SOUTHAMPTON — As Town Administrator Ed Gibson gears up for retirement at the end of December, members of the community have identified communication, collaboration, and familiarity with the town as desirable qualities in candidates to fill the position.
Gibson, who announced his retirement in the spring, is a former mayor of West Springfield who came to Southampton in 2018. Since then, he has been involved in replacing East Street Bridge, purchasing the right-of-way for the Southampton Greenway bike trail, approving two operating budget overrides and working with the water department on replacing the water main along Route 10.
“I don’t accomplish anything, it’s done overall, working with the Select Board and other boards or committees or departments along the way,” said Gibson.
At the beginning of September, the Select Board chose the nonprofit consulting organization Community Paradigm Associates (CPA) to conduct the search for the next town administrator.
“It’s a very challenging market right now to find town administrators and town managers,” founder and Managing Principal Bernard Lynch said at a recdent community input meeting, adding that low population density is the main contributing factor to those challenges.
Over the last several years, the organization has conducted around 100 town administrator searches throughout the state, according to Lynch, who himself served as city manager and town manager for Lowell and Chelmsford respectively.
At the recent online meeting, which drew around 20 participants, Lynch said that the goal of the forum was “to hear from the residents and stakeholders within the community to speak on the issues of, what are the challenges and what are the opportunities facing the community? What skills and what attributes would they like to see in the next town administrator?”
Throughout the meeting, residents, along with town government employees and volunteers, spoke to a need for communication, transparency and organization, as well as familiarity with top issues and happenings in town.
“I would love to see the new town administrator… come in and be able to communicate and be very well organized,” said Lucy Dalton, a resident of over 26 years.
Others in attendance pointed to the wide range of tasks set before the town administrator, including overseeing personnel management and town operations, necessitating a knack for delegation and communication with employees and volunteers.
“I think that the ability to really effectively communicate and delegate to respective departments is super important… in combination with really focusing on promoting a positive work culture and getting people excited about participation in town government,” said Kaitlin Rooks, a member of the Grant Committee and the Board of Health.
Recent town elections have seen a number of vacant positions.
“In order to make sure that our town government is sustainable and can continue operations, we really need to create a culture that recruits people into being interested in running for town government,” said Rooks.
Fostering that work culture, according to Dalton, involves trusting department heads and chairs of boards and committees, and “helping with the morale of the employees.”
Along those lines, Council on Aging Chair Janet Cain added that Gibson’s current open-door policy is one she’d like to see continue.
“I really appreciate the ability to contact the town administrator and have them open to having a discussion with me,” Cain said.
Community members at the forum also identified familiarity with the town goings on as key.
Select Board Chair Christine Fowles laid out Southampton’s “four big projects,” which include: the Southampton Greenway bike trail, new Senior Center, new Public Safety Complex, and widening and repaving East Street.
“Those are probably the biggest projects that are on the horizon,” said Fowles. “That will cost a fair amount of money on all of them to get them completed hopefully within the next five years; that would be a nice goal.”
Open Space Committee chair Cindy Palmer said the next town administrator should “have a great familiarity” with the town’s Master Plan and the Open Space and Recreation Plan, and “also have experience executing the kinds of goals and plans that are within that document.”
In an interview, Gibson said the town would benefit from a town administrator with a planning, financial, or human resources background.
“There’s a lot happening,” said Gibson. “On the revenue side, there’s financial constraints which constrain the budget.
“Whoever comes in next is going to have a number of things that are already starting to be planned,” he said. “We look at the possibility of building a new Senior Center, and we’re in the feasibility study of the Public Safety Complex.”
In the coming weeks, the consultant will advertise and recruit candidates, compile and review resumes, and interview semi-finalists. The Select Board will then have a chance to interview semi-finalists and select the next town administrator to take on the role in January.
“It is a beautiful town. And it has a lot of opportunities ahead of it,” said Lynch from the consulting group. “The goal is to build up a substantial pool of candidates so that we can get the best possible group to present to the board for their consideration for this position.”
Maddie Fabian can be reached at mfabian@gazettenet.com.