NORTHAMPTON — A little more than year since the creation of the department and less than six months since appointing its first director, Northampton’s Climate Action and Project Administration (CAPA) has already appointed a new interim director in a leadership change.

Carole Collins, a Northampton resident who had been appointed as the inaugural director of CAPA in September, is returning to Greenfield on April 8, where she previously served in a decade-long role as Department of Energy and Sustainability director. Collins abruptly resigned from the position as a director of CAPA, causing the city to look for an alternative to quickly fill the position.

Benjamin Weil, a professor at UMass who teaches courses on energy-efficient buildings and a member of Northampton’s Energy and Sustainability Commission, has been named as interim director for the position. Weil said in an interview that Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra called him following Collins’ resignation asking for ideas on how to fill the position. Weil told the Gazette that after pondering the issue, he decided that he himself would have the time and flexibility to take on the position for the time being.

“At UMass I have a nine-month appointment, which means that during the summer I’m unemployed, if you will,” Weil said. “Basically I said I have the availability, I have the subject matter knowledge and I have some idea of how these things work. It’s an exciting opportunity for me to try to get things done, to prove not only that I have some good ideas, but they can actually happen.”

When asked why she resigned, Collins said the Greenfield job was simply “a better option” for her at the current moment, but added that she will stay in contact with Weil to collaborate on projects aimed at reaching the two cities’ common goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.

“I’m just really excited to jump back in. I worked very hard in Greenfield and I’ve worked really hard with the administration in Northampton as well,” Collins said. “We have someone who’s going to take over in my absence, who’s a great person … and we’ve all talked about how important it is that we do work together. We’re all working on the same goal. It’s a lot of work, and it’s really hard, so we all benefit from working together and I’m really positive that everyone’s winning at the end.”

Northampton has ambitious goals to achieve carbon neutrality for all city operations by 2030, with net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The creation of CAPA is meant to help reach those goals, and mirrors action taken at the state level with the creation of the Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience by the administration of Gov. Maura Healey.

Under Collins’ stewardship, CAPA made notable strides. In collaboration with the Central Services Department, she oversaw a retro-commissioning effort to optimize building management systems across the city. Her review and adjustment of the city’s solar arrays bolstered the city’s solar energy capacity, generating over 170,000-kilowatts of clean electricity annually, and the department secured a favorable electricity contract.

Collins also worked closely with city department heads to align and maximize fiscal 2025 capital improvement projects to climate action objectives.

In a statement, Sciarra said she was looking forward to working with Weil, while also thanking Collins for her service during her brief tenure.

“His deep knowledge in energy efficiency and sustainability and his specific experience with Northampton will drive our city’s climate goals forward,” Sciarra said of Weil. “We’re thankful for Carole Collins’ hard work and for inaugurating the CAPA department and wish her the best in her next chapter.”

A resident of Leeds, Weil has previously helped advise the city on previous projects related to energy sustainability, as well has having been one of the major advocates for the Picture Main Street project, set to remake the city’s downtown and begin construction in 2025. Weil said he previously presented a plan to install thermal heating and cooling systems underneath Main Street during the construction process.

“While you’re opening it up, you can do that along with water, gas and electric,” Weil said. “It will be this really usable, pedestrian, cyclist and disabled users-friendly downtown.”

The city will look to post a job position for a permanent director CAPA sometime in the summer months. 

Greenfield Recorder reporter Anthony Cammalleri contributed to this article. Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.