WILTON — Irving Faunce submitted his resignation from the town’s Board of Selectmen on Wednesday after accepting a position at a 96-bed nursing home in the town of Penobscot.

Faunce said the resignation is effective immediately as he will reside in Penobscot for half the week to become chief executive/administrator for the Penobscot Nursing Home.

He said he was contacted a month ago by the Sandy River Health System and the Maine Department of Human Services as the Penobscot Nursing Home has been placed in  receivership by the state and the Sandy River Health System has been retained as the management company to oversee its operations.

“It is an exciting challenge and fits well with my professional experience,” Faunce said. “It will be impossible for me to fulfill the duties of selectman. It has been an honor and privilege to serve our town and its citizens.”

Faunce has two years left on his term of office. Town Manager Rhonda Irish said she and board members just received the resignation Wednesday also and would consider steps for filling the position at their next meeting on May 3.

She intends to recommend that the board designate a shorter nomination period of no less than 10 days. According to Maine law, to fill a vacancy they can designate the shorter period that allows the town to vote on a nominee at the June 1 election. The filing deadline for a nominee to be on the ballot needs to be at least 14 days before the election, she said.

A special election may be necessary if the board doesn’t want to approve the shorter nomination period, she said.

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