Town Manager Search Down to Nine

The process of trimming the pool of candidates for town manager is well under way in East Hampton.

The town council initially received 32 applications, though two later dropped out after finding other work. The task of cutting that number further began last week.

As a result, the list is down to nine. It was revealed at the town council meeting on Tuesday night that the plan is for the council to interview three candidates by web cam and six in person within the next week.

“I think the council has decided we’re trying to narrow it down to two or three candidates for a second round of interviews,” Council Chair Sue Weintraub said.

Weintraub added that consultant Lorraine Baltimore, who has been assisting with the search, will conduct background and reference checks on the candidates.

East Hampton has been without a town manager since Jeffrey O’Keefe resigned in September 2010 amid the controversy surrounding his attempt to lay off Police Chief Matt Reimondo and eliminate the position of chief all together. Reimondo was reinstated after the issue went to referendum in November of that year.

Bob Drewry, the former public works director for East Hampton, had stepped in on a temporary basis until the town hired John Weichsel as the interim town manager. Weichsel, the Southington Town Manager for 44 years before retiring in January 2011, took over on May 2.

Weichsel summed up the search thus far by saying the “process was moving along quite nicely.”

After the meeting, the council met in executive session to discuss the search further.

It was a light agenda on Tuesday night, with the meeting lasting a mere one hour and 15 minutes.

The budget submitted by the board of finance did come up, but there was little discussion and no action taken. The budget will go to referendum on May 8.

The council did unanimously approve awarding Scope Construction Company of New Britain the contract to build the Gov. William A. O'Neill Performing Arts Gazebo in Sears Park. Scope’s bid, the lowest of four, came in at $162,500. The gazebo is being funded by a $200,000 state grant.

“If we have money at the end left in the grant, we’ll utilize it before the contract is finished,” town facilities Manager Frank Grzyb said.

Work on the gazebo is expected to be completed this summer.

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