ADAMS, Mass. — The Board of Selectmen on Monday named a former Dalton town manager as part-time interim administrator.
The vote to appoint Kenneth Walto was 3-0, with Selectman Joseph Nowak abstaining and Selectman Richard Blanchard absent.
He will step in for Jay Green, who has been hired as the new town manager in Lenox. Green starts his new job on Jan. 15, 2025. Walto begins on Thursday with Green aiding in the transition over the next month.
The appointment came after two executive sessions on contract negotiations. The board had expected to finalize his contract last Monday, according to that meeting's agenda.
"We have with us here attorney Corey Higgins [of Mirick O'Connell], who has helped the Board of Selectmen with the development of the agreement between the town of Adams and Mr. Kenneth Walto, who has been selected to serve as the interim town administrator," said Selectwoman Christine Hoyt at the special meeting. "We did just wrap up an executive session and had successful negotiations."
Walto will be paid a salary of $1,800 per week (with the first week pro-rated) until such time as a permanent town administrator is hired; there are provisions in the contract for either he or the board to terminate that contract.
He retired from Dalton in 2020 after 19 years; prior to that, he had worked in the Pittsfield Community Development Office for nearly 20 years and as operations manager for the Brien Center.
This is the first time he's stepped into another community as an interim though he's worked part-time for the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission the past two years.
Walto said Hoyt had called him to have coffee and talk about the post. "I found her persuasive," he said.
He was one of four applicants for the interim post but the other three dropped out before being identified.
Hoyt also informed the board on the next step for hiring a new town administrator. She said she would have the request for quotes for a search consultant available by Friday in their mailboxes and asked if that was enough time to review by next Wednesday's meeting. They agreed it was.
In other business, the board referred an Open Meeting Law complaint from resident Catherine Foster dated Dec. 3 to town counsel.
