BOARD OF SELECTMEN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2014
The regular meeting for the Board of Selectmen convened at 6:15 p.m. in the Conference Room at 29 Thompson Street in the Hillside Building. In attendance were Edward A. Maia, Edward S. Harrison and Dr. Richard M. Smith. Also present were Interim Town Administrator Daniel Laroche and the media.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Acceptance of Meeting Minutes:
Mr. Harrison made a motion to accept the meeting minutes for January 7, 2014 – open and executive sessions. Dr. Smith seconded and it was unanimously VOTED.
Accept Donation to the Monson Fire Department from Adams Supermarket:
Mr. Maia explained the Monson Fire Department received a donation from Adams Supermarket in the amount of $1,436.00 for the Fire Department Fire Prevention programs.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to accept the gift from Adams Supermarket in the amount of $1,436.00 to be used for the Fire Prevention programs. Dr. Smith seconded and it was unanimously VOTED.
The Board of Selectmen thanked Adams Supermarket for conducting their fund raiser seeking donations for the Monson Fire Prevention programs.
Interviews for Town Administrator Position:
Alan Gould with Municipal Resources Inc., which is the firm hired to conduct the search for a new Town Administrator, approached the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. Gould noted 39 applications were received, and over the past few months the pool was narrowed down to five candidates. The five candidates were interviewed earlier in the day narrowing the applicants down to three, and Mr. Gould was now prepared to bring the final top three candidates before the Board of Selectmen for interviews and consideration.
Mr. Gould introduced the first candidate, Evan Brassard of Monson. Mr. Brassard is currently the Emergency Management Director for the Town of Monson.
Mr. Gould started Mr. Brassard off by having him tell the Board what he thinks is important for the Board to know about him.
Mr. Brassard was then asked a lengthy series of questions by the Board of Selectmen.
Following Mr. Brassard’s interview, Mr. Gould introduced Kimberly Newman of Kansas. Mr. Gould started Ms. Newman off with the same statement.
Ms. Newman was then asked the same lengthy series of questions by the Board that was asked of Mr. Brassard.
Following Ms. Newman’s interview, a five minute break was taken.
When the interviews resumed, Mr. Gould introduced the final candidate, Scott Szczebak, from Western Mass. Mr. Szczebak was started off by Mr. Gould the same way as the candidates before him and was asked the same lengthy series of questions by the Board of Selectmen.
When the interviews were finished, the Board of Selectmen discussed the candidates and their responses to the questions and how they felt about each candidate.
Mr. Brassard came in strongly as the candidate chosen to fill the vacant Town Administrator position. Ms. Newman was the second place contender, with Mr. Szczebak coming in in third place.
Mr. Maia felt strongly having a candidate that is known about town, is always an advantage and felt from a personality position, Mr. Brassard would make a great addition to our community. Mr. Maia also felt Mr. Brassard has an advantage since he knows the Department heads and where we are, whereas the others would have to get to know the town and learn who everyone is.
Mr. Maia noted none of Ms. Newman’s experience was in Massachusetts; therefore she would have to get up to speed with the Massachusetts laws. Mr. Maia also noted Ms. Newman’s Administrative position is for a tiny town in Kansas with 8 employees and a population of 1,100 residents, making it vastly different from Monson. Mr. Maia felt Ms. Newman will make a nice fit somewhere, but felt it wasn’t here.
Dr. Smith noted Mr. Brassard said his greatest strength is his motivation and the desire to do the job well, plus he has knowledge of the town.
Dr. Smith felt Ms. Newman didn’t interview quite as well as Mr. Brassard, but did show how knowledgeable she is once she got into the answer a little bit, however, she had a slightly different personality.
Dr. Smith felt as the other Selectmen did, that Mr. Szczebak didn’t have the experience for management.
Mr. Harrison felt they clearly came through as candidates that could do the job in his estimation, but was inclined to agree if it had to be narrowed down to two candidates he too would pick Mr. Brassard and Ms. Newman.
Mr. Harrison felt Mr. Brassard’s familiarity with the town in every aspect gives him enormous leverage.
Mr. Maia said given Mr. Brassard’s current position, he felt non-profit and municipal are pretty similar in that it takes creativity fiscally, and that in a non-profit you have to wear many hats just like you do in town government. Mr. Maia also felt Mr. Brassard gave some good answers when he asked him about having people working for him that knew him when he was eight years old.
Mr. Gould noted Mr. Brassard interviewed very well and said Mr. Brassard has the traits required for the right fit for this position, and feels that is an advantage for a good Administrator. Mr. Gould also noted a lot of Mr. Brassard’s answers were very technically correct, and he knows this from having been a Town Administrator himself. Mr. Gould said all three candidates basically answered the questions the same, but Mr. Brassard’s answers were more direct than the other two candidate’s answers, which impressed him.
Dr. Smith stated Mr. Brassard was one of 39 applicants who went through submitting resumes’, answering essay questions, going through telephone interviews and then panel interviews; and it wasn’t until this evening that the Board of Selectmen even knew Mr. Brassard was a potential candidate.
Mr. Maia felt it was also important to note the town went through the hiring and screening process without even looking at any internal candidates. The Selectmen voted to hire Municipal Resources Inc. to do this entire process for them. Municipal Resources conducted the search, asked the essay questions, and held the interviews; therefore it’s clear to see anyone getting this position has been vetted completely and no one is being handed this position so there isn’t any favoritism in getting this far.
Mr. Harrison noted there has been no discussion amongst the Select Board members about any of the candidates as they didn’t know who any of the candidates were until 4:00 p.m. this evening.
Mr. Gould stated there were candidates from 16 states, 4 people with Jurist Doctorate’s Degrees, and 26 with Master’s Degrees, so this was a good pool of candidates, and after each round of eliminations these three candidates (Mr. Brassard, Ms. Newman and Mr. Szczebak), kept rising to the top. Mr. Gould noted the Board of Selectmen have stayed out of the process, and let Municipal Resources do their process, which is the way he likes it and they prefer.
Following the discussion by the Board, Mr. Maia said based on the discussion, he would suggest making a conditional offer to Evan Brassard.
Mr. Harrison made a motion to make a conditional offer to Evan Brassard, and authorized Municipal Resources Inc. to make a non-skeptic mutual offer of employment for the purposes of starting a background investigation. Dr. Smith seconded and it was unanimously VOTED.
One condition is Mr. Brassard successfully passes the background check and the second condition is that he successfully negotiates a contract with the Town of Monson.
Correspondence was read and completed.
There wasn’t any new business to come before the Board of Selectmen.
At 8:55 p.m., Dr. Smith made a motion to adjourn from open session. Mr. Harrison seconded and it was unanimously VOTED. There wasn’t an executive session.
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Dr. Richard M. Smith, Clerk
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