Dunstable Select Board appoints part-time officer, clears town administrator for consulting work

DUNSTABLE — January 21, 2026 — Dunstable Select Board unanimously appoints part-time officer and approves town administrator consulting deal. The board voted 5-0 to add Michael Barry, a current university police officer, to the Dunstable Police Department through June 30, 2026, with board members suggesting a full-time opening may follow. In a separate 4-0 vote with one abstention, the board authorized Town Administrator Jason Silva to provide roughly four hours per week of consulting services to the neighboring Town of Townsend on a 1099 basis through the end of the fiscal year, after both Silva and the town's interim town administrator separately consulted the state Ethics Commission and committed to filing disclosure forms with both communities. The board also deferred a Capital Planning Committee appointment to its February 4 meeting after four qualified candidates — a retired scientist, an IT professional, a software engineering executive, and an architect — appeared for one open seat, and a property owner at 476 notified the board she intends to remove a large agricultural parcel from Chapter 61A protection, prompting discussion of the town's 120-day right of first refusal if and when a formal purchase offer is submitted.