ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen are positioned to finally hire a permanent Department of Public Works director next week after interviewing three finalists.
The board on Tuesday interviewed finalist candidates Paul Markland of North Adams, Robert Tober of the Boston area, and Michael Salem of Virginia. The Selectmen plan to convene Tuesday, Dec. 3, to make their decision.
"All three are qualified and motivated to become the town's next DPW Director," Town Administrator Jay Green said Wednesday in an email exchange. "It will be a difficult decision for the Board."
The minimum qualifications require a bachelor's degree in a relevant field — civil engineer, public administration, engineering or management — and five years of progressive responsibility in public works, operations, construction, facility management or a combination of experience and education. The personnel subcommittee also expanded the position to consider public buildings.
The subcommittee's recommendation was also to cast a wider net for applicants for the competitive position.
The town has been without a permanent director since Joe Bettis resigned in 2015. Deputy Director David Nuvallie held the position until his retirement in 2018. Since then Operations Supervisor Tim Kota took on day-to-day operations while Community Development Director Donna Cesan handled the more administrative duties — while she was also filling in as interim town administrator.
The DPW post had been left empty largely because the town didn't have a full-time town administrator for a year until Green was hired this past February.
The board on Tuesday held public interviews of Tober, Salem and Markland, in that order.
Tober is a facilities management administrator for Caritas Communities of Boston, a nonprofit that provides housing and property management to support low-income individuals.
Salem is a supervisor for the Virginia Department of Transportation in Petersburg.
Markland is director of North Adams Department of Public Works and has been with the city for more than a decade.
Green said according to town charter the selectmen are responsible for hiring the director, which they plan to do next week.
"The board is grateful for the candidates' interest in this critical position and will undertake deliberations next Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Selectman's meeting room at Town Hall," Green said.
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Adams Community Bank Holds Annual Meeting, Announce Growth
ADAMS, Mass. — The annual meeting of the Community Bancorp of the Berkshires, MHC, the parent company of Adams Community Bank, was held on April 10, 2024, at Charles H. McCann Technical School in North Adams.
The meeting included reviewing the 2023 financial statements for the Bank, electing directors and corporators, and highlighting upcoming executive personnel changes.
"In 2023, the Bank experienced another year of growth in assets, loans, and deposits, noting the Pittsfield branch reached $26 million in customer deposits from its opening in December of 2022," President and CEO of Adams Community Bank Charles O'Brien said. "Those deposits were loaned out locally during 2023 and helped drive our #1 ranking in both mortgage and commercial real estate lending, according to Banker and Tradesman."
At year-end 2023, total assets were $995 million, and O'Brien noted the Bank crossed the $1 billion threshold during the first quarter of 2024.
Board chair Jeffrey Grandchamp noted with O'Brien's upcoming retirement, this will be the final annual meeting of the CEO's tenure since he joined the Bank in 1997. He thanked him for his 27 years of dedication to the Bank. He acknowledged the evolution of the Bank as it became the premier community bank in the Berkshires, noting that branches grew from 3 to 10, that employees grew from 40 to 135, and that assets grew from $127 million to $1 billion.
An executive search is underway for O'Brien's replacement.
The Adams Beautification group, which has been quietly sprucing up the town since 2022, hopes to bring in more members of the community during a community cleanup day scheduled for Saturday, April 27. click for more
Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School history teacher Alla Chelukhova has been selected as the April Teacher of the Month. click for more
Desroches graduated from the Police Academy on March 22 in the top tier in his class. He's currently in the field training program and assigned to Sgt. Curtis Crane.
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Michael Wynn, who was selected in January to run the center, submitted a level operating budget of $57,500 but said he could pull funding from different lines to ensure there was money for advertising this fall.
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