By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — The Town Council, with newly elected members Stacey Constas and John Crisley on board, voted last night on the composition of the screening committee that will choose the finalists to fill the position of retiring Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio. The finalists’ names will be passed on to the Town Council, who will ultimately choose the next Town Administrator.
Maio announced earlier this year that he plans to retire in July.
The board agreed that School Superintendent Douglas Lyons and Assistant Town Administrator Kevin Gill should be on the screening committee. The other members of the seven-member committee will be chosen at the Town Council’s May 19 meeting. The board decided that three of the remaining five members would come from the general public and two would be chosen from among current town employees or members of town boards and committees.
There is still time for interested residents to submit their names to be among the three representatives of the public on the Town Administrator screening committee. Wakefield residents should email a letter of interest and resume by May 5, 2025 to Sherri Dalton, Chief Administrative Officer/Town Council Clerk, at sdalton@wakefield.ma.us.
Councilor John Carney reiterated his preference for having each member of the Town Council select one member of the screening committee to ensure that every councilor’s voice would be represented.
Constas said that she felt strongly that a majority of the screening committee should not be chosen from the public at large. But Councilor Jonathan Chines noted that the executive search firms that the board interviewed had recommended that a majority of the screening committee should be members of the general public.
After the board came to agreement that two of the seven screening committee members should be School Superintendent Doug Lyons and Assistant Town Administrator Kevin Gill, and three members would be chosen from the general public, the board discussed how the remaining two positions would be filled.
Council Chair Mehreen Butt suggested that each of the current members send to her two names of town employees and/or town committee members. She said that she would compile the names and send them out the board. The board would then choose the final two members of the screening committee from that list.
But Town Counsel Thomas Mullen worried that this approach risked running afoul of the Open Meeting Law. He recommended that members send their suggestions for the final two slots to Maio instead of to Butt. Maio would then compile the names. And Mullen stressed that the two people to fill these slots on the screening committee should be chosen by the Council after discussion at an open public meeting and not beforehand.
The board agreed to this approach and composition of the screening committee and will appoint five members at its May 19 meeting to serve along with School Superintendent Lyons and Assistant Town Administrator Gill.