WENDELL — The town clerk of 12 years is stepping down later this month and the Selectboard has appointed a temporary replacement.
Gretchen Smith said her final day on the job will be Nov. 28, citing “some health issues that make it impossible for me to keep up with it anymore.” The Selectboard voted Thursday night to name Anna Wetherby as Smith’s replacement. Wetherby can run for the position in his or her own right in the May 2021 election.
“(Smith) does a fantastic job, very detail-oriented,” Town Coordinator Nancy Aldrich said. “We will miss her, for sure.”
She said there are two or three interested candidates remaining for consideration. She said the Selectboard will likely make a decision in the next week or so.
“It’s just a stopgap measure,” Aldrich said.
Smith, 67, has lived in Wendell for roughly 30 years. She got a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and at age 30 she earned a doctorate from Rutgers University in New Jersey. She became a forest health specialist, with a particular interest in air pollution. She said she worked in that field for a while “and then I decided I had had enough of not talking to people.”
Smith later worked for Franklin County Home Care Corporation, now known as LifePath, conducting outreach to elders in need of help signing up for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other benefits, before becoming town clerk. She said she enjoyed taking care of Wendell’s details and organizational needs.
“It’s also been a wonderful way for me to meet people in town and learn a little bit more about the history of the place,” she added.
Smith said the job varies between 12 and 15 hours per week, though that number skyrockets during election seasons, especially every four years when the presidency is up for grabs. She told officials in this town of 887 that she would get through this year’s election and then retire from the job she loves.
“It’s a disappointment, but it’s the way it is,” she said.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.