Cheshire Town Administrator Steps Down After Two Years in Post
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Town Administrator Edmund St. John IV has stepped down immediately from his post.
St. John said he'd been mulling the decision for sometime and that there was no single incident or situation that prompted his choice.
After lengthy conversations with Board of Selectmen Chairwoman Michelle Franesconi on Thursday night, after an unrelated executive session, and again on Friday, he just felt this was the time.
"It comes down to focusing on a single career not a dual career," said the practicing attorney on Friday afternoon. "I went into this thinking could make a career out of it but the town needs undivided attention."
Francesconi said the board would be hashing out next steps at its meeting on Tuesday.
"It is a difficult position but ... I think we have a group of seasoned employees and department heads and I think with their knowledge and the five-member select board we will be able to divide and conquer and the tackle what we need to get done in the next few weeks," she said.
St. John had served as a Cheshire representative on the Hoosac Valley Regional School Committee for several years before running for the Board of Selectmen, winning handily in 2017. He quit the board in late 2018 to apply for the open position of town administrator, but the three-person board could not come to an agreement between the three finalists that included St. John.
Instead, he was hired as interim in December 2018 and then appointed permanently two months later.
But the strain of dual careers was too much in the end. St. John said he's always been able to pivot — deal with a divorce case in the morning, a criminal case in the afternoon and then maybe a closing the next day. That multitasking didn't quite cover the day to day needs of administering a town on top of his cases.
"The town deserves all my attention and my clients deserve all my attention, so I picked my law practice," he said.
He left without two weeks' notice, saying he didn't think the two weeks would make much difference at this point in the year. Instead, he said he told the board he would be available to help out where and when he could until they filled the post.
"They've got five people with five opinions and five experiences to draw from," St. John said of the Selectmen, adding Franesconi has "been a pleasure to work with."
Francesconi said the board will decide if it should find an interim town administrator for the moment.
"If we want to fill in with an interim probably in the beginning would be my hope and sort of solidify exactly what we are looking for in a replacement," she said. "And revisit the job description and have an opportunity to explore options."
Francesconi said people seemed to be running with whatever happens, possibly because of the pandemic, and they're also stepping up to help out.
"Everyone seems to be jumping up and saying they will help in any way possible," she said. "Obviously, it was sudden but we will make the most of it."
Staff writer Jack Guerino contributed to this article.
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