Nahant brings back former town head for interim job

NAHANT – Residents seeking counsel in Town Hall’s rear corner office will find a familiar face as of July 1.The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 Thursday to name Mark Cullinan interim town administrator until such time that a permanent administrator is named.”I was tasked with this and did receive some inquiries,” said Selectmen Chairman Perry Barrasso. “I did reach out to Mark Cullinan, which is probably not a big surprise.”Cullinan served as town administrator for 17 years before retiring in 2012. His seat was filled without need for an interim by Andrew Bisignani, who took over after retiring from the same position in Saugus amid concerns about his spending of town funds and his handling of town contracts.Two weeks ago, Bisignani resigned his position effective July 1 but the next day left the position altogether after the district attorney’s office made him the focus of an investigation. Selectmen initially claimed Bisignani would remain the town administrator until July 1, but it became clear Thursday the board changed its mind when Bisignani’s name appeared with a line through it atop the agenda for the regular meeting.Selectman Richard Lombard said Cullinan ran the town flawlessly for 17 years, and he expects Cullinan will see the town through its current difficulties. Lombard said the cloud of suspicion cast over the town by Bisignani is something he has never seen before.”For (Cullinan) to step up again ? he will bring calm back to the town,” he said.Lombard also offered a word of thanks to Town Hall employees for putting up with “all the trials and tribulations” and for the department heads for keeping “business as usual for the citizens. I think we’ll all get through this.”Barrasso said the board will meet with Cullinan Monday at 8 a.m. to discuss his expectations and the town’s expectations for the interim position.In the meantime, Town Moderator Dave Conlon has been tasked with putting together a search committee for permanent town administrator, Barrasso said. Lombard said he expected Conlon will do a good job because “he did an excellent job last time.”The Board of Selectmen, the Advisory Committee and the Finance Committee are invited to put forth names for the search team, but the rest is to be decided by Conlon. School Committee members asked to have a member of the committee named to the search team, but Barrasso said there could be no guarantee.He said he expected Conlon would choose a broad scope of people. Lombard said he applauded the School Committee for taking an interest. He also said that anyone who is interested in serving on the search team should reach out to the board or Conlon.”Hopefully we’ll get some new faces and some of the old ones,” he said.