Eldredge Offered Yarmouth Community Development Job

 HARWICH – The town could be looking for another member of its administrative team if Assistant Town Administrator Meggan Eldredge accepts the job as Yarmouth’s next community development director. 

 The Yarmouth Select Board voted on Aug. 26 to hire Eldredge, one of three finalists for the position. Eldredge said in her application for the position that she would be able to start work there 30 days from the date the board announced her hiring. In an email, she said she has not yet accepted the position and is currently in negotiations with the town administrator.

 “The Yarmouth Town Administrator went on vacation Wednesday, right after the meeting the board voted at,” she said in the email. “I have been in touch with the human resources director regarding a forthcoming offer, but until the administrator returns on Tuesday, negotiations will not be concluded.” 

 Eldredge has worked for the town of Harwich since 2014, and was named senior health director in 2018. In 2021, she was named assistant town administrator when the assistant, Joseph Powers, was named town administrator.

 Eldredge, a Yarmouth resident, was one of three finalists interviewed by the Yarmouth Select Board on Aug. 19. The other finalists were Ellen Levin Carlson, a former planning and development employee with the National Park Service; and Spyro Mitrokostas, a local resident and a licensed insurance agent.

“I’m very impressed with the candidates,” said Select Board member Dorcus McGurrin, “but one rose to the top. [With] her background and experience in town government…I’m very comfortable in recommending Meggan Eldredge.” 

Select Board Chair Tracy Post cited Eldredge’s municipal background as a strong point, saying the town needs somebody who can manage employees and other responsibilities under the community development umbrella. 

“Meggan has that edge,” Post said, citing her management of the community development department as assistant town administrator in Harwich.  

 Select Board member Liz Argo said she was “swept away” by Carlson, her out-of-the-box ideas, concepts for Route 28, and working with the chamber of commerce and focusing on economic development. 

 Select Board member Joyce Flynn cited Eldredge’s past history working in the health field. With medical facilities coming into town, Elredge would be a good person to focus on health and environmental growth in the community, Flynn said.

 The community development position includes conducting short- and long-term planning in areas such as economic development, historic preservation, conservation and housing. The salary range for the Yarmouth position is between $108,000 and $145,000 plus benefits. Eldredge said in the email that her decision to explore options outside Harwich “is not driven by salary.”

 Should Eldredge take the position in Yarmouth, the assistant town administrator’s position will likely be added to a list of high-level Harwich positions in need of filling, including town administrator, finance director/town accountant and assistant town accountant.