NAHANT — With the search officially underway for the next town administrator, the Search Committee has been working hard to gauge communal interest in what the town wants to see in the next person to take on the role.
The committee has held several meetings since it was first formed in the wake of Town Administrator Tony Barletta’s announcement of his departure at the end of June. The most recent meeting was on June 16 — where community members voiced their concerns over the role that climate preparedness and coastal resiliency will play in the next Town Administrator’s priorities.
Chair of the Select Board Rob Tibbo elaborated on the concerns raised, highlighting the importance of coastal resiliency.
“It’s a huge issue. We’re almost entirely surrounded by water, and the town’s already been impacted over the years,” Tibbo said. “We have already made significant moves toward trying to fortify ourselves when floods occur — those efforts include current grants and plans to replenish areas that have been weakened by storms. Many of these have been completed.”
Tibbo continued, “There have also been efforts to de-water areas that have been flooded — areas off Castle and Willow Road that are deeply affected… The town has made strong efforts to identify problems in pipes in streets that carry water out.”
Town Administrator Search Committee member Jen McCarthy also commented on why the focus on coastal resilience is crucial to finding the right fit for the job.
“We live on an island, and we face storms differently than our surrounding neighbors do. We get it on all four sides,” McCarthy said. “This has been a concern of our committee, and we’ve talked about it before… We need someone who has knowledge on coastal events — we do get cut off from the mainland, we need someone with experience in that area.”
McCarthy is now in her fourth Town Administrator Search Committee — and she noted she’s no stranger to the process.
“It’s been a conversation before. I’ve seen people who were very qualified for the job and from places like the Midwest… But it just gives them a disadvantage — because I feel that if you don’t live in it and see it, you can’t comprehend it,” McCarthy said.
Another element of concern raised by community members was the use of rodenticides when dealing with wildlife. The concern is that the poison that is used to exterminate rats and other rodents then makes their way to other wildlife through various means.
“Are they (the applicant) aware of environmental issues? Or alternative methods to help control wildlife in the area? … We also had the coyote issue, which has settled — but we have rodents, raccoons, skunks, and we don’t want to do harmful things,” McCarthy added. “We want to be sure that someone has a good background in science on that matter.”
McCarthy explained that the committee will be accepting applications until July 31. “Then, we’ll come together to discuss the applications, before deciding which ones would be best to call in for an interview,” she said. “We hope to conduct interviews in August, and then we have to turn over three candidates to the Select Board — who will hold public interviews and evaluate the candidates before making their announcement.”
