Athol Building Inspector to serve Royalston in new agreement

ATHOL – At its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 2, Athol’s Selectboard approved an agreement allowing Building Inspector Bob Legare to serve in the same capacity for the Town of Royalston.

Royalston’s Selectboard had voted to endorse the arrangement about a month earlier.

Athol Town Manager Shaun Suhoski told the board the agreement would run for a trial period through the end of the fiscal year – June 30, 2026.

“Under the plan we’ve come up with,” he explained, “Royalston will pay for the services; they already have a budget appropriated for that position. Essentially, we would be adding eight hours of inspectional services per week and Athol would be getting the benefit of those hours which aren’t used in Royalston; it could be eight hours, it could be four hours. We’re very busy right now in that department.”

Suhoski said Royalston would gain access to regular services and office hours currently unavailable in that community. Services would be available Monday through Thursday during regular office hours at Athol Town Hall, and Legare will travel to Royalston to perform inspections.

Under the agreement, Royalston would commit to annual payments to Athol of $22,250. Of that amount $15,800 is for salary, with the remainder applied to mileage, an office manager stipend and overhead. Royalston will be billed at a monthly rate of $1,854.17.

“We (Athol) get increased availability of local inspection services,” said the town manager. “We go from 24 to 32 hours per week. That’s because the inspector we have now, who is in a retirement mode, has a limitation on hours….I think it will give us greater flexibility, both in Athol and in Royalston.”

Athol Selectboard Vice Chair Brian Dodge had participated in discussions with Royalston officials regarding a potential agreement.

“I think this is a win for Athol,” he told fellow board members.

Geoff Newton, who spent 42 years in the building inspector’s office in Royalston, announced his retirement last year, but agreed to help out until a replacement could be found. But finding that replacement has turned out to be more challenging than first expected.

“You’re just not going to find the next Geoff Newton,” Royalston Selectboard Chair Bill Chapman said recently. “Anybody working in that job would have been coming in from the outside. The ones we talked to were simply looking at it as a job and not as a relationship with Royalston.”

Chapman said two applicants who met with the board didn’t appear to be a good fit with the community.

“So, we just felt that going with the Athol model would probably be the best fit with the citizens of Royalston,” said Chapman. “I think the people will be better served.

“You can’t get a better guy than Bob Legare. Would we have been as comfortable to go that way if we didn’t know the building inspector in Athol? Probably not. And, for that matter, knowing Shaun, knowing him to be a great guy makes us less apprehensive to get involved with another community.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.