Town Manager Among 4 Finalists For Top Job In Natick

Arlington MA

30 May, 2021

10:38 AM

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Your Arlington Created: 29 May 2021 Written by Bob Sprague Decision expected June 14; internal candidate involved Adam W. Chapdelaine, Arlington town manager since 2012, is among four finalists for town administrator in Natick. In an email May 28, the 41-year-old told YourArlington: "I love Arlington, the work that I do and the people that I do that work with. Yet, as still a young(ish) person, I'm intrigued by new opportunities and challenges. Natick is such an opportunity and I'm excited about it's possibilities." He confirmed a May 27 report in the MetroWest Daily News, which says a decision is expected June 14. Among the four is in internal candidate, James Errickson, Natick deputy town administrator for operations. Others ere Winthrop Town Manager Austin Faison and Concord Deputy Town Manager Kate Hodges. June 9, 10 interviews Each candidate will be interviewed separately by the board in open session — two on June 9, and two on June 10, MetroWest reports. The board is to ask each finalist the same questions. The board and all four candidates are to attend an informal retreat scheduled for June 12-13. The board plans to make a selection during its June 14 meeting. The screening committee reviewed more than 30 resumes, narrowing the list to 10 candidates, before interviewing all. Errickson's experience Errickson has brief experience with the job, MetroWest reports. He served as interim town administrator for about a month after former Town Administrator Melissa Malone resigned in December with six months left on a three-year contract that paid her $190,000 annually. Robert Rooney has served as acting town administrator since mid-January. Errickson also served as Natick's director of community and economic development from 2015-19. He left to become senior vice president at MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development agency. Errickson held that job for 13 months before returning to Natick to serve in his current position. Chapdelaine told YourArlington that he is happy to speak further after the Natick Board has made a decision. Should Natick choose Chapdelaine, he would manage a town with a population of 36,229 in 2018 (Arlington had an estimated 45,100) and have a shorter commute to his home in Dedham. He moved from Teel Street in Arlington last year. Moved to Dedham In June 2020, he said he moved to Dedham for family reasons. Read his full explanation reported at the time >> Town officials, including members of the Select Board, who evaluate the manager and approve his employment contracts, have consistently given Chapdelaine solid support and high marks. At the same time, the manager has looked elsewhere twice. In January 2020, after Chapdelaine applied for a manager position in North Attleborough, a smaller municipality but with a new form of government, he chose to withdraw from the process and stay in Arlington. The decision followed a closed meeting with the Select Board. He told YourArlington: "After talking with the board and hearing from many people across town, it became clear to me that there is more work that I would like to do here in Arlington and that this is a great town to do that work in." N. Attleborough, Vermont A Nov. 15, 2019, letter to the North Attleborough screening committee, Chapdelaine described his Arlington role "as a position I greatly enjoy and one that I derive a greatly deal of satisfaction from. However, I have been considering the pursuit of new opportunities that would provide me with fresh and different professional challenges." In 2016, an unnamed Vermont town tried to lure Chapdelaine away from Arlington, but the then-Board of Selectmen fought to keep him, providing a new contract with a $28,000 raise and contract through 2019. The Board of Selectmen agreed Feb. 10, 2016, to pay the manager $200,000 annually starting the next day. "Under the prior contract, my salary was set to be $171,023 as of Feb. 24, 2016," he wrote in n email Feb. 13, 2016. "Under the terms of the new contract, my salary will be $200,000 as of Feb. 11, 2016. After that, the contract allows for a 2-percent cost-of-living increase each year," through 2019. Performance praise In March 2014, Chapdelaine received broad praise for his job performance, as the board approved a three-year contract with a 2-percent raise each year. One selectman said the manager could have sought more. For 2014-15, the 34-year-old got $164,383. Under the agreement, his annual salary was $167,670 in 2015-16; $171,025 in 2016-17 and $174,445 in 2017-18. In January 2012, Chapdelaine, who had assisted then-Town Manager Brian Sullivan since April 2010, was appointed manager in a 5-0 vote by the then-Board of Selectmen. The 32-year-old began his duties Feb. 24, the day after Sullivan, who had led the town for nine years, retired. YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.