Saugus town manager selection up for same job in Nahant

The man who Saugus selectmen chose to be the next town manager said he is hopeful of agreeing on a contract with the town today, even as he had an interview Thursday night for the same position in Nahant.?Saugus is and always has been my top priority,” said Sean Fitzgerald, who was tabbed by the board of selectmen Feb. 19 as its choice to succeed Scott Crabtree. “The challenges and opportunities that I will face continue to be exciting – to be impactful and improve people?s lives.”Fitzgerald, of Peabody, said he will attend an executive session meeting with the board of selectmen in Town Hall today at 5 p.m., and he anticipates agreeing to a contract.Fitzgerald was one of three finalists for the town administrator position in Wenham, but the job was offered to someone else.?Wenham is another wonderful community, like Nahant,” he said. “I let them know about my negotiations with Saugus.”Robert “Skip” Frary is the chair of the Nahant town administrator search committee, which he said has met 17 times, including a public hearing, since mid-October.?There were a total of 48 applicants, and we narrowed it down to three,” Frary said Thursday. “Any of them would be the best qualified. They were the best people out of the pool.”The other finalists are: Lynn resident Jeffrey A. Chelgren, former town administrator in Marblehead and a semifinalist in Nahant more than three years ago; and Swampscott resident Joseph J. Donelowicz Jr., assistant to the town manager in Winthrop.As far as Nahant, Fitzgerald said he had his wedding reception there, and his grandparents own property there.?I?ve certainly always liked the town of Nahant, and I?m honored to have an opportunity closer to home,” he said. “I?m looking forward to spending more time with family, and to be able to have dinner with them before I have a night meeting.”Fitzgerald currently serves as the town manager in Plaistow, N.H.