Essex Select Board Names Interim DPW Superintendent, Hires Three Police Officers

ESSEX — December 15, 2025 — Essex Select Board unanimously named Amanda Davis as acting superintendent of public works and hired three new police officers at its December 15 meeting. Town Administrator Brendan Zubricki told the board the Manchester-Essex Regional School District's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget would raise Essex's share of the apportionment by 8.07 percent — a figure that would require a Proposition 2 1/2 override in both member communities. The board also approved a weekly warrant of $995,088, set the annual town meeting for May 4, 2026 at Essex Elementary School, and approved a radio system for the new fire department tanker at $22,615.80. Police Chief Thomas Shamschak introduced full-time hire Corey Salvo, a combat veteran with more than 15 years of experience including a decade in Peabody and service at Massport Police, along with part-time hires Kevin Colonino, a retired Revere Police lieutenant, and Shane Ellers, a retired Essex County Sheriff's Department captain and former Essex reserve officer. The board declined to adopt a project charter for the proposed Memorial Tennis Court renovation, directing the resident group to first bring the document to the Board of Public Works, which controls the property and has raised unresolved concerns about sea-level rise and site longevity.