EAST LONGMEADOW – Former Hampden Town Administrator Mary McNally has been selected as East Longmeadow’s interim town manager in the wake of East Longmeadow Town Manager Denise Menards’ retirement.

When Reminder Publishing spoke with East Longmeadow Town Council President Kathleen Hill following the July 24 meeting, she said retiring was something Menard had been thinking about for a while.        

“I certainly would agree to the unseen eye it was abrupt,” Hill said of Menard’s departure. “Her contract had language that allowed her to take retirement.”

At the Aug. 6 town council meeting, Hill stated once more that Menard elected to seek retirement which would begin on Aug. 15. According to the Town Charter, the council must appoint an acting town manager. The period of time that the acting town manager would be in place can be up to four months with one potential four-month extension, if deemed necessary.

Hill explained that at the July 24 meeting the council had briefly discussed in executive session what process they would take to find a new town manager, and that it was agreed upon by the Council that the president (Hill) and vice president (Michael Kane) would “begin to investigate the potential for a qualified individual who could fill the bill for us.” Hill shared that she and Kane had met with adjoining communities for insight as to any individuals who may be interested in the open position.

Kane stated that the when Menard’s departure became public, two individuals approached both Kane and Hill individually to apply for the interim position. The applicants were not solicited by either council member. “Both candidates have a full background, an active background in municipal government; it would be a very nice transition for us,” Hill explained to the other council members.

Considering Hill and Kane had not explicitly asked the applicants for permission to use their names during open discussion, the council members referred to both applicants as “Candidate A” and “Candidate B.”

Of the candidates, Hill said they both indicated they are available and that they’re interested in the opportunity. Both applicants stated that they understood the parameters of the town’s charter, and that it would likely be a four-month position with the potential to go longer. Hill then shared that the interim position will be part-time, 20 hours a week.

“We say part time for two reasons. If we go over 20 hours, then we are compelled to offer benefits,” Hill explained. “Secondly, given the fact that over the last three years in the transition to the new government, our former manager Denise Menard took great care to fulfill the will of the charter and we have a full staff of department heads – with the exception of one department where there is a vacancy but we are filling that through a consultation of contract – I would say the day to day matters of Town Hall are in order and there is a level of calm in town.”

She added that she felt the town’s department heads are “more than capable.”

Neither applicant for the position are residents of East Longmeadow, however Hill and Kane assured the council that both live within minutes of town due to their residencies in adjoining communities.

Councilor Ralph Page stated that he was not willing to vote on either candidate that evening since he had not had an appropriate amount of time to go through the resumes. Councilor R. Patrick Henry agreed with Page.

Speaking to Candidate B, Councilor Donald Anderson shared that he has been in the “hiring sector” for years, and that Candidate B’s resume was “unbelievably good.”

“I would not like to miss that opportunity, that is an absolute stellar – stellar – resume. Just want to make sure that we don’t miss out on that opportunity because you don’t see this level of background and specificity in exactly what we need come by every day,” Anderson said of Candidate B’s credentials.

Councilors were asked if the names on the resumes were recognizable to them, to which they stated yes.

The town council members agreed to meet on Aug. 13 to be able to have enough time to all review the resumes and to come to a decision and vote for the applicant to fill the interim position.

At the Aug. 13 meeting, Mary McNally was selected by the council for the interim town manager position.

“McNally has accepted the position and will begin her duties as soon as details of her short term contract are worked out,” Hill told Reminder Publishing following the council’s selection.

McNally had resigned from her position as town administrator in Hampden at the end of June. Though contractually obligated to attend Select Board meetings until the end of her contract, according to Hampden Selectman Donald Davenport, McNally had missed over three Select Board meetings since her resignation.

While her resume was not released, highlights of McNally’s experience, according to Hill, include years as a practicing attorney, chief of operations for the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, and executive director of the Springfield Parking Authority.