AMHERST — Three administrators with extensive municipal experience in New England are finalists for town manager in Amherst.
Paul Bockelman, of Somerville, Maria E. Capriola, of Willimantic, Connecticut, and William J. Fraser, of Montpelier, Vermont, were recommended by the Town Manager Preliminary Screening Committee to the Select Board Monday.
Bockelman has held the post of director of administration and finance at the Massachusetts Municipal Association since 2004.
Capriola since January 2007 has been the assistant town manager in Mansfield, Connecticut, which contains Storrs, the home of the University of Connecticut.
Fraser has been the city manager in Montpelier since March 1995.
Screening committee chairman James Pistrang said the committee was pleased with the “quality and depth” of the candidates.
Background checks have been completed and references have been examined by Bernard Lynch, the executive recruiter from Community Paradigm Associates of Plymouth hired by the town.
Since the September death of town manager John Musante, two interim town managers have guided the town — assistant town manager David Ziomek through January, and current interim town manager Peter Hechenbleikner since Feb. 1. Neither applied to become the permanent town manager.
A Hampshire College graduate, Bockelman was town administrator at Manchester-by-the-Sea from 1986 to 1999. He wrote in his cover letter that his personal attributes are a match for Amherst.
“I believe in working openly with every constituency to articulate problems and work toward consensus to an orderly and well-defined solution,” Bockelman wrote.
A UConn graduate, Capriola previously served as assistant chief administrative officer in Newburyport and as a management analyst in Savannah, Georgia. Capriola wrote in her cover letter that she would bring to Amherst varied experiences in different locations.
“I am dedicated, hard working, intrinsically motivated and strive to make a positive impact on the quality of life for citizens in the community I am serving,” Capriola wrote.
A University of Maine graduate, Fraser was town manager and town administrator in Wakefield and Farmington, both in New Hampshire, and Ogunquit, Maine. In his cover letter, Fraser describes himself as passionate about municipal government and having a collaborative style.
“I believe in hiring excellent employees, empowering them and having decisions or recommendations made by those with the most direct knowledge of the subject,” Fraser wrote.
All candidates are knowledgeable and bring excellent skills, Lynch said. Interviews with the Select Board, daylong tours of the town and meetings with officials and employees, tentatively scheduled for April 25, 26 and 27, will give the board a better sense of their personalities, Lynch said.
Lynch said the pool of candidates extended across the country and the screening committee, over the course of six meetings, interviewed several qualified candidates.
“I received a number of applications beyond that. I don’t think it was just limited to New England,” Lynch said.
Lynch said the formation of a Charter Commission, which held its second meeting Monday after being approved by voters March 29, was a matter of concern to many candidates, as the commission could make recommendations to change the style of government, including possibly eliminating the town manager’s position.
But it’s uncertain if this had any impact on the pool of applicants.
“It was something I had to work through with a number of them,” Lynch said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
