Essex Board of Selectmen Appoints Officer, Tables Harbor Master Title Dispute

ESSEX -- April 14, 2025, Essex Board of Selectmen tables Harbor Master restructuring while approving new police officer and sergeant promotion. At the April 14 meeting, the board unanimously appointed Michael Sidor as a full-time patrol officer and promoted Detective Robert Lewin to sergeant after Lewin scored highest in both written and oral components of a formal assessment center process. The night's longest discussion concerned a proposal to return the Harbor Master title to Police Chief Thomas Shamshack, a role historically held by Essex chiefs; current Harbor Master Daniel Fiello, who has served in the department since 2010 and as Harbor Master since 2019, read a prepared statement calling the change "an unnecessary move" and "a demotion," and urged the board to "entertain the idea to keep the Harbor master civilian." The board tabled the restructuring question and separately approved Fiello's third 270-day training waiver, while voting to update the wage and salary scale to list both civilian Harbor Master and Deputy Harbor Master positions at $23 per hour. The board also increased the per-player annual fee for Field of Dreams leagues from $10 to $20, the first increase in roughly 20 years, and approved a Class 2 used vehicle dealer license for Sam Ayoub of Main Street Auto at 8 Main Street, capped at eight vehicles for sale on the property at any time.