Boothbay Harbor selectmen and consultant Don Gerrish of Eaton Peabody set a tentative timeline for the town manager search Aug. 5. The timeline put the evening's workshop as the jumping off point with at least eight major dates before a new manager is named in mid-November.

Gerrish will run a meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 21, focused on public participation. Gerrish will also interview town department heads and finalize an advertisement to be run with Maine Municipal Association, New Hampshire Municipal Association, Massachusetts Municipal Association and International City Management Association.

The early steps will help the town identify the type of manager it wants and help applicants identify if they are the right fit, said Gerrish. “It starts weaving that picture of what this community is looking for and what you're looking for in a manager.”

Gerrish polled the board on whether there would be a search committee or if the board would perform the search. Some communities bring the public into the mix, but he advises against it. “I'd recommend you leave it with the board if you want my opinion … What I find is sometimes it's harder to pick (otherwise) …”

Selectmen were mostly in agreement with none speaking out against keeping the search strictly with the board. Selectman Wendy Wolf said she felt it would be better and Selectman Denise Griffin agreed, suggesting Gerrish's measures for public participation would be sufficient.

Applications will be due Friday, Sept. 13 and notebooks with recommended candidates and their resumes will be shared with the entire board on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Gerrish will meet with selectmen on Tuesday, Oct. 1 to review resumes and decide on candidates for first interviews. Those will occur face-to-face or via Skype the week of Oct. 7-11.

Finalists will be invited to town on Tuesday, Oct. 29 for a public meet and greet where residents can ask questions and town officials and selectmen can conduct interviews. The selectmen will then decide on a final candidate.

Eaton Peabody will negotiate a contract with the person the week of Nov. 4-7 and a manager will be named the following week.

Throughout the advertisement process, Gerrish said, the board should not expect a deep pool of candidates. His present search with Thomaston, soon to conclude, has not yielded many.  “You're different. Different community, different needs, different wants. But as of last Friday we had four candidates for that job, just letting you know right now.”

Windham is also searching for a town manager with Eaton Peabody's help, Gerrish said; and they too have only pulled in four applicants so far.

Said Gerrish, “I just want to be up front with you because we're just not seeing the candidates … but the search process can be extended … The goal always is to get the right person for the job.”