LONGMEADOW – Town Manager Stephen Crane officially filed his resignation with the Longmeadow Select Board on June 4, as Crane has entered into a three-year agreement to be Town Manager in Concord.

A minimum of 45 days’ notice is required by his current agreement with Longmeadow, therefore his resignation’s effective date is August 11.

In a statement, Crane said, “I would like to thank the Select Board for giving me the opportunity to be the Town Manager and work with such a wonderful, talented, and committed group of employees and volunteers.” He continued, “My family and I have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Longmeadow and we will keep in touch!”

At the June 3 Select Board meeting, the Board provided an update in regard to how the search for a new Town Manager is going. Select Board member Marie Angelides put together packets, stating that their subcommittee has met and had discussion on the topic. She then explained that the subcommittee spoke with three companies and looked at prices for each in regard to a firm to be selected for the town manager search. Angelides recommended Community Paradigm Associates for the search.

“I think Mr. Lynch really knows the community, his prices are the most reasonable,” Angelides stated. The bid, she noted, is under $10,000.

Continuing, Angelides explained that the subcommittee pulled out their old advertisement for a new town manager, which she provided to the board so they could make suggestions for changes to it for the next meeting. Areas that Angelides suggested the board discuss include how many years of experience they require, the salary range, and the Town Manager Search Committee.

In regard to the Town Manager Search Committee, Angelides explained there were nine or 10 people on the last committee. She said that there was a Select Board liaison member, and that it was a voting position. “I’m not sure if it should still be a voting position,” she commented. Angelides continued to state that she was also looking at increasing the ratio of men vs. women on the Search Committee.

An interim Town Manager was discussed, and Angelides explained that she started her own list of things coming up that she thought would be essential for the interim manager to have. “Mr. Lynch said he would call around...there are still some people we can look at to call for an interim Town Manager,” Angelides said. Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, she stated, offers recommendations on local talent with no charge involved. “An interim Town Manager, I would love to see have some overlap with the current town manager so there can be a discussion of what’s out there.”

Select Board member Thomas Lachiusa explained that in the past he had assisted Springfield College in looking for a new president, and he had ideas on how to reach out and get a profile of ideas from the community in regard to what they’re looking for in a town manager.

“When I was at Springfield we decided to put together a vision committee with the president and another faculty member, the plan with this would be to contact town departments and other boards and committees to ask what their current vision of their role in the town on the department and committee, future vision, and plan for growth,” Lachiusa said.

At this point in the meeting, Crane offered feedback, noting that he would recommend against having employees on the Town Manager Selection Committee. “I have never encountered that,” Crane said. To which Angelides responded that there was an employee on the search committee in the past, but his suggestion is something they would consider.

Select Board Chair Mark Gold stated that over the course of his tenure, he has helped many people complete searches for executive directors of agencies. He noted that the tendency is to look at the person who is leaving and what their strengths and weaknesses are, and then search for a new manager who has strengths where the current individual has weaknesses. “I want to make sure we don’t do that,” Gold stated. “I’d like to look at someone for the long haul...we need to look at the whole job description here and look where they are and not worry too much about the issues that are coming up in the short term.” Gold's comments were in response to Lachiusa’s suggestion that they hire a new town manager who has experience in construction projects, as the town has several in progress.

Ultimately, the Select Board voted five to zero to enter into negotiations with Community Paradigm as the town’s town manager search firm. Gold was clear that this was short of signing a contract – meaning if negotiations with Community Paradigm did not pan out, they would then look into other companies if necessary.

The next meeting of the Select Board is set to take place on June 17, upon which time the group will have individually decided what they feel are the important groups to be involved in the Town Manager Search Committee. The town manager search will be listed as old business on the Select Board agenda for the next few meetings, Gold stated.