By By Talia Lissauer,The Berkshire Eagle

Copyright berkshireeagle

GREAT BARRINGTON — The Select Board interviewed three candidates for town manager Tuesday in the third round of a nearly 10-month search.

Director of Planning Christopher Rembold has served as interim town manager since January, when former manager Mark Pruhenski left for an administrative position in Middlebury, Vt.

In April, the board interviewed two candidates and then reopened the search after a majority said they were not satisfied with either. In July, they offered the role to William Riccio, who declined the position.

Thirteen people applied this round, bringing the total number of applicants since January to around 30.

Jonathan Elwell, Liz Hartsgrove and Marie Ryan were asked about what their first three months would be like, their leadership style and experience with finances and capital projects during their hour-long interviews. The board will vote during Monday’s regular meeting.

Here’s a look at the latest three candidates:

JONATHAN ELWELL

Until February, Elwell spent three years as general manager of the Vermont Electric Department, which serves 12 towns. Before that, he was the village manager for Enosburg Falls, Vt., for 18 years, overseeing five departments and a $7 million budget.

He said he has experience with infrastructure projects, including restoring historic buildings, bridges, sidewalk work and water line replacements.

“I would view it as my great honor to help this community move forward in all its endeavors,” Elwell said.

If hired, he said his first steps would be to get acquainted with staff, interview department heads, attend community meetings and meet with the select board.

“All of that is important to a municipal manager to understand the people that live and work in the community,” Elwell said.

Annual evaluations are crucial to applaud the good and address potential areas for improvement, Elwell said, not just for the employee but also for the organization. He added it’s just as important to give daily affirmation to employees who are doing a good job.

“Municipal management is where my heart is,” he said, explaining why he left his job at the electrical department after three years. “I’m looking to come back into municipal management as a whole.”

Elwell interviewed for the town manager position in Dalton the previous night, but did not get it.

LIZ HARTSGROVE

Hartsgrove has 23 years of experience in various municipal positions for towns on the eastern side of the state, including assistant to the town administrator, assistant director of planning and development and licensing director. She is currently the assistant town manager for the town of Bourne.

She has been a department head since 2002, when she was 24. She said she’s learned valuable lessons in the importance of teamwork and accountability and has reached a “crossroads” in her career.

The first three months for Hartsgrove are all about fact-finding and meeting the staff and people of Great Barrington.

“You do an assessment and then you find alignment so that you have a clear understanding of the next phase, which is action,” Hartsgrove said.

She described herself as a “participatory leader” because she will work with everyone to accomplish town goals, adding she is good at delegating when necessary, but she is not one to put off her responsibilities on others.

“I need Joe [Aderdale] in DPW, Paul [Storti] in police, and Ali [Crespo] in finance,” she said. “I need to have their skill sets guide me.”

After working with 15 town managers across five municipalities, she has found that what is missing from previous town managers is an effort to be a part of the staff while also balancing the responsibility to be a leader and make tough choices.

After serving on the screening committee during the last two rounds of searches for a town manager, Marie said she realized she would be a great fit because she has the connections and knowledge of the town.

Ryan currently serves as the town administrator, assistant town clerk and assistant town treasurer for West Stockbridge. She previously served as Town Clerk for Great Barrington for two years until 2019.

Ryan said that, as a local, she already has relationships with some of the town employees and local business owners, but there are some that she doesn’t know. She said she will take the time to meet the new department heads and learn more about how she can support them.

“I am familiar with a lot of the issues in town,” Ryan said. “I know the town. I love the town. But there are also high expectations of me from people I may have known practically my whole life.”

Ryan noted she is a customer of Housatonic Water Works, she added at the end of her interview. She added solving the water crisis and bridges are among her top priorities for the town if selected.

She described herself as a “people person” who loves to meet with employees frequently and stresses the importance of being a team.

“If they do better, then I do better,” she said. “We’re a team, we all have to work together.”