Marblehead board chooses Lynn man as administrator

MARBLEHEAD – Selectmen have chosen Lynn Diamond District resident Jeffrey Chelgren as Marblehead?s next town administrator.Selectmen took less than 15 minutes to make their 3-0 decision Wednesday evening after lengthy interviews with Chelgren, the town administrator of Wenham, and Thomas Younger, the interim town manager in Ipswich.In November Chelgren was a finalist for town administrator in Nahant but the job went to former Saugus town manager and Nahant resident Andrew Bisignani.Town Administrator Tony Sasso is scheduled to retire later this year after 17 years on the job. The board voted to offer Chelgren the job subject to a background check, physical exam and successful negotiation of a contract.The Marblehead search began in September. Consultant Alan Gould of Municipal Resources Inc., who sat with the board members during the interviews, said there were 64 applicants. A team of consultants from the New Hampshire firm cut that number to 22 and then 14. The selectmen interviewed four semi-finalists Tuesday and invited Chelgren and Younger back. Town Counsel Lisa Mead assisted selectmen in the process at no cost to the town. Municipal Resources cost the town $9,800.Selectman Judy Jacobi said Chelgren “researched the town well. He has experience with negotiations and health insurance. I like his temperament, his grasp of our needs and his sense of humor. He?s taking the place of someone who has run the town effectively and he can continue that trend.”Selectman James Nye noted that Chelgren enjoys human resources, a part of management that Sasso currently handles himself.Selectmen Chairman Jackie Belf-Becker called Chelgren “a very good fit for the community and someone who will honor Tony?s work.”Selectmen Harry Christensen and Bret Murray recused themselves from the hiring process because they have relatives who work for the town.Younger?s 30-year career includes service as town administrator in North Reading and Belmont. He described his process of evaluating the need for each job when vacancies came up, his success in regionalization and his recent history of six Belmont budgets without a general override. “I enjoy what I do,” he said.?I will try to think like you,” he told the selectmen. “I know selectmen don?t like surprises.” He called “openness, accessibility” and “full transparency” his best characteristics.As incoming president of the Massachusetts Managers? Association, Younger said he would like to retire from Marblehead. When Belf-Becker asked him about being “a change agent” he said he was aware of the need to adapt to a community and “It?s an honor to come into a community that is well-run.”After 17 years experience with city and town government Chelgren said he would be the board?s “partner,” maintain a close relationship with selectmen and meet with major department heads once a week and lesser department heads every two weeks. Noting the “constant tension” between the municipal side of town government and the schools, he said he would maintain “a very close and very honest” relationship with the superintendent of schools.Comparing Wenham to Marblehead, he spoke of the “crisis du jour” that small towns seem to offer, called himself “a 24-7 kind of guy” and said, “I like to deliver quality.”With 15-20 years left in his career he said, “I would like to settle down, leave a mark and close with a bang.” He called Marblehead “an admirable community” and “part of my neighborhood,” and said he had been watching the town for years in hopes of an opening.