Peter Southam said that when the town’s Sign Committee first looked at drafting a sign ordinance, it “focused a lot on directional signs for businesses, but never got around to doing in-town signs or signs in the Mayville district. You could probably look into having the Sign Committee continue editing the sign ordinance,” he said.

Southam also suggested that Landes look into the lighting on Village Street.

“I look at the electric bill every month and see we’re spending $2,000 just on streetlights,” Southam said. “Maybe there’s another way to light that street.”

Bennett suggested that Landes look into an LED solution.

“The LED lights are more durable, give off more light and use less electricity,” Bennett said. “Obviously, it’ll cost a lot to install, but in the long run, it’ll probably save us money.”

mdaigle@sunjournal.com

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