Development Seat In Framingham Still Empty
Town officials say search is close to an end
More than three months after longtime economic development director Kathy Bartolini vacated her post, the town of Framingham has narrowed down the pool of applicants for her replacement to about half a dozen, and hopes to have a candidate chosen by the end of the year.
Julian M. Suso, Framingham's town manager, said Tim Goddard, assistant town manager, has filled in admirably in the interim, while the town searches for a more suitable candidate.
"Per Murphy's Law, the holidays are causing havoc," with the town's search, Suso said. "But we're currently going over background material and checking references on about half a dozen candidates."
Experience Required
Goddard is not under consideration to permanently fill the post, nor was Bartolini's assistant, Bryan Taberner, who left the town for an opportunity in Franklin, Suso said.
The town's four-person search committee is made up of Suso, Goddard, Board of Selectmen Chairman Dennis Giombetti and Peter Sellers, director of public works.
The committee is searching for a candidate with a minimum of seven to 10 years public planning experience and a master's degree in urban/regional or city planning or a related field, according to a job posting on the town's web site.
Ideally, Suso said, the town would have had Bartolini's successor already lined up when she left at the end of August, to ensure a seamless transition.
"We knew there would be some delay, as there invariably is. In a perfect world, there would be a seamless transition, but that rarely occurs in terms of public employment," Suso said. "There's a standard process you follow, a process we've been involved in."
Suso said he personally requested Goddard fill Bartolini's role until a successor was found, ensuring the many projects in the town, including a costly and potentially face-changing downtown revitalization, would continue uninterrupted.
Suso also said they would have liked to consider Taberner, but opportunity knocked elsewhere for him.
Suso said he expects there to be some kind of learning curve for the new community and economic development director, though he hopes it is a flat one, depending on the candidate.
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