The Board of Selectmen filled two critical roles for the town's public safety infrastructure on Tuesday, appointing Gabriella Cohen and Kate Eldridge as full-time co-response clinicians for the Kingston Police Department. The move marks a significant shift in how the town handles mental health and social service-related calls, moving licensed experts directly into the field alongside officers.

Lieutenant Scoa told the board that the department received significant interest in the roles before selecting the two candidates. He noted that Eldridge, a Kingston resident, previously served as a clinical program director, while Cohen brings experience working in co-response models across multiple municipalities. We recognize that we're not the experts in this field, Scoa said. We have been the de facto experts responding to these types of incidents in town for a long time, but now having these two true experts in the field will be great for us.

Kingston Police Chief characterized the hiring as a milestone for the department. Briefly, thank you Mr. Chairman for accommodating the members that are here to get this thing going, the Chief said. I feel very fortunate that we had two phenomenal candidates. This is the brightest next chapter in the history of the KPD, and it's going to be good for others. The department received assistance from William James College and clinical supervisor Caitlyn Liry to narrow the candidate pool and develop the employment contracts.

Chair Eric Crone praised the decision to hire both candidates simultaneously, noting that the town found a creative way to staff the program despite broader fiscal pressures. It was a great problem to have going through the interviewing process and then coming to the realization that you really like both of them and you didn't want to have to pick, Crone said. It's good unique thinking because, as everybody knows, we've had some budget issues... Coming up with a solution like this is definitely the way to go about things.

I have it up. I can do that if you want, Member Donald Alcombright said regarding the appointment motion. Motion Made by D. Alcombright to accept the employment agreements as presented and appoint both Gabriella Cohen and Kate Eldridge to the full-time positions of co-response clinicians for the Kingston Police Department. Motion Passed (3-0-0). Member Melissa Bateman joined the unanimous vote following the discussion.

Beyond the new hires, the board expressed gratitude to town departments for their coordination during a recent snowstorm. Crone thanked the Highway, Police, and Fire departments for a herculean effort, stating that Kingston fared better than a lot of towns nearby to us. Town Administrator Scott Lambiase briefly noted that he had forwarded an updated budget to the board, but suggested a deeper dive wait until the March 10 meeting. I think for the most part a comprehensive update should probably wait until next week when we have the full board, Lambiase said. The update follows ongoing concerns regarding the town's 3% budget growth cap and a projected $345,000 deficit in the snow and ice account.