[January 13, 2009]

Walker walking: Pelham fire chief accepts job offer in Cape Cod town

(Sun, The (Lowell, MA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 13--PELHAM -- On Feb. 2, Pelham Fire Chief Mike Walker will experience a Groundhog Day like no other when he awakes as the new fire chief in Yarmouth, Mass.

"And, hopefully, Chief Walker will be with us for the next 10 Groundhog Days, or so," Yarmouth Town Administrator Robert Lawton said.

Lawton told The Sun yesterday that he and Walker completed salary negotiations over the weekend, and Walker formally accepted Yarmouth's offer of a base annual salary of $100,000. In Pelham, Walker, a 33-year veteran firefighter, made $76,000 as chief.

Walker's scheduled first day on the job in Yarmouth is Monday, Feb. 2, according to Lawton.

"This is contingent upon passing his physical, but he's set," Lawton said. "But he said he's not giving his resignation until the physical is completed."

Upon being informed that Walker's departure is now a done deal, Pelham Selectmen Chairman Doug Viger voiced disappointment.

"I feel as though the Board of Selectmen and the chief were working very well together," Viger said. "Other than some finance issues we had, not getting a (new) fire station, which he was a little frustrated about. But all in all, I thought we had a good comfort level with each other."

Viger said the board held no formal discussions about searching for Walker's replacement as chief, despite published reports in recent weeks that revealed Walker was interviewing for openings in Yarmouth and Middleboro, Mass.

"You broke the news to us,"

Viger said to a reporter. "The chief hadn't given us a heads-up on anything. Not really knowing exactly what the intent of Chief Walker was, we hadn't any discussions as far as (seeking a new chief)."

Viger said he hopes to see a new chief promoted from within the Pelham Fire Department.

"Chief Walker was originally from Iowa, and I'd like to keep it more local than a nationwide search," Viger said. "There are many qualified people at the Pelham Fire Department. I can think of two off the top of my head. I'm not sure whether they'd want the job or not, but I'm sure we could definitely grow from within."

Walker topped a field of 25 candidates for the Yarmouth chief's position in December. Yarmouth selectmen voted 3-2 to extend an offer to Walker, with two board members favoring Yarmouth's in-house candidate, Deputy Fire Chief Robert Kelleher.

Yarmouth has 65 full-time firefighters and three stations. In the winter, the population is 28,000, but that figure doubles in the summertime, when seasonal residents and vacationers arrive, Lawton said.

Two months after Walker was hired as Pelham's fire chief in the summer of 2006, he told The Sun that he'd determined the department was understaffed and under-equipped. Among the upgrades he sought was a new central fire station.

But residents rejected the proposed construction of a new fire station at each of the last two Town Meetings. And selectmen did not support putting the new central fire station question on the ballot again this year, Viger said.

For his first few years as Yarmouth's fire chief, Walker said, he plans to maintain dual residences in Yarmouth and Pelham until his two oldest children graduate from Pelham High School.

"I've got to look after my family first," Walker said. "(Yarmouth) is a great opportunity."

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