ROYALSTON – Things look pretty different at Selectboard meetings these days.
The meetings still take place in the dining hall at Town Hall, and Deb D’Amico and Rick Martin still show up for meetings. But for the first time in a dozen years, Chris Long no longer joins them. Long opted not to seek a return engagement on the board in this year’s Town Election after being voted to four consecutive terms, beginning in 2011. Shelby Bronnes was elected to fill the seat vacated by Long.
“I was only the board with her for a year, so I’m one of the newcomers. But she was tremendously gracious in the time that she spent with me, teaching me what I needed to do and know,” said Martin. “So, I’ll always be appreciative of that. Also, the amount of institutional knowledge she has about the Selectboard and about how the town runs is remarkable. It was so needed and necessary. It just made the job so much easier.”
Chair Deb D’Amico has been on the board since 2018 and worked with Long for five years. D’Amico became chair in 2019, so there was a lot to learn, but said Long was always there with support and guidance.
“I don’t even know where to begin,” said D’Amico. “She is so dedicated and works really hard – just loves the town. She was so welcoming and supportive of me as I got my sea legs as a member of the board and, fairly quickly, handed the (chair’s) gavel over to me.”
But it isn’t just Long’s sense of camaraderie that colleagues appreciated—it was also her attention to practical matters.
“She took policies and procedures very seriously,” said D’Amico. “She was always encouraging us to make sure we were familiar with all of the written policies that the town has and that we were following them. I always took that as her commitment to the residents of the town, that this is what we say we’re going to do and this is how we’re following it. She was really diligent.”
Long moved from the town of Groton to Royalston in 2003. Prior to that, she had been born and raised in Ohio and, following high school, earned a degree in journalism. She also worked as a teacher in the town of Ashland. Looking back over her time on the board, Long is far from boastful, but does express some satisfaction with one recent accomplishment.
“We built the (Town Hall) elevator primarily with a block grant that was written by Kevin Flynn,” she told the Athol Daily News. “But before we won that grant, I did apply for and win a Mass Cultural Council elevator grant; I was the principal writer and Kevin Flynn did give advice.”
Ground was broken on the elevator project in 2019 and the project was completed the following year. Long said the motivation behind running for Selectboard was a simple one.
“It was a desire to serve the community,” she said. “It was the desire to grapple with things and solve problems. It was a satisfying job.”
The decision to leave the board, she said, was simply a matter of practicality.
“Changes in my family life,” Long explained. “Just getting older.”
Long said she does plan to remain as a member of the town’s Building Committee “at least until the end of June.” As for any future involvement, Long said simply, “I’m going to wait and see.”
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.