Town Manager Plans To Resign, Aims To 'Recharge'

Arlington MA

03 March, 2022

4:43 PM

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Your Arlington Created: 03 March 2022 Written by Bob Sprague Adam W. Chapdelaine, after negotiating a new three-contract contract with the Select Board in December, has confirmed that he has again decided to leave as town manager. He told YourArlington on Thursday, March 3, that he has notified the Select Board of his plans, saying he will address his departure publicly at Monday's board meeting. "After a great deal of consideration, I've decided to pursue an opportunity to rest, recharge and refocus while deciding what's next for me professionally," he wrote. "I think it is entirely fair and accurate to say that the challenge and stress of the pandemic has factored into my decision making."More broadly, I'd say that I came to the conclusion that I needed to close one door before opening another. Arlington is an amazing community and will always be a special place to me, but I'm ready to explore new professional challenges and opportunities." He wrote that he is drafting a public statement to be released in conjunction with Monday's meeting. In December, just before his current contract was decided, he said he was "committed to Arlington" and had no plans to leave. 'A conversation' in December YourArlington asked about the issue then after the Herald News of Fall River reported Dec. 11 that Mayor Paul Coogan "verified that he's been in talks with former city administrator, Adam Chapdelaine, who is now the town administrator in the Town of Arlington to possibly return to the position." That may have been Coogan's aim, but Chapdelaine said in December it is not his. "The mayor and I started a conversation about ARPA spending that led to a conversation about the vacant city administrator position," Chapdelaine wrote Dec. 13. "While I'm flattered by the consideration, I'm committed to Arlington and have no plans to leave." Asked when the conversation occurred and whether it involved a job offer, Chapdelaine wrote that he and Coogan "spoke over the last few weeks. There was no formality to it, just a conversation." The Select Board voted Dec. 20 to ratify the manager's three-year contract. In June 2021, Chapdelaine decided to remain as Arlington's town manager, turning down an offer in Natick -- the third time he has bypassed a position elsewhere since he got the top Arlington job in 2012. Previous possible positions were in North Attleborough in 2019 and an unnamed Vermont town in 2016. 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. 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.