Saugus selectmen vote to repost harbormaster job

SAUGUS – Selectmen interviewed three men for the job of Harbormaster Wednesday, but in the end decided to repost the position, although it has nothing to do with the candidates that applied.
“I was very impressed with all the applicants,” Selectman Stephen Castinetti said. “They all had a very thorough knowledge of boating and the river and the waterways rules and regulations.”
The applicants included Jeff Loeser, Town Meeting member Thomas Falasca and Chairman of the Boats and Waterways William Robinson.
Castinetti said the board spent about an hour interviewing each candidate. Though the position is largely volunteer, Castinetti said he takes the appointment seriously because it is akin to appointing law enforcement.
“I don’t take it lightly because they’re responsible for a lot of things,” he said. “I would expect to do more than 10 minutes.”
Selectmen Stephen Horlick agreed the job, particularly over the next few years, was going to be a tough one largely because of the Belden Bly Bridge project. Bridge repairs get underway on Dec. 15 and will run through May 15. Once repairs are completed, the state will begin the arduous process of building a temporary bridge and eventually a new Belden Bly bridge.
That was about the only thing Castinetti and Horlick agreed upon.
The board voted 4-0 to extend the application period until Dec. 31. Castinetti said he asked his colleagues to repost the position because he was concerned there were interested parties that had not applied for the position due to rumors that one of the candidates was a shoo-in.He said he had also seen postings on the Internet that accused himself, Chairman Donald Wong and colleague Peter Rossetti of making the appointment a foregone conclusion.
And he said he called Horlick on the carpet for perpetuating the rumors.
“I received a couple of phone calls,” he said. “I don’t appreciate that nonsense.”
Horlick, however, said he was the one who took Castinetti to task.
Horlick said he took issue with the fact that Castinetti would not reveal who specifically had told him Horlick was spreading rumors. He also said Castinetti put too much stock in Internet blogs.
“Mr. Castinetti seems to be more concerned with the blogs than the issues before this town,” he said. “He wants to put this off until Dec. 31, which is fine. I just don’t know who else is going to apply. There are bigger issues in this town.”