WHATELY — Following the resignation of Mark Pruhenski, the town has a new town administrator at 4 Sandy Lane.
Brian Domina of Southampton stepped into his new job for the first time about a week ago.
“I used to (compete in) the Whately Police Association Triathlon,” he said, while sitting in his new office with morning sunlight filling the room. “The route (went) right by here, Sandy Lane. Little did I know that six years later, I’d be sitting in this building.”
On Friday, the new administrator had only been working for five days, and was already paging through ongoing town projects; he said he’s excited to be able to put his background in planning to work for the town.
Before being appointed as administrator by the Selectboard, Domina, who is married to Sarah Domina and has three sons, worked for seven years as a land use planner for the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
“It was projects-based, and you can see by the projects in front of me,” he said, gesturing to a pile of manila envelops on the desk in front of him, “that’s what I’ll be doing here.”
Domina attended Northeastern University in Boston, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice before getting a law degree from Pace University School of Law in White Plains, N.Y.
“I don’t tell too many people I’m an attorney,” he said. After graduating with a master’s degree, Domina said he took about a year off to study for and pass the bar exam. Soon after, he was hired by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
In his new position, one project he said he’s excited to work on is renovating the town office building and finding tenants to fill the space.
“There are (also) a few state-level initiatives I’m pretty excited about,” he said.
Specifically, Domina wants to look into the Community Compact Cabinet, an initiative put forward by Gov. Charlie Baker to bring the state and towns closer together, and the Mass. Department of Transportation’s Complete Streets Funding Program, which helps towns build transportation infrastructure.
“If people have nice sidewalks,” Domina said, “people will be more willing to walk to the store.”
Pruhenski, who was hired in 2014, resigned to be town administrator in Richmond.
A search committee recommended three candidates out of almost 30 applications.
Domina’s goal, he said, is to keep the town moving forward on its current course.
“It’s to keep continuing what the town has been doing, being a resource and helping the town accomplish those goals,” he continued.
He also said he’s not opposed to helping bring back the police association’s triathlon, which he said ended a few years ago.
“The door is open,” the new administrator added, “people can come in and talk any time.”
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com
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On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo