AMHERST – One of three finalists for Amherst town manager just agreed to a contract renewal for his current job in Vermont, although that will not keep him from an interview here next week.
William Fraser, city manager in Montpelier,and the city council in the state’s capital last week agreed to renew the contract for the position he has held for 21 years.
But in a telephone interview Monday, Fraser said the new contract, which has not yet been signed, does not change his interest in being a candidate for the Amherst job. He said he plans to be in Amherst all day April 26 to get to know the town and meet the public.
“Normally, it’s done in March,” Fraser said of the contract, which expired last month. “The timing was a little odd.”
The contract still must be signed by the city council and Fraser, said Sandra Gallup, Montpelier’s director of finance. The city council next meets April 27.
Under terms of his current contract, which pays Fraser $103,550, the “employee agrees to remain in the exclusive employ of employer until termination of this agreement, and neither to accept other employment nor to become employed by any other employer until said termination date.”
But there is an out clause: “In the event employee voluntarily resigns his position with employer, then employee shall give employer three months notice, unless the parties otherwise agree.”
The Amherst job will pay a salary of at least $155,000, and it could be higher based on the qualifications of the new town manager.
Maria Capriola, assistant town manager in Mansfield, Connecticut, and Paul Bockelman, director of administration and finance for the Massachusetts Municipal Association, are the other finalists for the Amherst town manager position.
Capriola, too, said in an email that she will be in Amherst for her visit, which is set for Monday.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to meet with the Select Board, staff and members of the community,” Capriola said, observing that she already has been to Amherst three times since becoming a candidate.
Bockelman has not returned phone calls and emails form the Gazette seeking comment during the past week. His visit is scheduled for April 27.
Moderator James Pistrang, chairman of the Preliminary Screening Committee, said executive recruiter Bernard Lynch of Community Paradigm Associates LLC gave each finalist a call in advance of the Select Board’s April 11 meeting, when Pistrang announced the three candidates.
“Before we presented finalists, our consultant contacted them one last time to confirm they were still interested,” Pistrang said.
The screening committee also included Mindy Domb, Carl Mailler, Julie Marcus, Tony Maroulis, Richard Morse, and Carol Ross, along with alternate Rosemary Kofler. They worked with Lynch and Deborah Radway, the town’s Human Resources and Human Rights director.
On their visits to Amherst, each finalist is scheduled to be in town at 8:45 a.m., with tours of town throughout morning, lunch at a downtown restaurant with senior staff, followed by a walking tour of the business community and a meeting with business leaders.
At 3 p.m. at Town Room at Town Hall, Lynch will lead a 90-minute question-and-answer session for the public and staff, and then the Select Board will conduct two-hour interviews starting at 6 p.m. at the same location.
“Choosing the best town manager for Amherst is the most important decision any Select Board has to make,” Select Board Chairwoman Alisa V. Brewer said in a statement. “We hope everyone in the larger community will provide us substantive feedback as they participate in whatever way their schedules permit.”
Written comments and feedback from the public on the finalists will be accepted through April 29, and Select Board deliberation will take place in brief meetings prior to the first two nights of annual Town Meeting on May 2 and 4.
A decision on which candidate to hire is supposed to come at a special meeting of the Select Board at Town Room at Town Hall May 5 at 6 p.m.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
