East Longmeadow town administrator a finalist for Sturbridge position

Date: 1/29/2015

EAST LONGMEADOW – Town Administrator Nick Breault is one of three finalists in the town of Sturbridge’s search for a new town administrator, which will be determined by the Sturbridge Board of Selectmen likely sometime in February.

East Longmeadow Board of Selectmen Chair Paul Federici said if Breault were chosen by Sturbridge to be its new town administrator, the town of East Longmeadow would likely put out a request for applications and form a small committee to conduct the initial interviews before the board conducts the final interviews. 

“I wish [Breault] nothing but the best of luck,” Federici added. “It would be a tremendous gain for Sturbridge and a tremendous loss for us.”

Breault told Reminder Publications, “I am eager to explain my interest in the position and how my experience and education will benefit the community. I am honored to have made it to this point in the search process. Since the [Sturbridge] Board of Selectmen is the body that is now conducting this phase of the search process, it is my preference to give the board members the first opportunity to ask me questions.”

William Haggerty, chair of the Sturbridge Town Administrator Search Committee, said Breault was initially one of 74 applicants for the position and he stood out among the other candidates because of his quiet demeanor and precise attention for detail.

“Basically in looking at interviewing the candidates, the six that we interviewed, we were less interested in the politics of their current situation and were more interested in the leadership skills and background that we felt that they had that they could bring to the town of Sturbridge and serve out to the community,” he added.

Breault is a resident of Monson and has been East Longmeadow’s town administrator since 2005. Prior to that period, Breault served as the mayoral aide and press secretary in Springfield for six years to Mayor Michael Albano.

“The background experience contributed but I think probably the thing that weighed more heavily on us was the interview that the search committee conducted with Nick and that ran in excess of two hours,” Haggerty said. “We got an opportunity to really delve into his outlook and approach to things.”

During Breault’s two-hour interview, some answers and personality traits that stood out to Haggerty included Breault’s honesty and “the fact that he seems very deliberate in the sense that he takes the time to look at an issue, weigh all sides of it, and then before he makes a decision, he doesn’t appear to be one who is indecisive and he didn’t appear to be a person who was going to kind of jump at making a decision without having formulated ideas as to exactly what needs to happen.”

For face-to-face candidate interviews, the town administrator search committee prepared 19 questions, Haggerty said. These questions focused on gaining insight into the qualifications and management styles of each candidate.

“We met in late August to basically formulate a strategy in terms of approaching the search,” he added. “We decided that out of the first 42 candidates that applied, we only found two candidates that met our qualifications. By town charter, the search committee must provide three names to the Board of Selectmen.”

The search was then re-opened by the committee and another 32 applicants were interviewed, Haggerty said. The three finalists were approved by the Sturbridge Board of Selectmen at its Jan. 5 meeting.

“I certainly can’t speak for the Board of Selectmen because ultimately it’s their decision but I think the other thing that’s obvious and is going to come into play with any of the three candidates – all three of them are currently employed as town administrators,” he added. “So [the starting date for the position] is going to be dependent on terms of their starting dates [and] what their contracts with their contracts with their respective town permits them to do.”

 The other two finalists for the Sturbridge town administrator position are West Boylston Town Administrator Leon Gaumond Jr. and Blackstone Town Administrator Daniel Keyes.