Bassett marks five decades of service

MARBLEHEAD – Town official Wilbur Bassett is facing a landmark this spring. He?s in his fifth decade of elected service to the town and currently serves on two elected boards.Bassett has spent 42 years on the Water and Sewer Commission, 30 of them as chairman, and 12 years on the Municipal Electric Light Commission.His fourth three-year term on the Municipal Light Commission will come to a close in May and he?s planning to seek re-election.Next May will mark the end of his 14th term on the Water and Sewer Commission.When Bassett was elected to his first term, the water department was separate from the sewer department, Emerson Brown and George Clark were his fellow water commissioners and Richard Nixon was President of the United States. Bassett actually created the first budget for a combined water and sewer department, 24 hours before a Town Meeting.That?s a lot of water under the bridge.?I?ve enjoyed myself,” Bassett said Thursday. He was eager to discuss the water and sewer department?s next major project, updating drainage in the downtown area, as well as his share in town history.