Last modified: Saturday, February 10, 2007 12:18 AM EST Wrentham chief set to step down BY STEPHEN PETERSON SUN CHRONICLE STAFF WRENTHAM - After more than 12 years on the job and nearly 38 with the department, Police Chief Joseph Collamati Jr. has told selectmen he plans to retire this year. Collamati is closing in on the state's mandatory retirement age of 65. Several weeks ago, the chief informed the selectmen's office of his plans, Acting Town Administrator Jack McFeeley confirmed Friday. "The date is still up in the air," McFeeley said, noting it depends on how fast the town can find a replacement. "It could be as early as April or as late as September or October. It probably won't be April because we probably wouldn't get a replacement in time." Collamati, who couldn't be reached Friday, also has cited the fact his wife is retiring. Collamati has indicated he would stay on until the town finds a replacement. "He will leave the day we have a new chief," Selectwoman Jennifer Firth said. "We are hoping by September to have a new police chief." Selectmen are only in the preliminary stages of planning to fill the pending vacancy. "We are talking about it, whether it will be a civil service job or not," Selectman John Zizza said. The position is now civil service. A civil service exam may be administered in May, McFeeley said. Collamati is about 1 years into a three-year contract. It expires toward the end of next fiscal year that ends June 2008. Collamati was a sergeant at the time he became chief in Oct. 1994, when he already had 25 years on the local police force. He had earlier worked for the Bellingham Police Department and lives in that town. Collamati faced one of his toughest years overseeing the police department this past year with budget reductions that forced him to lay off two patrolmen. The chief and other police had to put up with a tiny and outdated police station in the old town hall until the new public safety building opened in early 2004. He also has played a key role with the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets that moved into town in 1997. "He's done OK," Zizza said of the chief's performance. While the board of selectmen and Collamati have had their differences at times, the relationship has been rather smooth over the years, and selectmen have supported the chief's requests and recommendations. The next ranking member of the police department is Lt. Richard Gillespie, who has applied in the past for police chief positions and fills in for Collamati. Gillespie, who had been a longtime sergeant, was one of three finalists for police chief when Collamati was appointed chief. Firth said she is a backer of Gillespie and is excited the police department will be getting a "new management team." Selectmen are also searching for a new town administrator, and McFeeley has applied.