Gay-Kimball LibraryTroy selectman announces resignation
By Meghan Foley Sentinel Staff
| Posted: Thursday, January 22, 2015 12:00 pm
TROY — The selectmen’s ranks are about to drop from three to two.
Selectman Robert J. Kemp Jr. said this morning he has handed in his resignation from the board.
“Basically the amount of projects that have landed on the desk lately, I’m not able to commit that kind of time anymore,” he said.
Kemp was elected to a three-year term in 2013. His departure will leave the board with two members, Selectmen Chairman William T. “Tom” Matson and Selectman Gideon L. Nadeau Sr.
Matson said this morning that Kemp’s resignation and how to proceed with filling his position will be discussed at the board’s meeting Monday.
Kemp’s resignation comes as the board considers a controversial proposal about the future of the former Troy Mills property, which is owned by the Troy Redevelopment Group.
The proposal includes the selectmen forgiving a $1.2 million tax lien on the 19-acre site as part of a condition to sell it to developer Robert E. Hanson.
The selectmen discussed the proposal, which the nonprofit redevelopment group submitted to the board as part of a memo, during a nonpublic session last week. All three board members voted to go into the closed-door meeting, according to draft minutes released Wednesday, where it was decided action wouldn’t be taken on the proposal until Monday.
Nadeau then broke ranks and publicly released the memo to The Sentinel on Monday, hours before the board meeting, saying he believed Troy residents deserved a say in the future of the property.
Matson has harshly criticized Nadeau’s actions, saying they were a “grave breach of public trust.”
Kemp said he had no comment on the matter or the operations of the selectmen’s office.