Conway Select Board unanimously appoints Chris Herman as new fire chief

CONWAY — January 26, 2026 — Conway Select Board unanimously appoints Chris Herman as the town's new volunteer fire chief. The board, meeting by Zoom on January 26, voted to appoint Herman after what one member described as "a convoluted long process," with Herman immediately flagging volunteer recruitment as his top priority and committing to confirm the structure of a $700,000 USDA pumper-truck grant — secured through Congressman Jim McGovern's office and requiring a 25 percent local match — that had been reported in the press but not yet officially communicated to the town. In a joint budget session with Finance Committee members Alan and John, Town Administrator Veronique secured informal board consensus to raise the legal services line from $10,000 to $15,000, citing anticipated Planning Board activity and the longer-term cost risk of replacing affordable town counsel attorney McNichol. The board also voted to submit three FRCOG regional planning priorities before a January 30 deadline: an unpaved road assessment, farmland planning tied to the MDAR farmland action plan, and emergency preparedness and response planning. A vote on a new environmentally preferred purchasing policy was postponed after board member Erica objected that the draft document was too poorly formatted to adopt.