2018-08-20 BOS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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August 20, 2018 Page 1 of 3 SELECTMEN'S MEETING Monday, August 20, 2018 A meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen was called to order at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, August 20, 2018 in the Selectmen's Meeting Room of the Town Office Building. Ms. Barry, Chair; Mr. Pato; Mr. Lucente; and Ms. Hai were present as well as Ms. Axtell, Acting Town Manager; and Ms. Siebert, Recording Secretary. The purpose for the meeting is to interview three finalists for the open position of Town Manager. Ms. Ciccolo was recused because she has an open contract with one of the candidates. Before beginning the interviews, Ms. Barry expressed the sympathies of the Board for the passing of long-time Lexington pediatrician, Dr. Daniel Palant. A moment of silence was observed in his honor. Ms. Barry introduced Alan Gould from MRI Consultants who provided some background for the Town Manager search process: The search began about three months ago. MRI received 44 resumes from candidates from 15 states, including 26 candidates from Massachusetts. Of the initial 44, 17 candidates were invited to submit essay answers in response to questions MRI developed from its interviews with Town staff, board and committee members, and residents. Fifteen candidates moved forward to the Screening Committee stage. Six candidates were selected to be interviewed by the Screening Committee, although one withdrew to accept another job offer. Of the initial 44, 7 were women and 5 of the 15 candidates who advanced to the Screening Committee stage were women. Mr. Gould said these percentages are fairly typical of advanced candidate pools. Mr. Gould likened today's finalist process to a conversation. Mr. Gould listed certain questions that cannot be introduced, such as age, sexual preference or orientation, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, family, or health. He encouraged Board members to ask follow up questions on relevant topics Ms. Barry reported that each Selectmen had developed his/her own questions and these had not been previewed by the Board as a whole. Ms. Barry then expressed the Board's deep appreciation for the tireless efforts of the 11-member Screening Committee: former Selectmen Peter Kelley, Chair; current Selectmen Mr. Lucente and Ms. Hai; former Assistant Town Manager Linda Vine; Kate Colburn, School Committee; Bob Creech, Planning Board; Rick DeAngelis, Economic Development Advisory Committee; Melanie Thompson, Diversity Advisory Task Force; Melanie Lin, Town Meeting Member; Vineeta Kumar, Town Meeting Member; Tom Colatosti, representing the business community;plus two liaisons: Eric Michelson, Appropriation Committee; and Charles Lamb, Capital Expenditures. Committee. Ms. Barry called a recess at 3:36 p.m. until approximately 4:00 p.m. 0 Stephen Crane On behalf of the Board, Ms. Barry welcomed Mr. Crane and stated that the approximately one- hour interview would consist of individual questions posed in turn by the four Selectman. The questions were authored by the Selectmen and tailored to the individual candidate.