Three Finalists For Town Administrator Announced

A process that started with 40 applicants almost two months ago has been narrowed down to the final three. Monday night at the Select Board meeting chair Shelly MacNeill announced the finalists to be Stoneham's new Town Administrator.

Robert Curtin, William White, and Dennis Sheehan survived the first cut to 21, then a second cut to 8, and after being interviewed by the Town Administrator Search Committee, have become your final three.

Curtin is currently Lynnfield's Assistant to the Town Administrator and has held that position for nine years. He was interim Town Administrator for a short period last winter and was a finalist for the job with Melrose mayor Robert Dolan. The Lynnfield Board of Selectmen chose Dolan last December.

White is from Somerville where he's an Alderman at-large and has 21 years of municipal experience. He was involved with the creation of Assembly Row as well as Somerville's High School project.

Sheehan lives in Melrose and attended St. John's Prep. He has extensive experience in property management and has worked for the Department of Public Works in Watertown since 2014.

The three candidates have been asked to complete an essay that includes two questions. The board will review the answers and then do a community site visit for each candidate. The week of Nov. 26 the candidates will appear before the board. The goal is to have a decision by mid-December with a new Town Administrator in place by Jan. 1.

Beyond the search for a new Town Administrator, it was a busy night for the five-member board.

Nov. 18 has been declared Cameron Bain Day in Stoneham and the town will celebrate the near completion of the Tri-Community Greenway and the man who worked to make it happen. Although not officially open, the Department of Transportation has given Stoneham the go-ahead to honor Bain with a ceremony that day on the Greenway.

After a brief presentation by Dolly Wilson, board member Anthony Wilson read the proclamation. The ceremony will start at 2 p.m. at the Stoneham Boys & Girls Club.

Bikes were also part of a presentation by Erin Wortman, Stoneham's Director of Planning and Community Development. Wortman received the board's blessing to investigate bringing a bike sharing company such as Lime to the Greenway. The subject came up at the North Suburban Planning Council and as bike sharing pushes out to the suburbs, Wortman will see what Lime and others can provide to a town with a new bike path.

Wortman occupied much of the agenda, also discussing Stoneham's Community Compact, a document the town signed in 2015. Wortman and board agreed that the three "recommended best practices" for the town include the continuation of making the town age and dementia friendly; a housing development plan that includes a downtown parking study; and an energy and environmental plan that includes a look at ways to connect Stoneham with the Middlesex Fells. The board agreed that Middlesex Fells was a huge but underutilized asset for the town.

The discussion of plans for Montvale Commons in Woburn brought concern and a vote to have the town's attorney get involved and quickly. Montvale Commons is the site of the old Kraft Jello plant and current plans include three acres of Stoneham land. With traffic a huge concern, the board voiced disappointment that Stoneham has been virtually left out of the planning discussion.

As is, the main entrance to the development would cross the bike path and with the amount of cars coming in and out each day the fear was that Stoneham would be cut off from Winchester and Woburn, the other two partners in the Greenway. Stoneham officials had even heard discussions of Woburn building a bridge over the Greenway or tunnel under it. True or just rumor, it was upsetting for the board to hear and it planned to draft a letter in coming days asking/demanding to be included in future discussions. The town's attorney will also get involved.

Maureen Buckley also updated the board on plans for Veteran's Day. A ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 11 with the Bells of Peace ringing 21 times across the country at 11 a.m. to commemorate the Centennial of World War One. The Veterans Day 5k and 11k races will be held after the ceremony and officials are still looking for volunteers to help with the race. If you wish to assist, click here.

The Dairy Dome days are dwindling after a presentation by Charles Houghton to the board. The "Dome" is expected to be torn down in December with four residential condominiums built on the site. Houghton brought a drawing of the condominiums, which should take 6-8 months to complete.

Photo by Bob Holmes

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