AMHERST – Describing an affection for the town from his undergraduate years at Hampshire College, Paul Bockelman said Thursday he is ready to return to Amherst to continue his professional career.
Bockelman, the director of administration and finance at the Massachusetts Municipal Association, is the last of three finalists still seeking to succeed the late Town Manager John Musante, who died in September.
After one finalist withdrew, the Select Board voted 3-2 on May 5 to name Maria Capriola the next town manager. However, Capriola dropped out this week after she and the town could not agree on a contract.
The Select Board voted unanimously Wednesday to offer the job to Bockelman. He expects to begin contract negotiations as soon as that can be scheduled with the town’s bargaining team.
Chairwoman Alisa Brewer said the Select Board has determined that Bockelman’s contract requirements are in line with the town’s expectations. The town manager’s job was advertised with a starting salary of $155,000, depending on qualifications.
Capriola, the assistant town manager in Mansfield, Connecticut, withdrew after she stated that the compensation and benefits package being offered were insufficient for her to leave her current job.
“Amherst is a special place,” Bockelman said in an email sent Thursday. “I have great affection for the town and it holds a special place for me, having attended college here.”
He continued, “It would be a privilege to serve the community as town manager and, more importantly, to become a part of this dynamic community. I look forward to discussing this possibility with the Select Board.”
Bockelman, who lives in Somerville and is an elected member of that city’s School Committee, served as town administrator in Manchester-by-the-Sea during the 1990s.
The Select Board’s decision to turn to Bockelman does not appear to faze those involved in town politics, with some calling him the preferred candidate. There also remains general appreciation for the search process that brought Amherst three finalists.
The third candidate, Montpelier, Vermont, city manager William Fraser, took his name out of the running May 4.
“They have gone about this carefully and with a lot of thought,” said Margaret Roberts, a Precinct 9 Town Meeting member who is on the Amherst Redevelopment Authority.
Roberts said Bockelman appears to be a town manager who will use good judgment, including in making appointments to town committees, and understands the need to bring on an experienced finance director.
“I thought this candidate was very suited to the position in Amherst, and that having been in this area as a student helped him become familiar with Amherst,” Roberts said.
That negotiations ended with Capriola may be a good thing for Amherst, said Adrienne Terrizzi, a Precinct 7 Town Meeting member.
“Ultimately, it forced a decision to offer the position to the right, best-fit person, at the right time for Amherst,” Terrizzi said.
“I liked Bockelman right from the beginning because being involved in the Massachusetts Municipal Association he is no doubt acquainted with the problems various cities and towns face in Massachusetts,” said Mary Wentworth, a Precinct 5 Town Meeting member.
Bockelman’s previous experience as town administrator may prove he can handle the town manager’s position in Amherst, which Wentworth said is a difficult job.
Capriola’s experience with the Storrs Center development, a mixed-use project of apartments, stores and restaurants near the University of Connecticut campus, made Wentworth worry that she might pursue similar projects for Amherst, such as is already seen with the Kendrick Place and One East Pleasant developments.
“I have been there and photographed the Storrs complex and had a lot of problems picturing something like that in Amherst, though it seems we’re on the verge of duplicating that and having our downtown ringed by huge structures,” Wentworth said.
Jerry Guidera, a Town Meeting member from Precinct 9 and interim executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, said he and business owners have been prepared for any of the three finalists to take on the job.
“We all said from the beginning we had three strong candidates,” Guidera said.
While Guidera praised Capriola for her promotion of tax-based development, he said Bockelman brings talent in finance and budgeting.
Guidera added that he was impressed that the Select Board would hold the line on compensation for Capriola, a fiscally responsible decision that is appreciated by those concerned with high taxes.
“From the perspective of taxpayers and business organizations, they’re minding the collective pocketbooks,” Guidera said.
Alan Root, of Precinct 5, said Bockelman appears to have fairly wide knowledge and “he may be the best” of the three finalists interviewed.
But Root was critical of the search process, which he said should have delivered five finalists, rather than three, which caused limitations in comparing and contrasting the abilities of the candidates.
“They failed to have in front of them the widest possible choices by not having five,” Root said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
