LAKEVILLE — Lakeville’s Interim Town Administrator Robert Nunes is not going to leave Town Hall with a vacant seat. Nunes has agreed to stay on until the town finds a permanent replacement for the town’s chief administrative officer role. 

Nunes’ took over as Lakeville’s interim town administrator following the resignation of former Town Administrator Ari Sky in December. His initial contract ends on July 19. 

The Lakeville Select Board voted to reappoint Nunes at its meeting on Monday, July 8 while town officials continue to search for Lakeville’s next town administrator. 

The reappointment renews his contract through Oct. 15, 2024, under the same terms and conditions. 

Select Board Chair Lorraine Carboni said this new contract does not fulfill the 180-day period of a standard contract, given that Lakeville hopes to have a permanent town administrator in place by that time.

If that proves not to be the case, the end date of Nunes’ new contract would have to be revisited, she said. 

Select Board member Maureen Candito was in favor of Nunes’ staying on as long as possible to help with the transition once a new town administrator is hired. 

“Even if we did have a permanent person in place, we’d like some time to transfer knowledge in that time,” Candito said. “There’s a lot to rake over and a lot of knowledge transfer that doesn’t happen in an instant. So, as long as we can, we should.”

The Town Administrator Search Committee is in the process of examining the applications of those who made it through the first round of review by MRI, the consulting firm the town is working in this process, said Select Board Vice Chair and Search Committee member Lia Fabian. 

The applications of the first round finalists will be discussed at the Search Committee’s July 18 meeting, Fabian said. From there, the Search Committee will decide if and how many applicants to interview. Seven applications have made it into the committee’s hands. 

Once applicants have been interviewed by the Search Committee, the committee will decide whether to make a recommendation of applicants to be interviewed by the Select Board, Fabian said.

The names of candidates interviewed by the Select Board will become public, she confirmed.