Whitman Select Board Appoints New Building Commissioner, Reshuffles Treasurer Office

WHITMAN — July 8, 2025 — Whitman Select Board fills building commissioner vacancy and overhauls treasurer-collector post. The board conditionally appointed Jim Ewell, a 25-year construction veteran and Whitman resident who has served as assistant building inspector since 2019, as building commissioner and zoning enforcement officer, with his contract to be finalized in executive session. Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter also won approval to bring in Deborah O'Brien, a former State Street financial professional, as temporary treasurer-collector after Sharon Lopicolo stepped back to her prior assistant role following a union dispute over reinstatement rights. The board raised assistant building inspector Tom Rubel's rate to $50 per inspection to help clear a permit backlog. The meeting opened with Community Preservation Committee Chair Ryan Tressel and board Chair Cal Brush both condemning the town clerk's decision to post Select Board members' personal phone numbers on the town website, with Brush calling the move "reprehensible" and "probably illegal" and Carter confirming she ultimately directed the IT department to remove the information after the clerk did not comply within an hour.