WHATELY — After interviewing both town administrator finalists last week, the Selectboard voted to conditionally offer the role to Swampscott’s current assistant town administrator, pending a background check and successful contract negotiations.

Peter Kane was chosen by the Selectboard after two back-to-back interview sessions, as the town looks to fill the town administrator position vacated by Brian Domina, who left Whately on March 4 to take a similar position in Hampden after seven years of service to the town.

Kane has had several stints in Swampscott since 2011 as town planner, director of community development and, most recently, as assistant town administrator, along with several urban planning jobs in Utah. He returned to Swampscott in 2022 for his current role and said managing a town the size of Whately is a wonderful opportunity for him.

“I want to work for a small town, that’s my career goal. The reason being it’s more direct,” Kane, who is originally from Easthampton, said in his interview via Zoom. “I definitely want to invest a good chunk of time, if not the rest of my career, in a single community.”

He was one of two finalists recommended by a screening committee made up of Selectboard Chair Fred Baron, Treasurer/Collector Amy Schrader and Police Chief James Sevigne Jr. The other finalist was Fred Ventresco, who currently serves as town administrator in Pinetops, North Carolina, and also has municipal experience around New England.

In his interview, Kane emphasized his background as “an urban planner by trade,” as well as the importance of communication with town staff, board members and the community as a whole.

“The best engaged community is a community that is well-informed,” Kane said.

In response to a question from Baron on transitioning from a town of 15,000 people to a town of 1,500, Kane said town government’s role is to serve residents and while development in some form is needed to sustain the town economically, it is also important to balance that with the town’s rural and agricultural character.

“It’s not government’s place to dictate and to drive and force change, it’s to understand what the community wants,” Kane explained. “If the residents of Whately want to enshrine the rural aspects, that’s what we should be catering to.”

In the Selectboard’s deliberations, members said they were impressed with Kane’s qualifications and his communication skills, as well as his knowledge of town issues, such as the Center School.

“I was impressed by Pete, both at the screening committee and here. I think Pete would be a better fit here,” Baron said. “I do like the planning experience that he would bring to the job. … I think that’s a valuable skill we can call upon.”

Fellow board member Joyce Palmer-Fortune said she feels “like he understands the big picture really well” and also complimented Kane’s communication abilities.

The Selectboard unanimously voted to extend a conditional job offer, pending a background check and successful contract negotiations.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.