Bisignani meets with Nahant board to discuss contract

NAHANT – Selectmen voted 2-0 to meet behind closed doors Wednesday morning to negotiate a contract for Saugus Town Manager Andrew Bisignani to become Nahant’s new town administrator.Bisignani asked for the session to be held behind closed doors in executive session, according to Selectmen Chairman Lainey Titus.”I felt the discussions were politically sensitive and until something final was made, I didn’t want the issues to be discussed publicly,” Bisignani said after the meeting Wednesday.The meeting did not result in a signed contract.Titus abstained from the vote, noting that the board had decided at their Dec. 1 meeting to hold the negotiations in public and that candidates were aware that the process was public.But in an e-mail after the meeting, she said she “appreciate(s) the situation (Bisignani) is in with the Town of Saugus.”Scott Crabtree, Saugus Board of Selectmen Chairman, sent Bisignani a letter on Dec. 2 asking the town manager to notify the board of his “employment intentions” in writing.Crabtree wrote that the board had not had any formal communication that Bisignani was seeking other employment. The letter noted Bisignani’s current contract expires July 21, 2012 and that the board has until Jan. 21 to decide its intentions.Nahant selectman Richard Lombard noted the board enters into executive session to discuss contracts with unions representing the fire, police and public works departments. He also said the final contract would be presented to the public and signed in public.”I don’t feel we’re hiding anything,” Lombard said during the meeting. “It’s not like if we are having a secret meeting in my basement.”The town’s Labor Counsel, attorney Steve Smith, told selectmen that Massachusetts Open Meeting Law allowed boards to enter into executive session to discuss non-union personnel.Although a contract was not signed Wednesday, both members of the board of selectmen and Bisignani said they hoped a resolution would be forthcoming.”I’m very confident – all the details are being put together and I think that (the contract)will benefit both sides,” said Lombard.He said that he expected the contract will be finalized at the board’s next meeting, currently scheduled for Dec. 15. “I’m very optimistic, it went very well and whatever we discussed is in the contract.”Titus wrote she also hoped the contract would be presented at the board’s next meeting.Bisignani did not mention a specific date, but said he hoped an agreement would be finalized “as soon as possible.””I have a professional responsibility as Town Manager in Saugus and will meet that responsibility as long as I am sitting here as town manager,” Bisignani said after the meeting. “There is the responsibility of Nahant as well and I’m working with the board to bring this to a conclusion as soon as possible.”Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].