AMHERST – Nearly two weeks after the Select Board selected Maria Capriola as the next town manager, negotiations on her contract continue.
The Select Board Monday met in executive, or closed, session with Deborah Radway, the town’s human resources director, and Peter Hechenbleikner, interim town manager, to provide an update on the status of talks. Board members Douglas Slaughter and Andrew Steinberg are also part of the negotiating team.
An executive session is also scheduled for the board’s meeting Wednesday, which begins at 6 p.m. at the middle school band room.
When Capriola, the assistant town manager in Mansfield, Connecticut, was selected May 5, Hechenbleikner said any deal could take around 10 days to negotiate.
It is still unknown when Capriola will begin in Amherst, but Hechenbleikner said he expects to still be working for the town when she arrives.
“I will make every effort to be here until she starts working,” Hechenbleikner said.
But Hechenbleikner is limited to 960 hours of work annually based on his state pension, and fitting these hours into his work in Amherst has been a challenge.
“Amherst demands a lot of time,” Hechenbleikner said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
