A local business owner has been appointed to lead Ashland as officials search for a permanent town manager.
Ashland resident Chelsea Stratton started her duties earlier this month, filling the vacancy left by the departure of former Town Manager Cyr Martin.
“I’m grateful to the Town Council to allow me to have this opportunity,” Stratton said. “It’s something that I’ve always had an interest in.”
She oversees day-to-day town operations, carries out directives of the council and attends all council meetings, she said.
Stratton earned a business administration degree in 2015 from the University of Maine at Presque Isle with a concentration in accounting. She was the Presque Isle city manager’s executive assistant for seven years, then became office administrator at the Maine Potato Board.
She and her husband, Brett, own CAM Manufacturing in Presque Isle, a precision metal fabrication company, which they purchased last year. To devote more time to the business, she left the potato board in April, she said.
Originally from Presque Isle, she and her family live in Ashland. They have a daughter and are expecting a son in November.
Stratton said she’s comfortable doing the job for the next 11 weeks or so until she has her child.
“After that, they may have to come up with another plan,” she said.
Ashland councilors voted during their July 29 meeting to have Council Chair Tyler Michaud reach out to a then-unnamed person to fill the role as interim manager. Stratton started Aug. 6.
The town is advertising the permanent town manager’s job in local newspapers, the Maine Municipal Association and on the town’s website.
Stratton is uncertain how many have applied for the position as the council is leading that effort.
Michaud did not respond to requests for comment.
Martin served as town manager for seven years and has been the police chief for 20 years. Now the new executive director of the Aroostook Regional Transportation Service, Martin said last month he would stay on as police chief until a new chief is hired.
