Vernon town administrator offered Southbridge post

By Kym Soper
Journal Inquirer
Published: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 1:33 PM EDT

VERNON — The Southbridge, Mass., Town Council on Monday unanimously appointed Vernon Town Administrator Christopher Clark to be its town manager, according to local news reports.

The appointment, made Monday during the Southbridge council meeting, is contingent on a successful contract negotiation, the Southbridge Evening News reported today.

Clark, 42, resides in Sturbridge, Mass., with his wife and three children. His daily commute will be cut from 30 minutes to five.

Clark has been town administrator in Vernon for the last two years. Under his contract with this town he must give 30 days notice once he tenders a formal resignation.

Mayor Jason L. McCoy said last week that he would appoint an interim town administrator and conduct a lengthy search for a replacement. He says he would like to see someone who is “vested in the area and in the town.”

Clark, who grew up in Easton, Mass., was hired to replace Laurence R. Shaffer, who left Vernon to become town manager in Amherst, Mass.

Clark is the latest of a long line of high-level town staffers to leave Vernon in the last year, including former Town Planner Neil Pade and former Town Engineer Tim Timberman.

Charlotte Adams, secretary to the mayor’s office, also left Vernon employment last week to take a job in the Ellington town clerk’s office.