The Board of Selectmen last week unanimously approved the appointment of architect Joe Calabrese to be the new administrative assistant to First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers.
Drayton-Rogers presented the motion to the Board of Selectmen as a last order of business at a meeting Dec. 16. She said Calabrese was chosen for his organizational skills and management style.
Drayton-Rogers said Calabrese is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is a small business owner that works well with people and has been an active volunteer in town.
“Calabrese owns a small business and is familiar with the bidding process, construction documents, contracts and all aspects of administration,” Drayton- Rogers said.
Calabrese will start on December 28.
As Calabrese will start a two year-term, current Administrative Assistant Bob Debisschop will be stepping down after seven-month tenure to fill in for his predecessor, Carl Serus, who passed away in April.
Serus was appointed to the Administrative Assistant position by the Board of Selectmen upon Drayton-Rogers taking office for her first term in 2007.
The agreement between the First Selectwoman’s office and Debisschop was that he would step down after Drayton- Rogers first term.
Drayton-Rogers thanked Debisschop for coming in at a difficult time in her administration.
“He stepped into a position at a most difficult and personally upsetting time to do an outstanding job for the town of Oxford,” she said. “He raised the bar in the position to a new level of confidence.”
Selectman Dave McKane said he is looking forward to a fresh start with Calabrese and appreciates the work of Debisshop.
Debisschop, a lifelong resident and a former, five-term member of the Board of Selectmen, said he is looking ahead to becoming more involved with the town’s boards and commissions.
“It was disheartening that I could not do that while I worked for the First Selectmans’ office,” he said.
Offering advice to his Calabrese, Dibisschop said the key to being successful is to stay loose with people.
“The position is about understanding what someone’s’ concerns are in order to clearly pass them on to the First Selectman,” he said.
