O F F I C E

O F

T H E

Select Board
Town Hall
4 Boltwood Avenue
Amherst, MA 01002-2351

S E L E C T

B O A R D

Phone: (413) 259-3001

Fax: (413) 259-2405
selectboard@amherstma.gov
www.amherstma.gov

Town Manager Finalist Interviews begin Monday 04-25-16

For Immediate Release
Contact: Alisa V. Brewer (413) 549-5539 brewera@amherstma.gov
Peter Hechenbleikner (413) 259-3002 hechenbleiknerp@amherstma.gov
(April 15, 2016) Three finalists for the permanent Town Manager position will visit Amherst the
week of Monday April 25, 2016. The Select Board hopes to choose the top finalist during their
Select Board meeting Thursday May 5, 2016, and to have a new Town Manager start in June.
The attached schedule will be used for all three finalists. All materials, including finalist resumes, are
available online at the Town Manager Search 2015-2016 section of the Select Board page of the
Town website www.amherstma.gov/selectboard or http://amherstma.gov/2201/Town-ManagerSearch-2015-2016
The process for hiring the new Town Manager, only the sixth permanent Town Manager in
Amhersts history, has been a regular topic of discussion at Select Board meetings for the past several
months. Bernard Lynch, Principal at Community Paradigm Associates, LLC, worked with the Select
Board and through community forums to develop an Amherst profile, and then personally shared that
profile with a wide national network of professionals as well as listing this chief executive officer
position through standard advertising. The Select Board appointed a Preliminary Screening
Committee of Mindy Domb, Carl Mailler, Julie Marcus, Tony Maroulis, Richard Morse, James
Pistrang, Carol Ross, and alternate Rosemary Kofler to work with Lynch and Director of Human
Resources and Human Rights Deborah Radway to identify and interview several semi-finalists in
Executive Session, as permitted by Open Meeting Law. Preliminary Screening Committee Chair
James Pistrang then presented the names of three finalists to the Select Board during the April 11,
2016 Select Board meeting:
Maria E. Capriola, Mansfield CT Assistant Town Manager, interview day Monday 04-25-16
William J. Fraser, Montpelier VT City Manager, interview day Tuesday 04-26-16
Paul Bockelman, Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) Director of Administration and
Finance, interview day Wednesday 04-27-16
Choosing the best Town Manager for Amherst is the most important decision any Select Board has
to make, said Select Board Chair Alisa V. Brewer. We hope everyone in the larger community will
provide us substantive feedback as they participate in whatever way their schedules permit.

(more)

The Select Board continues to be committed to a process that is open to public view and
participation. In addition to the resumes already available on the Town website, each finalist will
submit an actual memo s/he addressed to their appointing authority regarding a particular issue or
opportunity in their community, and these will be added to the Town Manager Search 2015-2016
section of the Select Board page of the Town website www.amherstma.gov/selectboard or
http://amherstma.gov/2201/Town-Manager-Search-2015-2016 as they are received. The three
afternoon informal Community Q & A sessions for the public and staff will be facilitated by Lynch in
the Town Room, Town Hall.
The three evening interviews during the special Select Board meetings on Monday April 25, Tuesday
April 26, and Wednesday April 27, 2016 will be live broadcast by Amherst Media from the Town
Room at Town Hall beginning at 6:00 pm. No regular Select Board business is anticipated for those
three meetings, and there will be no Public Comment portion opening those meetings.
The Select Board encourages our entire community to consider what characteristics, skills, and
experiences they hope for in our new Town Manager, and to continue to provide that input via email
to selectboard@amherstma.gov. Written comments will be accepted through the end of business on
Friday April 29, 2016. Select Board deliberation will take place in brief meetings prior to the first
two nights of Annual Town Meeting on Monday May 2 and Wednesday May 4, and at a special
Select Board meeting held at Town Hall on Thursday May 5, 2016 at 6:00 pm.

(see attached daily schedule, revised 04-15-16)

###

O F F I C E

Town Hall
4 Boltwood Avenue
Amherst, MA 01002-2351

O F

T H E

T O W N

M A N A G E R

Phone: (413) 259-3002

Fax: (413) 259-2405
townmanager@amherstma.gov
www.amherstma.gov

TO:

SELECT BOARD

FROM:

ALISA V. BREWER, CHAIR

SUBJECT:

TOWN MANAGER FINALISTS DAILY SCHEDULE: REVISED

DATE:

04-21-16

8:45 am - 8:55 am
Bernard Lynch, Principal at Community Paradigm Associates, LLC meets with Finalist to go
over schedule
9:00 am - 9:30 am
Lynch introduces Finalist to the Select Board in the Town Room, Town Hall, for a relatively
brief session to say hello and learn a little bit about each other in a relatively informal setting
around a table (OML posted)
9:30 am - 12:15 pm
Tour of the Town by Assistant Town Manager M. David Ziomek

9:30 Amherst Police Department (APD) by foot

9:45 Amherst Fire Department (AFD) by foot

10:00 Jones Library by foot
10:30 Bangs by foot include brief Q & A with senior citizens
11:00 DPW by car
11:15 Schools & LSSE, University & Colleges, South Amherst & North Amherst
village centers by car
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch in downtown restaurant with four senior staff: Human Resources/Human Rights,
Assistant to the Town Manager, Treasurer/Collector, Building Commissioner
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Break
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Walking tour of downtown with Economic Development Director and Planning Director, and
a Planning Board member stop in for quick visit with Chamber and BID representatives
3:00 pm 4:30 pm
Community Q & A for public and staff facilitated by Lynch in Town Room, Town Hall

pg 1 of 2

4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Break
6:00 pm
Formal Interview with the Select Board in Town Room, Town Hall, for approximately two
hours. Select Board will ask standard set of questions. (OML posted) (Amherst Media)

DATES CONFIRMED:
Maria E. Capriola, Mansfield CT Assistant Town Manager, interview day Monday 04-25-16
William J. Fraser, Montpelier VT City Manager, interview day Tuesday 04-26-16
Paul Bockelman, Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) Director of Administration and
Finance, interview day Wednesday 04-27-16

pg 2 of 2