Part-time, interim Police Chief Richard Stanley, reported to be in contract negotiations to become Wareham's permanent chief, may have decided to remain at his current full-time post as police chief in North Andover.  Or not.

North Andover Selectmen were told Monday night that Stanley was "transitioning away" from his Wareham duties.  Wareham Town Administrator Mark Andrews said Tuesday that he was still in contract negotiations with Stanley. Stanley has not responded to repeated requests for comment since then left at his North Andover office and in Wareham this weekend.

Stanley has been serving as Interim police chief in Wareham since August 2009, using accumulated vacation and his personal time to help the Wareham department following the June 2009 retirement of long-time Chief Thomas Joyce.

Stanley originally said he had no intention of seeking the full-time chief's position. But, in March, he was presented to the Board of Selectmen as Andrews' choice for the permanent post and reportedly entered contract negotiations with the intention of leaving North Andover at the end of the summer.

Although Stanley has remained with North Andover far past Labor Day, recent questions to Selectmen and Andrews about the chief's Wareham status have been answered with versions of: "He's in contract negotiations with the town."

But, on Monday night, North Andover Selectmen were told by their town manager, Mark Rees, that Stanley had decided to remain in North Andover and had begun "transitioning away" from his part-time duties in Wareham.

A report on that meeting in the Eagle Tribune newspaper (Chief isn't leaving North Andover for Wareham after all) unleashed a flurry of questions in Wareham. All five Selectmen said they were surprised by the report.

“As far as I know, we’re still conducting negotiations with him, and he’s not told us that he’s not coming," Selectmen Chair Jane Donahue said Tuesday afternoon.

Selectman Brenda Eckstrom said she had received no official word about Stanley's situation and would not believe the news until receiving official word. "Nothing personal, but I don't always believe the papers," she said.

Selectmen Walter Cruz, Steve Holmes, and Cara Winslow all said the Eagle Tribune story was the first they had heard of the chief's apparent plans to leave Wareham. All three believed Stanley was still in contract negotiations.

"As far as I know, [Administrator Andrews] and the Chief are still talking about his future in Wareham," Holmes said.  Either way, Rick's been great for the town...he's done a great job here."

Tuesday afternoon, Town Administrator Andrews said that Stanley still IS in contract negotiations. "My ongoing course of action hasn’t changed, and it is a standard procedure to not comment on ongoing personnel contract negotiations," he said.

Meanwhile, the Board of Selectmen in North Andover apparently feels the matter has been settled.

"Our understanding is that he had decided against coming to Wareham," said North Andover Selectmen Rosemary Connelly Smedile. "Our understanding as of right now, is that he’s staying in North Andover."

"We have heard that he’s made some great progress with Wareham." said Smedile. "The long and short of it was that we felt that it needed to come to a conclusion, he needed to make a decision as to whether he was going to stay in North Andover or elsewhere, and work with North Andover and Wareham through this final phase."

And the only person who KNOWS what Stanley is planning to do was not commenting.

The two-town chief was not at the North Andover Selectmen's meeting. He was not quoted in the Eagle Tribune story. And, as of this writing, he has not responded to multiple requests from Wareham Week and WarehamVillageSoup for comment.