ADAMS, Mass. — The Board of Selectmen has cleared its regular meeting Wednesday to deal with one item: Hiring a town administrator.

 

The decision will end a nearly five-month search process with Groux-White Consulting LLC of Lexington for a permanent administrator. The town's had two interim town administrators over the past 10 months. 

 

The board spent nearly four hours on Saturday interviewing three candidates for the post: Peter White, Nicholas Caccamo and Dillon Maxfield. 

 

They were recommended by the search committee consisting of Jonathan Butler (former town administrator), Finance Committee member Carol Cushenette, Council on Aging Director Sarah Fontaine, Montessori School of the Berkshires Director of Advancement Jacqueline Kelly-Olson, Adam's Hometown Market manager Robert Pytko and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts professor Jerome Socolof. 

 

Each candidate was posed the same 10 questions by the board members, with followups, and the interviews lasted close to an hour and a half each. They were open to the public and recorded for broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television. 

 

The questions covered transparency and communication, economic development, finances and opportunities and challenges. 

 

White is president of the Pittsfield City Council and is a job placement specialist with MassAbility, a department of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. He grew up in Pittsfield but said he'd been coming to Adams for three decades after developing friendships in the Mother Town. 

 

"I think that Adams has a lot of unique opportunities in front of it, and you need a town administrator that can really take what Adams already has and help with the day-to-day operations to move forward," he said. 

 

He assured the Selectmen that he would be open and transparent, and was used to conversing with constituents and addressing their complaints after his decade on the Pittsfield City Council. 

 

"I get messages from people all the time who may not like what we're doing, but they know I listen to them. They know I listen to the message, and they know I talk to them still. And that has to be the key of handling issues like that is open communication," he said. 

 

It was important residents know what they get for their taxes, he said, and that he and the board would always be looking to find savings and efficiencies wherever possible. 

 

"We know that it's going to be some tough years ahead, so I think that's something that we always have to have front and center on our minds, always listening and making sure that we also let residents know what they get for their taxes, and that the board and the town manager will always be looking to find savings and efficiencies wherever possible ...

 

"I think one of the greatest opportunities, obviously, is the Greylock Glen. The Greylock Glen can't be the only thing."

 

In response to questions, he said he would step back from any leadership positions as a city councilor, noting he is on the election ballot, but would quit entirely if that was a requisite. 

 

Caccamo also did a term on the Pittsfield City Council, and switched from education to municipal employment after completing his master's degree in public policy and administration. He is currently town administrator in Williamsburg. 

 

"I've been in that position for five years, continuing to learn, grow, understand that position and what makes a successful town administrator in developing those attributes, applying, sort of the toolkit that I've developed over the years this job, and helping sort of forward the vision of the Select Board," he said. 

 

He said he has an open-door policy for not only boards and committee but for the resident "who's quite angry that storm water didn't drain appropriately."

 

"I often will drop what I'm doing to deal with those conversations, to have those conversations, make sure people are heard, try to be respectful, answered, and provide the information that we're requesting," Caccamo continued, saying that trust has to be earned over time. "I believe I maintain myself a high ethical standard in doing this and being transparent and being accurate information."

 

Part of that transparency would be in ensuring that town documents are not only available on the town's website but not buried on it. He also noted the town doesn't have an updated comprehensive master plan, which would be a premier opportunity to survey residents on what they envision for Adams and identify its strengths and weaknesses.  

 

As to economic development, he said it's not just about jobs but quality of life and administration of public resources, and pointed to zoning as a way to promote growth. 

 

"Adams offers a very interesting downtown corridor where, sort of newer forms of zoning, like form-based, can be really effective, where you focus on the built environment, pedestrian focus, and then use that as sort of the growth mechanism," Caccamo said. "And there are certainly tools and opportunities you can use to promote economic development."

 

He saw his first year as maintaining the status quo, and coming to understand the patterns of Adams' governmental operations and where the needs are before considering any major changes. He also would ensure clear communications witt department heads and set expectations.

 

"There's an immense amount of open space, and you think about how to leverage that in the totality of Adams, which has a lot of very interesting outdoor activities that can be the catalyst for, sort of the multiplier to downtown," he said in terms of economic development. 

 

Caccamo said he had flexibility in his living arrangements and would be willing to relocate to Adams. 

 

Maxfield, of Amherst, is an associate planner with the city of Easthampton, working with the zoning and license boards. He shifted into public service after a decade working in information technology as a technician and project manager. 

 

"I knew this is where I wanted to be, and started looking through where in this career field I really would want to go to," he said, adding after a conversation with Amherst's town administrator he attended the Massachusetts Municipal Association's Local Government Leadership and Management course at Suffolk University. 

 

"I had been approached about this job up here in Adams, looked at the community and thought, you know, this is really kind of unique place, and that's how I ended up here before you folks today."

 

One of the first things he would do, if hired, he said, was learn about how the different departments operate, what their culture was. He noted that there were retirements looming, so staffing would be a priority. 

 

Maxfield said he'd visited Adams four times now, stopping in at local restaurants and businesses talking to people about what they liked and what was missing in the town. He talked about how Adams had "quintessential New England downtown" that could be attractive to businesses. 

 

"Every town, all 351 communities, would say that they want to have great outdoor recreation," he said. "Adams' got something that none of them else have. I think Greylock Glen is an incredible opportunity. I've been up there twice now to see that. ...  

 

"I think an opportunity and a challenge is going to be supporting local businesses, attracting the area and making sure that we are doing everything that we can as a municipality to make sure that they succeed."

 

He, too, pledged a transparent administration and noted that even when decisions are overwhelmingly approved there's still some people unsatisfied and that their concerns also needed to be addressed. 

 

Maxfield gave some examples of how he and the Easthampton team had helped shepherd along private development projects through the permitting process. He also talked of how he was able to coordinate an IT project across disparate divisions with no one person in charge. 

 

As to budgeting, "being transparent about it, how we're doing it, and trying to be smart, fiscally conservative, in how we allocate that money, in a way that doesn't maximize what we have," he said. 

 

Maxfield is running for Amherst Town Council and, elected, would like to complete that term, though he did note he was running against two incumbents with "strong bases."

 

"This is very, very unique place," he said. "I'd really love to come join this community out here. And I hope you folks would have me for that."