MADAWASKA, Maine – Town officials approved interim town manager Dan Foster’s contract during a meeting Monday night. They also discussed the timeline for replacing former town manager Gary Picard, who resigned in early February.
Foster was most recently the Fort Fairfield Town Manager. He worked for Fort Fairfield from 1998 to 2013. He retired, and then 10 years later was hired as Fort Fairfield’s interim manager following the resignation of Andrea Powers.
Picard resigned amid a controversy with the town’s public works department, in which the director and two other employees quit in late 2023. The town has since hired a new director and filled most vacant positions.
In his resignation letter, Picard wrote that he plans to enter another work-phase of his life. He said he enjoyed working for Madawaska for the past seven years.
Selectman Christopher Braley also resigned just eight days after Picard. Braley cited family commitments and his work schedule as primary reasons for leaving in his resignation letter.
Picard agreed to stay on in an advisory capacity after his early February departure. According to his separation agreement, Picard would be available to provide services to the town for $55 per hour, in one-hour increments. If needed, they could decide to renew the agreement for 30-day increments after it expires.
According to the separation agreement, Picard’s last day is March 5.
Foster left Fort Fairfield last October and moved to Florida. He said Madawaska Select Board Chair Richard Dionne reached out to him to see if he would take the interim position.
“Richard called me as I was getting on an airplane heading back to Presque Isle,” he said. “I was actually going through security.”
After landing in Maine, Foster met with the board and agreed to take the position.
He said the interim position will be for a relatively short period of time, during which he hopes to support the staff as they go about their work.
“I’m not here to create new changes,” he said. “I’m just here to help make it work. So I’m looking forward to it.”
And while Foster spent most of his life in Fort Fairfield and central Aroostook County, he said he hasn’t spent much time in the St. John Valley.
“I’ve always found Madawaska intriguing,” he said. “It’s kind of a gem here. It’s a very unique environment with the mill. So I’m anxious to get to meet the people. It’s just a different part of the world that I haven’t really experienced.”
