Thomas Sheldon signs some paperwork in one of his last official acts as a selectman. He is stepping down after two terms.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town could name its next town manager by the end of the month.

 

On Monday evening, the Board of Selectmen scheduled Thursday, May 28, to interview a yet to be determined number of finalists for the post.

 

Earlier in the day, the screening committee named by the board to review the applicants finalized a list of 10 who will go through initial interviews on Wednesday, May 20.

 

Consultant GovHR told the screening committee that the town received 36 applicants, and the headhunter recommended 10 to make the first cut.

 

"In most cases, the consultant Skype-interviewed a larger number than the 10 who came to us," said Selectman Thomas Sheldon, who chairs the screening committee with Selectwoman Jane Patton. "They had done a lot of work in advance to get us to the point we were at today."

 

"We felt we were able to get a thorough, in-depth look at each candidate, more than we would have if we were screening resumes on our own," Patton said.

 

The committee met for more than three hours to pore over the 36 names. Sheldon said four of the applicants were women and the vast majority were from New England, but at least a half dozen, best as he could recall, came from outside the region.

 

Sheldon and Patton said the screening committee expects to spend about five hours interviewing the 10 semi-finalists on May 20. Each candidate will sit for two interviews; the screeners have divided themselves into two subgroups of six who will take turns with each of the candidates.

 

Sheldon said the committee expects to narrow the field down to two or three by the end of the day on May 20, the day after the annual town meeting.

 

"There will be two, perhaps three, to be interviewed by you," he told his colleagues. "We are also talking about a 'meet the candidates' forum in association with that day of interviews in a public space where members of the public can come and meet the candidates and perhaps pose questions."

 

The town is looking to replace longtime Town Manager Peter Fohlin, who announced his retirement — effective April 26 —  earlier this year. Fohlin has agreed to come back and serve the town on an interim basis in June to help with the transition to his successor.

 

It was a night of transitions for the Board of Selectmen.

 

Former Selectwoman Jane Allen was back in the Meeting Room to ask her former colleagues to OK an agreement between the town and Williamstown Chamber of Commerce, which has agreed to manage the town's Cultural District.

 

Last year, Williamstown earned the 25th designation as a cultural district in the commonwealth. For the first year, Allen has served as the coordinator of the district at the request of the Selectmen.

 

"Our intent from the beginning was that the town would manage the district for the first year, and the chamber would manage it going forward," Allen said.

 

As the manager of the district, the Chamber of Commerce will be responsible for making annual reports to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which oversees the cultural district program.

 

It was happy coincidence that Allen's appearance before the board allowed her to present for the final meeting of her former colleague on the board, Thomas Sheldon, who did not stand for re-election in Tuesday's town election.

 

Sheldon served two three-year terms on the board.

 

"It's been such a pleasure working with you, being your friend and being your colleague," Chairman Ronald Turbin said. "You've been a role model for me. You just handled your responsibilities with such diligence, intelligence and calmness."

 

Turbin named some of Sheldon's accomplishments on the board, including his work as chairman during the aftermath of 2011's Tropical Storm Irene and its devastating impact on, in particular, the Spruces Mobile Home Park. Turbin also noted Sheldon's work in helping to form and later chair the town's Affordable Housing Trust and his current service on the Town Manager Search Screening Committee.

 

"One of them by themselves would have made you a great selectman, but there have been many more than one," Turbin said.

 

Sheldon, in term, complimented the town.

 

"When we retired, we could have chosen to live anywhere," he said. "But we chose Williamstown for many reasons, and those reasons have been validated.

 

"It's an easy town to serve.

 

"Once in a while, it's been frustrating or whatever, but in the main it's been service that has given back much more than I put in."