BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – The Rockingham Selectboard met on Tuesday, April 21, in the lower theater, where, after an offline executive session, it was announced that a new municipal manager had been chosen.
The selectboard was joined by the Bellows Falls Village Trustees, and each board voted unanimously to hire Aaron K. Patt to fill the position, beginning May 26. Patt is currently the town administrator for Greenfield, N.H.
Interim Municipal Manager Alex Torpey announced he was unable to continue in the role of day-to-day manager for the next few weeks, so an acting manager will step in to fill the gap. Rockingham Development Director Gary Fox will take that on temporarily, with continued support from Torpey as they prepare for Patt’s transition at the end of next month.
Torpey relayed “some pretty cool plans for the recreation department, the opera house, cinema, special events, and operations inside of the building here,” with the goal being to involve more people in the cultural and recreational programming in town. Torpey acknowledged that part of doing that is improving communication coordination between the different divisions.
“We also really want to build [an] engaging recreation advisory committee,” Torpey commented.
Another goal, Torpey said, is to create a “sustainable financial future for the departments and divisions. This will give us the opportunity to build some more corporate partnerships and initiatives, as well as raise money, which is not something we’re really doing a ton of right now.” Torpey asked several members of the committee to address the board.
Interim Recreation Director Jarrod James introduced himself and related that he had worked in the recreation department when he was 17 years old. James said it has been fun coming back to it, and he was looking forward to working more closely with the opera house programming going forward.
Tim Heidbrink and Sean Rohberon from the opera house spoke as well. Heidbrink stated that he has been the opera house manager for five years, but had been working there for almost 19 years, starting out selling concessions. He said he and James have known each other for years.
As the special events coordinator for the opera house, Rohberon told the board he is especially focused on membership drives, classic film sponsors, and advertisement, but said the opera house is developing a program of local events to bring in more of the community.
Rohberon has volunteered to help the remodeled recreation department create a digital platform for themselves within the opera house website where they can sell tickets for events or create a membership database.
Cowan remarked, “Wow. I think I speak for the board when I say we are thrilled to hear from all of you, [and] we are excited to support you in all the ways that we can.”
The Rockingham Cemetery Committee (RCC) presented two items for board consideration. RCC member Simon Spartalian asked the board to authorize volunteers to work in the town cemeteries helping with cleanup, repairs, and maintenance. The RCC is prepared to train, schedule, and manage the volunteers.
The second request asked that the board approve disbursement of funds from the cemetery perpetual care fund to be used for critical needs across the town’s five cemeteries.
Expenditures covered by the fund include continuing the photographic asset management project begun in 2025 and a number of other costs, such as equipment and supplies to be used by the volunteers, tree assessment and emergency tree removal, fence repair, and more. The approximate total value of the fund account is $200,000. The board authorized its disbursement for use as discussed.
The selectboard’s next meeting will be Tuesday, May 5. Torpey reported that Glen Schreiter, highway superintendent, would be attending the May 5 meeting to give an update on summer construction projects.