ORANGE — It appears the town will gain a new economic development director just as it loses its longtime superintendent of highway, cemeteries and parks.

The Selectboard voted unanimously at Wednesday’s meeting to offer the economic development position to Mikael Pyrtel at a $100,000 salary shortly before voting to accept Colin Killay’s resignation letter. Killay, who is also resigning as tree warden, said his final day will be Sept. 1.

“I wanted to give you enough notice to start the search for a replacement,” he wrote in a letter read aloud by Selectboard Chair Tom Smith.

“We are saddened, but this is a decision that Colin has made,” Smith said after reading the letter. “I wish him all the best on whatever his next endeavor may be.”

Vice Chair Andrew Smith made a motion to accept the resignation. He said he has been the Selectboard’s liaison to Killay’s department for a couple years and has enjoyed their working relationship.

“Boy, was he conscientious,” Andrew Smith said. “He always made this town a priority and he listened to people, and it’s a big loss not only for me professionally, as a selectman, but personally. I’ve worked very well with Colin.”

Clerk Pat Lussier said the Selectboard will be hard-pressed to fill a suitable replacement for Killay.

“He’s leaving some very big shoes to fill,” she said, with Tom Smith voicing his agreement.

Killay declined to be interviewed by the Greenfield Recorder about his departure.

Earlier in Wednesday’s meeting, Pyrtel addressed the Selectboard and said his start date as economic development director will follow the completion of his move to Orange “no later than [the] end of August or shortly after Labor Day weekend.” The position, which was last held by Alexander “Alec” Wade, has been vacant since November.

While speaking with board members, Pyrtel read from a recent Boston Globe article about biotechnology companies looking to settle in Massachusetts. He said if those employers aren’t exploring the Orange area for its potential, they have not ventured far enough west.

“That’s my perspective,” he said.

Pyrtel, who has worked as a business resource specialist for the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs, is also a member of MassBay Community College’s board of trustees.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

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